Pit bull terriers are outlawed in Britain, but their problems and bad publicity are due to irresponsible owners who treat them badly - and to the ban, a devotee tells Carissa Casey.
Rollo seems like a gentle, affectionate dog. She climbs up beside me, rests her head on my lap, soft brown eyes gazing mournfully up as if her life is on the line. It is. Rollo is a pit bull terrier, a breed banned in Northern Ireland, and branded "devil dogs" almost daily in the local Belfast papers.
Pit bulls were outlawed across the UK in 1991, following a series of savage attacks, but the ban was largely ignored. That was until last New Year's Day when five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson was killed by her uncle's dog, a pit bull type, in England's Merseyside. Since then there has been a major clampdown, with raids on yards and an amnesty in Northern Ireland for owners. While the breed is allowed in the Republic, after 13-year-old Louise Kelly was bitten on the leg by a pit bull in Finglas, north Dublin, last month, there have been calls for a review of current legislation and an electronic tagging system has been proposed.
Rollo's owner Sonny* has owned pit bulls for the last 23 years and has no intention of offering his dog up for any amnesty. "I'd be devastated," he says at the idea of his pet being put to sleep. "It's like a child. I know that dog has never done anything to another dog or another human but they could take that dog today and put her down just because she's a pit bull."
Last September Rollo gave birth to a litter of pups which Sonny sold to friends and family. They make excellent pets, he claims. His girlfriend Ruby* agrees. "They don't cast [ shed hair], they're loyal and they don't need a lot of exercise." Ruby wasn't aware they were a banned breed until the latest controversy kicked off.
Sonny's two nephews (aged three and five) live with them. "I've no concern whatsoever with any pit bull I've had in the house," he says. "Any kids that have ever been here, one million per cent I'm sure [ the dogs] are safe or I wouldn't socialise them with kids.
"I know the way my dogs are reared so I know I can socialise them," he says. "The two lads have jumped on Rollo, rolled on her, pulled her ears. She gets up and goes off to our bed for a sleep."
Rollo's pups were born in the family livingroom and were socialised within a few days. "They hear doors banging, different people's voices," says Sonny. "That's important." He says that any problems with pit bulls rest entirely with their owners and the ban hasn't helped. "It's like a style statement, like going and buying a pair of boots. Because they're a banned breed and an underground thing, that in itself makes some people want them. There's young lads of 15 and 16 going and buying pit bulls and fighting their dogs in the streets. They're doing it having a few beers or a bottle of cider at the weekend - it's a macho thing with them. Then there's the whole buzz of them being illegal."
There has also been a well-organised, illegal pit bull fighting scene across Northern Ireland. Sonny is aware of it but doesn't get involved. A lot of money changes hands, he believes, with good fighter dogs fetching several thousand pounds.
"It's an abuse of the dogs. People think leaving a dog in a cage, feeding it raw meat, going in, beating it up, kicking it stupid, that's the way to do it. That's wrong. No dog I've ever bred has been used for fighting. They're blaming the pit bulls but it should be the owners - they should be charged and have their faces put in the papers. Instead they're killing the dogs," he says.
Sonny believes that dogs who have attacked children are most likely "working dogs", used for either fighting, hunting or as guard dogs. "They shouldn't be in a family environment or roaming the streets," he says.
He suspects that the current clampdown is resulting in owners dumping their dogs for fear of prosecution. Recently he was visiting a friend in another part of Belfast and spotted a pit bull roaming the streets on his own. "We tried to catch him but he bolted. He looked thin and I think he might have been dumped," he says.
A few hours later, Sonny heard a report that the police had shot dead a pit bull in the same area for attacking another dog. "The last thing we need is people dumping fighting dogs," he says.
The solution, he maintains, is to register the breed. "You can send people out for visits. You can see if the dog has scars on it from dog fighting. You can do tests to see if it's aggressive. It might take a few pounds but it wouldn't cost as much as running about hitting yards, putting dogs down and then all the court fees." What about the way pit bulls lock when they bite, refusing to let go? "Most terrier breeds lock when they bite," says Ruby.
"Look, they can be deadly," says Sonny. "It's like a loaded gun to have a pit bull trained to fight and attack. I'm not going to sit here and say pit bulls are all brilliant and all perfect. It's up to you the way you rear your dog. But this ban isn't going to protect kids from stupid owners."
* Names have been changed
