Thanks SBTC, We Love You Too

James Beaufoy is the president of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club in the UK.

The UK is having a problem with dangerous dogs, with some of the highest hospitalization rates in years. They banned Pit Bulls and three breeds in 1991. There are still Pit Bulls in the UK, by the way. Lots of them. There are still dog fights. Lots of them. There are still dog attacks. Lots of them. 

And Pit Bulls are still getting the blame.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier has become popular, too popular and with the wrong sorts of folk. People who think dogs are the extension of your penis. People who think dogs are representatives of clout and strength. People who think dogs are something other than what they are.

But Pit Bulls are getting the blame for SBT's popularity and the resulting problems.

It couldn't be because problems arise with popularity. It couldn't be because problems arise with rampant, irresponsible breeding. It couldn't be because the media and society has glamorized SBTs as the next "devil dog" and popular amongst dog fighters and males who apparently need to have a dog prove their masculinity.

Nope, it's Pit Bulls. They are being bred with SBTs and ruining the breed. Ruination!

According to Beaufoy, ""They are a perfect family pet. You could not train a real Staffie to attack a human being because they trust them so much. A pit bull terrier cross is a very different matter though."

No, a real SBT would not attack a human being, it's only those mongrel Pit Bull crosses. This defies genetics and logic and all that is sane and rational in this world. It also flies in the face of what the UKC says about Pit Bulls, " The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable"

I mean, if they're both right and SBTs and APBTs are like super-awesome people dogs, then breeding them together would be an EPIC WIN for humans everywhere. 

Now, I don't know who's right, but I have many opinions. I've met aggressive Pit Bulls and SBTs. I've met more friendly Pit Bulls and SBTs than dangerous ones. I've certainly met more APBTs than I have SBTs, although I did foster a beautiful SBT named Sage who loved to let my pet mouse walk on her back. She was strangely awesome like that. 

Anyway, us Pit Bull type dog owners should stick together. Across the pond, here in the US, SBTs are often classified as Pit Bull type dogs. For legal and "I will kill you dead" purposes, they *are* Pit Bulls. Ouch, I know, Mr. Beaufoy. Trust me, I'd like to consider my Pit Bull not a Pit Bull just to avoid the hassle of, you know, insurance discrimination, legal discrimination, personal discrimination, death for my dog that me and my dog face on a daily basis. But she is what she is, and we would serve her and your dogs a lot better if we didn't send some dogs to death b/c we want to save our own from distorted public perception. I love and want to protect your SBTs as much as I love and want to protect APBTs. 

Please extend the favor and be a bit more cognizant of what you say. Anti-dogs-who-look-a-certain-way zealots love it when we fight amongst ourselves over labels. Don't give them the satisfaction.

Otherwise, Mina will eat you.

Sorry, but that's just how it is.