America's Lil Gripper

a roll of the dice

"These dogs were bred to fight to death, bite harder, get stronger and be tougher. This breed is what is known as pit bulls. They get the name from the dogs being placed in pits to fight each other. These dogs weren't bred for intelligence, to be docile or make good pets. They were made to kill another man's dog. I have seen some pits that are really nice dogs. I have a friend who has one that will lick you to death. But you never know when a pit will go back to what it is bred to do. Some never do go back and continue to be good pets. However, it's a roll of the dice and you never know how they will fall. Statistics shows, that most will turn on their owners and usually a child of the owner. Some of them turn on who ever is handy when they decide to snap. Some say all dogs will bite and that is true, but pits are more likely to mall and finish the job if they can, and other breeds bite and run or back off. Pits can't be blamed, it was what they were made to do."

Cave City, Arkansas Police Chief Nate Stephens


Woman killed by family pit bull prompts Cave City dog ordinance

Dog fighting officiando on the gentle nature of pit dogs

From Richard Stratton's book The World of the American Pit Bull Terrier, 1983.

Apparently Stratton is not familiar with the sad story of John P Colby's nephew, Bert Colby Leadbetter.  OR, Stratton is familiar and he doesn't care.

But, but but... Petey was a pit bull!

"Our Gang" Movie Dog, Killed in Norco

Dead from the bullets of an unknown assassin in Norco is Pete, one of the most famous dogs in the world. Owned by J. M. Robertson of 550 Fourth Street, Norco, Pete is known to everyone as the white bulldog with the black eye in the Hal Roach "Our Gang" comedies.

Mrs. Robertson said that Pete had never been a vicious dog and that their little boy, Montie, 5, had learned to walk by hanging on to "Pete". The pet was "just like a member of the family" and the Robertsons feel keenly over his having been killed.

Pete's buckshot riddled body was found a few feet from the Robertson home, a trail of blood behind him indicating that he was trying to return home. Apparently he had been fired on at close range.

The dog was given to Mrs. Robertson's father, E. R. Lloyd, 550 East Fourth Street, by Hal Roach studios where Lloyd worked 14 years. He gave the dog to his daughter's family because the children liked him so well.

Corona Daily Independent April 8, 1946

Imagine that. A well trained pit bulldog, passed from one owner to another, described as a valued family member, complete with heart warming tales of how wonderful he was with kids AND one of the owners makes a point to say that he has never been vicious (the lady doth protest too much!), is found dead of lead poisoning. The body was found off of its property and heading for home with a trail of blood (leading to dead sheep?).

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

america's dog

kicks ass on any continent in any language.

vintage bad rap

1892 Bulldogs Unsafe Pets

Training and environment does not follow the bulldog through history, genetics does. ~Dawn James

It is a singular fact that some people will insist in making a pet of so dangerous and ferocious a beast as a blood hound or bull dog.  There are species of dogs that are kind and intelligent, faithful to their master, and such are a pleasure to have about one's self.  But of all the mean, vicious and savage dogs there is none that will equal the bull dog or the blood hound.  And yet in spite of their ferocity we frequently see the fact stated that persons have taken them into their into their households and are endeavoring to make family pets of them.  There may be isolated cases where they succeed in taming and subduing these brutes to a certain extent, but we do not believe they will ever entirely forget their fierce and brutal instinct, and the result is that quite frequently persons are severely bitten by them.

In New York city yesterday a boy was attacked by a blood hound, as he entered a gentleman's yard for the purpose of getting a drink of water, and was bitten in a terrible, probably fatal manner.  Several weeks ago an estimable lady of Reading was sitting at home in the parlor when a bull dog, that had been kept in the family, made an unprovoked attack upon her and bit her so badly that she may be maimed for life.

We have noticed several similar cases in other places during the past month, and the surprising feature is that persons will persist in trying to tame these dogs or to make pets of them.  Due regard for personal safety as well as the safety of the community would teach anyone the unwisdom of any such attempt, and in this respect our laws should be strictly enforced.  There are evils enough in every community without that of ferocious dogs being added to them.

Lebanon Daily News, PA, June 4 1892.

The "savage blood hound" mentioned in the article is the Cuban Bloodhound generally believed to be a mastiff and bulldog mix, not the true English Bloodhound.  They were created for the express purpose of attacking people.  Read about them at The TRUTH About Pit Bulls blog.

In the spirit of fairness

I tried to research Great Dane attacks. They were once a bugaboo breed, so I assumed I would find quite a few. I was wrong.

Googling "Great Dane attacks" yields 16 results. By comparison, bull terrier attack yields 52 results and pit bulldog yields 125 results. The "Great Dane attacks" results are as follows:
1. a Sept 1899 human fatality featured x3 in those 16 hits
2. lion baiting with a Great Dane -June 1899
3. a savage non fatal attack - Aug 1904
4. a savage non fatal attack - March 1907
5. a savage non fatal attack - Oct 1905
6. brief mention of german training a great dane to attack anyone in a french uniform - Sept 1899
7. multiple attacks by one Great Dane (they sounded like minor injuries) - Oct 1897
8. a Great Dane attacked a flock of sheep (it was shot) - June 1906
9. attack on two kids - March 1908
10. attack on a theater procession was featured x2 - Nov 1904
11. minor attack - Jan 1905
12. attack - June 1898

By far my favorite of the lot was from the Evening Star May 12, 1897.
13. the attack by a "mongrel bull terrier" on a Great Dane and the bull terrier owner shot the Great Dane.

Just another case of your everyday run of the mill psychopathic pit bull owner - Mr William E. Prall Jr.

Gustav Erni's Great Dane was attacked by the bull terrier belonging to his cousin,William Prall. Mr Erni secured his aunt's small white dog before attempting to break up the fight. He returned just in time to find his Great Dane had been shot by his cousin from the balcony.

William Prall was tried for the shooting. Prall denied shooting the Great Dane and called an "expert" to testify on behalf of the bull terrier, stating that it is peaceable and good natured child's pet. The prosecutor interjected, "The law makes all bull dogs vicious, per se." 

Once it had been determined that Prall was guilty of the shooting the Great Dane, Prall changed his story. His lawyer stated that Prall had to shoot the Great Dane in order to save his bull terrier and "no cruelty had been perpetrated." 

This scenario has been faithfully playing out for over 100 years, well, except for the part about the law designating bulldogs vicious. That is rapidly changing.

Racism is the Pits

Real dogmans writes Real poetrys

"REAL dogmans"

The pit is my playground…got stamina like a greyhound
I bite down hard…got a grip like no other hound
I`ve met opponents that bite down harder
I live to tell these tales coz I shaked my opponents till they were lifeless
Got a hard body almost as hard as my will
All that’s in my mind is `kill’
I’m the machine the grim ripper made
Mankind made me game
I`ll fight till the last breath…I aint scared of death
I`ll complete any given task…failure aint an option
The pit is like a surgery room and my jaws working on my opponents flesh is the operation
Aint no pain killers for this…game is my anaesthetic
I’m built to last an hour in battle
But as long as my game stay on I’m like boiling kettle
I push to two hours or more if I have to
All my opponents was game but I was gamer than them
I aint scared of anything…throw me a 5 time winner I will put him six feet under
Throw me an Ace I will show him no grace
Look at my face im a mother fvcking Game-Dog