Pit Bull Owners Find their Dog has Loving Temperament

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Updated: 12:07 PM Sep 29, 2009 Pit Bull Owners Find their Dog has Loving Temperament A Charlottesville family that owns a pit bull-beagle mix says pit bulls have an undeserved negative image and the Orange County pit bull attack on a child is an isolated incident. Posted: 11:37 PM Sep 28, 2009 Reporter: Liz Palka Email Address: liz.palka@newsplex.com Orange County Letter

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September 28, 2009

When the Voelkels first brought their pit bull-beagle mix home from the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA, they were cautious because they had never owned a pit bull before. They quickly found, their pit bull, Levi, was the exact opposite of the stereotype.

The Voelkel's treat Levi like he's a part of the family, which is something they had to agree on before they brought him home from the SPCA. They signed a document saying they would not keep their dog outside.

"A lot of the dogs come from situation where they've been outside and been locked in a fence or a chain," said Hope Voelkel.

They were cautious of bringing a pit bull home and aware of the stories about the breed, but with specific training Levi has been the perfect addition.

"The experts let you know different ways to handle different personalities and breeds," said Sam Voelkel, about the training they went through with their dog.

But they do know pit bulls are not perfect.

"That's something that we're real sensitive to," said Sam Voelkel. "We've always been very careful with Levi to look out for that behavior."

In the end, they feel raising a good dog comes down to the owners.

"Not to say they don't have more aggressive tendencies than another dog," said Hope Voelkel, about pit bulls in general. "But, I think it's really more the human responsibility to take care of their animals more so than anything else."

The American Temperament Testing Society says the American Pit Bull Terrier scored higher on the temperament tests than such breeds as the Miniature Poodle, the Portuguese Water Dog and the Collie.

Attached is a press release sent from an organization that protects pit bulls.

We encourage you to join the conversation about this story.

Latest Comments

Posted by: Anti-Mauler on Oct 2, 2009 at 06:47 AM

Sorry Pit Bull community, two centuries of breeding and selection by dog fighters has produced genetically unsound animals... Instead of writing Pit bull smokescreen pieces, get to work finding out who is breeding the maulers and get them to stop. After a couple of decades of intentionally breeding safer Pit Bulls get back to us.

Posted by: pit bull lover Location: c'ville Va on Sep 30, 2009 at 02:42 PM

I also have a pit bull & I WOULD NOT TRADE HER FOR ANYTHING SHE IS A BIG PART OF OUR FAMILY!!!! She is the best dog I have ever had to my family friends & baby's!! I'm so sick of hearing about our dogs when all dogs can hurt or kill people any dog can change! Seems you only hear about pit bulls when something goes wrong even when it's the owner's fault!! Like with this little girl where was her mom or dad at? How can you walk by a chained up dog of any kind & then let your child wonder outside alone & you never herd anything going on another family member found her?! I'm very sorry that this happen but charges should be filed on the parents of this little girl but no they put all the blame on a dog!! No one was outside with the little girl so who's to say she didn't pull or hit the dog to make him snap?! I LOVE MY PIT BULL I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THEM AS A FAMILY DOG!! All Mike Vick's pit's have new loving homes & family's & look what he did to those dog's it's not the dog's its the people!

Posted by: citizen One Location: charlottesville on Sep 30, 2009 at 01:36 PM

The website dogbitelaw.com should make interesting reading for local prosecuting attorneys that will have to make decisions on these types of tragedies in the near future. Per the cited Clifton study, from 1982 to 2006 pit bulls, rottweilers, and presa canarsis (a related type) accounted for 65% of all canine homicides in the US. Only in the last few years did rottweilers edge out pit bulls in the total number of deaths--pit bulls held the title for about 20 years! On August 10, 2009 Mr Carter Ridge Delaney, age 20, of Leesburg, Virginia was mauled to death by two pit bulls. The cause? Massive loss of blood from traumatic "beyond visual" throat injuries. About a third of canine homicides result from CHILDREN incurring horrific attacks to their faces and throats. Something to consider, perhaps, if you are a parent?? I would like to see the public educate themselves instead of being satisfied with folksy down home anecdotes about "my dog Lassie, the ever lovable pit bull."

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