Kenneth Phillips, whose Twitter says he is an attorney for dog bite victims at Dog Bite Law, shared a video last week that he advertised as a “Super Bowl commercial.” It urges watchers to not adopt pitbulls, and it’s drawing ample Twitter backlash from dog lovers.
“One breed killed 75 percent of the people who were mauled in 2017,” the commercial said. “Pitbulls killed 29 Americans in 2017. That’s nothing to cheer about. Do not adopt a pitbull.”
SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL THAT SAYS "DO NOT ADOPT A PIT BULL" – Share this to help show that pit bulls are too dangerous to adopt! #DoNotAdopt, #DangerousDogs, #DogBiteLaw, #Dogs, #BSL, #BanTheBreed pic.twitter.com/ybNxkcI5M9
— Kenneth M. Phillips (@DogBiteLaw) January 19, 2018
The commercial—which Phillips admits himself will not actually be aired during the Super Bowl—angered pitbull owners on Twitter. Many responded with disgust toward the video and presented the argument that pitbulls aren’t born violent, but have historically been trained to do bad things by irresponsible owners.
https://twitter.com/Dzaic47/status/954438269617561605
Police killed 987 people in 2017, so does that mean we aren’t supposed to have policemen? Don’t ever try to disrespect pit bulls like that ever again.
— Mulynn (@itslynnyv) January 22, 2018
Other pitbull advocates, however, responded with the best evidence that pitbulls don’t deserve a bad reputation: photos of their doggies cuddled up with people.
https://twitter.com/marie_barone/status/955111981555568641
https://twitter.com/bryannahrose/status/954868780307542016
Yeah, real vicious pic.twitter.com/S81DapXhGK
— ricky (@ericad0710) January 20, 2018
same pic.twitter.com/iRlaF0V8NV
— lexx🖤 (@itslexxxy) January 20, 2018
She's attacking the Starbucks save me pic.twitter.com/O7dYOHWO4J
— 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚑 △/𝓽 (@hannahhmari) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/indecentlydecen/status/954919146122223616
https://twitter.com/emilyw1218/status/954921585223151616
Someone help!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zRwOFR4ynv
— bri (@brianne_stearns) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/miracleangel__/status/954968691958996994
https://twitter.com/carballout/status/954928773283098630
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals describes the pitbull as “a well-socialized and well-trained” dog that is “one of the most delightful, intelligent, and gentle dogs imaginable.”