The Profiling of a Species

Should pit bulls, or any breed for that matter, be banned? Every time a dog attacks someone, there's an outcry about the danger of keeping Xenobian Doomhounds and the local city council calls for its ban. To most people, breed-specific legislation probably seems like a good idea--that is, unless their own Xenobian Doomhounds are renowned for their therapy visits to the nursing home, the tightrope-walking act they perform at kids' birthday parties, and the time they saved the neighbor's cat from being swept away in a flash flood. Dog lovers in every breed should be concerned about the increasing number of attempts by municipalities to ban certain breeds. Sure, today it's Xenobian Doomhounds and you don't have those, but tomorrow they'll come for the Swedish ChickenHund (it might spread avian flu, after all), and the day after that--well, it might be your breed's turn.