cheekymunkee wrote:Hi! How long have you had an interest in the breed?
Well, my mom and dad got a red pit bull from the pound when I was little. I loved him very much. I named him Shortcut--don't ask me why...I was barely 7. Unfortunately, when they found out what kind of dog he was, they took him back to the pound and adopted a cat instead. It broke my heart.
I started working at animal hospitals nearly five years ago, and had my first run-in with a wonderful little pittie named Mindy. She was brindle, and would board at the kennels all the time. The only thing harmful about her was her tail--she'd leave bruises all over your legs from wagging so hard.
A little over a year ago, my husband comes up the back steps with a black and white 3-4 month old pit bull puppy. He said, "We're only keeping him till we find him a good home." Famous last words. We named him Cup o' Joe because he always acted like he'd had at least five cups! He was the first dog my husband ever truly loved like a son. Joe absolutely loved everyone. We had to put him to sleep in April because he had cancer in his lymph nodes. He'd gone from 63lbs. to 47lbs. in just a couple weeks, and no matter how much he ate he kept losing weight. He also started snapping at people...I think he was in pain, but he even gave me some nasty looks, and I was due anyday with a baby. It was his time to go. He was quickly becoming a liability whenever I took him anywhere. I was afraid he was going to end up really biting someone...it wasn't his fault, bless his sweet heart.
I had him cremated and his urn sits on a shelf next to his picture, collar and tags. Call me weird, but I couldn't bear having his body thrown in the dump to rot. He was too much of a good dog for that.
I just got my little Doodle June 14th. He's helped a lot getting Joe off of my mind. He's almost five months old. He's a pitbull mix with black and white cow patches. I swear he's almost human. In the short time I've had him, he's learned sit, down, still working on stay, get on your bed, get on your couch, get in your kennel, "NO"...I'm still working on walking nicely on the leash. He seems decenly ok with other dogs, although he likes to chase my cats when he can. I have one cat that will get on the floor and wrestle with him...but I never leave them alone just in case. He barks a lot when he sees dogs, but as long as the other dog is cool with him (i.e. not snapping at him or barking in his face...) he's fine to play.
I've researched this breed to nearly its full extent. Any and all info on them I'll pick up and read...many times I already know what they're talking about though. I try my best to educate the general public about pits. Here in Fayetteville, these dogs are everywhere, and we see at least one pitbull everyday at the animal hospital. The people here are so afraid of them, it's crazy. When Joe was a puppy, I took him to the park to walk on the trail, and this lady grabbed her child, who was coming to ask if she could pet Joe, and said, "Get away from that pitbull; he'll tear your face off." I got so angered by that. So, since then, I've been making it a point of letting people know that these dogs are God's gift to us. My motto is: If it's not a pitbull, it's just a dog. The more people out there who have hatred for these dogs, the more it fuels my fire to get them correctly educated...to make some sort of balance for all the negative press they get.
Hope I answered your question...sorry it was so long!
Jen