The Truth about Pit Bulls

We're celebrating National Pit Bull Awareness Day with our 3rd Annual Pittie Palooza at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. Our program, Save-a-Bull, works to help dispel the myths about the breed and we thank you for this great blog post!

Have had our precious pit bull mix for nine years. Sweetest and smartest dog we've ever had. I adore him and so does everyone that meets him. All dogs are only as good as their owner. Such a shame what bad people have done to these very bright and faithful dogs.

My pitbull, Shayla, was brought into the veterinary office where I was working as a tech. The local police had brought her in to be euthanized. They found her chained to a tree @ a crack house they had raided. She had 2 broken legs and was severely burned on her back. Apparently her "owners" were trying to fight her & she wasn't mean enough, so they were pouring battery acid on her in an attempt to anger her & make her fight. Despite the horrible reputation of the pitbull and the fact that someone literally went out of their way to make her mean, Shayla is the most loving dog and shows unconditional love to everyone she meets. This is a pitbull who rightfully should hate all humans, but she doesn't. She is an absolute love and has brought me 10 years of happiness and continues to do so every single day.

My Strider is half American Stafforshire/half Australian Shepherd mix, and is the goofiest, gentlest, and sweetest dog we've ever had the pleasure to share our lives with. Nothing makes him happier than us walking through the door at the end of the day, giving him a belly rub, or giving him a plastic water bottle to crunch. He could be a little better behaved on our walks, but I think most of his problems are because he's picked up some bad behavior from our other dog that is a Harrier mix (beagle on steroids). He thinks he's a lap dog, and doesn't understand why we are constantly needing to shift from under his weight. He's wonderful with our two cats, although he thinks they shoudl play with him more. We love him so much, and couldn't ask for a better companion.

I grew up with dogs and have been fortunate to be surrounded by several breeds as well as mixed breeds. I am a dog lover! I would have never adopted or bought a pit bull because of their bad reputation, but one day, there she was my "Lady" standing in our garage door, asking to be a part of our family. I already had 2 dogs (German Shepherd mix and Lab mix)and automatically feared for their safety, but could not send her away because she looked like she had been abandoned. She was maybe 1 year old when she came to us and I must say that she was the sweetest dog I ever owned. All she wanted to do is please us and be loved. She honored my other two dogs and took 3rd place rank, never bothered their food or fought them for any reason, even though they initially growled at her and were not very welcoming. They soon became best buddies. I lost my "Lady" to cancer a couple years ago and tears are rolling down my face now as I am typing this, in memory of my sweet "Lady" who I will never forget. She was my gentle "Pitty Bullie", AKA "Lady Buggie". I am a witness that the pit bull race is not vicious, etc., they are great family dogs.

I had a pitbull named Canela which is spanish for cinnamon. I really loved that dog. She was a sweetheart. Pitbulls arent what poeple think they are. They can be real sweethearts if you treat them well. If you teach them to fight thats when they become aggressive. they r like children they learn from you. You make them to be really sweet or mean by the way you care for them. but in reality they are all sweet...let's keep it that way. My pitbull died but she will always be remembered for her sweet playfulness. I was never afraid that she would hurt ne 1 because she loved attention.

I have two resuce dogs Madison is an Am Staff x and Karmie is an American Bull. They are both the most amazing, loveable, cuddly dogs I have ever had. They are bundles of energy who love to run and play but they are also the best cuddlers! They are so nice to my cats and everytime I look at them they put a huge smile on my face. In my city Edmonton, Canada they just passed legislation to make restricted dogs not by breeds but rather by behavior exhibited!! My pitties finally have freedom. I believe its due to organizations like this one that help make that possible. Happy Pitbull Awareness Day to all!!!

I adopted my American Staffordshire Terrier, Stella, 3 years ago after finding her wandering in the street. After bringing her to a shelter because I figured somebody must of owned her, I felt instantly connected to her and checked in on her multiple times. When no one came to claim her, I convinced my parents (who I was living with at the time) to give her a shot. My mom had a prejudice against Pit Bulls and was very hesitant because we had cats and another older dog. Well, I am happy to say that Stella has become a real member of the family. She is calm, quiet, and so well behaved. She just quietly follows me around all day. I have never met a dog who was so attached to me. She is just the most wonderful canine I have ever had the previledge of knowing - if I could only have one dog for the rest of my life, it would be her.

