Hello Richard,   
      
   >LL>The problem is, most folks who own pit bulls (and certain other   
   >LL>large breeds) do so for illegal activities (dog fighting).  The   
   >LL>vocal cords of these dogs are usually cut so the dogs will not be   
   >LL>able to make a sound when wounded in a fight.   
      
   >LL>Oh, some of those folks are very bright.  Bright enough to   
   >LL>know how to make money in a sickening "sport".  Also bright   
   >LL>enough to make themselves (and their dogs) scarce when the   
   >LL>law finds out about their nefarious activities.   
      
   RW>Yeeah maybe, but this thing that adopted his cousin's   
   RW>rottie in cednter city N.O. might have been cunning, but   
   RW>bright doesn't describe this dim bulb.  Standing him against   
   RW>a wall and shooting him would have been neighborhood improvement.   
   RW>The average intelligence of the enighborhood would have immediately   
   RW>gone up about 50 points.   
      
   You could have bought him a one-way bus ticket to Arkansas,   
   thus ending up with the same result.  :)   
      
   >RW>INdeed, I've known some well behaved pitbulls, their owners   
   >RW>are usually people of intelligence who properly trained the   
   >RW>dog.   
      
   >LL>There is a big difference between *responsible* dog owners   
   >LL>and nincompoops.   
      
   RW>INdeed there is, and usually responsible dog owners have   
   RW>the intellectual capacity to understand what's going on   
   RW>around them and govern themselves accordingly.   
      
   Talking about dimbulbs and nincompoops, the following story   
   is a recent case of what NOT to do -   
      
   A 91-year-old woman was outside tending to her garden, with   
   her miniature shnauzer by her side.  Two houses down, a teenager   
   stepped outside to take his dog for a walk.  The teenager had   
   a pit pull, and when that pit bull saw that miniature shnauzer   
   it was love at first bite.  After taking a nibble of flesh   
   from "Geaux Sport" (the name of the miniature shnauzer), some   
   neighbors pulled the pit bull away, and called animal control.   
   The local police also arrived, taking the boy away for not   
   being able to control his dog.   
      
   The boy's parents were called, who picked up their kid at the   
   police station.  Animal control had picked up the pit bull, and   
   was housing it at the pound.   
      
   Ten days later, animal control released the dog to the boy's   
   parents, who then returned the dog to their son, telling him he   
   was not allowed to keep the dog at that house (the boy was   
   living alone at one of his parent's houses).   
      
   The next day, the old woman was outside tending to her garden,   
   with her stitched-up miniature shnauzer by her side.  The teenager   
   stepped outside to take his newly-returned pit bull for a walk.   
   And when that pit bull saw that miniature shnauzer it was love   
   all over again.  Only this time, the pit bull took off a much   
   bigger chunk of flesh than the first time, sending Geaux Sport   
   straight to the graveyard.  Not only that, but the pit bull   
   also dedided to get seconds, biting off a chunk of flesh from   
   the old woman's arm.   
      
   Neighbors arrived as quickly as they could, pulling the pit   
   bull off the old woman.  Animal control arrived to pick up both   
   dogs (the dead miniature shnauzer and the very much alive pit   
   pull).  Police picked up the boy to keep him safe from the   
   neighbors.  The pit bull was then euthanized by animal control   
   so that a third incident would not take place.   
      
   The old woman asked that criminal charges be dropped against   
   the boy, since she felt sorry for him and he did not know any   
   better.  The court decided to convict him of a misdemeanor,   
   sentencing him to a few hours of community service.  The old   
   woman then tried to sue the boy's insurance company, but the   
   courts ruled that the boy's parents were not liable because   
   the parents told the boy he could not to keep the dog at home   
   (the court reasoned that the boy merely disobeyed his parents).   
      
   Where is justice in all of this?  The old woman lost her   
   dog.  The boy also lost his dog.  The woman was not allowed   
   any compensation for the loss of her dog, or for medical   
   expenses incurred.  The boy was not allowed any compensation   
   either, and was even forced to spend time in community service.   
   The boy's parents got off the hook completely, not having   
   to pay a dime to anybody.   
      
   What laws are there to keep folks from owning a pet?  What laws are   
   there to keep folks from making babies? Is it possible for a free and   
   open society to have such laws? Should a free and open society have   
   such laws?  Why, or why not?   
      
   >RW>Indeed they do, and it's the irresponsible ones who give   
   >RW>certain breeds undeserved reputations.   
      
   >LL>For the most part, that is true.  However, the only difference   
   >LL>between dogs that most folks are aware of is "big" and "small". In   
   >LL>that sense, all "big" dogs are dangerous, and all "small" dogs   
   >LL>(except for chihuahuas) are nice and friendly.   
      
   RW>I've never met a chihuahua I liked .  But, I guess if i   
   RW>were small enough to be crushed to death in one average   
   RW>person's hand I'd be rather vicious too.   
      
   The Taco Bell chihuahua is dead.  Maybe that is a good thing.   
   Maybe not.  But it sure knew how to make commercials.   
      
   >LL>Rottweillers are an old breed, used extensively by Romans.   
   >LL>Just because they have the physical ability to eat you alive does   
   >LL>not mean they cannot be trained to serve man.   
      
   >RW>MIne is very good.  If Kathy's blood sugar goes wacky in   
   >RW>the middle of the night, she wakes Kathy.  if the   
   >RW>electricity goes off and the oxygen concentrator no longer   
   >RW>pushes air into her nose and i need to switch Kathy to a tank,   
   >RW>the Rottweiler wakes me.  They were bred to be mountain herding   
   >RW>dogs.   
      
   >LL>Not all dogs have a good temperament.  And not all dogs are   
   >LL>well-trained.  And some dogs are just plain stupid.  Labradors often   
   >LL>come to mind in the dumb category.   
      
   RW>  Have seen that.  i had a shepherd/lab mix that was   
   RW>dumb as a post years ago.   
      
   Joe Biden says his favorite breed is a lab.  Remember that,   
   just in case you ever meet Joe face to face.  He is especially   
   fond of yellow labs.  Much more so than black labs.  He said   
   so himself.  Although I am sure he likes many other breeds   
   as well.   
      
   >RW>Indeed, play is a reward, as well as a way to "blow off   
   >RW>steam" and we use it as such.   
      
   >LL>Daschshunds can jump high.  Very high.  One of my friends   
   >LL>had trained his daschshund to jump on command, to go after   
   >LL>a guy's family jewels.  I thought he was joking when he   
   >LL>told me about that.  Fortunately I was on some steps when   
   >LL>he had the dog prove me wrong, as I escaped becoming a   
   >LL>eunuch by a fraction of an inch.   
      
   RW>   
   >>> Continued to next message   
      
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