The Good, The Bad and the Down Right Ugly of Social Media

I was recently asked an interesting question:

What affect the internet and social media have had on the debate over pit bulls.

…. And to be honest, it’s a complex question that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. Let’s rewind time before the wonderful world wide web became available to the average Joe.

Our source of news was the TV, the newspaper and magazine publications which didn’t offer up the opportunity to instantly debate, correct, comment or share as we do now. Articles could and would repeat misinformation always with the slanted and obviously hyped heading ready with the purpose of selling. One view, one sided and usually unchallenged.

In the old days…

Brian C. Anderson’s article written for City Journal in 1999 is a great example of just that. Headline screaming, “Scared of Pit Bulls? You Better Be!”, filled with the usual cry for a breed ban and paragraphs of just how horrible the dogs and their owners are.
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Who could forget the July 1987 cover on Sports Illustrated? The Pit Bull Friend and Killer” in bold letters, followed by the opening statement: America has a four legged problem called the American Pit bull terrier…”

Fast forward 20 years and it’s a whole new world. Of course, some of the media still runs the same misinformation, articles slanted with the purpose to garner clicks and subscribers ::::coughcough thetimesherald coughcouch::: that are filled with limited fact checking and nonsense, but unlike 20 years ago, the public can chime in as soon as the articles are published. Owners, veterinarians, trainers and experts can speak up and respond.

Building a Nationwide Community

The internet and social media has done wonders for the pit bull community. It creates places for millions of owners to talk, vent, ask questions, advocate, rescue, change laws, change minds and work cohesively to build a safer community for humans and their pets together.

Social Media has given non-profits like Stubby’s Heroes’ a platform to reach more people not just in their community but nationwide.
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(Stubby’s Heroes’)

Launching their “This is Your Neighbors Pet”, Stubby Heroes’ slays the misconception and unfair stigma placed on millions of innocent dogs and shattering the unfair stereotype of millions of dog owners.

Thanks to social media, it gives owners a voice in sharing the lives of their pets and families. From pages like Rafa, The Not so Baby Pibble and Juno Z dog to the rescued and rehabilitated Vicks dogs, like the amazing Ray the Vicktory Dog that shared his training and rehabilitation with the world. Social media has also exposed the fear mongering that PETA and other BSL fear mongering groups attempting to call for the destruction of these amazing dogs.
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(Ray the Vicktory Dog)

Thanks to the internet and social media, communities can pull together to organize anti BSL efforts while helping each other in sharing resources, tips and stories.

 

The Double Edged Sword

For as good as the internet and social media is for our dogs, it also opens the door for BSL advocate groups like Dogsbite.org, Daxton’s Friends and the Pit bull Propaganda Machine Reveled to spread their own message and create an online community.  It allows those intent on banning these dogs and isolating their owners a view into the lives of the people they have every intention of destroying.  From cyber stalking, threatening and even taking images of children to mock and ridicule on their hate pages,  the internet and social media has become just as valuable to them as it has their opposition.

It’s incredibly easy to point out all of the bad and place it justly on the shoulders of BSL advocates when it comes to damaging the image of the pit bulls and their owners, but it wouldn’t be accurate. As with any debate that stirs such emotion, extremists will always lift their ugly heads and extremists can be found on both sides of this argument. It became painfully obvious during the case of Mickey (the dog) and Kevin ( young boy from Phoenix) just how extremists from the pro pit bull advocacy was doing just as much damage as the BSL advocates.

It’s become obvious that the fight has been moving off the dogs and have become a human issue and the reason is a no brainer. Dogs have no clue about BSL. They have no clue that there are people bent on their destruction, nor do they always get to pick their owners. There are millions and millions of fantastic and amazing owners, yet many times, we hear about the small selective few who are absolute morons that should never have been allowed to take care of any living thing and have caused such a horrific tragedy that the news have plastered the story all over the internet.

Thanks to the internet, you can google anything. Not only can you find positive pit bull videos but you can find the worst videos ever known to man that include pit bulls. Unlike BSL advocates, I refuse to post them. Honestly, I refuse to even google them. There is no denying the brutality that these dogs can commit when placed in the wrong hands and sadly, the wrong hands can sometimes be from the people who had good intentions in the first place.

