Dog Attacks: Media Labels Other Breeds as Pit Bulls

RAW DEAL!
It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !
Media sensationalism leads to inaccuracy about dog attacks
by Rhonda Roland Shearer, StinkyJournalism.org
November 11,2008



[ABOVE: KRMG mistakenly used a Rottweiler dog to illustrate a story about a pit bull attack. Why does the press frequently misidentify non-pit bull dog breeds as "pit bulls"?]

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Other Breeds Identified as "Pit Bulls"

The KRMG Local News AP headline blares--“Woman mauled by large pit bull'-- in Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 30, 2008. A photo of a black and brown dog's head accompanied the story. The problem was, the dog that attacked was described by the shelter as white and brown? A further problem was that the dog depicted in the photo, wasn't a pit bull, but a Rottweiler. StinkyJournalism has previously reported on this ongoing media error . The media often sees "mean dogs" as all the same, despite their distinct breed differences .

Indeed, the media loves pit bull news stories. Whether the story is about pit bulls attacking, or on occasion, rescuing people, the pit bull hysteria creates lots of web traffic .

After I informed KRMG editors of their error, the Rottweiler photo quickly disappeared and a notification was posted without explanation: “Editor's Note: Story/picture edited from original post.” But what does this mean?

So was it a pit bull that attacked as the story claimed or was it a Rottweiler ?

Continue reading: It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !

by Rhonda Roland Shearer
source/image: It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !

Canadian Justice? Police Shoot Family's Dogs in Front of Them

Police break in the door and shoot a family's dogs as they watch. A story of Canadian justice north of the border, from the Ottawa Citizen:

Joanne Charlebois said she was spending the evening packing for a move with the help of friends, and her daughters, aged 16 and 19, were studying with a pal, when men in helmets broke down the door of her McArthur Ave apartment.

Charlebois claims officers gave no warning before shooting the dogs, whom she says were gentle mutts who were running away in fear. They left bullet holes in the floor and a casing under the sofa.

"I heard bangs at the front door, they knocked the door in," a weeping Charlebois said. "I thought it was a joke for Halloween.

What happened next is the fear of every person who ponies up money on the American side of the border for the ACLU.

"Then click, boom, boom. My dog (Daisy) was in the air, her legs shaking. Then my dog Maxine came running to me and they blew her head off right next to me.

"They came in and terrorized my household. They killed our dogs ... I'm traumatized, my daughters are traumatized."

The officers kept asking where the cocaine and guns were hidden and tore the place apart.

Maybe it's the libertarian streak, but sometimes, you agree that maybe the ACLU is needed--even if this story did take place in Canada. Even if the ACLU's actions sometimes make you flinch.




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