*Featured images are from Sophie Gamand‘s Flower Power series.
There’s a hashtag going around Twitter called #PitbullDropOff—some people are using it to promote adopting or buying pit bulls from Craiglist and other similar websites for the sole purpose of killing them. These people believe they are “saving lives” and doing their “civic duty” by euthanizing these dogs. Take a look at some of the posts below:
https://twitter.com/fonzydownload/status/995594190070444033
https://twitter.com/ptownsend92/status/997048627309830145
https://twitter.com/Trumpanista13/status/995913432812703744
https://twitter.com/Lcron55/status/996581263883452416
Pit bulls are probably the most misunderstood and maligned among all dog breeds. The fact that they have been abused and used in dog fights have given them the image of being vicious and too dangerous to be around humans, especially children. There are several myths about pit bulls, one of the most popular being that they have a special ability to lock their jaws, but these myths are false. As in all domesticated animals, these dogs only become vicious if they are raised to be that way by their owners.
In an essay for The New Yorker published in 2006, Malcolm Gladwell explained how pit bulls have been bred to be more aggressive:
“Pit bulls, descendants of the bulldogs used in the nineteenth century for bull baiting and dogfighting, have been bred for ‘gameness,’ and thus a lowered inhibition to aggression… Whereas guard dogs like German shepherds usually attempt to restrain those they perceive to be threats by biting and holding, pit bulls try to inflict the maximum amount of damage on an opponent.”
However, he also pointed out that most pit bulls don’t bite anyone:
“Of course, not all pit bulls are dangerous. Most don’t bite anyone. Meanwhile, Dobermans and Great Danes and German shepherds and Rottweilers are frequent biters as well, and the dog that recently mauled a Frenchwoman so badly that she was given the world’s first face transplant was, of all things, a Labrador retriever.”
Gladwell goes on to quote Carl Herkstroeter, then president of the American Temperament Test Society, as he talks about how pit bulls have good temperament.
“We have tested somewhere around a thousand pit-bull-type dogs. I’ve tested half of them. And of the number I’ve tested I have disqualified one pitbull because of aggressive tendencies,” Herkstroeter said. “They have done extremely well. They have a good temperament. They are very good with children.”
Another writer, Vicki Hearne, pointed out that pit bulls can be excellent service animals:
“There are a lot of pit bulls these days who are licensed therapy dogs. Their stability and resoluteness make them excellent for work with people who might not like a more bouncy, flibbertigibbet sort of dog. When pit bulls set out to provide comfort, they are as resolute as they are when they fight, but what they are resolute about is being gentle. And, because they are fearless, they can be gentle with anybody.”
People who have pit bulls took to Twitter and used the same hashtag to share photos of their loving pets:
My dog Beau is a pit-boxer Mix and EVEN AFTER he was abused and had his ears and tail cut right off of his body at 3 WEEKS OLD, he’s still the sweetest and most playful dog I’ve ever known 🙁 #PitbullDropOff no dog, let alone pit deserves to be treated any less than a blessing pic.twitter.com/1V0UFWmEpC
— coral (@coraIys) May 13, 2018
She was pushed out a vehicle and left. Vet estimated her around 9 months. No shots. No chip. She's attention needy because she never got any. My 7 yr old son and I are keeping her. Fuck you. #PitbullDropOff pic.twitter.com/WbO4e3CQdd
— Trey (@TreyGetsIt) May 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/jzpor/status/996214074156437504
https://twitter.com/kamilahmelson_/status/998274930100727808
https://twitter.com/GraceOddo/status/995646750764470272
https://twitter.com/billypadilla_/status/996581333483884544
Some people have pointed out that #PitbullDropOff is most probably just a hoax created by “fake edge boys trying to get likes”:
Take comfort in knowing that 99% of the #PitbullDropOff posts are fake edge boys trying to get likes.
Reverse image search any of those posts and they’re all pulled from google.
People are nuts but most are too lazy or push to go out and act on there delusions.— Anisa Jomha (@AnisaJomha) May 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/Tarantula152/status/998405179044220929
User @mylocalmango said that while it may have started that way, #PitbullDropOff is giving people ideas:
https://twitter.com/mylocalmango/status/998403521908232192
Several others echoed their support for pit bulls and called for action against those who are killing them:
https://twitter.com/ShalonColeman/status/996086141555265536
https://twitter.com/Y0ung_jaydee/status/995650570747764736
Looking at the #PitbullDropOff tag can be really painful so here's some adorable pit pics to help you smile! (Photographer is Sophie Gamand- if you Google her you can find even more from this series!) pic.twitter.com/IzzgTGmSbU
— sailor (@madokaloid) May 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/TiffanieAnn16/status/995541690164248576
Read more from InqPOP!:
Cambodian couple face charges for skinning and eating protected animals
Dog survives falling into ocean, but later dies after being thrown off a building
This footage of starving sun bears in an Indonesian zoo is too upsetting to watch
PCCI and animal lovers condemn tragic death of 30 dogs at a dog show
A circus in China ties down an endangered tiger so people can ride it and take photos