SS P E TS

eat the
the ‘vicious’

ssvooned when Tom Selleck
would appear without his
shirt on, | would swoon
when [ caught a glimpse of
the nvo dobermans on the
show, Apollo and Zeus.
Twenty years later I final-
ly gota doberman of my
own, When Erold my moth-
er she said, “lm never com-
ing te visit as long as you
have that vicious dog.” (1F1
had known that getting a
‘doberman was all it would
_ take, heck T would have gor-
_ ten one sooner! ... Kidding
mom!)
:. “Misconceptions like mv
mother’s are not uncommon
‘and partly the root of recent
legislation to ban certain
_breeds of dogs,
=. Dogs such as dobermans,
bull mastiffs, roteweilers, aki-
“tas, boxers, German shep-
“herds and Staffordshire terri-
. éfs were created hundreds of
Cars ago to aid humans in
their daily activities. These
activities usually meant hunt-
ing, herding or baiting live-
- stock and guarding person
and property.
The exception is the pit .
bull, which was created for . .

JGali
lucha

canine
connection

WHEN I was around
-10-years oid, my ;
friends were in love
“with either Shaun

a .. They we ould si sit on their:
beds and. blow kisses at these

im the magazine clippings
staped to their bedroom

pictures of dobermans on im
lis. In art class [would |
culpt doberman figures out’

of plasticine, My teacher
ould smile politely'as she

ndcring if: she : 3 ould call :
the ‘psych nurse. “
: & While other women

o.. pating in a sickening Sport:
hed Magnum PI. and -:

*-¢alled pit fghriag: © In it, t dogs

the sole purpose of partici- "~

are encouraged to fight and
hurnans bet on which dog
kills the other first. Nice.
Way to go Hamo sapiens:

However the focused
attention and highly instine-
tual guarding ability of the
other breeds whieh I referred
to make them easily trainable
for sentry, police and protec-
tion work.

For the pet owner like
myself, the attraction ta
these dogs is due to their
intelligence, devotion and
yes, gende nature. We pur-
chase these dogs from pro-
fessional breeders who are
concerned about their dog’s
temperament and health and
only breed mentally stable
dogs. These new dog owners
then spend the time and
money teaching, socializing
and training their dog. They
now have a responsible
canine member of society,
with an unfortunate reputa-
tion. -

But others acquire these
breeds because of the mis-
guided reputation. Backyard
breeders looking for a quick
buck overbreed these dogs ©
and create dogs with an
unstable temperament. They

See Breed page 40 :

© climate control with ale .
“remote keyoss ent wih cur

azing
or Dreamcoat

ons Ag
Technico!

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