Everyone believes a good urban legend

I got up close and personal with my neighbor's dog Roadie yesterday.  Roadie is a large, 105 lb Doberman Pinscher.

First off, let me come clean on something for a second.  I have an irrational fear of Dobermans.

See, Dobermans were the dog that people were afraid of when I was a kid in the late 70s.  I've never  been bitten by one of course (the honor of my only dog bite would have been a Chow that's previous owner use to put a rubber band around his mouth to keep him from barking and I was reapplying a rubber band to a newspaper on my paper route and I freaked him out).   

But Roadie (who was sweet as can be) is one of the first Doberman's I've really been around since my childhood.  As I was watching him be a clown, all I could think about was all of the outragious things that I'd heard about Doberman's during my childhood.  I particularly like the story about how Doberman's heads were so small that their brains pushed up against their skull and would cause them to just snap. That of course seems really ridiculous now...especially now that Doberman attacks seem to be few and far between.  But man, everyone "KNEW" that Doberman's heads were too small back in the day.

I imagine that in another 20 years or so, I'll look back at the "locking  jaw" myth about pit bulls, and the thinking that they just snap, and chuckle a little about how stupid people are for believing these silly little myths.  But for now, it's just really annoying that 20 years later, we have a different breed of dog that has stupid mythical traits that we should be scared of and no one seems to get the connection.

Thanks Roadie for the reminder...and for getting me over my irrational fear.

Comments

[Tony]

Prepare to be pissed off! This is real and I got it from the people over at Bully News. I'm going to write a letter to have this person banned because I like to carry personal vendettas against anything that is "Bad for the children!!" Didn't South Park the Movie teach these idiots anything about irrationallty?

You strut along the road with your four-legged magnum by your side.

Leashed, thank goodness.

But menacing nonetheless.

Your pit bull - complete with studded collar - does not impress.

It does not scream macho or gangsta.

All it says is "I'm stubborn enough to own a dog that is inclined to attack and sometimes requires a pry bar because its jaws lock so tight on its prey. I can't afford homeowners insurance because of this risky dog. No neighborhood will allow me in. And I owe thousands in animal-control fines."

That is how pit bull owners should be perceived.

Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite.

To read the rest go to:

http://savannahnow.com/node/298008

So far all I have is; Dear Anne Hart, please play in traffic. Please enjoy these 5 gallons of cows blood that is spilled to keep people from going hunrgy. Just think of it as Pit Bull, since you want to have so much on your hands. Irrational and sick? Yes, but so are you!

-Tony

[Brent]

Tony,

I edited the story down -- people can continue to the link you posted if they need (it's the last story from the roundup yesterday - -and yes, I understand not everyone has time to read all the links).

I do recommend trying to write a "nice" letter...as much as it irritates me that people can write really ignorant editorials and get by with it, writing something hateful and angry will only provide "proof" for this woman that her opinion of bully owners is "fact". It's not worth feeding the dragon...when the same point can be made with a factual and heartfelt note...although I certainly understand your anger...

[Tony]

Can do, after all, pit bulls saved my life. The letter I'm working on, along with a lot of others for the govenor and a few mayors here are more civil.

[Dianne Singer]

I'm with you, Brent, factual and reasoned works much better and plays better in the public eye.

Tony, there's so much fact available about bully breeds to refute this woman's uninformed opinion (probably based solely on media reports), that once the anger passes it's easy to write a rebuttal. I understand your anger, I was furious myself but knew that writing in that state wouldn't accomplish anything positive so I walked away from it for a day until I calmed down and could write something that worked. Good luck with your letters!

[michelle]

I too have an irrational fear of Dobies, not because of myths but because I was attacked by four when i was growing up. Entirely the owners fault and I know dogs should not be judged by their breed but it's still there maybe one day I will get over it.