After hearing the audio of the original McDonald's ad (thanks, Isis, for posting that), I feel that maybe a lot of people jumped to some really high conclusions.  In the first place, McDonalds said their nuggets weren't as risky as petting a "strange pit bull."  Now, to me, STRANGE is the key word here.  Nobody, except maybe Cesar Milan should walk up to any strange dog without realizing there is a risk involved. 

McDonald's should have phrased it as "our nuggets aren't as risky as approaching a strange, angry dog," perhaps.  I think, even tho it is not justified, that a lot of people fear pit bulls.  And McDonald's, or their ad guys, thought that pit bull simile would get the point across.  They didn't need to get that definitive to get their point across.

Now that I've said all that, another thought that crosses my mind is that that commercial is just plain DUMB, anyway. 

But, hey, this whole situation has done two things:

Made people aware that there are a lot of rescued pit bulls out there (more than other breeds?  I don't know.)

And pit bulls CAN be sweet and loving pets.

And all that promotion was FREE!  It's almost like McDonald's did the pit bull world a favor.  I'm not sure that it helped Mcdonald's in any way, but I don't really think they NEED help.

I’m a bit nervous to post a controversial opinion here, being new and all, but I felt like I had to stick up for Miss B a little bit.  The picture was posted in the context of whether or not Pit bulls are dangerous.  It wasn’t posted just to share a nice family photo with the dog.  Obviously there is a lot of controversy about the whole Pit bull issue and I don’t think Miss B deserves to be slammed for stating her opinion.  All dogs bite, but certain breeds are just larger and with bigger jaws and more likely to not let go of their victim, whereas a little poodle or some breed like that you could just kick off.   I have friends who had a Rottweiler for about 5 years (I thought he was lovely and came to my house with my toddler children many times) who suddenly chased down and tackled a little girl getting off the school bus.  They had to give him away to a farm, where more incidents occurred and he was eventually put down.  They are wonderful people, not some psychos who trained him to be vicious – they were heartbroken.  After that, I just don’t feel comfortable around those types of dogs and I think Miss B has a right to her opinion, as does Isis deserve respect for taking a stand against McDonalds and standing up for her beliefs.  The following is from Wikipedia:

 

Dog Bite-related Fatalities in the United States

Year	Total	# Most fatal attacks by	# Second-most fatal attacks by
1988	1	Labrador Retriever (1) (100%)
2001	3	Presa canario (1) (33.33%) Unknown Strays (1) (33.33%) Pit Bull (1) (33.33%)
2002	2	German Shepherd (1) (50%) Rottweiler (1) (50%)
2003	8	Pit bull-type (4) (50%)
2004	8	3 Pit bull-type one Pit bull/Labrador Retriever mix (4) (50%)
2005	29	Pit Bull (12) (39%)	Rottweiler (6) (21%)
2006	29	Pit Bull (12) (40%)	Rottweiler (9) (31%)
2007	34	Pit Bull (15) (41%)	Rottweiler (4) (12%)
2008	23	Pit Bull (11) (43%)	Husky (3) (13%)
2009	30	Pit Bull (11) (32%)	Rottweiler (4) (13%)
2010	32	Pit Bull (18) (53%)	Rottweiler (4) (12%)
2011	12	Pit Bull or "Pit bull type" (7) (58%)	Rottweiler (2) (16.66%)

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Thank you for putting the whole thing in perspective. As I said here a bunch of times already I wasn't trying to insult her dog. As you said this post was about if pitbulls were dangerous or not and it wasn't posted just as a friendly family picture with the dog. I had no idea I was going to provoke this huge response being slammed and condescended to by Isis or I wouldn't have posted it. This is not the first time I have been attacked by Isis.

I'm not sticking up for the rudeness, but I will stick up for pit bulls. I would never own one because of the jaw thing and because I'm a bit afraid of them, as misguided as that is. I truly believe they have a bad name because they are used for dog fights and abused by people more than other breeds, again, probably because of their strength and size and look. Violent people make violent dogs. These stats only tell me that pit bulls are more abused than the breeds. Nicky

I totally agree pitbulls are abused animals and I'm sure they're nice animals when not trained by people to attack but I'm still afraid of large dogs and other large animals. I'm a cat person. I grew up with cats.

