WHY BONNIE AND HER ADOPTERS
LOVE PIT BULLS
Hi Bonnie,
I just happened across your website and have to thank you for
putting some positive and true information about Pit Bulls out
there. My boyfriend Adam and I adopted our pit Mollie from the
Eleanor Sonsini Shelter when she was 5 months old (she had been
thrown from a moving vehicle.) She is now two years old, and
we love her to death. We went in looking for a mutt but now
we have become die-hard Pit Bull fans. Mollie has an amazing
personality, and she is only getting better. She loves to play
with anyone and anything, and is so submissive that she was
once rolled over by a Chihuahua named Napoleon. She likes kids,
and one time even ran up to ducklings just to smell them. Despite
all these great qualities, a common situation is that a stranger,
taken with how cute she is, will pet Mollie and ask us "What
is she?" When we respond, most people back away as though
we should have warned them before they touched her. Since finding
Mollie, both Adam and I have done extensive research on the
frustrating plight of the Pit Bull, and have even convinced
skeptical family members and friends to adopt them. Adam has
a weblog dedicated to Mollie and other pits, www.molliemoocow.blogspot.com,
one of whose goals is opposing breed-specific legislation.
Thanks again for your understanding, and keep spreading the
word!
Erin MacLachlan
Hi Bonnie,
I just wanted to comment regarding the articles I had read,
under your ''why Bonnie loves Pitbull section"
I loved them all, and they are all absolutely true. I just hope,
that with more and more of the "right" owners pushing
this message about what beloved animals these truly are, that
we can eventually cut down on the "wrong" owner types,
breeding and using them for their own menacing purposes, it
just breaks my heart. I have attached pics of my two girls (1st)
photo is their Sunday sleepy day routine, with their brother
a Rottadoor (who passed about 2 months ago at the age of 13
1/2) which we are still heart broke. (2nd pic) is of the tow
PB girls, Mabel, and Nelly has the bigger head he he. (3rd)
pic is of my Nelly (who's an absolute angel girl) her sister's
quite the hyper thing, but I still love her to death.
Sincerely,
B.H.
Dear Bonnie,
Like a typical pit bull, Kayla is playful, affectionate,
silly, sometimes stubborn and very intelligent. We love her!
And she loves children most of all. The best photo, if I could
find it again, would have been Lara and six friends sleeping
on the living room floor for a birthday overnight and Kayla
curled in their midst!
Regards,
J.R. Westchester County, New York
Hi Bonnie,
Just wanted to let you know that Jasmine (THE
PIT BULL I ADOPTED FROM YOU)is doing great. What a wonderful
companion she is to both of us. We just love her. I haven't
been able to get a picture of all of us. But I tried scanning
a picture I have at work with Jasmine and her little buddy,
Bagheera our cat. As you can see, she is right at home always
making herself cozy on the couch, loveseat, or her pillow. I
hope it works on your computer. Thanks again for Jasmine!!
Sincerely,
L.C. Hillsdale, N.Y.
Dear Bonnie,
Thank you so much for Ginger, our pit bull little
girl. She is so wonderful. She has made a great companion for
my boyfriend and me. She is so good and sweet, and she gets
along with everyone she meets: She gives us her unconitional
love. Thank you again, S.D & J.C, Sheffield, MA
Dear Bonnie,
As you know Heidi has been a total joy in our
house. She knows how hard she can play with certain members
of the family, and always asks to go out. Although she is quite
a bed hog, she is also a great protector, yet loves kids, and
likes to play with other dogs (on neutral ground). We aren't
sure how we got along without her! (PS she likes to chase her
tail, and is pretty good at catching it :-) Tammy M, Copake,
N. Y.
SNOOP,THE
PIT BULL, AND HIS HAPPY ENDING
7-6-03 "HI
BONNIE,
"Snoop
is a GREAT dog! Our family adores him. He is doing
excellent! We couldn't have hoped for any better.
Snoop and our female dog BooBoo get along great. They
play,sleep and eat together without incident. They
really seem to enjoy each other's company (they give
each other lots of kisses). Snoop is also great with
my fifteen-year-old daughter. He is incredibly gentle
for his size and seems to be extremely intelligent,
which is why we were wondering if he had some type
of training. I have all good things to say about Snoop.
