The hip-hop generation has had alove affair with the pit bulls for a long time. With stars like DMX, who is rarely seen without the companyof one of his dogs to Big Boi, a member of the group OutKast who breeds pitsprominent people have caught “dog-bark fever”. The American Pit Bull Terrier has enjoyed a long history ofvery committed owners and breeders. Not only do many of your favorite stars have these animals around thehouse both Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt shared the White House with a pit.
Not all Americans share the starsaffections for this specific breed of dog. Driven by reports of viscous dog attacks, breed specificlegislation aims to make it harder to own the dog. “I have heard so many bad stories about pits attackingchildren I don’t know if I would trust my child around one” said JamickaCalloway, a former University of Washington student.
The American Pit bull Registry doesadmit that the identified risk group for attacks is children below the age of eleven.This may be do to the children’s treatment of the animal. Though stigmatized as a viscous killerthe American Temperament Test Society ranks the dog below the toy poodle.
Many breedersblame the poor stigma that the pit bull has on owners that fight the dogsillegally. “My roommate has a pitand I know he would never fight the dog, but I have seen dog fights before”said Marlo Bradford, a junior from Shreveport. Every year dogs are confiscated from their owners formaltreatment. For anyone that wants to get a pit you can adopt, or visit abreeder. Some breeds of dogs havebecome trendy, but the pit bull appears to remain a favorite.