Stop Pit Bull Abuse by means of Unmonitored, Unlicensed Weight-Pulls

It’s been said that the pit bull is the single most feared and legislated-against dog in the world. It is also the most abused. Because the pit bull has a willingness and loyalty to please, he is tremendously exploited by  abusers and predators.

On July 29, 2011, a weight-pull announcement was issued by the United Kennel Club and this announcement can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ukcweightpullannouncement . “After careful consideration, United Kennel Club has made the decision to continue with the UKC weight-pull program with considerable changes. They went on to say that they will have a "zero tolerance policy towards any deviations and will be continually monitoring their weight-pull program.”

Good news from the Kennel Club but not good news for the pit bulls who are not members of the Kennel Club or other licensed weight-pulling clubs and who are being forced to pull in unmonitored weight pulls. One only has to go to YouTube (pictured at left) to see pages and pages of unmonitored weight-pulls where pit bulls are being forced to pull over thousands more pounds of bricks and other heavy objects and, in some instances, people sitting on the bricks and even videos of pit bulls pulling trucks and cars. Until these videos were stumbled on, no one was aware that this problem is wide-spread. A veterinarian was asked to view many of these unmonitored pulls and give his opinion. He stated that muscles could be torn, tendons strained and ligaments torn. Torn ligaments will not heal by themselves and the dog, in any other case, would require surgery.  How many of those abused pit bulls do you think are getting scans after pulls? We also need to ask ourselves how are these dogs able to pull such huge amounts of pounds and the question arises, are they being injected with steroids. The question after that slides right into are they being groomed for fighting and let’s be clear. Lots of money is being exchanged as they bet on their favorite dogs.

We encourage you to go to YouTube and use the link we have provided or to view one of these videos, simply click the play button on the top left of this page to view a video depicting this type of abuse. The picture that we have used on our petition is of a dog weighing approximately 80 pounds and, who according to the UKC, is allowed to pull a maximum of 3,600 pounds. Slappy is pulling 9,889 pounds which means he is over by 6,289 pounds! Do not be fooled into thinking that the videos on YouTube are just an aberration. The videos are reflecting that this problem is going on in many, many states.

Let this petition alert the agencies and organizations above that the practice of weight-pulling is being used as a tool of abuse and urge all factions involved with the pit bull breed to put into place strong legislation against unmonitored, unlicensed weight-pull events with severe punishments attached if not adhered to.