As a "responsible" dog owner, I have had many offensive encounters with other less understanding dog owners regarding my pit bulls. My two sweet girls, Ethel and Eleanor, are well socialized, smart, love to play and cuddle, go to a doggie-daycare once a week and know both verbal and hand signals. My older dog Eleanor, even has a Canine Good Citizen Certificate from the AKC. Regardless of all these positive things, I still get the occasional rude and hurtful comment from clueless dog owners.
In response I often clam up or ignore people. What is an appropriate comment to make towards people who insult your very family? How do you respond to such a complex issue where there are many negative myths that are perpetrated and many truths hidden about the temperment, trainig and history of a dog? It seems even well-meaning articles place excessive blame on the breed itself. I have a little soapbox I try not to stand on too often. Due to the recent news of Michael Vick and dog fighting in addition to any given article througout the country that seems to make it to the desk of less savory dog owners, I am on a campaign to set the world right about pit bulls, one person at a time.
Amongst the articles that I've found that explain the breed with an open mind and with actual reliable facts, this New Yorker article does a nice job of exploring the issue from all sides.
Due to my rising knowledge that other people are often misinformed, I am on a mission and have been since I got my first pit bull Eleanor when she was 8 weeks old, fostered 3 pit bulls (one whom I've adopted) and met countless others who are positive representatives for the breed. My mission is this. Without beating people over the head, I'd like to remind them of the ignorance and stereotypes that we allow ourselves to believe in so many situations, specifically, pit bulls.
Check back for article links, comments and continuing dialogue about my favorite breed, pits!
No comments:
Post a Comment