Monday, January 30, 2012

What would you do?

Will anyone speak up if they witness someone trying to adopt a pit bull for fighting?

The show "What would you do?" (watch here on Hulu) sets up a hidden-camera to see if anyone would stop a dog being sold into dog fighting.

While this would never happen (fighting dogs are usually bred for the purpose and can fetch large sums if they comes from prize-winning blood lines) its surprising how little direct confrontation there is.

I'm happy to see one man directly confronting the couple, but I know I would be much more aggressive - I would have called the police immediately.

Remember, dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states and is a felony in many, so it is somewhat surprising that people are often more likely to speak up about rude cashiers on this show than a felony in progress.

This does bring up the very real issue of the importance of background checks for adopters. While many dogs are purchased from bloodlines, amateurs would not hesitate to adopt a pit for $20 from a city shelter to use as a bait dog. Serious screening is of the utmost importance to make sure these dogs don't end up in the wrong homes. As the most abused breed on the planet-their breed is already a huge hurdle to overcome if they want to live happy comfortable lives, so shelter workers need to balance the desire to find fast homes with the need to find GOOD homes.

3 comments:

  1. OMG I heard about this, need to see it! Thanks for sharing! Gonna post on FB!

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  2. That is very interesting that the whole day only one person said anything to this couple and one couple even said it was up to the lady selling the dog to give her away. But no one ever said that dog fighting is illegal. It's sad that people don't want to stick up for something that is right when it's right in front of there face. Of course the reality is, is that people who are actually fighting dogs aren't going to be as forward as these people were being. It makes you think!

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  3. Keri, thanks, I agree- I think people really forget that is is ILLEGAL! (not to mention wrong, immoral, disgusting..) I'm going to write next about a great program called "undercover Philly" about the PSPCA law enforcement unit that takes down dog fighters- it's a GREAT show and showing what can and should be done to stop this! I recommend it.

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