Is anyone else upset with Animal Planets Animal Cops?

[nasek718]

Animal Planet really needs to keep this show off the air. The APBT is not getting any possitive press from this show. All I've seen thus far are a bunch of people who are killing a breed one by one under the guise that the are helping the breed by getting them away from the irresponsible owners. Instead of trying to find a foster home or adoptive family they nurse the sick dogs back to health and then kill them under their DSL. I for one hate the light that this show spins on the breed. The show is primarly filmed in one of 4 locals. New York City, Houston, Miami-Dade, and good old Detroit. All of which have a shoot first ask questions second when it comes to Bully breeds. Not every Pit bull found is aggresive. More often than not they just want a lap to rest on. If anyone else has seen this show and dislikes it please let me know. I posted this in breedings by accident so if you read it before sorry.

[__crazy_canine__]

I completely agree with you! I hate the Detroit and Miami shows! They are awful!!! Animal Precinct is great and Animal Cops Houston is ok but the other two are horrible... especially Miami Animal Police. :evil: Pit bulls arent bad dogs and no matter what the situation they make them look mean.

There was one episode where there was two pit bulls in a car together and the female was in heat. The male was acting aggressively because of that but they made it seem like he was doing that just because he was a pit bull! :roll: Luckily their woner found them a new home before they could be PTS.

Detroit makes me really angry because they say pit bulls are too dangerous to adopt out. I guess I can understand wanting to make sure people are safe but not ALL bullies are mean. They dont even give them a chance to prove themselves through a temperment test or anything! Poor pits. :cry:

[nasek718]

It's like all of their field opps or (joke cops as I like to call them) in 30 seconds asses these dogs and determine that the dog on a leash on it's property is aggressive to everyone. Any dog on it's own terf is aggressive to strangers. Now don't get me wrong the owners found guilty of neglect should be delt with accordingly but the dog is the innocent. It just wants to be loved. One or two of them care like the two officers in NY but even they say their hands are tied. :(

[AllAmericanPUP]

Animal cops Miami and Detroit SUCK.
Those people have no business working in animal control!

The only one I love is Animal Precinct, THEY ROCK!!!
Animal cops Houston is Ok.

[science_doc]

I don't want to try and defend the Detroit shelters, but.......I am under the impression that there is a HUGE problem with dog fighting rings here. I suspect that these over-crowded under-funded shelters don't want to risk trying to separate the aggressive versus non-agressive dogs. There isn't even any money in the city of Detroit to knock down abandonded houses, much less deal properly with animal control issues. I also wonder what would happen should some unsuspecting/unprepared owner who can't even take care of their children accidentally be given a dog that is not suitable for adoption with children? Wouldn't these types of situations create far WORSE press for the normally wonderful breeds? I think everyone here would agree that not everyone is a "good" bully type dog owner and shleters don't seem to be the type of facility best suited for placing difficult dogs. Just my humble opinion of course :-?

[pLaurent]

I hate Animal Planet, period!

Everything from the glorification of backyard breeders on the sickening "That's My Baby", to the all-out stupid and ignorant comments ("Killer bees are the pit bulls of the insect world" and "Tasmanian Devils are the pit bulls of the marsupial world") bug me no end!! :evil:

[cheekymunkee]

[quote name='pLaurent']I hate Animal Planet, period!

Everything from the glorification of backyard breeders on the sickening "That's My Baby", to the all-out stupid and ignorant comments ("Killer bees are the pit bulls of the insect world" and "Tasmanian Devils are the pit bulls of the marsupial world") bug me no end!! :evil:[/quote]

I agree!! I have sticken A.P. from my remote. I blocked the entire channel from my line up!

Debby

[katetsai]

I stop watching Animal Pricint because it's just too sad. Everytime I keep imagine my princess being the dog that's in the horrible condition :evil: :cry: , then I started to tear up.
I don't normally watch animal planet anyway, although I did find one good show I sometimes watch on Animal Planet call "Cell Dog". Anyone else watch that?

[Carolk9s]

While I DO agree that uneducated statements regarding any breed of dog are wrong, I have to say, until I have walked in their shoes, day after day, and seen what they see daily, I find it hard to too judge them too harshly.
The animal control agents are enforcing the existing laws in their county, they may agree with the laws, or they may not. They have a job to do, a horrendous job in most cases. I don't think I could stomach the abuse, neglect, and cruelty they witness time after time after time.
I see how much some of them care and hurt when they see especially horrific abuse and neglect cases. I see their anger at the mistreatment of helpless animals. No, they are not all saints, no they are not always correct, but education is the key. In another thread, I spoke of how the pit bull has an 'image problem'. The image THEY see time after time may be far different what what we see. There are reasons that many see the pit bull as a potentially vicious dog, it's the image that has been created and continues to build as more pit bulls are used for dog fighting, more pit bulls are used to guard crack houses, and of course the media plays a role, sensationalizing attacks by dogs that either are pit bulls or are labeled as such.
Calm, deliberate education is critical. However, since one cannot snap ones fingers and do away with the thugs who fight dogs, use their dogs to guard their drug houses, or those who breed unstable dogs which may at some point attack a person, there is a huge uphill battle for those who love the breed and want to see it given it's due.