To Kill a Myth

Repeat after me… There is no such thing as a Nanny Dog. There is no such thing as a Nanny Dog. There is no such thing as a Nanny dog.

There is no such thing as a Nanny Dog.  We do not live in a Disney cartoon where our dogs wander around with a bonnet and have the ability to babysit our children. Are our dogs amazing? Yes. Do they “love” their family members? Of course.  Will they try to protect their family? Absolutely, but will your dog babysit or take care of your child all by themselves? Hell no.

It makes my eye cross when I read “Pit bulls were bread to be Nanny Dogs!” because it logically makes absolutely no sense to me and nor should it make any sense to any pit bull owner. Our dogs are powerful animals. The strength and stamina they have is amazing and yet, they can be gentle, lazy dogs but the key word is: they are just that… dogs. Animals. Carnivores. They don’t process things like humans, nor will they react the same way as humans and it’s obvious by certain videos circulating the internet, there are many humans who are not even capable of reading their dogs body language.

 

Parents who find this cute and funny….

None of that makes sense to me but if any of those dogs bite those children, the parents will stand around and wonder “But I don’t know what happpppennned!” I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s true: The Nanny dog myth kills and it needs to stop, with us. Our community needs to keep correcting it EVERY DAMN TIME WE HEAR IT. A great advocate said something that I think is essential because it is 100% true :

“The fact that these dogs are good family dogs has been twisted by our own community and is causing our dogs to fail, and for kids to get hurt.”

The greatest thing about the internet and social media when it comes do our dogs and our advocacy is that it gives all of us the chance to speak up and squash the misconceptions and myths that started a long time ago. The internet and social media is our tool and it can help us do amazing things. It can help us find homes for dogs, help our community with services, fund raise, share, laugh, make amazing friends across the nation. It gives us an opportunity to pull together and be the voice for our pets and our families. Just like any tool, it comes with great responsibility because for as good as it can do, it can just as much harm with the simplest of ease… by just pressing enter.

With Great Power comes Great Responsibility

  • Spiderman or Voltaire
  • (Your choice…)

Her Name was Becca.

 

Her name was Becca.  She was 22 years old, a loving fiancé, an adoring mother to an 18-month old daughter, a close sister, a cousin and a daughter.  She was filled with so much life, filled with so much love and had the capability to do and be anything she wanted to do and at 22 years old, why wouldn’t you be filled with so much…life?

Becca was brutally killed December 3, 2015 after a devastating dog attack. As a mother, my heart breaks, not just for the young daughter she left behind but for Becca.  As a mother, one of my dreams in life is to live long enough to watch them grow into amazing women who will make a difference in the world, be it small or large and I am sure that Becca and I shared that dream.

I will be honest, I barely slept at all last night after writing a story about her tragic death. I kept looking at my 2 ½ year old who was continuously kicking me in the throat because she wanted to sleep like a toddler ninja that took up 68% of my bed and the urge to pick her up and cradle her was overwhelming. I know, deep down inside as a mother, that the last thoughts that Becca had as she laid on the cold hard ground dying was about her beautiful daughter Molly. I can only hope that those images in her fading mind where her daughters infectious laugh, those bright blue eyes and the smile that could make the heart of the Grinch grow two sizes bigger. I pray that as she took her last breath, she thought of the games of peek a boo and playing catch with a beach ball in the dining room and I can only hope that with her death, we all learn something that a tragedy like this can teach us. Compassion.
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This death shouldn’t be about a fight over Breed Specific Legislation, but like many controversial issues, it never is that simple and I think this tragedy shines a light on the ugly belief system that fuels the Pro- BSL Advocacy and shockingly,  Dogsbite.org Colleen Lynn sets the tone for this as she herself labels the grieving fiancé as a “super nutter” because he spoke out and refuse to try to destroy a whole breed of dogs because of the actions of a few. Dogsbite.org, a “public education website” dedicated to advocating for Breed Specific Legislation and the extermination of all pit bull, pit bull type dogs and a every growing list of breeds of dogs they deem to be dangers.  
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According to Colleen Lynn, Dogsbite.org champions the rights of victims through their research, education and advocacy, even going as far as stating: “Victims of serious and fatal dog maulings, families and friends, health and public safety officials and the concerned public need advocates too. We advocate for you.”  Yet their online behavior screams just the opposite, which seems to be selective at the best and the requirements are simple:

Join in their fight for the banning and extermination of pit bull/pit bull mixes or what they deem pit bulls.

