Pit Bulls and Parolees

I will just put this out there now - I love reality television. It's like candy for my brain. Therefore, I tend to give these shows at least a one episode chance before I move on.

I recently caught an episode of Pit Bulls and Parolees, where the rescue organization was contacted to go to Auburn to evaluate a dog that was part of a larger pack that got loose and attacked someone at the park. The particular dog they were evaluating, although part of the pack, was not part of the attack.

The episode also shows the rescuer visiting with the owners of the dogs. This was the part that absolutely killed me.

As the rescuers approached the house, a nice bungalow located in an upper middle class neighborhood, they started commenting about how this does not seem like a place where vicious pits would be raised or about how it didn't look like a place where animals would be trained to attack.

Anyway, the owners opened the door, which I guess caused even more confusion with the rescuers, because the owners seemed like "gentle, kind people who cared about their dogs." They have the obligatory sit down where they shoot the shit, where the entire conversation consists of the young adult son speaking about how sad it was that he came home and his dogs were gone and the mom talking about how they had the dogs since they were puppies and it was so sad they were no longer going to be with them.

Never once did they say they were sorry for the situation, just that their dogs jumped the fence and it was a terrible accident. Never once did the rescuer ever bring up the fact that, as pet owners, they are not only responsible for protecting the welfare of their animals but also ensuring that, oh I don't know, their animals don't go around trying to kill people.

I'm sorry, but does sitting in a nice house in a nice neighborhood next to a Tiffany's lamp automatically absolve someone of irresponsible pet ownership? Apparently it does because I'm pretty sure their asses would be in jail if they were poor and not white.

I know that Cesar Millan gets a lot of shit, but one of the things he always does is call the owner out, regardless of race or class. He regularly points out that not doing anything (no discipline, exercise, training, socializing etc) can result in a dangerous dog.

Here's a quote from an article regarding the incident:

"She had hoped to evaluate the animals away from the barking of other dogs. But the three dogs would not respond to commands or accept treats or a leash."

I think this quote reveals a lot that the show failed to shed light on or even discuss, that sometimes the failure to teach proper behavior can be just as dangerous as teaching a dog how to fight.