[imported_Debbie]

Excellent Carol !! :wink:

[courtnek]

I like Animal Precinct. I am especially fond of Anne Marie Lucas, who does tours trying to get the word out to people about how to properly treat their dogs. The ruling in detroit is NOT made by the animal cops, but by the shelter itself. I heard that they got burned in a bad lawsuit after adopting out a Pit that turned aggressive and bit a child. Dont know how true that actually is. Now I know not all Pit's are like that, but they cant afford the lawsuits under any circumstances. I know I have heard both Lucas and the other lady say they are sorry about the rule before.

I really like cell dogs. That show rocks.

[Guest Anonymous]

[img]http://www.scottedwardsphotography.com/edit5.jpg[/img]

[cheekymunkee]

[img]http://www.blizzardbeast.com/stuff/intresting.jpg[/img]

[JackieMaya]

I like all of the Animal Cpps/Animal Precinct shows on Animal Planet. I think they do a great job of bringing the issue of animal abuse out into the open. I just wish they were able to prosecute more abusers.

Sure, they might not have all their facts straight about different breeds, but they're passionate about stopping animal abuse.

I think they all rock!

[Guest Mutts4Me]

[quote name='science_doc']I don't want to try and defend the Detroit shelters, but.......I am under the impression that there is a HUGE problem with dog fighting rings here. I suspect that these over-crowded under-funded shelters don't want to risk trying to separate the aggressive versus non-agressive dogs. There isn't even any money in the city of Detroit to knock down abandonded houses, much less deal properly with animal control issues. [/quote]

I'm always repeating myself almost everytime someone attacks the MHS policy regarding pits, but I too don't want anyone to think I'm defending them either, because it's a highly disturbing situation.

So many people say that the MHS should try to find foster homes, work more with the animals, and just generally do more than they do. But I don't think many people realize the state that Detroit is in. There are good parts, but most areas are deplorable, and you're right, there isn't enough funding for special AC programs.

What's also hard to understand is the HUGE dogfighting problem there is there. I've heard someone on this board - who isn't from Michigan - call Michigan the Dogfighting Capitol, USA. I didn't realize that before it was said, but once I read it, it made perfect sense. Detroit's the worst in MI, but many big-ish cities (my own included) have horrible problems with it as well. And these aren't "dogmen" who have special "game dog" breeding programs, use only the best dogs, and condition their dogs. These are the lowest scum ever to own a dog. They're chained in the backyard, starved and abused to make them mean, and discarded if they prove a loser. They're not from anywhere, they're TRAINED to fight using bait dogs. They're taught hatred.

So sure, placing a fighter into a home could be dangerous to people. Placing any stray could potentially be dangerous, though. In almost Animal Cops episodes I've seen where a fight ring is busted, the control officers have been able to carry dogs out or walk them without any signs of human aggression. So IMO, if a proper home could be found to place an animal-agressive, ex-fighting pit bull, it wouldn't be anymore dangerous than placing any other stray dog the shelter's only had for a couple days. (We actually had a debate in the Debates forum some time ago regarding th placement of ex-fighters, so if you'd like to take a stand on this issue, that would be a better place)

But finding a PROPER home is the problem. And I don't mean someone with the proper fencing and willing to take special precautions in public. I mean that the majority of the people in areas where dogfighting is so strong who're looking for a Pit Bull want them to fight, or as bait. They do. I mean, a dog fight is broken up, the dogs confinscated. Won't take too long before a bunch of people in the fighting ring know about it, and they're going to go straight to the place that took 'em, either trying to claim them as theirs (they've showed it happening) or "adopt" them. How to screen them? How to know?

So maybe just PTS the ex-fighters? But let me try to emphasize the fact that Detroit is overflowing with Pit Bulls, and most of the folks who own them don't take care of them, so pet pits are coming in as strays, and litters of puppies are turning up. And they're good dogs. But what better place for a dog fighter to look for their next fighting dog, or some good bait for their up-and-coming fighters? Go to a breeder who tries to sell puppies for a couple hundred, or go to the local shelter and pay a small adoption fee for a bigger, more fightable dog? Hmm.

Now, I've already said I don't like to watch Animal Cops because of the doomed Pit Bulls. It's heartbreaking, and I hate it. And I'm very much opposed to people spewing lies on national TV (but come on, half the shows on AP can't even bring themselves to use the name "Pit Bull." Petey from Little Rascals was described as a "Bull Terrier").