About 12 1/2 years ago we adopted a pit bull/yellow labrador mix puppy from a non-profit rescue here in Massachusetts. The foster Mom absolutely loved him but she could not keep him due to already having 3 dogs. While my husband and I already had a Black Labrador 1 year old dog at home, we fell in love with this snuggly pit bull mix but they were unfortunately having issues with adopting him out because of him being half pit bull. That made my husband and I fall in love with him more and he became a part of our family....naming him "Chance" which stood for giving him a second chance. Years later, we had two daughters, who are now 9 and 6 years old and Chance has been a wonderfully, goofy, bed hog, blanket hog and couch hog of a dog. He even tolerates the girls dressing him up.....he definitely breaks the stereotype of a mean pitbull because everyone who meets him falls in love with him. He has always been great with babies and kids of all ages......we would adopt a pit bull again in a heart beat.

Nobody loves dogs more than I do but sorry, facts are facts. 'DogsBite.org Releases 2011 Fatal Dog Bite Statistics; Pit bulls led fatal dog attacks in 2011 accounting for over 67% of the year's total fatalities despite only comprising about 5% of the total U.S. dog population. This is substantiated by many other orgs as well. Personally, I know of about 6 instances when a loving, family raised pitt bull has attacked someone or another pet in the family out of nowhere. When there are so many other breeds without this 'instinct', why choose a pitt bull? I wouldn't walk my dog past another walking a pitt bull and that's sad. My grandmother did and had to watch her small dog ripped apart by someone walking their pitt bull. Always...the first thing out of the mouth of owners is.."He's never done anything like that before. He's always been gentle and loving." Again, 'pitt bulls are responsible for 67% of all fatal dog attacks yet are only 5% of the dog population.'

I adopted a pitbull about a year and a half ago I would not trade her for any thing in the world. She is so loving and affectionate and the best companion. They are very sweet dogs and should not be banned anywhere just more checked out on the person adopting them cause they dont deserve the bad rap

We rescued a hound mix who was obviously part pit bull 2 1/2 years ago. He was a sorry little guy when we adopted him; underweight, broken teeth, parasites, and frightened. Today, he is a happy, loving addition to our family. I don't know what all he had been through, but he has forgiven humans. He almost breaks my heart with his sweetness. His name is Stanley.

I have four pit bull dogs. The most recent addition to the family is Bonzai, who was one of 27 dogs from a fighting ring that was busted in Cleveland. When I first met Bonzai and the other 26 dogs at the Cleveland kennel, I thought: These are fighting dogs? They were small, undernourished, terrified... and friendly and affectionate! The only one that wasn't friendly was Bonzai, so of course, I fell in love with him. He growled at everyone, and he was physically sick and emotionally tired of being kept in a cage 24/7 for his whole life. The day I went to pick him up from the kennel - he was just going to be a "foster" (FAIL!!) - he somehow knew he was leaving for good, not just a walk. He looked up at me with liquid brown eyes and his whole body shook with excitement. We used a shutdown protocol to help him recover from his past experiences, and I think his slow reintroduction into the world saved his life. He's been with me for nearly a year now and while it hasn't always been easy, it has been the most-rewarding experience of my life. To see a dog who was so afraid and hurt and shut down become a playful, loving, ball of snuggleness has changed both our worlds for the better.

Sorry, I have known beautiful, sweet pitbulls but I have also seen the other side and I caution all to be careful when around them with your dogs. My beautiful sweet German Shepherd was attacked (mine was on leash walking with me) by a pitbull recently who locked on to his ear...my poor dog could not fight back because with every move he took his ear was being ripped - even the pits owner could not get him to release for some time. I have totally changed my opinion of these dogs and now am totally paranoid whenever I see one. I thought I might adopt/rescue a pitt one day but no longer. Again, I caution all dog owners to be careful.

