Persuasive Speech: Pit Bulls
Nicole Watkins
Persuasive Speech
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to petition against Maryland’s law to identify “Pit Bulls” as a dangerous breed of dog.
Six months ago, almost to the day, my best friend and her new puppy were attacked. She was dog sitting her grandmother’s Mastiff, whom at the time had no previous violent history. She kept the Mastiff and her puppy in separate rooms in order to make sure there were no problems, but that wasn’t enough. One day, out of nowhere, the Mastiff broke down the door separating them and went on a full-fledged attack toward the puppy. My friend tried to make it out of the door of the house, but to no avail. The Mastiff bit her by the arm and dragged her to the ground forcing the puppy from her arms. He then proceeded to viciously rip apart her puppy right in front of her with her unable to do anything about the attack. Because this dog had no previous history of being violent, he was only quarantined for a short time period. But if this dog had been a Pit Bull, he would have been euthanized immediately whether there was a prior history or not. According to my audience analysis 87% of the class does not believe that there is such thing as a breed of dog that is born naturally violent and dangerous, but for the 13% of the class that does, when asked to name that breed, did not identify only a single breed. Working at a vet hospital, I see all different breeds of dogs and their temperaments. Although there are some nervous Pit Bulls that come in, there are also very sweet and gentle ones as well. On the other hand, I see many dogs of different breeds that are more on edge and prone to bite; Huskies, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Mastiffs. So what makes one breed any more dangerous than another? Today I am here to talk to you about the discriminating, Maryland law that states the dog breed, Pit Bulls, based on the court ruling reported in the Baltimore Sun by Ian Duncan, are deemed “inherently dangerous”
Persuasive Speech
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to petition against Maryland’s law to identify “Pit Bulls” as a dangerous breed of dog.
Six months ago, almost to the day, my best friend and her new puppy were attacked. She was dog sitting her grandmother’s Mastiff, whom at the time had no previous violent history. She kept the Mastiff and her puppy in separate rooms in order to make sure there were no problems, but that wasn’t enough. One day, out of nowhere, the Mastiff broke down the door separating them and went on a full-fledged attack toward the puppy. My friend tried to make it out of the door of the house, but to no avail. The Mastiff bit her by the arm and dragged her to the ground forcing the puppy from her arms. He then proceeded to viciously rip apart her puppy right in front of her with her unable to do anything about the attack. Because this dog had no previous history of being violent, he was only quarantined for a short time period. But if this dog had been a Pit Bull, he would have been euthanized immediately whether there was a prior history or not. According to my audience analysis 87% of the class does not believe that there is such thing as a breed of dog that is born naturally violent and dangerous, but for the 13% of the class that does, when asked to name that breed, did not identify only a single breed. Working at a vet hospital, I see all different breeds of dogs and their temperaments. Although there are some nervous Pit Bulls that come in, there are also very sweet and gentle ones as well. On the other hand, I see many dogs of different breeds that are more on edge and prone to bite; Huskies, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Mastiffs. So what makes one breed any more dangerous than another? Today I am here to talk to you about the discriminating, Maryland law that states the dog breed, Pit Bulls, based on the court ruling reported in the Baltimore Sun by Ian Duncan, are deemed “inherently dangerous”