November 16, 2009
Letter to the ASPCA about Oreo from the American Pit Bull Terrier Association Inc.
Dear Mr Sayres
An email has just arrived encouraging me to express my anger and distress at your decision to euthanise Oreo.
However, I am not angry with you or the ASPCA. My anger is aimed where it belongs and that is toward the psychopath who so abused that sad little dog. Some dogs are so damaged by such trauma that they are never safe wherever you put them. Social isolation for a dog is a form of cruelty and therefore plainly not an option.
It is heartbreaking that Oreo has been dealt such an awful hand, as Pit Bulls so often are largely due to the media and political hype that so often attracts such unstable and dangerous individuals to the breed. Shame on them for persisting with such hype despite the very obvious and all too common fallout from it, particularly since it is so undeserved.
Your staff obviously suffer each time the battle is lost for such tragic cases.
Those of us who know and love Pit Bulls are very grateful that your organisation has made such enormous efforts to rescue not just abused Pit Bulls but also their unfairly damaged reputation with your Adopt-a-Bull programme and the information you have placed on your website to educate the public about the breed.
It is heartening to see that your people are prepared to re-home these dogs where possible and give them a chance at the life they deserve. Hopefully your enlightened views and example of best practice will be followed around the world and we can see an end to the nightmare life so often suffered by the loyal Pit Bulldog.
Kind Regards
Karen Batchelor
American Pit Bull Terrier Association Inc.
New Zealand.