As I read these comments I feel they are talking about my Suzy. She came around as a stray a couple of years ago and decided to stay. No ad was ever in the local paper looking for her, and she was so afraid of everything that I was afraid she had been abused. After a few days I took her to the vet for shots and for spaying. She is an amazing dog, and from the first moment she came into the house she has been good with my cats and my other dog, a Shih Tzu. She immediately bonded with a kitten I had rescued, but was injured and had to have a leg amputated. When she first came she would cringe when I would reach to pet her, and would run to hide if I said "no" to any of the animals. She didn't take long, though, to want to sit in my lap (as if there was room!) and cuddle. She and my other dog are inseparable, and the cats come up to her to have their faces washed. And to think, up until she came along I was afraid of pitties!

My husband and I adopted Lexi, a young mutt, at the beginning of the summer in 2009. That fall, we were buying our first home and decided Lexi needed a sibling. We spent lots of time at adoption events and searching online, but couldn't find the right dog. I remember scrolling through countless pages of pit bulls on petfinder, but kept saying "I don't want a pit bull." They were so cute, but my mom kept feeding that thought that pit bulls weren't a good dog to adopt. We came across a rescue's listing on craigslist for an adoptable Vizla mix. There were only 2 pictures, but she was adorable. We applied to adopt her and the rescue brought her to our home. Her name was Pumpkin and when she jumped out of the back of that van, she jumped right into my arms and kissed my face, then my moms, then my husbands. She bonded instantly with Lexi. We finalized the adoption a week later and my husband said to me, Pumpkin looks an awful lot like a pit bull. I kept insisting that she didn't, until he showed me a picture of what they called red nosed pit bulls. Pumpkin was a spitting image. I couldn't believe it - I adopted a pit bull and fell in love. She was our wake up call. All that time I believed pit bulls weren't good dogs because of what other people and the media had said. I was ignorant and feel terrible that I ever thought that way about these wonderful dogs. We now foster pit bulls and are huge pit bull advocates. I try to educate people who are ignorant, like I was. And if they still don't believe me, Pumpkin does all the convincing - she can't hold her licker!

Only the dedicated and educated owners of pit bull type dogs understand their true greatness.

I rescued a pitbull in Mexico who was heartworm positive. Sweet, but she had some dog aggressive issues. Probably had to fight for her life in Mexico. My Sister has her now. Great with all dogs we bring into her house, her kids dogs that come over. She is aggressive with dogs she does not know on a leash. The other pittie was going to be put to sleep in RedBluff, CA. We got her. Wouldn't give her up. She does that full body pit bull wiggle that tells everyone "I Love You, You are my Best Friend". She is the meeter, greeter for our business. Everyone loves Dinah.

My name is Dazie, I weigh about ninety pounds soaking-wet, I live in harmony with a Collie whose name is Lyra, and I've become the shadow of my newest part time mistress, JC. I have brownish black fur that is a little bit bristly to the touch, but shines in the sunlight and loves nothing more than to be gently petted by my owners. At bedtime each night, I scurry into the foyer of my master's house to awaken Lyra so that we can go outdoors one last time for the day to sit side-by-side in the snow and go potty. (Lyra is much older than I and she lost most of her hearing a few years ago and so I straddle her on all fours and bark very loudly in order to awaken her.) Lyra is my best friend. We eat together and we play together. Every night, because Lyra can no longer climb the stairs to my master's bedroom, I go alone to their bed. They encourage me to jump-up onto their bed (I've recently gained a bit too much weight so I have a little bit of anxiety about being able to make-it up that high) but they remind me that I can do it. Soon my courage has risen high enough that I believe I can do it too, and up I go! (Of course, my master and mistress are my spotters.) When I'm ready, I dig at the top of the blankets with my paw, and they know that I'm prepared to make my journey underneath the covers down to the foot of the bed where I love to sleep (all toasty warm) each night. These two humans are very comical in that they seem to find this amusing and affection provoking, so I never disappoint them. First, of course, I exchange numerous kisses and hugs with them as we bid each other good-night. What is my complete identity? I'm a five year old Pitbull. Tragically, most people believe that I was born to be bad. In fact, they believe that I'm bad to the bone. I want you to know that, as my owners would gladly tell you, nothing could be further from the truth! The truth is that there are bad people who take advantage of my tendency to be competitive and very well able to protect my master not only from ill intentioned people, but from any ill-intentioned dogs, as well. These bad people train me to use that tendency to beat-up and harm other dogs, and yes, even humans, too. I'm writing this letter to you because I want you to know that I've been given a bad rap based upon what has been done to me by violent people. I am no different from humans in that, whatever ways I'm trained during my growing up years, are the ways I will behave as an adult. If I am trained by mean, abusive, violent owners, I will learn to be mean, abusive and violent. If, on the other hand, I am trained by gentle, loving humans, I will grow up to be a gentle and loving pet. So please, I plead with you to keep an open mind regarding my brothers and sisters! We are, by nature, extremely intelligent, loyal and loving animals who would give our lives for those we love. Please raise us with tender loving care and that is the way that we will treat everyone with whom we come in contact.. Please don't lock us in your basement and teach us vicious techniques with which to fight and even kill our own kind. (Even humans can learn to kill and so, you see, we are really not that different from you!) Let us love you and those dear to you. For we have hearts the size of Texas, if only we are given the understanding, love and the chance to develop our loving ways. You will know that you have been truly loved, only when you have been truly loved by a Pitbull. My name is Dazie, and I speak the truth. ©2010 by JC Eberhart © JC Eberhart and JC Eberhart 1974 – 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to JC Eberhart and JC Eberhart with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

