Pit Bull Owners Protest Peninsula Paper
 

A group of pit bull owners, rescuers and supporters plan to converge outside the Palo Alto Daily News offices Wednesday afternoon to protest the decision to exclude pit bulls from the paper's "Pet of the Week" columns.

The features advertise pets awaiting adoption at local animal shelters.

Diana Diamond, executive editor of the Daily News Group, decided late last month to no longer feature the breed in the feature columns.

The decision has ignited a firestorm of heated responses from pit bull enthusiasts, with e-mails pouring into Diamond's office from as far away as London and New Zealand, according to Diamond.

Laura Hawkins-Smith, co-founder of Bay Area Dog-lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls (BADRAP), said she mostly opposes the decision because it broadly excludes the breed.

Hawkins-Smith and a small group of others plan to stage their protest at 3:00 p.m. in front of the paper's offices at 324 High St. in Palo Alto. And they'll be bringing their pit bull companions, Hawkins-Smith said.

"I'm not sure how big of a group we're going to be, but we're at least going to be there," Hawkins-Smith said.

"I'm bringing my pit bull Susie," she said.

"You try so hard to make sure that people know the reality of them. They are not the dog for everyone. We certainly come across our share that are not OK," Hawkins-Smith said.

"We don't try and deny what these dogs are," she said.

But the pit bulls awaiting adoption at local animal shelters are "the best of the best," she said, because they've been thoroughly screened for behavioral problems and violent tendencies.

"You need to be careful around any dog you don't know," Hawkins-Smith said. "I think it all boils down to responsible dog ownership."

"Don't make your fear or bias of a whole breed take away the chance for these dogs to find a good and loving home," she said.

But the reactions, while varied in logic, have done little to change the paper's stance.

"It's not changing our editorial policy," Diamond said today, just minutes after learning about BADRAP's protest plans.

Diamond said she freely admits there are other breeds that can attack people, but pit bulls are most notorious for violently attacking people, often without provocation.

"What bothers me is their predictability," she said. "I worry about children getting hurt."

When researching for an editorial at the San Jose Mercury News, Diamond compiled a stack of articles 10 inches high on pit bull attacks that span a decade, she wrote in a recent opinion column.

Her decision at the Daily News Group was partly based on that experience, she wrote.

"I certainly understand that not all pit bulls are bad, that some make excellent pets, and that pit bull owners really love their dogs," she wrote.

"The problem I still have is that pit bulls are unpredictable," she continued.

Diamond also cited a quick Google Internet search that netted five reported pit bull attacks nationwide in just one day.

Animal shelters aren't participating in the protest, but some say their ability to successfully place pit bulls in safe homes will be diminished by the newspaper's decision.

The pet column is a free service, provided as a benefit for the public and animals in need of a home.

"What shelters don't need and what pit bulls don't need is more controversy," Sandi Stadler, superintendent at Palo Alto Animal Services, said today.

"Right now I have two dogs for adoption, and they're pit bulls," she said. "Every animal that comes into a responsible animal shelter is judged on its own merits."

Ken White, president of the Peninsula Humane Society, agrees, adding that the shelter is happy to receive any assistance newspapers are willing to provide in finding pets a home.

"We frankly have a great many pit bulls in our shelter," he said. "I've got one I was actually just playing with that's going home with a family soon."


Last Updated: May 18, 2005