You Got Balls. Why?

The poor, beleaguered pitbull has once again made the news and not in a good way. Today’s San Francisco Chronicle reported that a pit bull attacked its owner, a pregnant woman.   I was shocked, shocked! to discover that the attacker was an unneutered male.

The pitbull breed elicits complicated feelings from me. I pity the pits for their rotten reputation, undeserved or not. I think of them as loaded guns—perfectly safe in the hands of responsible owners and dangerous as hell in those that aren’t. It certainly isn’t their fault and I can usually spot the ones to stay far, far away from on the beach. You may think of this time of year in terms of “beach weather” season. I think of it as “ Young Tattooed Dude in Wife-beater T-shirt with Unneutered Pit Bull” season. Not one to generalize, but I’m pretty sure those owners believe that a visible pair of dog testicles will somehow enhance their own manhood (which is probably really tiny and could use some enhancing).

And that, my friends, is the real problem. Not pit bulls, Rottweilers or Presa Canarios, but males. Specifically, males who own male dogs. Before you write me off as a cranky old feminazi, let me repeat some of the reasons I’ve heard from men about why they chose not to neuter their dogs. One fellow said (and I swear to God this is what he said) that he did not want to take away his best friend’s ‘best friends.’ Others have told me that it’s unnatural, unhealthy, not fair. I just want to scream, “We’re not talking about YOUR balls, nitwit, we’re talking about the dog’s.”

Why do I single out men when it comes to this issue? I know that not all men think this way. But, I have yet to hear a woman spout the same protestations regarding why their dog has not been spayed or neutered. Main reason they don’t? Hubby/boyfriend will not allow it.

My heart goes out to that poor man who discovered his wife’s mauled body. But as tragic as that incident was, perhaps it will serve as a cautionary tale and convince at least one guy out there to neuter his dog. If he’s got the cojones, that is.