But all of you Pit Bull owners try for a second to imagine you're in a city where on every block or so there's a house dealing drugs and fighting dogs. Pits are stolen out of backyards, and kids meet on street corners to fight dogs that may or may not be their own, just for fun or maybe a little bit of money. Your dog gets lost in that city (who knows why you're there or how it got lost). Your precious baby gets taken into the Humane Society (obviously, you don't know this at the time, or else you'd go claim them). After the waiting period for claims is up, would you rather your dog take its chance in the Adoption area, where god-knows-who could be waiting, or would you rather they be humanely euthanized?

I plan on having a Pit Bull in the next few years, and I don't know that I could give a firm answer on that. In Flint, our AC has all pits PTS, but our Humane Society adopts them out. I've seen some recently-adopted pit puppies and thought how great it was that they got a home, but there's always a little voice in the back of my head wondering what happened to their siblings.

*shrugs* I don't have firm stance on it. But I wanted to try to show you that "foster" and "adoption" isn't always as probable as it sounds. It's easy for someone from a normal city/town to think that, because maybe if there even is dog fighting in their city/town, it's a fairly small, uncommon situation. In that case, it shouldn't be too hard to screen potential adopters for a good home for a pit bull. And a pit in the Adoption area would have a much better chance of falling into well-intended hands than evil ones. In that situation, a death sentence to all pits would probably be BS. But if you try to look at it objectively, it's not quite so easy to condemn all similar policies as BS as well.

[Carolk9s]

I know that I would have no problem if a well bred, well socialized, well trained and securely confined pit bull lived next to me.
I would have a serious problem with a pit bull that had been bred and trained to fight/kill other dogs that lived next to me.
In suburbia, it is all but inevitable that your dog will at some point come into contact with other dogs in the neighborhood, whether through a fence or out walking on a leash or someones dog, even your own, sneaks out for a stroll on their own. Certainly ANY breed or mix can pick a fight, I still would not want to live near any dog that was TRAINED to fight and not relent even if the other dog cried uncle.

[gooeydog]

It's not so much the way APBTs aren't adopted out from certain groups that gets to me so much as the blatant misinformation some of the ACOs spew during the shows. It'd be one thing if they weren't looked upon as knowing what they're talking about, but people who are supposed to be experts need to hold themselves to a higher standard as far as accuracy and knowledge, and some of these people don't. It was a couple years ago that an ACO from MHS was on a show on dangerous dogs on MSNBC, standing there explaining how a dog behind him in a kennel was "aggressive" and "game" because it tugged on a collar he poked through the chainlink.... and how pups off a "gamedog" like that could be sold for thousands apiece. Not only was that a bunch of bunk (if it was true, I could've been out peddling "game" dachshunds the next day :lol: ), but his words were basically a statement to anyone watching.... "this is the kinda dog you can cash in on". Now the Miami ACOs are doing the same, I wonder if they don't add almost as much to the problem as they relieve at times :-?

As far as adopting out pit bulls, pit mixes, and other "risky" breeds, IMO, if you can't do it right, don't do it at all. Better for a dog to be dead than placed irresponsibly (and as has already been said, these places don't have the resources to do things right, or in some cases, the knowledge) and suffer even longer.

[Guest Anonymous]

i only watch animal precint. they seem to care about the animals more and have more compashiion then the other shows

[Guest Anonymous]

[img]http://www.scottedwardsphotography.com/edit4.jpg[/img]

[Guest Anonymous]

[img]http://www.scottedwardsphotography.com/edit5.jpg[/img]

[xavierandrea]

[quote name='Another problem...']. If they put down all pit bulls, they don't have to worry about it.[/quote]
:WTF: kind of comment is that???
Anyways.......... :ices_blah: :ices_blah: :ices_blah:

[pitbullEmily]

The fallacy of the Michican Humane policy... to kill ALL pit bulls seized from scumwad owners or picked up as strays ... is that some of these dogs were LOSERS in the pit. So they are probably no more dog agressive than the average Jack Russel Terrier, for example.

Certainly many (perhaps most) of them are not suitable for adoption for a variety of reasons and we all know how difficult it can be to find the right home for pit bulls.

But in terms of scummy wouldbe pit bull owners, Detroit really is not different from Oakland, where BadRap manages to identify and place many fabulous pit bulls, or NYC, where the ASPCA featured on Animal Precinct also manages to save pit bulls. Or any other big city in the US where dogfighting is a problem.

It's a cop out for Michigan HS to kill them all.

Sure, it's an easy solution; much easier than actually assessing each dog they get..

But it's unfair and unhumane.

Pit bulls deserve the chance to be properly temperament tested and to be carefully placed.. Just like any other dog.

And kindly do not start whining about how underfunded and understaffed they are.

Are they in the killing business or the saving business?