This is the side of the BSL Advocacy, the self-proclaimed “victim’s advocacy” that the public needs to see. Their advocacy isn’t about making our community a safer place or allowing the grieving families to attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives in a safe and protected atmosphere, it’s about keeping the victim’s family in this violent and vicious circle of continuous pain to break them down and submit to their cause, to break them down to such a weakened state that the victims’ families just can’t not find the strength the fight the onslaught of abuse that the “victim’s advocate” heap onto the family.

“Apparently when you have a family of pit bull breeders…. they will do/say anything to keep that business thriving. Even when a beautiful life has been stolen. Disgusting. The fiancé needs to be LOCKED away. That child needs to be protected!! I PRAY.”- Jennifer Martin Kim

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“This guy OWNS a Pit Bull?!?!?  His kid is next, it’s just a matter of time…” Joy Bailey

 


“And yes, you do destroy a whole breed because of a few bad seeds because there are safer breeds available. We do this with humans too. Every Nazi was rounded up and executed.”- James Hassinger

“Her grieving fiancé needs a lesson in grammar and spelling check.

Oh, and he probably should do a little scientific research before making claims that the attack has nothing to do with the breed”- Rebecca Tomaszewski

“He’s a piece of shit. Maybe he threw his lady over the fence…. doesn’t sound like a great relationship to me?  What a f****ing fiasco during the attack; no real action so the Pit Mix joins in the fun too”- Lesley Karen Luscombe

“She was probably escaping from this idiot’s violence. He’s probably happy the dogs finished off the job he started. And I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if he ran her or tossed her into that yard.” – Stacy Westover

“This twerp is the perfect size for an overhead swing and a head first slam into a garbage can, followed by the question, “Still feeling accomplished mother fucker?”- Jimmy Younger

“White trash, possibly abuser!!!” – Sandrine Sandy Georges

 

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I wish I could say “Becca is in a better place” and mean it. As a mother, the best place I could think of would be with my family and I know that is where she would want to be. Heaven on earth was walking the beach with Molly’s hand in hers. I grieve for Becca and I grieve for the light extinguished far too soon.

Grief, Healing and a Hope for the Future.

The month of December is filled with over packed malls, toy commercials bombarding the air waves, family gatherings and a sense of excitement for most as the 25th day of December approaches but for one family in Port Huron Michigan, they are standing together attempting to make sense of a horrible tragedy that ruthlessly ripped a loved family member away from them.

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“We were standing down by the river, she was wearing a long pink skirt on it and the wind blowing in her hair. It was then I knew I had found the one.”- Matt Gratton

Matt Gratton, does not even know where to begin. Never once did he imagine that he would planning a funeral for the love of his life, the mother of their beautiful daughter and without his family’s help he would feel even more lost.. if that’s even possible.

December 3rd, 2015- his young fiancee Becca Hardy was mauled to death by two dogs a few houses down from her home.

PORT HURON, Mich. (WJBK) – A 22-year-old woman has died after she was attacked by two dogs in Port Huron on Thursday.” (WJBK)

Becca, according to her loving fiancé and her family was an amazing young woman and a loving mother to the couples 18th month old daughter, Molly and her family can’t help but think of those happy memories. Her Aunt Shell, grief stricken shares, “Becca was an amazing mother, she would take Molly everywhere with her. The park, the beach and visiting family.” Fiancé Matt Gratton shares, “We would play peek a boo with our daughter and regularly sit in the dining room and play catch with the beach ball.”

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The first time I ever met Becca was one night at my dads.” Matt remembers fondly, his grief apparent as he struggles a bit.   “Her Mom and my Dad are friends. She was younger, only 17yrs old at the time and I had just stopped at my dads to hang out for a bit and she fell asleep in a chair. I set up a bed for her tucked her in and went home like a proper gentleman. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me its just the person I am”.

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Matt pauses for a moment, “We survived everything designed to tear relationships apart and only came out closer. Our relationship had its problems but all do.  True love is sticking together through thick and thin and that’s exactly what we did. We had actually started trying for our second child recently because our daughter is growing up to quick for our liking.”

