My dog is a pitbull terrier (to the best of my knowledge) and I ended up with her because she was seized from a home that couldn't take care of her. I brought her home malnourished and skittish, and couldn't be happier that she has a big healthy personality now, 3 years later.
So back to the beach... on my way back to the house there was a multitude of dogs on the street heading home. Two of the dogs were little beagles and they absolutely lost their minds when they saw the exodus of canines on the street. Everyone grinned and laughed as the hound dogs pulled on their leashes and barked maniacally. Then two little fuz-ball white dogs walked by and started barking their heads off, people giggled.
Bella started pulling on her leash, whining with excitement, wanting to play with them. The response she got?
A guy walked by and said loud enough for the whole street to hear, "Oh watch out for that one, they're mean ones. Those little dogs will have a big problem if she gets loose." I tried to be patient and kind with my response but moments earlier a woman had seized up on the beach when her kids went to pet my dog and said "my kids probably look like chew toys to her." I didn't have any patience left to try and counter his comment. Instead I just blurted out "she's a great dog" and tried not to get tears in my eyes.
I am so tired of the hate. I'm worn out by the animosity. I'm exhausted by the unfair comments, side glances and lunges away from my sweet little Bella Bug.
I'm not the only one who knows these things. I'm not the only one who thinks this is unfair. There are articles, group, bills trying to educate people on this misunderstood breed. If you don't know anything about pibbles, do me a favor and take the time to read up. We need more advocates out there.
Hang in there, Bella's proud mama!!
ReplyDeleteUgh. My "son" has a low reactivity threshold and often barks/lunges at stimulus (sometimes out of excitement, and others out of fear). He's a work in progress. I have a friend who's dog exhibits the *exact same* behaviors as my dog, except it's "cute" because she's a tiny, fluffy, white-haired Maltese that is easily controllable/dragged around. As you may know, mine is a wire-haired, 40-but-should-be-35 pound who-knows-what. I spend so much time/energy working with Berkeley and trying to prevent any "scary dog behavior" (which is sometimes just....dog behavior) while other dogs get to go about carelessly being loud dogs. It's exhausting and unfair. I know pits get it a lot worse, added on top of housing discrimination. I feel for ya. Stay strong!
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