Vick case illustrates pit bull’s changing status

'Hideous crimes'
The Humane Society of the United States points to CDs such as DMX’s “Grand Champ” — code in the dogfighting world for an animal that’s won five straight contests — or to the video for Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” which features a pit bull lunging at the camera.

But rap impresario Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records and manager of such acts as Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, says those images are just reflections of what is happening on our streets.

“That’s the reality,” he told the AP in a telephone interview. “That’s why we have poets, have always had poets and artists in society, to say things that sometimes people don’t say otherwise.”

Simmons co-signed a letter last week with the Rev. Al Sharpton and others denouncing “these hideous crimes” and calling on the sporting world to join the fight.

Simmons says the Vick case “is a blessing in the fact that he’s brought this to light, that this is happening in our society.” The question now is “how we handle it now that it’s on the front page.”

30th most popular breed
Caught in the middle of this whole thing is the breed itself.

Cooke says research has disproved common myths about the pit bull, such as the one about its bite force being greater than that of other breeds. “It can’t really be the T-rex in a dog suit that it’s portrayed as in the media,” she says, noting it’s Americans’ 30th most popular breed, ahead of even Dalmatians and collies.

But the breed’s image problem is not helped when Web sites such as www.gamedogs.org carry links to kennels with names like Hellz Comin’ and Death Before Dishonor. Many breeders take great pains to distance themselves from the blood sport.

“No pup will be sold for illegal or cruel purposes,” declares the Web site of Pitfall Kennels, the Atlanta breeding operation started by Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, a founding member of the hip hop group OutKast. His site boasts tennis star Serena Williams, and musicians 50 Cent and Usher among Pitfall’s clients.

'Serves their purpose'
Authorities say North Carolina has become something of a center for pit bull breeding and fighting. According to the indictment, several of Vick’s dogs came from North Carolina.

Tom Garner, who lives outside of Raleigh, is a leading breeder. A 1985 dogfighting conviction, he says, was the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In an e-mail response to the AP, Garner said he would not knowingly sell to someone who wanted to fight one of these “magic animals.” But dogs are out of his control once they leave his yard.

“I am aware that some dogs from my bloodline are fought,” he wrote. “This is analogous to criminals using Toyotas for getaway cars because of their reliability. Certainly Toyota doesn’t set out to build getaway cars, but nevertheless the criminal will often find a way to get the item that serves their purpose.”

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