Well, I viewed it more as a family photo than anything. Isis stated how proud she is of her daughter for sticking up for her dog. My response to it was ''what a beautiful threesome.''I guess we just see different things. -Miss H

Nicky, I meant to add that I appreciate your sticking up for pitbulls. It is sickening how they have been abused and used for dog fights. -Miss H

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Posted by: SheilaT
Date posted: Mon Feb 6 6:27:16 2012
Message:
Isis, I never told you how much I love your photo (and your dog) and how much I admire you and your daughter for posting it on the website.  You  were responsible for getting McDonald's to stop airing the ad!  I understand your frustration with Miss. Bear . . . I just figure she is needier than I was at her age.  Call me a coddler.  No skin off my nose to be occasionally patient with her. 

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How are you coddling me? You tell me how it is, if you think I am wrong or you disagree with me you let me know. I don't mean to come across as 'needy'.

Miss. B, I really wish you would put your name at the end of your comments, I always have to click in to see if it is you. I like to read what you say and would like to see your name right up front. /goldie

Hi Goldie. Is that better? -Miss.Bear

Great, thanks. I do know that some people are afraid of dogs, I have a friend that is afraid of birds. I grew up with dogs, cats, horses all animals and I have always loved dogs and can't imagine not having one, I have 3 now. My Pit Bull mix passed away last year from cancer, she was 14. She was a wonderful dog, but they all are to me and dog lovers. Don't be offended by us that love dogs, we are just sensitive to our dogs sometimes. My boyfriend almost got into a fight once because some guy at the lake said his dog was ugly. :) /goldie

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Posted by: Isis
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 23:18:46 2012
Message:
Miss Bear, i am sorry you feel this way. Some people just aren't animal lovers, and that's fine, but I MUST say ...and I'm almost AFRAID to say for fear of the repercussions (you can look up that word later. don't have time to explain it to you)that YOU are EXTREMELY immature. I'm sorry, I SAID IT! I am certain most others know this. It is just a fact that we have all sort of "taken you under our wing" so to speak, (my guess is you will need to look up THAT expression too) but I am DONE with coddling you anymore!! It is certainly fine that you have different attitudes and beliefs other than my own, but I feel insulted by your comments and quite frankly I am ASTOUNDED at the fact that you DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS?????!!! I know you have a TV and a radio and I am POSITIVE you have a computer with the INTERNET!!! ARE YOU TRULY THIS CLUELESS???? Either you are putting on some sort of act or you are just simply dense! You claim to be in your 20's, but you sound like a 12 year old with these statements.

I am certain I will catch much flack for this, but it's only because everyone treats you like a child...AND YOU ARE!!! I KNOW I should know better than to let loose on you like this cause for some unknown reason we are supposed to be coddling you, but with these comments tonight, you broke the camel's back. I'm DONE!!!!

I find your comments offensive to me and I hope that you will no longer comment on any of my threads. Just don't. I promise to leave you alone if I never have to hear from you again. I can't take anymore. please.. sorry...I just simply find your attitudes HIGHLY offensive...so if you can manage to stay away from my posts I would appreciate it!

I know, I can't ask you to not post if you wanna, I'm just sayin' ...you and I ...we don't mesh ok? So let's just leave it at that and I know I sound like a jerk right now, but quite frankly, so do you! I just can't take anymore of this tension.

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P.S. Miss Bear, I do state above that I also like a quarter pounder once in awhile! and just for the record, if you ever met MY dog on the street, he may actually attack...if you feel very strongly about being licked to death and slobbered all over, then you would be in BIG trouble!!!! ///Isis

Isis, I would ''lose it'' if someone insulted my dog too. I try not to get into the middle of things, but you posted such a sweet picture, and it was uncalled for to say he looks scary (he doesn't). OK, I'll stay out of it now. :) -Miss H

especially just after the lose of my long time friend, my buddy. I'm sorry, I Just flipped. I am not a jerk,but in my opinion Miss Bear is quite insensitive and totally lacking knowledge. She just seems to have no ''filter'' for her rudeness.I just can't take cajoling her anymore. Sorry, guys, I really don't want to be a b!*ch , but I can't take anymore of these uninformed ridiculous comments. I'm just done. Sorry......///Isis

Isis, I don't think you have a single thing to a be ''sorry'' about! You are correct when you object to the ''uninformed ridiculous comments''eom/Tex