My husband and I have been the proud and very blessed owners of 2 Pit Bulls to date (there will be more). Our first was rescued off the streets in a very bad neighborhood in Phoenix as a pup around 7 months old. She was our trusted companion for over 13 years. She went out with us on the horses, played gently with all the animals we had at the time (goats, sheep, ducks, chickens), she even rescued a baby Barbados that was born up against the fence and after being born, found himself on the wrong side! She cleaned him and wrapped around him and kept him safe and warm until we returned and then barked to let us know something was up! We went out back and here she was, being 'Mommy' to a new born lamb! She was the same when we had our first grandchild. The baby would spit up alot as she had problems with her tummy and it would be a race between 'Journey' (our son named her as it was quite the journey on a Friday night to go get her from her rescuer)and I to get to the baby to wipe the spit up off her face. The baby would laugh so hard if Journey got their first and licked her! She mothered everything that hit the property, snuggled in bed at night, rode in the car like a seasoned traveler and never met a stranger. When Journey was getting old and we knew we wouldn't have her long, we were informed by our daughter who had gone to the Humane Society in Deming, NM (we were living in Silver City at the time having moved from New River in AZ)that there was a pair of pits there and one was marked the exact opposite of Journey and she knew I needed to see her. Our Journey looked like a Victrola dog, white with black patch on face and patches on body. One white ear on the black patch side, adorable! Well, Gracee Jayne (as she rapidly named) was black with white. Her and her brother had been dumped near the Mexican border and wandered up to a road crew and these wonderful people fed them every day and made sure they had water and kept trying to find owners or a home. When the work was done, the dogs trusted them enough to be picked up by them and brought to the Humane Society where they had a 'Do Not Put to Sleep' order on them and would even pay the adoption fee for a GOOD home and pay to support them until adopted! I was in tears over their generosity! We adopted her of course and the brother was also adopted. After we had her about a month I even got a call from one of the road workers asking how she was and telling me how happy they were that these loving animals had forever homes! They had named them 'Pot Hole' and 'Dip Stick' if I remember right! Well, she is 10 now and same story! Loves all the grandchildren and the 2 great grandchildren, wins 'Non-Pit' people over on a daily basis, everyone who meets her, loves her and she has blessed our entire family more than we could ever do for her! They truly are the best, most loyal, loving, SMART, eager to please dogs on earth! Bad people force them to do Bad things to survive and that should be held agains the human who knows better rather than the poor abused dog, just trying to figure out how to survive. I can't say enough about going after the bad owners and rescueing the dogs, not punishing them for something beyond their control!!!!

I love my pit bull and don't get people's horrible perception of them. I was raised in a household with multiple pits and I never once got bit or attacked by any of them. Best dogs in the world hands down. "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners" so all of you mis informed people you shouldn't throw stones if you live in a glass house.

