a rose by any other name...

[badger]

this really bugs me. Initially they were reporting that the dog is a pit bull, and now they're referring to him as an "American Terrier". God forbid should a pit bull be a good dog...

Rumble the Pit Bull

Burnaby’s Rumble the dog has fought his way through a complicated surgery and is now recovering in hospital, veterinarians say.

In a procedure that took more than three hours to complete, the five-year-old American terrier had bullet fragments removed from his leg and had a severely broken humerus repaired Saturday.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Michael King and staff at Canada West Veterinary Specialists, a referral hospital in Vancouver that agreed to donate hospital and surgery time to save the dog’s front leg.

“He has feeling in his foot and that’s a promising sign,” Dr. King said in a release.

Rumble was shot twice and beaten protecting his south Burnaby home from a break-in last week.

His owner, Brandee Yuen, returned home to find the dog bleeding profusely and in critical condition.

The bullets broke his shoulder in four places.

A special interlocking metal plate will hold the realigned bone in place.

Yuen had called his survival a miracle and said the family considers Rumble “a hero.”

Yuen had originally taken Rumble to a local clinic where charges amounted to $3,500. That’s when the Vancouver referral hospital offered to waive the fees.

The clinic is accepting donations to help pay for some of the costs associated with the dog’s care, including post-operative care and physiotherapy.

Rumble is expected to return home on Tuesday, will need two months of rest followed by several months of physiotherapy.

The Burnaby RCMP is investigating the robbery, and the SPCA said those responsible can also face animal cruelty charges.

[shootingstar]

Wonder if it was an incredibly naive/stupid error by reporter??

[tulip]

"pit bull" tends to be a catch-all for that type of dog, which includes American Staffordshire Terrier.

[badger]

"pit bull" tends to be a catch-all for that type of dog, which includes American Staffordshire Terrier.

I realize this, but the general public doesn't. Staffordshire Terrier sounds infinitely more benign than a pit bull.

[shootingstar]

I realize this, but the general public doesn't. Staffordshire Terrier sounds infinitely more benign than a pit bull.

I totally agree with badger.

And I don't know much about dogs. Doubtful that even the average dog owner knows alot about dog breeds in much detail.

[tulip]

It's not a mystery. Any quick look in the classifieds will show multiple ads for AST puppies. Sounds like a responsible journalist being accurate. The dog looks like an AST to me. Nothing wrong with accuracy and precision in journalism. The writer could have provided a phrase like, "a pit-bull type breed," I suppose, but it seems irrelevant. Maybe the AST breed is more well-known here, I don't know.

In any case, it's terrible that the dog was shot. There was a case of a dog being shot here a few years ago. It was a Austalian Shepherd that was running loose and a neighbor with a gun freaked out. The dog survived but suffered brain damage. My dog is a fierce watchdog and I do wonder if someone would shoot him in order to break into my house. Luckily, that seems pretty rare.

[shootingstar]

What is AST?
Anyway discussion for dog-owners to continue since obviously I don't know about dogs...which is ok.

[Owlie]

What is AST?
Anyway discussion for dog-owners to continue since obviously I don't know about dogs...which is ok.

American Staffordshire Terrier.

Poor thing. If I had a dog, that's something I'd worry about.

[OakLeaf]

Somebody shot my mutt (no bulldog in him at all - a street rescue, dalmatian/greyhound by his looks and temperament) with a pellet gun while he was in my backyard when I wasn't home. This was 20 years ago and you still don't want to know what I'd do to the person if I ever caught them. Thank God "all" he had was a wound all the way through his tricep muscle (or whatever the equivalent in dogs is) and a graze mark along his back. A centimeter either way and it could've been a spinal cord injury and a vital organ.

Kids' idea of fun, I have no doubt. Nothing to do with the breed - or with the individual dog, he was the sweetest thing in the world. Some people are just sick.

[Jolt]

Kids' idea of fun, I have no doubt. Nothing to do with the breed - or with the individual dog, he was the sweetest thing in the world. Some people are just sick.

What a rotten thing to do!! There is something seriously wrong with anyone who thinks that is "fun"...

[badger]

It's not a mystery. Any quick look in the classifieds will show multiple ads for AST puppies. Sounds like a responsible journalist being accurate. The dog looks like an AST to me. Nothing wrong with accuracy and precision in journalism. The writer could have provided a phrase like, "a pit-bull type breed," I suppose, but it seems irrelevant. Maybe the AST breed is more well-known here, I don't know.

I respectfully have to disagree. if you actually read the article, the author says "American Terrier"; not sure about you, but I'm not sure what an American Terrier is. The original t.v. report said pit bull, and I would be inclined to think that was the right term as they were interviewing the owner.

Sorry I'm being nit-picky, I just really hate the fact that pit bulls are so maligned. If it were a situation where the dog attacked the burglar, they would be happy to report it as a pit bull, even if it were a staffie, but since pit bulls are bad dogs and couldn't possibly do anything to save property or family, they report the dog as a staffordshire terrier.

[tulip]

Badger, why not write a letter to the newspaper that published the article? You would have a much larger audience than you do here, and you might educate the editor and author for future stories.

[grey]

If it's a good dog, it's labeled an AST. Bad dog, it's called a Pit Bull... even if it's NOT REMOTELY a Pit Bull.

I'm a little tired of the argument, I've carried it for a long time. I've rescued a number of Pitties, they're sweet, wonderful dogs, usually terribly abused yet have a great ability to move past their history (unlike my Shepherd mix, who is a wreck). I'm tired of the public assumption, that they are all crazy and that they just "snap" - any animal will snap if you put them on a three foot tire chain with no shelter, not enough water or food, and hit it all the time to make it "mean."

People are stupid. End of story.

[TsPoet]

I think, at its core, this is the same thing we have been debating in our dog club. I think *all* "pits" should be called Staffies. American Staffordshire (bull) Terrier. The folks in the club that have them are split ~2/3 in favor of Pit Bull - they say if that's what the public wants to call them... then they will stand up for their pit bulls!
The "pure bred" show dog is a Staffy - the mutt is a pit. But, all other mutts are called by the breed mix, so why do that to a Staffy or Staffy-mix?
It's politics.
I've never met a Staffy or Pit I didn't like - not the dog breed for me, but I love to pet someone else's.

[OakLeaf]

The "pure bred" show dog is a Staffy - the mutt is a pit.

Well ... the purebred conformation dog is an AKC AmStaff - the purebred working show dog is a UKC American Pit Bull Terrier. And the AKC acknowledges that AmStaff is a breed name given to a dog that was historically commonly known as a pit bull terrier, among other names.

Quibbling about the name is useless, IMO. Certain dogs have the appearance and temperament of a bull-and-terrier, and there will be people who will call them pitties or pit mixes - either proudly or fearfully - regardless of whether they have papers and if so, what the papers say. After the anti-German fervor of the World Wars faded, people quietly went back to calling their "Alsatians" German Shepherd Dogs, and when GSDs were maligned for their supposed viciousness in the 1960s, I don't remember anyone going back to calling them "Alsatians," either.