I'm just afraid of dogs that's all. I know you like dogs and I didn't mean to insult your dog, I'm sure you really love your dog and maybe I could have chosen my words better.Any animal that outweighs me I am afraid of. I'm sure a lot of people are. Why is everybody dumping on for that?? I'm sorry I did not know what planned parenthood was either. I kept hearing about it but couldn't get much information on it. I am all for supporting charities but there are some things I don't believe in and I'm not going to try to change your mind. So, if you want to hate me go ahead. P.S, I do like animals. I know you're having a hard time lately but that's no reason to sh.. all over me. I don't understand why it is I can't have an opinion on this board without getting flamed.

And also, who is coddling me here?? Are you talking about me talking about my class which you ripped into me about.

Perhaps you're right. Maybe I should stay away for a while. Wait for things to cool down. I really didn't mean to insult the dog. Everybody says things they regret.

Guess what Ms. Bear, the dog in the picture looks scary to me too. The beautiful girls and the sign make him look alot less scary, but I would feel uneasy around that face until I really, really got to know the dog well. It's not a crime to admit to not knowing about Planned Parenthood and it doesn't mean you live under a rock either. Post on and ignore the negativity. Peace! Nicky

Nicky, you are adding to the negativity. Good grief, her cat just died and she posted a beautiful picture of her dog. To many of us, our four-legged family members are just as precious as the two-legged ones. It's really rude to say that a member of someone's family looks scary. -Miss H

Are you kidding me? My dogs and cats ARE my family. I'd take a bullet for anyone of them. Saying that a dog can looks scary is not an insult. Slamming somebody for expressing an unhurtful opinion is just plain mean and uncalled for. Nicky

I don't know if you can compair a pet to your children. I understand pets are part of the family but not the same as your child.

I didn't mean to insult the dog by saying he looked scary. I know people love their pets and I do too. Isis ripped into me in my topic above about my class. I thought it was a little uncalled for but I ignored it. She has been ripping in on me lately.

Miss Bear, I get it. My entire family are animal lovers, including my daughters. Unless you are a dog-person, it's difficult to understand. And I did look at your school topic and thought the response was uncalled for and rude. I appreciate your posts, your honesty, your curiosity and your attitude on the boards, even when we don't agree. Hang in there. Nicky

Thanks Nicky.-Miss.Bear

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Posted by: Jenny
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 18:56:10 2012
Message:
Nobody ever got cholesterol from a pit bull.  Case closed.

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right on!!! ///isis

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Posted by: Miss.Bear
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 13:56:55 2012
Message:
Tell ya what, I don't trust either. I am afraid of dogs. They always come up to me whenever I go for a walk as if they know I am afraid.I like McDonalds French fries and that's about it. Sorry but I think that dog looks scary.

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People should never try to pet a stray dog no matter what kind they are unless you see positive signs of friendly. My daughter has a website where she finds home for dogs, we love dogs and I get so mad when I see a dog wandering around with no ID tags on them. Dogs get out sometimes and get lost, they can not speak when they are scared, they need collars and tags. /goldie

It's always good to be cautious around strange dogs (and strange people too). But most dogs are very loving. I used to be afraid of dogs because we didn't have them when I was growing up. Once I got to know a few dogs, I fell in love with them! -Miss H

I've had the same experience as you, Miss H, except that I've still not owned dogs, but my grown son had a wonderful dog for about 12 years who was a member of our family. It's wise to avoid dogs one doesn't know, but all dogs can't be lumped together any more than all people should be lumped together. /SheilaT

dogs attack though. they're scary.

Some humans attack too. Don't trust either until you know them. Common sense. /SheilaT

True. I know I need to get over my fear of dogs. I don't mind the real small dogs but the big ones scare me.

The small dogs are usually worse than the big dogs. Nicky

My aunt has these two little dogs and they were just cutest. I wasn't afraid of them at all. My brother and his wife had a little dog. He was a little yapper. He wasn't scary. He passed away recently but he was a good dog.

That is for sure, my three Chihuahuas are a lot scarier than my daughters Pit Bull, when they all come at you at once yapping their little heads off, they have never bitten anyone but they act like they would like to :). My sister has been a Vet Tech for 26 years and she said she has been been bitten by small dogs but never by a big dog and never ever by a Pitt Bull. /goldie

The thing is, if a little dog bites you you're probably not going to be real hurt. If it attacks you, you can easily defend yourself. A large dog attacks you, you're screwed. You can be dead or really messed up.

