Trail Mix of Thoughts

I wasn't planning to post anything today, but then I saw this article on the Bad Rap Blog: Houston TX... Still in the dark ages


Now I'm a little fired up, and I need to blow off steam.  I'd hate for the ticking time bomb snoring next to me to suddenly snap if she senses an opening.  I suppose I was spoiled, working at AWS, where education is a priority.  I quickly learned that pits were a dog to promote, and that they could be trusted where other breeds, like shepherds, could not.  We often talked at work about how nice it is when that nervous stray is a pit, because at least the likelihood of aggression toward humans was low.  I fell in love with pit bull after pit bull, and gladly joined the cause in educating our visitors and adopters about this group of breeds.  I loved watching the shelter dogs in their play groups, seeing such athletic dogs burning energy and getting dirty with their new friends. 

To ramble in a different direction, I get so frustrated by people who attempt to find blanket solutions for complicated problems.  The people in the Houston area don't treat their dogs as well as we do in New England.  They allow their dogs to breed, they don't think about training, and they fight their pit bulls.  But why wouldn't they?  The number one source of education in the area is the shelters where these dogs end up, and they kill the pits upon arrival.  They say the dogs are a liability, a disaster waiting to happen, and not worth giving a chance.  So how is the community expected to treat their dogs like a valued family member, when the SPCA promotes the breed as throwaway dogs?   If only shelters had any sort of regulations nation wide.  If only every high kill shelter had the knowledge and resources to change the minds of the people.  But that will never happen if the people in charge of those facilities have breed biases.  It's such a shame.

I hope that there are rescues and shelters that can reach out to these "professionals" and attempt to bring them into modern times.  Invite them to spend some time in our shelters and homes, where our mushy, wiggly pits can torture them with kisses and snuggling.  I don't think it is possible for any sane human being to become attached to a pit bull, then go back to work and keep up the slaughter.  But maybe I'm an optimist.  All I can say for sure is that I'm glad to live where I live, and to have shelters around that truly want to end animal cruelty and misconceptions for all breeds, not just the fluffy ones.

 

 

 

 

Pit bull attacking a fluffy golden

 On a more entertaining note, I have a few photos from the agility run with my pit bull in a bunny rabbit costume, Parker. 

You can see where he ran up the seesaw too fast, and it fell out from under him.  It makes me laugh every time.

This is fun!

Oh crap...