As I was wrapping up my walk with my human friend Rich in Cambridge, Mass., the other day, we saw a neighbor, whose political suggestion for the day was, "Say no to measures banning pit bulls!"
While I was unable to contribute to the debate that followed, I thought Rich advocated my position very well, which is that some pit bulls are dangerous enough that they might require being banned.
Case in point: A few weeks ago, I was out with Rich on the North Cambridge bike path when we saw a pit bull with its owner ... or rather, without its owner. The dog had slipped out of his owner's grasp and fixed its eyes on me. In seconds, it caught up to me as Rich was trying to lift me up to safety. Luckily, it seemed all bark and no bite, as a trip to the Porter Square vet confirmed that it had not made contact with me. Rich did some barking himself at the owner when she caught up to her dog and, thankfully, led it away.
I have not seen either the dog or its owner since then, but this incident has made me more aware of the dangers of pit bulls ... or, to be fair, of the dangers of irresponsible people who own pit bulls.
The problem with pit bulls is that they are strong dogs ... strong enough to escape the grip of their owners. They can also be aggressive. There is another, very vocal pit bull on the bike path who frequently gets into disputes with other dogs. Muscle and aggression -- a "weapon of mass destruction," if you will -- make for a dangerous combination, especially when whoever's in charge of it doesn't know how to use it responsibly. (Kim Jong Un, this might have parallels to you and your nukes!)
Rich and our neighbor got into a spirited debate on what to do when confronted by a pit bull on a mission. Rich said that if he had tried to intervene, his arm might have gotten chewed up worse than a fake doggie bone. Our neighbor suggested wearing a hockey glove on dog-walks to bop a mean pit bull on the head.
My vet also suggested throwing a rock at an attacking pit bull ... splashing it with water from a bottle ... and lifting up a dog that's attacked by a pit bull.
Pit bulls and Westies like myself are both part of the terrier family ... so I cannot completely condemn this breed. However, I can condemn irresponsible owners.
Responsible politicians, from President Obama to Mass. Gov. Patrick to would-be Massachusetts senators (this means you, Ed Markey and Steve Lynch ... as well as Messrs. Garcia, Sullivan and Winslow), should support measures that would require owners of pit bulls to take some sort of certification course in responsibility. After all, if we made Michael Vick, a man who trained pit bulls to fight, jump through all these hoops to own a dog again, we certainly shouldn't make it easy for all those rushing to buy a pit bull.
Daisy is a West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass.
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