Guilt, agony, shock and anger came over the father and Fiancé as he waited for his soon to be wife to arrive at the hospital, beating the ambulance there.
My first thought was who is going to teach our daughter all the things a mommy is supposed to teach her? I immediately blamed myself for not being there to protect her and was flooded with a million what ifs…things I could or should have done differently. I just basically wanted to go back in time and change it but I cant.”

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Amazing enough, Matt or other family members do not blame the breed (s) of dogs responsible for the attack.
One thing I definitely want to say is I feel these people are so set on hating these animals that they’re losing sight of the actual tragedy that occurred. All the comments on the local news page sights are people fighting about how I should hate all these dogs for the deeds of a few not one (other than supporters like yourself) has even offered their condolences. They’ve lost sight of the bigger picture. My daughter has to grow up without a mother now. I lost the girl I was gonna marry and all they think about is spewing their hatred for the breed.”

By no means does he or other family members  feel that the owner should  get off the hook for this tragedy either.
” Yes I feel the owners should be charged there is a difference in training your dog to protect without doing bodily harm”,  Michelle (Aunt Shell)  explains and Matt agrees, “I’m angry about it. I feel if they were gonna teach a dog to protect they should have done more to keep something like this from happening.”

Matt doesn’t know what the future holds because for the moment,  their family is still in shock at the tragic event that snuffed out such a bright and warm light in their lives. Sadly, with the media exposure, it has caught the attention of Colleen Lynn, founder of Dogsbite.org and her fellow group members who have started their ruthless verbal attack on the family, even to the point of accusing Matt of making up the tragedy.

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Even Colleen Lynn, founder of Dogsbite.org labeling the grieving man a “Super Nutter” because he refuses to blame the multiple breeds that get labeled pit bull.

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The grieving family of Becca are shocked by the hateful messages and comments. Michelle (Aunt Shell) shares, “My niece is asking for everyone to please stop being so nasty about my nieces death. She has three young sisters and a daughter that do not deserve to see rude mean marks about Becca”.

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“If I could tell her one thing, I would tell her I’m sorry for not being there to protect her when she needed me I’d tell her if i could go back I would have never let her leave and would trade her places if I could. I’d tell her things will never be the same without her and I value every moment I did have with her now more than ever.”

Funeral arrangements are still being set up and the family has a gofundme set up to help with costs.

Uh….

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Just let that comment sink in for a moment. How is a dog attack comparable to rape?

According to Daxton’s Friends founder Jeff Borchardt and Dogsbite.org- there is no reason why a dog would bite, so I suppose that comment makes sense. Even though statistics and verifiable studies show that you can not prevent  rape (which happens every 107 seconds) but you can prevent dog attacks…. but we know BSL advocates are not about preventing dog attacks.

There is an average of 293,000 sexual assault victims a year and somehow those idiots think rape is comparable to dog attacks? These are the same people who compare pit bulls to the notorious Ted Bundy… You know, that guy who raped and murdered at least 30 women in 7 states (even though his lawyer claims he killed over 100 people..).

Unfortunately (for BSL Advocates), Dog attacks are never one sided and unlike rape, dog attacks can be prevented by education by experts. You can prevent setting your dog and your family up for failure and pain by practicing responsible ownership and parenting.

Get a grip Borchardt, will you be responsible if your new victim is assaulted by your new call for harassment? You know, the woman who had no idea what a predator you are when she called and left a message disagreeing about your billboards of hate?

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That woman. You are telling your group of unstable quacks to go ahead and ring her up… Which they have zero problem doing.

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It’s not like you can find out were they live by a phone number, right? Oh wait… You can, but who am I kidding? It will be a cold day in hell before any one in your advocacy of hate takes responsibility for your actions.

I can see it now.. “So sorry that as a result of us sharing your private info you were harmed in any way buuuuttttt…..”

Why don’t you feel sorry?

“Why aren’t you sorry? Don’t you feel sorry? YOU BETTER FEEL SORRY OR WE WILL MAKE YOU SORRY!”- says Every BSL Advocate/Daxton’s Friends/Dogsbite.org member

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I always feel sorry for the fear mongering morons over in the dismal land of the BSL Advocacy. I’m sorry that they willingly chose to live in such a sorry state of mind.

