Fact Check

Dr. Laura on Pit Bulls

Did radio host Dr. Laura say that pit bulls in an animal shelter were 'taking up space' and that they should all be 'put down?'

Published Dec. 19, 2014

Claim:

Claim:   Radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger stated during a broadcast that pit bulls in an animal shelter were "taking up space" and that they should all be "put down."


TRUE


Example:   [Collected via e-mail, December 2014]


This week (Monday Dec 15th) Sirius XM aired a segment on "ways to fight loneliness" and in that segment Dr. Laura Schlessinger stated, ON AIR, that she thinks "all Pit Bulls are a waste of space and should be killed" among other slanderous ignorant comments.

 

Origins:   On 15 December 2014, SiriusXM radio host

Dr. Laura Schlessinger visited an animal shelter as part of a larger segment about ways to combat loneliness in a healthy fashion. (The talk-show advice maven moved to the subscription-only radio network in 2010, after an unrelated controversy during which she used a racial epithet while taking a call from a listener.)

During the segment, Dr. Laura expressed surprise at the number of pit bulls living in the animal shelter she visited. (She maintained that "about 95%" of the dogs there were pit bulls or pit bull mixes.) After observing the pit bull situation, Schlessinger remarked that "I think they should all be put down" because "they were taking up space, and nobody was going to adopt them. That's why they were all there — people were getting rid of them":

On 19 December 2014, Schlessinger broke from her standard Facebook style of commentary to post an apology to those who were offended by the comments and stated:



After reading the emails from pit bull lovers, I realize that my comments were hurtful. I apologize for causing any pit bull owner/fancier any distress.

Last updated:   19 December 2014

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