Friday, June 22, 2012

The Real Bully

Today, I took one of my most favorite dogs in all the world, pit bull and precious love-head Lucy, to Washington Park in Denver. After our walk around the park, my friend Cheryl and I - along with Cheryl's adult male German Shepard Duke, and a Boxer-Shepard mix named Ruby - sat outside a coffee shop called Washington Perk. All three of the dogs, tired, wet and happy from playing in the creek at the park, laid or sat on the sidewalk watching passers by and enjoying the sunshine.

Having not been in Colorado for 6+ years, I had forgotten about Colorado's SICK and WRONG Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), in other words, its ban against any dog that resembles a pit bull. In my temporary state of blissful ignorance, I marveled at how enlightened it seemed so many of the coffee shop goers were. In two or three separate instances, parents of young children - toddlers even - brought their little ones over to meet the dogs. They reminded their children to be cautious, put out the backs of their hands for the dogs to smell, and approach cautiously. But not once did anyone pause or hesitate before giving and receiving love from Duke, Lucy and Ruby. I observed these awesome parents teaching their kids how to properly and safely interact with dogs, and (most importantly) not teaching them to FEAR. The kids smiled and laughed as the dogs got in some petting. Lucy, in particular, got in as many licks as she could, because she loves giving people kisses.

As I sit here tonight, having been reminded of the pit bull ban in CO, and doing some further investigating online, I feel a sense of urgency - and RAGE - over the unfairness and stupidity of Breed Specific Legislation in all its forms. I am ashamed of my home state, especially since CO is seemingly such a dog-friendly state. As long as this kind of injustice is perpetrated against any breed of dog singled out as "highly dangerous", all Coloradans, all citizens of Humankind, remain part of an inexcusable problem.

I've been horrified, reading stories online of hundreds of innocent family pets being hauled away by animal control and gassed to death for absolutely no reason; victims of a new holocaust.

I wept just now when Lucy sauntered into the room, being her most amazing and loving and precious self, and came over to share her one-of-a-kind affection. As a dog, Lucy knows nothing of the travesty unfolding at the expense of her "kind". She is happy and exists for the purpose of loving and teaching people. And, while I have known and loved literally hundreds of dogs in my life...Lucy is special among the special.

The mere THOUGHT that someone could snatch her from her home and MURDER HER, for no other reason than the physical (visible) manifestation of her genetic code, reminds me that we must FIGHT FOR THE BULLIES on this one, and get this ludicrous law and others like it overturned.