I am very happy that he has begun coming out of his
shell. He seemed "expressionless" when we got him,
but now...we can definitely see his happiness when
"prances" around our legs excitedly. He has also gained
a little weight (he seemed skinny), is almost over
his kennel cough, and plays with everyone in our family
happily.
TO THE READER'S OF
THIS WEB SITE: A TRAINING NOTE FROM BONNIE:
IN GENERAL, IT'S BEST
NOT TO FEED TWO DOGS TOGETHER, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE
FRIENDS AND EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OF OPPOSITE GENDERS,
AS SNOOP AND BOOBOO ARE. NO USE TEMPTING FATE!
|
We also discovered
he loves playing with the hose! I will be happy to send
you pictures when i ever get the chance to download
some from the camera! Please feel free to contact me
anytime. I expect that my husband will want to ask you
about Snoop's training or any tricks he knows. (What
peeked his interest is that Snoop picked up his leash
by the handle and brought it to him...we were amazed!).
Feel comfortable that Snoop is happy and in a good home."
Sincerely, L.G.
7-26-03
"Things are
great with Snoop. He is the perfect dog for our family.
He is happy here and he and BooBoo play to the point
that it becomes annoying! I hope the pictures I took
exude Snoop's happiness with our family. I will periodically
send you updates".L.G.
 
|
Pit bulls: Man's
best friend?
(The following article was
run April 24th, 1996 on the front cover of the Stamford (Ct.)
Advocate.)
They once had names
like Beast, Satan, Jaws, Psyco, Assassin and Rage. Now
they're called Buster, Dancer, Tessie, Banjo, Bart and George.
They're pit bulls and pit bull mixes rescued from fighting rings,
drug dealers and backyard breeders -- often in the cruel circumstances
- by Stamford animal control officers.
In spite of their reputation
for viciousness, many of the dogs have become much-loved pets,
adopted by families in New Canaan, Greenwich, Norwalk and North
Stamford. In the last year, well over 40 pit bulls have been
adopted from the Stamford pound, most through Adopt-A-Dog, said
Marsha Biggar, who serves as liaison between the pound and the
non-profit Greenwich agency that finds homes for unwanted dogs.
"It's people, not pit bulls,
who have maligned the breed," Biggar said, "People don't call
up Adopt-A-Dog and say 'Gee, I want a pit bull.' They call asking
for a nice family dog and I show them a pit bull terrier." Biggar
said. "When I tell them what it is, they say, 'Oh no.' Then
I launch into my educational lecture. But the truth is, we have
not had a single serious problem with any of the pit bull adoptions.
In fact, people tell us their pit bull is the best dog they've
ever bad. Some come back for a second one."
Linda Morrissey of Norwalk,
said a pit bull named Banjo was all the education she needed
about the breed. "I never in a million years thought I'd
own a pit bull. Now I own a 90 pound one." Morrissey said.
"I called Adopt-A-Dog and they sent me to the Stamford pound
and this dog caught my eye. When they told me what it was, I
was taken aback. I was ignorant, but not enough to let it stop
me from looking at the source of my ignorance."
She learned that Banjo had
been taken from a house in Stamford along with several other
dogs in a cruelty case. "Someone in the house was trying to
train them to be fighters." Morrissey said. "Banjo was injured
and severely dehydrated." For three weeks, Morrissey visited
Banjo in the pound before adopting him. "He thought everyone
wanted to hurt him." said Morrissey, who's had Banjo for a year.
"Now he is the best. I'd always had dogs -- German shepherds,
Labs, Newfoundlands -- but this dog has given me more affection
and loyalty than any other animal. I have cats, nephews, and
I've never had a problem. Banjo sleeps with me, cuddles me.
I trust him completely."
But across the United States,
pit bulls have an image of violence. Stamford, like many other
cities, has had its share of attacks, with about half a dozen
reported in recent years. An attack on two teenage girls in
New Haven and another on a boy in West Haven earlier this month
prompted state Sen. Win Smith Jr., R-Milford, to announce last
week that he intends to propose a measure that would ban the
sale and possession of pit bulls in Connecticut.
