October is arguably my favorite month of the year. The leaves begin to orange and the weather starts to cool- bringing some much needed relief from the smoldering TX summers. Halloween celebrations begin with ghoulish and goose-bump-raising frights, and it is also (as I recently learned) Pitbull Awareness Month.
Just over a year and a half ago, K and I adopted a charming, 3 year old Chinese Shar-Pei, Pit-mix named Rosalind. Of course, the only thing people see in her is the ladder "breed" specification. When I found her, I had been volunteering at the SPCA for almost a full year, and there she was, curled up in her kennel looking very sad and small. She had recently been transferred in from another shelter, depressed and underweight. However, when I took her out to socialize, I could not understand why she didn't have a forever home yet. Less than a week later, she was in our home. Now, Ros is affectionately referred to as our Boo Bear; she's afraid of thunder and running water. She loves cuddling on the couch with mommy and playing tug-of-war with daddy. She is friendly around strangers and playful with other dogs, which is no surprise to me knowing that the American Pitbull Terrier is ranked as the fourth best breed in temperament tests, scoring "better than Collies, Golden Retrievers, and Beagles."1 Yet still, it breaks my heart that some people see her and think she is a vicious monster that they need to go out of their way to avoid. Although the notion takes me aback, it isn't surprising. "Pitbulls are condemned by the general public and vilified in the media. When a Cocker Spaniel, [Chihuahua, or Labrador] bites, it does so as a member of its species; it is never anything but a dog. When a pitbull bites, it does so as a member of its breed. A pitbull is never anything but a pitbull."2
It's funny just how much raw emotion and power is behind the word pitbull when they're not actually a breed. Pitbull is, in fact, a loose term for many distinct bully breed dogs"3 which include "12 different breeds... from Boston Terriers to Neopolitan Mastiffs."1 Since the characteristics of a pitbull are found across such a large spectrum, pits can be seen in an abundance of dogs, and those shared "traits are reshaping what we think of as the American dog, which is to say the American mutt. A few generations ago, the typical mutt was a rangy dog with a long snout and pricked ears- a shepherd mix. Now it looks like a pitbull,"2 and Rosalind, for all intents and purposes, is a mutt. She has that broad, muscular chest and wide smile of the bully breeds, but she also has half floppy ears, and the coat of a labrador. At 42 lbs, she could be described a "pocket pit," which essentially means she has some smaller, unidentifiable breed(s) coded into her genome. It's not like Shar-pei's are little dogs!
Pitbull is such a powerful word, and it tends to elicit diametric emotions. "There are their fearful detractors, those who would have them demonized, having fallen prey to the dogs’ misrepresentation in the media. And then there are their champions, who are struggling to change the tide of public opinion.
"3 This disparity is evident in the fact that I have had an instructor at school feel the need to educate me on the dangers and unpredictability of pitbulls, ending his lecture by simply stating: "I'm not saying you should put your dog down, but I wouldn't put my face next to it's face." On the other hand, the love for pits is easily seen by the countless Instagram accounts and TV shows dedicated to their lives and rescue stories (Rosalind is no exception; you can follow her @stardustbabey). Those who know pitties and pit-mixes will protest to their haters that "bully breeds are goofy, loyal, [loving] dogs, by and large fantastic with children. In the UK, they were known as 'nanny' dogs, and many Victorian illustrations of family life portray a sweet Pit Bull-type dog overseeing his chubby,"3 little human pack members.
Pit bulls are more than the myths spread about them. They are more than stocky bodies and heart shaped heads. They are more than their devotion and gentle nature. I LOVE my dog. I can't even remember what my life was like before she was a normal fixture in our daily routine. I can't help but smile when I imagine her growing old as our future children grow up, and I get a lump in my throat when I think about how her short life will end and one day she will leave my side. Rosalind is a great ambassador for the bully breeds; yes, she is a pit-mix, but she is also so much more than that, and she is so much more than just our dog. The fact of the matter is "30% of the total dogs admitted to U.S. animal shelters are labeled as pitpulls [and] 86.7% of pitbulls admitted to shelters end up being killed."1 This means that "anywhere from 800,000 to nearly 1 million"1 pits and pit-mixes are euthanized each year. When you take a second to think about it, Rosalind has beat overwhelming odds just to stay alive, and if you have any doubts as to why she's stolen our hearts all you have to do is meet her- my American dog.
1. visualizing.org/full-screen/51374
2. esquire.com/features/american-dog-0814
3. moderndogmagazine.com/articles/what-it-about-pit-bulls/17294
