i wish i knew

I have a soft spot for pit bulls.  I still miss Kona but for us we had to give her back to the rescue agency.  It was not because she was a pit bull.  It was because she was a nervous dog, with nervous energy that did not fit comfortably in our pack.

We did not do our homework and the rescue agency she came from failed on their end too.  He brought Kona over and decided it was safe and left her.  It was not safe and there was tension ignored between her and Nani.  If/when we bring another dog into our house I am now better informed.  I will make sure there are proper play dates at our house and maybe an overnight before we take on a dog forever.

When we adopted Scooby we were told he was a boxer/shepherd mix.  Not that it mattered, he got along with Nani and Liko and they’ve become a cohesive group.   Browsing dog breed websites and ASPCA I can see a strong resemblance to a pit bull,  in the color of his fur and the shape of his mouth and head.  I don’t know for sure, nor do I really care.  His fur is longer and finer than a pit bull’s and his tail is more like a shepherd and he uses his front paws like a boxer.  The only reason I point this out is that if Farmington decided to ban pit bulls I want to have a reason for them not to target us.

Let’s face it: pit bulls are public enemy No. 1. That’s quite a comedown for a pup once considered “America’s dog.” They were owned by the likes of Helen Keller and Teddy Roosevelt, and when I was a kid, a wiry American pit-bull terrier named Sam endured the indignity of being called a “horsy” as he pulled me around in a wagon on an upstate New York farm. But in talking with pit-bull experts, it’s clear that some current owners are too easy to spook, are too ill-informed, and have unrealistic expectations of what pit bulls can do.

Taken from Newsweek, Owners, Not Pit Bulls, Are the Problem

Kona - Christmas 2006 ©marialaitan

Breedism is unfair.

It’s like saying you hate small dogs. All small dogs are not alike. Most pit bulls are at the mercy of their clueless owners. Any dog can be aggressive. Any dog can attack another dog. Any dog can attack a person. They all have the same instincts, some stronger than others. Their personalities and experiences shape them, but unlike humans their experiences don’t have to scar them for life.

For those who don’t know I lived through not one, but two, viscous dog fights between Nani and Kona. (Nani is a black lab, didn’t see that coming did you?) I don’t know how both dogs survived. I know that I have bite scars on my wrists and hands to prove it (because not knowing what else to do I had to pull them apart). I also know that I’d adopt another pit bull if it fit into our pack.

©marialaitan.com