I mean, I get that they feel such a surge of manic excitement when they search out dog attacks or that they google pit bull owners over and over (even when they swear up and down they never ever care about what they have to say or do…) just to watch with rabid devout secret longing of the normality that their obsessions thrive in.  I feel sorry that they live in such a sorry pitiful state of suspended sorryness

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…. No, seriously…. I just kidding! #sorrynotsorry that the BSL Advocacy is addicted to me. Although, considering some of the addiction issues that certain BSL advocates face,  :::coughcoughdrugdealingspainkillersboozedrivingwhileinoxicatedonsuspendedlicenses::::: I can see why they can not help themselves.

I wish I could be sorry that they hate the fact that the truth is being shown, but… #sorrynotsorry. I mean, we all know the saying “they hate what they fear” and the fear is strong among them over in the land of BSL Advocacy.

I get it, they want me to shut up. They want me to stop exposing them. They want me to be sorry that I show…. their true message. They want me to stop sharing their words, literally- screen shots of their very own words.  They want to make me sorry that I dare to point out the painfully obvious….

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But… #sorrynotsorry. I couldn’t make up 99.99999% of the stupid, hateful, violent, sorry stuff you write on a daily basis if I tried… But I have ZERO problem sharing your stupidity on a daily basis and since you claim you are the #silentmajority- why are you so worried about such a nobody blogger like myself?

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For Pete’s Sake Tammy…

Some people have a quirky sense of humor and then you have people like Tammy, dedicated frothing Daxton’s Friends follower.

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So, it’s cute and funny that this dog knocks over kids and humps them? I’m pretty sure the poor kid didn’t find it that funny and I’m sure the parents of the kids didn’t just laugh it off.

You know why this behavior is perfectly acceptable to Tammy? Well that’s simple- it’s not a mutant demon dog from Satan’s ass (AKA the Pit bull type dog.) Screw the fact that humping can be a sign of stress or dominance issues, right Tammy? It’s not a big deal that the dog could become aggressive if the child struggles or fights the dog, right Tammy?

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JFC Tammy, when I think of fun and humorous moments with dogs, I don’t really ever include a dog humping rampage…. Stop drinking Tammy.

Unimaginable

“A Kentucky woman was beaten, scalped and had a part of her ear torn off when police say her ex-boyfriend sicced his pit bull on her in a vicious attack.”- The Daily Mail

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I can’t even imagine the absolute fear and horrific unimaginable pain this single mother of one felt as she was brutality attacked by her ex- boyfriend.

“As the dog was ripping in to her face and head, this man took something sharp cutting into her main artery and that wasn’t the worst of it, he cut into her scalp leaving her with 70% of her skull exposed. “

80% of her scalp was cut by her boyfriend, while the rest of it was ripped off during the dog attack. Her ex- boyfriend, Gross spent over an hour torturing her before having his dog attack her.

He proceeded to ridicule her on the way she looked after he had done this damage to her, putting her in front of the mirror and laughing,’ wrote Brittney Burkhart.

I honestly can’t believe that Daxton’s Friends and BSL Advocates have actually sunk to a new low… This woman and her son are victims and will be forever scarred by this horrific and violent crime but let’s take a peek and see how BSL Advocates and Daxton’s Friends are treating this victim behind closed doors in their private hate groups.

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How is Daxton’s Friends a victims advocacy? Take the dog out of the equation, even before he had the dog attack her, the piece of shit was torturing her for over an hour and even AFTER the dog attack.

She is out of the 960,000 victims of domestic violence a year. She is one of 2,100,000 women that is attacked by a man and thanks to Daxton’s Friends and Dogsbite.org, this victim is being re- victimized all over again by a bunch of pathetic excuses of human flesh.

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Who are the members of this Facebook hate group called The Pit Bull Problem?

Take a look for yourself:

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Jeff Borchardt, Founder of Daxton’s Friends- he has both his normal and lurker profile in there to be safe. Next, another Daxton’s Friends board member Dennis Baker.

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Yet another Daxton’s Friends Board member, Sharon Yildiz….

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Of course, the notorious creator and founder of Dogsbite.org Colleen Lynn.

Do the world a favor Borchardt & Lynn, stop pretending victims really matter to you.