The trouble with pit bulls
is they posses a quality that could either make them a good
family dog or the favorite of owners with ill intent, said Rob
Mullin, who owns K-9 Wizard & Co. in Trumbell and trains puppies,
problem dogs, sporting dogs, show dogs, and even police dogs
in narcotics and explosives detection.
What pit bulls want to
do most, Mullin said, is please humans. "A strong-characteristic
of pit bulls is that they want to make you happy," said
Mullin, whom Adopt-A-Dog hires to evaluate dogs before they
are adopted and to follow up with families afterwards. "If being
aggressive makes you happy, the dog will become more aggressive.
Pit bulls are especially good at pleasing people since they
are strong and smart, they team quickly and they are very adaptable.
And because of their vicious background - not nature- people
think they are aggressive. So they attract a certain kind of
owner." Pit bulls' reputation for fighting dates back at least
200 years, when their ancestors, English bull dogs, were trained
for bloodsport, Mullin said. Their job was to bring down bulls
in a ring for entertainment. Interestingly, the result has been
that pit bulls are "pliable" not "hard" Mullin said. "A hard
dog is one that doesn't worry about, say, jumping in ice or
plowing through a thicket because once it has it in its mind
to do something, there's very little that will stop it," he
said. "Most pit bulls aren't hard. It's more that they're
pliable to what their owner wants." Sometimes too pliable,
Biggar said
. "By the time they get
to the pound and I see them, they are torn to shreds, starving,
bleeding from their ears, faces or legs." Biggar said. "Some
have been tied to fences for weeks. Some have bullet wounds.
One was found in a pool of blood wagging its tail when an animal
control officer went to pick it up. Pit bulls go that far because
they have a high tolerance for pain and they want to please
their owners so much."
Those same two characteristics
are what make them excellent pets, said Tom Maxson, a Norwalk
man who, with his wife, just adopted a pit bull they call Marcus.
Two. years ago on New Year's Eve, the Maxons took in a starving,
freezing stray pit bull they liked so much that, after it died,
they wanted to get another one. Maxson said he remembers
the time a neighbor's toddler stood on the pit bull's paws and
how the dog, though wincing simply waited for the child to step
off.
The Maxsons adopted Marcus
last week. At the pound, Marcus jumped and barked and "tried
to look mean." Maxson said Then one of the animal control officers
took him out of his cage. "He looked worried." Maxson said.
"And he was a leaner. He leaned on your leg or your foot or
wherever he could. I'm a sucker for leaners. In the week Marcus
has been at their home, "he's very bashful and has yet to bark,"
Maxson said. I grew up having all kinds of dogs, but I've
found that pit bulls are the most affectionate and by far the
smartest," he said. " Marcus is as cute as they come."
Susan O'Rourke knew that
when she first met her pit bull, Tessie, at the pound But friends,
neighbors and relatives almost changed her mind. "I live in
New Canaan and all my friends here are highly educated. But
when I took Tessie home, they had a fit," said O'Rourke, who
lives with her husband and two boys, ages 7 and 9. "Some of
them said, 'I can't let my kids come over you house any more.'
One couple said 'We didn't think you were like that.' After
a while I started to question what I was doing.
It was then that Tessie
came down with the often-deadly Parvo virus. O'Rourke vowed
to herself that, if the dog lived, she would keep her. Tessie
survived the virus. "I thought that if she could survive this,
it was meant to be. It's now a year and a half later and I haven't
regretted it for a moment," O'Rourke said. "This dog is smart,
playful, affectionate and loves to sit and watch TV. I've
had many other kinds of dogs, but this one is calmer than a
Lab or a golden retreiver and easier to train. We say Tessie
is a love bucket with a hole in it, because you can't give her
enough." As for those wary friends and relatives? "My brother-in-law
now thinks she's a great dog, they love her at the vet's office,
my parents want to get a pit bull and most of my
friends aren't afraid," O'Rourke said
"There are always going
to be some people who won't be convinced, That's the sad part,
considering how loving these dogs are." Biggar said there
are some in the breed that are unsuitable for adoptions, but
that's true for any breed. Two of the worst bite cases reported
last year in Stamford, for example, involved golden retrievers,
she said. Mullen said he carefully evaluates each dog before
it is adopted.
