When you choose to put on the badge and carry the gun. You raise your hand in the air and say "pick me" .. you know that you are going to be held to a higher standard.
The same can be - and often IS - expected from Pit Bull owners.
My issue w/
that whole story, and other similar ones lately, is the fact that a LOT of rescues and/or Pit Bull advocats have promoted "our breed" to an almost saint-like status, and that bugs the crap out of me, personally.
Pit Bulls are dogs, first and foremost. Dogs have teeth. Dogs can be unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous... depending on the dog AND the situation.
On any given day you can read a billion posts regarding Pit Bulls on FB... from the lovers AND the haters. Reasonable and realistic views are far and in-between, and God help you if you venture into that middle ground - you get your arse handed to you from
both sides.
It's either "vicious baby-killers" and "run for your lives" or "my Pit Bull cooks, cleans, babysits the infant grand daughter and wouldn't hurt a fly, never, never, ever"... uhm... WHAT???
The ones I love the most though are "it's not the dog - it's the owner" or the ever infamous "it's all in how you raise them"... EXCUSE me???
I ADORE my boys w/all my heart. I *think* I have done a pretty good job w/them so far. I trust them, for the most part. They won't eat anyones baby, they won't attack you because they eat RAW and have "a taste for blood", and in normal circumstances their behaviors are predictable and safe. Do I think that they are above and beyond reproach in any and all situations 150% of the time? Hell no.
If that makes me a *bad* owner... well... so be it. I like to err on the side of caution, because I realize that - despite the funny and cute pics I post, and despite the baby talk and humanization I'm guilty of at times - those boys are DOGS. PIT BULL dogs, at that.
I don't expect to be able to "reason" w/them when it comes to scary situations... hell, I don't even always know WHAT scares them, or WHY they do the things they do. I'm not a dog. I don't see the world the way they do.
I do know most of their limitations though... because I observe them constantly, and because past experiences are a fantastic learning tool.
Would I bring Sepp to a crowded, noisy festival, for instance, and expect him to be a model citizen, no matter what? Absolutely NEVER.
So. my problem w/that whole story is that the rescue will probably no sooner admit that the dog might *possibly* have had some aggression/fear/whatever issues than the PO department will admit that the officer in question might *possibly* have acted irrationally... it's all about perception and "where you stand", when it comes right down to it.
Most dog lovers will be up in arms about an unjustified shooting, and most POs will side w/"their own". That's human nature...
This being a rescue-oriented Pit Bull forum... enough said.
I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but human error (either the handlers OR the officers... or even both) led to a death... and that is, in and of itself, a tragic outcome.