Pit Bulls - They Are Not What You May Think They Are

Bruce is the first "pit bull" I worked with.

As many of you know by now, I do quite a bit of work with local shelter dogs. I volunteer with a local shelter and, along with other great volunteers, work hard to get dogs adopted. A few days ago, I had someone looking to adopt a dog that I was working with. She looked at a few dogs and decided on this little Lab mix. As we walked down the hall she suddenly stopped and said very loudly, “Don’t bring that thing near me. I’m not going to get bit!” Coming down the hall was a volunteer with a very happy little boy (I’ll call him “happy boy”) who absolutely loves people and just so happens to be a pit mix. I moved her behind a door and this happy little boy continued on his way, wagging his tail and trying to say hi to everyone he came across.

Unfortunately, this type of prejudice is not new to me. It resembles many of the things I hear, on almost a daily basis, about this breed. The previous person knew nothing about “happy boy” but knew she didn’t like him the second she saw him and that he would bite her. I started thinking about this woman and started wondering…why did she KNOW she would be bitten by “happy boy” and how did she KNOW she didn’t like him the second she saw him. She didn’t have the same feeling towards the other dogs she looked at and definitely didn’t feel that way towards the Lab she had just adopted.

Did she read any of the negative stories about “pit bulls” or bully breeds? Did she watch any of the negative press they get or maybe she listened to that person who always goes around telling you how bad they are? If you saw or listened to any of this negativity, then you may believe that bully breeds are scary enough that you just wouldn’t want to be around them. But if you disregard all the bad press as people, groups and organizations working towards their own agenda and you actually meet a few of these bully breeds, you may find for yourself, as I did, that they are not scary at all. "Pit bulls" as they are all generally called, are loyal dogs who simply want to be loved and who give a lot of love in return.

As you may or may not know, I have a Lab mix and a Husky/Shepherd mix that were both adopted. I don’t have a pit bull as part of my family, but have fostered them over the years. However, I’ll admit there was a time when I would also watch and read the stories about "pit bulls" and was scared to death of them. The first time I met one was when I was sitting in the house of the people we adopted our Lab Roxy from. The family also had an American Pit Bull Terrier mix named Sasha. When we arrived at the house, Sasha was immediately brought upstairs by her owners. After a few minutes, Sasha came running down the stairs, through the living room, around the corner into the kitchen and then right towards me as I was sitting on the sofa. I jumped and was sure I was going to get bit or maybe even worse. She sat next to me and gave me more kisses than I can count. The owner apologized and said that was the reason he put her upstairs when people came over. If he didn’t then she would want to kiss and play with everyone she met. Since then I have met and worked with quite a few bully breeds over the years. I've found that the only thing they really want is to love and beloved.

In October of 2008, while volunteering at the Animal Assistance League of Virginia, I was extremely fortunate to meet an American Pit Bull Terrier mix named Bruce. It was obvious from the beginning that some of the workers there were a bit leery of Bruce because of his breed. I very rarely saw anyone take him out to play in the play yard, but I was also only there a few hours a day. Each time I went to the shelter, Bruce would go up to the door of his run and bark. I would bend down and talk to him, but that was about it. For some reason, I felt really bad for him one day and decided to try and take him out. The whole time I was going into his run and trying to put his leash on, I kept thinking “this is a bad idea”. Once I got Bruce out in the yard he jumped around, rolled on his back, gave me kisses, rolled on his back again and acted like a little puppy. He was so happy to be out of that cage that confined him. I soon discovered that Bruce was a very playful happy little guy who loved to chase tennis balls and get belly rubs. He would go crazy every time I went to visit him. He wanted to get out of his cage and play. Bruce was a very well behaved little guy who would sit and wait for his leash to be put on before going outside. Once in the play yard, even though I wasn’t supposed to, I would take his leash off, as long as there was no one and no other dogs in there. Bruce would stay close to me until I threw the ball. He would run after it and bring it back to me, wagging his tail and waiting for me to throw it again. Whenever I called him, he would run to me with a big smile on his face. Bruce was finally adopted out to a great home and now has a forever loving family. Unfortunately, the Animal Assistance League is now shut down. This no-kill shelter’s ambitious plan to renovate its dog kennel last spring has forced it to close down, making it a victim of a sluggish economy.

King Dobie-Bryant

I continue to volunteer my time and have been fortunate enough to have met many other "bullies" over the past few years. I've trained them, played with them, wrestled with them, taken them to adoption events and taken them on outings to get them out of the shelter for a while. I’ll continue to work as hard as I can to help these incredible dogs find their forever homes and families and help them to be seen as the loving, loyal and beautiful animals they are. I have used, and will continue to use my Hampton Roads Dogs For Adoption FaceBook page and my Hampton Roads Dogs For Adoption  website to promote these wonderful dogs and, along with friends of mine, help those who face so many obstacles in life, continue to find their FURever homes.