ARE you right to trust your instincts if you cross the street when you encounter a snarling pit bull with an equally forbidding owner? A new study suggests that the owners of so-called "vicious" dogs commit more crimes than those who do not own such a dog.
Laurie Ragatz and her colleagues at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown examined whether owners of vicious dogs - those classed by the American Kennel Club as breeds with a high risk of causing injury to humans - were different in personality and behaviour to others. Their online questionnaire of 758 students, 563 of whom owned dogs, revealed owners of vicious dogs were significantly more likely to admit crimes such as vandalism, illegal drug use and fighting than other dog owners and those without dogs (Journal of Forensic Sciences, DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01001.x). Hardly surprising. Perhaps we could guess each other's dog? I hope all would guess I own Grommet(from Wallace and Grommet), though suspect I might be seen as harbouring a rottweiler-pitbull! Does Molly's poodle have a 'pitbull shadow'? Does Chris' domesticated african hunting dog do ganga? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
