Legislator hates puppies

Meet Republican State Sen. Bruce Starr of Oregon.

Actually, if you have a dog, you may not want to meet him.

Starr has a new bill that - if it passes - would make Oregon the only U.S. state that would completely outlaw pit bull dogs. If you have a pit bull, your dog would be killed (even if the dog harms nobody and if there's nothing wrong with the dog), and you may face a year in prison.

Here's a new name for Bruce Starr: Puppy Hater.

I frankly don't buy the excuse that pit bulls are inherently more likely to bite than other dogs. I know of folks who have had pit bulls, and they say pit bulls are as gentle as any other canines.

Most pit bulls are good dogs. And most have good owners - but, as with any dog breed, there are some bad owners. And there are lots of bratty kids who simply don't know how to act around pit bulls or other dogs - and dogs pay for humans' misbehavior, because the system is stacked against dogs.

A few years ago, a young boy in my area found a pit bull in his neighborhood and locked himself in a closet with the dog. When the boy ended up being bitten to shreds, the dog was promptly ordered to be killed - even though the dog was only acting in self-defense.

It's a shame society has moved so far from reality that the so-called "rights" of those who provoke or otherwise abuse dogs are always allowed to take precedence over the dog's well-being.

I believe that if you intentionally provoke a dog, you have nobody to blame but yourself if your face gets gnawed off. And you have no right to expect the state to kill a perfectly healthy dog.

(Source: http://www.komonews.com/news/40476252.html)