It’s nice to see that Mel Rothenburger has not allowed facts and figures to get in the way of a perfectly good paranoia. His obsession with pit bulls is an ongoing theme for him. The last time I read an opinion on pits some years ago he likened them to loaded firearms in public. Now he continues his tirade.

Based on the story presented I have a few questions:

1. What was the body language of the dog which “slammed” up against the gate? Presumably since you have a dog you have at least a passing familiarity in this area.

2. Do you have a specific location for pit bulls to play and socialize if not with other dogs in parks you attend?

3. “Some people” strongly advise against going to dog parks. Who are these people? Are they all as open minded as you?

4. Were you aware of the facts of the Calgary dog park incident? Perhaps a little fact checking might be in order prior to your colourful descriptions.

5. Does the one expert whose article you read have a name and any sort of credentials? Was this article entitled “Hey Mel here is some more fuel for your paranoia”?

A study performed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the CDC, and the Humane Society of the United States, analyzed dog bite statistics from the last 20 years and found that the statistics don’t show that any breeds are inherently more dangerous than others. This was the conclusion published by the CDC on April 1, 2008.

www.cdc.gov/.../dog-bites/dogbite-factsheet.html

I cited studies in my last reply to your pit bull articles and was wondering if you bothered to check them out.

The greatest danger of territorial dogs still rests with open males. In an article published by John C. Wright, PhD of Mercer University, where he cites 59 references, 70-76% of all dog bites and 80% of all serious bites are inflicted by intact males between the ages of three to four years. www.thedogspecialist.com/

Rothenburger’s article is filled with non-sequiturs, generalizations, red herrings and false analogies. Perhaps a little fact checking and less fear mongering will put this topic in the proper light. Perhaps continuing to cross the street and avoiding dog parks where all breeds of happy dogs are enjoying themselves is a good move. No point in spoiling everyone’s day.

DAVE DURAND

Calgary