GUEST COLUMN Proud pit bull owner says pitties best companions

FLORIDA -- Regarding the the July 29 opinion page cartoon, "All in favor of banning pit bulls, raise your hand...":

According to Wikipedia, "The term pit bull is often used as a generic term to describe dogs with similar physical characteristics. The general public and news media consider a 'pit bull' as one of several breeds, including the Staffordshire bull terrier, American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, bull terrier, or any mix thereof."

This fact puts the pitties at a huge disadvantage when compared to other dogs. They have no breeders asssociation to pay for positive breed-specific propaganda. Remember when the German shepherd was considered a dangerous dog? I do.

The best known pitties in America were Pete the Pup and Pal, stars in the Saturday matinee short movies "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals." These two were the ultimate family dogs. We kids all loved them while eating our popcorn.

Remember when Lilly the pit bull saved her owner's life on the railroad tracks in Shirley? She visited the Fitchburg Animal Shelter twice as I remember.

From lillytheheropitbull.com: "Just after midnight on May 3 the engineer of a westward-bound freight train witnessed an extraordinary scene as he barreled toward a railway crossing in Shirley, Massachusetts -- a dog was frantically pulling an unconscious woman away from the tracks."

[I would argue that this pit bull was not so much trying to "rescue" its owner, but was trying to save itself by dragging the dead weight human which was keeping it from running away from the oncoming train.]

Lilly's human companion was unharmed, but the dog was not as fortunate. The train's wheels sliced through her right foot, fractured her pelvis and caused other internal injuries. Critically wounded, Lilly lay down next to her unconscious companion. Emergency services found Lilly standing guard. Her calm and composed demeanor was remarkable given her life-threatening injuries.

Pitties make great companions. They are unique because of their size and their ability to communicate that this is the best of all possible worlds.

(Sentinel and Enterprise - August 1, 2014)