The Year Our Children Became Bait Dogs:

The Year Our Children Became Bait Dogs: Thoughts and Prayers are Not Enough!

By Pamela S. Gockley,

Reputation Management Professional and Executive Director of The Camel Project

Wikipedia defines bait dogs as “animals used to test a dog's fighting instinct; they are often mauled or killed in the process. Many of the training methods involve torturing and killing of other animals. Often bait animals are passive or less dominant, like puppies, kittens, rabbits, small dogs. The snouts of bait animals are often wrapped with duct tape to prevent them from fighting back, and they are used in training sessions to improve a dog's endurance, strength or fighting ability."

According to the ASPCA, as of 2008, dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In most, the possession of dogs for fighting is also a felony offense. Being a spectator at a dogfight is illegal in all states except Montana and Hawaii.

As a leading expert and researcher of reputation management, I believe we have reached a level of toxicity unseen before and many people have no idea what to do. We are seeing the effects of bullying on our kids in an uncharted area. I am sad to think there will be more school shootings, depression and suicide unless society as a whole addresses bullying. Some of the psychological damage will take years to cure, if at all.

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Pamela S. Gockley is Executive Director of The Camel Project, a non-profit, 501?(3) organization focused on the elimination of bullying for youth and adults, and is certified in Bullying Prevention by the CDC of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

* Sources: The Bureau of Justice Statistics - School Crime and Safety, Yale University studies

** Sources: Dr. Judy Blando of the University of Phoenix