Letter to the Editor: County Deserves Support For Policy on Pit Bulls

Thursday, May 14, 2009

As someone whose work involves rescuing pit bulls from abuse, I thank Loudoun County for protecting them by not adopting them out haphazardly ["Two-Day Trial Challenges County's Policy on Euthanizing Pit Bulls," Metro section, May 7].

We all wish for happy endings, but pit bull adoptions often end in tragedy.

Every day, PETA staff members meet sad and lonely pit bulls that have been trapped for years at the ends of heavy chains with nothing but bare patches of dirt and plastic barrels for shelter (if they're lucky), trembling in fear, full of heartworms, their ribs protruding, and scarred all over from fights.

In winter, they shiver from the cold; in summer, they are eaten alive by flies, fleas and ticks. They are often physically abused and starved, sometimes to death, for losing in illegal dogfights or for being "bad guards" and "not mean enough."

Nice families rarely visit shelters in search of pit bulls, and pit bulls from unknown backgrounds don't always make good family additions.

No one wants to end the euthanasia of animals at shelters more than those holding the syringe, but supplying pit bulls for dogfights and to those seeking macho status symbols and cheap security systems isn't a solution. Spaying and neutering to prevent more pit bulls from coming into the world is.

Loudoun should be supported in its fight to do the right thing for animals. To learn more, visit www.helpinganimals.com.

Daphna Nachminovitch, Vice president, Cruelty Investigations Department, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

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