Unlike other breeds, Pitbulls are being abandoned at alarming rate | Top points
India Today
Pitbulls and their related breeds are being abandoned at a higher rate than any other dog breed because people buy Pitbull puppies without understanding the breed specifications and cross checking the bloodline.
The Lucknow incident where a Pitbull dog allegedly mauled his elderly female owner to death has again put the breed in a bad light. However, activists say, that people are adopting or buying Pitbull puppies without understanding the breed specifications and cross checking the bloodline.
Pitbulls and their related breeds are being adopted and abandoned at a higher rate than any other dog breed, which is why most of the abandoned dogs in dog shelters across the national capital region (NCR) are Pitbull or its related breed.
American Staffordshire Bull Terriers (Amstaffs), a sub breed of Pitbulls, are used as nanny dogs for small children as they are loving and caring to human children.
"Any dog breed cannot be tagged as dangerous to humans. Its wrong. People don't understand the breed and still buy Pitbulls from illegal breeders. They then fail to understand their needs and when they become aggressive, they dump them in shelters. We have many dogs that have been abandoned for being aggressive, and most of them are Pitbulls or its Cross," said Sanjay Mohapatra, founder, House of Strays, Noida.
"People often take dogs as status symbols after watching some music album without understanding their breed specifications. Working dogs can do good as family pets if they are trained from an early stage. One should never buy a pedigree, especially guard dogs, as a status symbol if they don't understand their needs," said Mohapatra.
The nanny dogs (Amstaffs) are a sub-breed of Pitbulls. Since they were bred to guard children, they have a kind nature. They are costly and least abandoned among Pitbull breeds.
"There are people who buy Pitbulls inspired by Punjabi songs where they are depicted as status symbols or a symbol of masculinity. The owners must understand that a Pitbull is opposite to a Labrador. Every dog breed is different. People in large numbers are buying Pitbulls from illegal breeders and then abandoning them as they are not able to handle them. This is really bad for society and the dogs," said Abhinav Srihan, a renowned animal rights activist and rescuer in Delhi.