I rescued my pit about 10 years ago. She was about 1 year old at the time. I have to admit at the time when she was given to me by a friend to help find her a home that I wasn't too keen on pit bulls. No one wanted her and I've never had any experience with pit bulls. The only thing I knew was the negative stuff I read or saw in the media. Needless to say that I fell madly in love! She is the sweetest, most friendliest dog I have ever owned. Every time I see someone walking a pit bull I make it a point to go over and play with them. I have never met a mean one. I have been chastised at work and by acquaintances for owning a pit bull. When they see me, they ask me about her and they are almost disappointed that I haven't been mauled so that it can prove their stereotype. I'm so tired of fighting the stereotype. I even invite these people to my home to meet her and maybe change their mind. They look at me as if I have 3 heads when I ask. I wish people would get to know these wonderful creatures. I will fight tooth and nail to change the image of the wonderful, beautiful and magnificent pit bull.

In honor of the two pits that changed my life I would like to tell about my experience for National Pit Bull Awareness Day. My first experience with a Pit Bull was with Buddy. My partner and I had just moved into a rental home with Hairy, our Sheltie mix that we had adopted from the Humane Societ three years before. Unknown to us, the new home came with a black and white pit bull living in our fenced in back yard. At first I didn't know what to do because I, like so many others, had heard horror stories about this breed of dog. In my heart, I knew I could not just let this dog waste away from starvation in my back yard so I began feeding him and providing fresh water. At first he was very standoffish, lending to the fact that something very tragic had happened to this animal. In time I grew his trust and he mine, and I eventually named him Buddy. Upon doing research, I found that in the state of Tennessee, at the time, there were no Pit Bull resucues and the ones in surrounding states required animals to be spayed or nutered before they would accept them for addoption. We paid to have Buddy nutered so we could begin trying to find a place to have him addopted through. We ended up moving to a new rental house within a few months after this and we took Buddy with us to a new back yard in which he flourished. Our Hairy got along great with Buddy. Everytime I saw Buddy run free in the back yard I could just hear music in my head which brought a smile to my face. This was the funniest dog I had ever seen and to watch his actions with our Hairy was priceless. You have to know our Hairy is a pretty dog (not so bright) and I used to laugh and laugh when Hairy would just sit in the back yard staring up at the sky and Buddy would come barreling around and knock him over. Over time, unfortunately, due to some health complications we had to put Buddy down and it was felt through the whole family. I missed him, Hairy seemed depressed and always looked for him in the back yard when we would go out. For Valentines that next year we adopted Jasmine from the Humane Society, a Collie/Shephard mix that matched perfectly with Hairy. We had Hairy and Jasmine for a couple of months and I was walking them one day in the park next to our house when all of a sudden I saw this white streak running around the parking lot trying to get into peoples vehicles. Upon closer inspection I noticed it was a solid white Pit Bull puppy probably about 3-6 months old. After having had Buddy I new it wasn't a good sign to see such a young pup running around free in the neighborhood in which we lived so I got her to follow us home. Great, we had become a 3-dog family instantly. That first night she was just so pittiful because she was white with gray looking mouth and eyes. We kept her warm, gave her food and water, and the next morning she had turned pink and white. Over time we nurished her back to health and she grew. Having found her in Shelby Park, we named her Shelby. Shelby and Jasmine would play in the house, moving furniture when they got rambunctious. Jasmine wasn't to happy about sleeping arrangements though because Shelby slept in the bed as well and had to be touching me as we slept, so for the whole time we had her I didn't get much sleep because I had a white Pit Bull attached to my hip in bed. I knew that eventually we would have to find Shelby a home because we didn't have time to spend with such a high energy dog. I had learned that she would never come when I called her unti one day she was ignoring me and I stomped on the floor and caught her attention. That's when we learned she was deaf which endeared her even more to our hearts. From then on I knew how to get her attention. We began the process of finding a rescue that could take her. We had her spayed, caught up on all shots, and had her micro chipped. We finally found a rescue just north of Atlanta that had an opening. It was hard to let her go but we knew that she would eventually go to a new home. The rescue had her less than a week before she found a new home. Our last update then was that she had an older brindle colored Pit Bull brother called Goliath and she was in the process of learning sign language. For anyone that doesn't know anything about this breed of dog, you need to educate yourselves on them. They are so misunderstood and bring such joy to your life. They are quirky and so much fun to watch when they are loved and feel safe. If anything every happens to our Hairy and Jasmine, which eventually will, we will be rescuing a Pit Bull as our next loved one. As we always tell everyone, it's not the breed, but the owner who we blame. It's just like children, it's all in how they raised.