The keys are sociability
and stability -- how comfortable the dog is being handled by
people, how it tolerates the presence of other animals, and
how stable its personality is. Most of the pit bulls at the
pound did not have what it takes to be a fighter -- that's how
they ended up there," he said. "They tend to be very sociable."
Gina Battista of Greenwich would agree. She and her husband
took home a pit bull mix named George two years ago and are
considering adopting another. "There's one there now with chopped-off
ears that could use a home," Battista said. "I believe there
are pit bulls that aren't safe, but I know there are a lot that
are safe. They are wonderful dogs." I
In a recent study of
122 breeds of dog by the National Canine Temperament Testing
Association, American Pit Bulls achieved a passing rate of 95%,
the fourth highest of all dog breeds. In these tests, a
dog is put through a series of confrontational situations. Any
sign of aggression or panic leads to failure of the test. The
achievement of the APBTs in this study disproves once and for
all the belief that pit bulls are inherently aggressive. The
true APBT is a high energy dog with an infectious love of life.
They are very intelligent and responsive to training, they excel
on the agility course and make excellent therapy dogs. Allowed
to develop according to their traditional qualities, they are
loving, comical, versatile and gentle companions.
Pit Bulls Do Not Deserve Their
Vicious Reputation
By Richard
Johnson, President Connecticut Humane Society.
The Connecticut Humane Society urges concerned
citizens of this country to unite in educating the public that
like all breeds, Pit Bulls - when properly bred, socialized
and trained - can be excellent pets. Pit Bulls are an intelligent
and loyal breed that is sweet, even-tempered and good with children.
According to the American Canine Temperament
Testing Association, 95 percent of the Pit Bulls that took its
temperament test passed, compared to a 77 percent passing rate
for all breeds on average. Pit Bulls had a passing rate that
was the fourth highest of the 122 breeds tested.
In fact, Cocker Spaniels, German Shepherds, Chow
Chows and Chihuahuas have more reported bites than Pit Bulls.
Also, there is no truth to the reports that
Pit Bulls have locking jaws and may turn on their owners.
The jaws, while indeed strong, have biting mechanisms no different
than those of other dogs.
The real problem with Pit Bulls today comes
from humans. Like any other dog, the keys to raising a happy,
well-adjusted Pit Bull are owner education, proper breeding,
socialization and training. Since Pit Bulls are exceedingly
loyal to their owners, an owner who wants a dog to be aggressive
and reinforces this behavior can create an extremely aggressive
dog. In addition, although many Pit Bull breeders are ethical,
others breed dogs to be aggressive so they can indulge in dog
fighting. The Connecticut Humane Society urges concerned animal
lovers to fight against ordinance which ban certain breeds by
encouraging responsible pet ownership to combat the problem
of vicious animals. The Connecticut Humane Society stresses
that with proper care, training and breeding, Pit Bulls can
be wonderful pets. We often have Pit Bulls available for adoption
and always encourage those adopting to provide them with proper
training and lots of love. .
PIT BULLS RESCUED
By Alicyn Leigh
Perhaps one of the most
tragically misunderstood breeds is the American pit bull terrier,
which is often the victim of its false reputation as a vicious
killer, as well as the other myths surrounding the breed.
The pit bull has a long
history that has made this breed a household name, but the view
of the breed's character has drastically changed over the years.
The pit bull was portrayed in the early 1900s as a loyal, loving
family pet, until over-breeding and misuse as a fighting dog
negatively altered the dog's image. Unfortunately one of the
results of this negative stereotype is that pit bulls that have
been brought up in an abusive environment usually end up in
shelters, only to be euthanized.
Thankfully many of these
dogs have been rescued from Long Island shelters by the organization
Out of the Pits, Inc. (OOTP), which specializes in this breed
and rescues them exclusively.
