Pit Bull: What you can do about BSL!

What You Can Do About BSL

by Gerard Spicer

I grieve for anybody who has to face discriminatory legislation that is focused on your own beloved pet. It can break the heart of an animal lover to face the realization that their four-legged family member could possible be taken from them. The best advice I could offer in this situation is to do something. Everybody is different in the skills or talents they use in tackling the various issues that life throws us. Find what you are good at and use it to your advantage in supporting your family pet. If you are good at writing, then write positive stories that you can share with others, if you have good organization skills, use your skill to organize a support group in your area, or if you have good computer skill, set up a website, blog, or a chat room where you can defend your side of the argument. My wife happens to be a good artist and she was able to use her artistic talents to design a great pro pit bull poster for the city council meeting. The worst possible thing that you can do is to do nothing. I only had to think of Mugsy, our wonderful pit bull who passed away in 2001 from cancer, and Petey, the current love of our lives, to spur me into action.

I would encourage anybody facing BSL to get the facts and to educate themselves on the issues. After all, how do you expect to defend your side of the story if you do not have all the facts? Visit as many websites as you can and educate yourself. However, be aware that not all the facts presented on websites are accurate or true and that you may misrepresent yourself if you use them. For example if is widely quoted that the National Temperament Testing Society has given pit bulls a passing rate of 95% when no such organization exists. Also, numerous websites link famous writers as pit bull owners when they only wrote stories referencing the pit bulls terrier, or worse, naming people as pit bull owners who in fact owned a different breed. My advice is to be careful in using reference material and always check the source, as you do not want to lose credibility.

I would highly recommend banding together with other people when taking on BSL. The thoughts and advice of other people is invaluable in dealing with such a complex issue. I would also encourage you to call or email your council members and tell them that BSL in not a solution. You are also welcome to use my article “A Fall From Grace: the Story of the Pit Bull” in any way that will help your cause. Post the article or link to it on your website or blog and email the story to all interested parties. I just ask in return that you provide proper credit for the story.