"I wish those vicious creatures could be banned." ***WARNING: GRAPHIC***

[Scootaloo]

64. Do you have difficulty telling the difference between an object and an animal?

I hope you're not a pet owner, if so.

What I want from advocates of breed bans to do is, first, take a comprehensive test to see if they can tell breeds and "types" ("pit bull" being the latter rather than the former) apart via appearances. This test will be more comprehensive than this one, including unrecognized breeds, mongrels, and whatnot. Consider that I'm a fan of pit bulls and it took me three tries to get the correct animal.

For those who pass this test - and this will be in the double digits - I want each of them to volunteer at a shelter for two weeks, minimum. I want them to be the one who clips the leash to the dog's collar and brings them to the room to have the animal euthanized. And I want them to stand there, and keep a tally. They don't have to administer the injection or handle the animal aside from leashing it, they just have to watch. And then go get the next one when it's time. And the one after that. Hell, keep three tallies; one tally of every dog brought to the table; a second tally for each of those dogs that could reasonably be mistaken for a pit bull; and a third tally for each of those animals the ban advocate truly believed needed to be destroyed.

If you're going to advocate something, you need to first know what you're advocating, and second, you need to know the product of the advocacy.

I've been that volunteer. And I can tell you, if every single gun on earth were cast into a smelter never to be seen again, I would not shed a single tear for a single one of them. I can't say the same for the dogs I've had to take care of.