I know that big dogs can hurt you more than small, but Pit Bulls have been given a really bad rap, and they are not vicious dogs at all, you can train any dog to attack.Police usually use German Shepherds as attack dogs, and they will not turn loose until told to. I just hate that Pit Bulls are condemned by some just because of their breed. /goldie

I agree that pit bulls are given a bad name, just like Dobermans and Rotties. 99% it's a a people problem, not a dog problem. Go figure. Nicky

Like I have said I'm sure they're good animals when not being trained to attack by humans. I still am a bit scared of large animals and really did not mean to offend dog owners who love their dogs. Please understand.-Miss.Bear

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Posted by: goldie
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 13:47:10 2012
Message:
Pit Bulls are wonderful dogs, my sister has 2 and my daughter has one. They are sweet and gentle. There are alot of dogs that attack people and only a few are Pit Bulls, but they get all the publicity. You never see anything about a Lab or German Shepard attacking anyone but they will. I hate when I hear this kind of BS about Pit Bulls.

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I agree Goldie. I have met some very sweet pit bulls. The only ones that are dangerous are trained to be that way by some very bad people. -Miss H

In recent years, the dogs responsible for the bulk of the homicides are pit bulls and Rottweilers:

In recent years, the dogs responsible for the bulk of the homicides are pit bulls and Rottweilers:

Only because they have been trained by ignorant, hateful people to be attack dogs and killers. No breed of dog is hateful or a killer by nature. Stop fear-mongering. /SheilaT

I'm afraid of dogs the same way some people are afraid of snakes. Most snakes are not dangerous but yet people are afraid of them and then some people have pet snakes.

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Posted by: Miss Harold
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 12:01:39 2012
Message:
I love this!!! Is this you with your daughter? You are both beautiful, and so is your dog :)

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Yes that is my daughter and myself. Thank you Miss harold!!! ///Isis

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Posted by: SheilaT
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 9:41:38 2012
Message:

I love the power of the social media!!  We need to use it for more causes.  Look what happened with Susan G. Komen defunding Planned Parenthood?  A little Facebook, Twitter, and MediaDomain action and POOF!! -- PP is funded again!

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Okay, what is this planned parenthood everybody keeps talking about? Is this about birth control?

Read the thread a little ways up: ''Pink is Just a Color''. /SheilaT

PS . . . and read everything, especially the Wikipedia entry that Mitch posted. /SheilaT

I don't think planned parenthood is anything I would want to support.

Free or low cost health care for women with no health insurance? What's wrong with that? They take care of routine phyicals, pap smears, breast cancer acreening, and birth control among other services. If abortions bother you, they only account for 3% of the services PP offers. Find out what's going on before you reject something out of hand. /SheilaT

The abortion part bothers me even if it is only a small percent otherwise it seems like a good cause. Right now I am donating money to a prolife cause for the church.

It's your choice. Too bad you don't want others to have freedom of choice. /SheilaT

I am not going to spend a single penny on a cause that supports abortion. I feel no shame about it.

If you call yourself pro-life and you do not allow abortion, then you should adopt an unwanted child. Otherwise, your attitude is worthless and you have no meaning.

Thanks for trying, SheilaT. Maybe someday ... eom/Kenara

Thanks, Kenara, and thanks for posting the 'pink' topic. And BTW, that wasn't me who posted the anon response above. I sign everything I post. /SheilaT

I never for a moment even wondered if it was you, SheilaT. /Kenara

anon, your statement is crap. So, the only way to be prolife is to adopt?? Really?? Why don't you let some homeless people live with you if you really care about the poor. I guess giving to charity is meaningless too.n

Lordy, PLEASE don't encourage Miss Bear to adopt anything!!! She has Soo much growing up to do herself!!!! ///Isis

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Posted by: Isis
Date posted: Sun Feb 5 1:57:50 2012
Message:
McDonalds ad....Video

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If you click on the above link you will see McDonald's has pulled the ad and appologized. The site says ''The fast food chain has apologized and pulled the local ad in response to outraged dog lovers everywhere. Although they still have not apologized for their food.'' /SheilaT

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