I read with interest your letter concerning no-kill shelters and dog fighting and however well-intended your comments, they are somewhat misguided.
My husband and I have been volunteers for the Tompkins County New York SPCA for five years. The Tompkins County SPCA is the top no-kill shelter in the nation. We, and dozens like us, serve as foster families for dogs and cats who need medical care or retraining in order to be ready for waiting "forever" homes. Without us, no-kill shelters would not be possible. So, contrary to what you've said, these dogs and cats do not wait around in kennels for years, rather they wait around for a few weeks in caring homes, with love, training, and room to run and play until an adopter is found.
I really don't care what they do with Mr. Vick as long as he's made to serve time for breaking the law and never allowed to own animals of any kind. We, as a society, keep child abusers away from our children. Mr. Vick is an abuser and should be kept away from those he's abused.
I agree that we are lopsided in our disdain for the abuse of animals while we go on killing the unborn. Hypocrisy runs rampant in this country and for that we must look within ourselves, to those we elect, and to the God that we must hold ourselves accountable to. Until we do, hypocrisy will go unchecked.
Pit-bulls were not created by man; they were created by God, just as He created every creature. The Pit has been around for centuries, and is loyal, protective of his home and family, and loving. Unfortunately, man has learned that this dog's attributes can be turned against him and used for our own selfish and barbaric interests. In my five-plus years of fostering and rehabilitating dogs, I've rehabilitated many with aggression issues; however, not one has even been a Pit. The Pits that I have rehabilitated have come to me with fear issues because someone tried to turn them into something they didn't want to be. I have three dogs - a Saint Bernard, a Lab and a Pit. My Pit is the best dog I've ever had - he came to me as a foster, terrified and bald due to neglect and malnourishment. I kept him and 18 months later I wouldn't trade him for anything. He's loyal, loving and a ball of laughs. I trust him more than I trust most people. Pits, and all breeds of dogs, like guns left in the wrong hands with the wrong intentions, can be dangerous, and we as a society are responsible for creating the environment where both are now the norm and the abuse thereof, acceptable. I urge you, Mr. Kitson, to spend time with a Pit that hasn't been exploited and abused for man's depraved need for violence.