"The American pit bull
terrier came to this country with the English and Irish immigrants,"
says Cydney Cross, president of OOTP. "It was America's favorite
dog up until the late '80s when, to their detriment, they became
the dog of choice by abusive people who used their good qualities
of loyalty and courage for illicit means. The [pit bull]
then became a victim and a commodity. The breed had lived amiably
in this country as a favorite up until then." The American pit
bull terrier and the American Staffordshire terrier are both
loosely classified as pit bulls and claim to have the bulldog
and the Staffordshire bull terrier as common ancestors. These
breeds are quite similar in appearance and have very small physical
differences. The United Kennel Club was the first to acknowledge
pit bulls under the name American pit bull terrier and now the
American pit bull terrier is an American Dog Breeder's Association
or United Kennel Club-registered dog. The American Staffordshire
terrier is an American Kennel Club-registered dog, as is the
Staffordshire bull terrier. The American Staffordshire terrier,
which is the preferred show variety, is thought to be a more
standardized breed, just as many of the AKC breeds are.
Some of the historical
pit bull mascots include Petey from Our Gang, Buster Brown's
dog Tieg, the RCA dog and Sgt. Stubby, who saved several soldiers'
lives and even captured a German spy while in the trenches of
France.
There's more: a special
dog named Sally was honored by her infantry unit with a monument
at Gettysburg and Helen Keller's white pit bull was memorialized
on a stamp. "These courageous and funny family dogs have filled
the hearts of their companions since we began," Cross says.
"Sadly, the media has sensationalized the pit bull image, making
them even more attractive to the wrong people, who have already
done them so much harm."
Cross receives phone calls
in regard to pit bulls in distress from all over the country.
The calls come from police, animal control, shelters and individuals
who need help with a rescue. OOTP tries to help all, depending
on space available, and the organization won't give up, despite
the statistic that only one in 600 orphaned pit bulls finds
a home. Recently OOTP rescued Momma, who had eight puppies,
all of which were in grave danger. "They were all scheduled
to be euthanized and the babies were only a few weeks old,"
Cross recalls. "All are now in new homes, living safely with
loving owners."
Other horrific stories
of rescue that Cross told include four puppies who were fed
gunpowder, another that had a broken leg and needed extensive
surgery to correct the break and an adult pit bull that was
thrown over a fence onto concrete, but luckily did survive and
was rehabilitated.
And then there are the fighting
dogs, who suffer many cruel injuries. Although pit bulls
have been raised as fighting dogs as far back as Roman times,
they have always been affectionate toward humans. They are
also an intelligent breed with incredible stamina and agility.
Some have also been known to be quite tenacious, earning them
the myth that they have a locking jaw. They just simply will
not let go, but anatomy is not the reason. "The pit bull has
the same construction of the jaw as all dogs, explains
Cross. Pit bulls excel in practically every canine task, including
herding, hunting, policing, cart-pulling and rat-hunting. A
pit bull named Banddog Dread holds more canine working titles
than any other animal. The owner, Diane Jessup, wrote a book,
The Working Pit Bull, which tells of Dread's accomplishments.
These dogs are capable of many tasks and also provide lots of
love and affection to their owners.
"The Pit bull's claim
to fame is being 'the children's nursemaid,'" Cross says. "The
breed in its truest form is one of the best types for children
because of the pit bull's tolerance."
Two of Cross' pit bulls
are registered therapy dogs, and have visited numerous schools,
nursing homes, jails and drug rehab centers. One of the dogs,
Alexis, was a fighting dog rescued in a drug raid. Alexis has
seen over 4,000 children in schools from nursery to high school
and her face has been on the OOTP's T-shirts as their logo.
"Although she makes more people smile than we can count, Alexis
is also seasoned in agility and obedience work," Cross says.
Unfortunately many reporters
who cover a story about a pit bull attacking a human don't investigate
further. Usually the dog isn't even a pit bull; it's often a
mixed breed that might have the same appearance. The American
Temperament Test Society's latest nationwide statistics are
in, and the golden retriever and pit bull scored high for desirable
temperament.
The truth is, if you bring
up an animal in an abusive environment, it will become abusive.
Sadly, the pit bull was chosen for the bloody world of the dog-fighting
ring because of its considerable strength. Over the years, great
injustice has been done to the breed by unnecessary, horrendous
acts of cruelty from greedy, irresponsible and inhumane owners.
There are countless pit
bulls out there desperate for homes, so forget the myths you've
heard and consider adopting. They won't forget your act of kindness.
