My name is Brent, and I'm a Pit Bull Owner

Today is national Pit Bull Awareness Day.  And today I will be celebrating because I am a 'pit bull' owner.

I have a beautiful and awesome wife.  I have a college degree from the University of Missouri and a masters degree from the University of Kansas. I have great job working in advertising that I love and a beautiful home (that actually is the most recent yard-of-the-month winner for our neighborhood).

I have 3 dogs (2 'pit bulls'), all of whom have their Canine Good Citizen certificates.

I am angered by the people who mistreat these dogs that have led to them garnering their sometimes poor reputation. I dislike even more the people let that small minority of the population affect their views and treat the dogs as if it is somehow their fault they were abused -- and want all of them killed because of it.

And I am working to change the image of the "Pit bulls" in our society and the image of the  people who own them.

 My name is Brent. And I am  a proud pit bull owner.

Comments

[PoochesForPeace]

great post, great picture!

[Jennifer Brighton]

I couldn't have said it better, Brent. From the proud mom of two pit mixes, one a Delta Society therapy dog and the other recent adoption well on his way to becoming a therapy dog, but just a big goofy cuddler who loves anyone and everyone.

Happy Pit Bull Awareness Day to all the lucky pittie owners out there!

[mary frances]

Happy Pit Bull Awareness Day - I too have a Pit Bull - rescued from Washington State University Veterinary School in Pullman, Washington -

She was scheduled for research then was to be killed (but I intervened...long story) she's been with me for approx 8 years -

never known a more gentle loving dog and comical too -

[Roberta Beach]

Rock on, Brent!! Happy Pit Bull Day.

[SocialMange]

Wonderful post, and what a lovely photo! YOur dogs are beautiful.

[J.M.]

Happy belated Pit Bull Day.
Great photo and post.
Kind of sad though that pit bull owners have to prove that they`re just ordinary,normal people(mean that in a good way)

[C]

I wonder if the family in Jacksonville will be celebrating Pit Bull Day Next year?

The father said the family raised the pit bull since it was a puppy and that the dog never showed any signs of aggression toward anyone in their family.

"I want parents to know ... don't think you'll be quick enough," said the father, Mark Valentin. "It can happen in the blink of an eye."

The young, red pit bull was turned over to Jacksonville Animal Control and Protective Services, then euthanized at the request of the family.

_________________________

In a separate case Monday night, Manatee County deputies fatally shot a pit bull that charged them after attacking a 5-year-old boy in Bradenton. Authorities said the boy tried to climb a tree to get away, but the dog bit into his arm and tried to pull him down.

__________

Why is this the same old story time and time again?

[Brent]

C -

Obviously the Jacksonville story is a horrible tragedy -- and my heart goes out big-time for the family.

Experts all know that dogs often don't take immediately to newborns and take a lot of work goes into preparing a dog for a new arrival. As any person who works at a shelter will tell you, this is one of the top reasons people end up getting rid of their family pet -- because they fear for the safety of their child.

Most people do a good job of separating dogs from the children for awhile and/or keeping them very closely supervised. However, on rare occassions, the combo of a dog and newborn ends up in a tragedy like this one.

Since January 2008, in North America, there have been 11 newborns (less than 1 month old) killed by the family dog - and there have been 7 different breeds were involved in the attacks - -and the only dog breed involved in more than 1 of those attacks were Husky-type dogs -- including 5 incidents. Other breeds include some you wouldn't expect, like a Jack Russell Terrier and a Labrador Retriever.

You can be like the other numnuts that try to stir up breed-specific hysteria when a tragedy like this happens - -or you can acknowledge that this (like all dog bites) is not a breed-specific problem.

There are some great websites out there that are designed for helping parents to train their dog for the arrival of their newborn (and training and preparation should start months before the baby arrives) - one of my favorites is http://www.dogsandstorks.com/ -- full of great info from dog trainers -- most of whom are also parents.

We could really make an impact in helping parents avoid tragedies like this if we focus on the real training issues and successful ways of avoiding the situation - instead of waving our hands around in hysteria like the handful of you do in these situations and end up providing innacurrate information instead of solutions that will really help.

[C]

Not too many arguments here with kids/babies and dogs...just bad press for your pits.

You cant fix stupid

[EmilyS]

dear C: you asked the question "Why is this the same old story time and time again?"

You believe it is the same old story because you only know about this story.. because it is the only story that gets covered in the media, and the media is the only source you use for your information.

In the REAL world, hundreds of thousands of people get bitten by dogs every year, badly enough to be hospitalized.

I challenge you to get the statistics from your town/county/state. They should be available from your health department, or start with animal control. Find out how many dogbites are recorded. Now do your google news search and find out how many of these are written about in any local press.

Get back to us with your findings.

BTW, I did this for my town/county and learned that about 100 bites/year are reported. How many stories about dog "attacks" did the local newspaper print in the last few years?

ONE.

Guess which type of dog was involved...

[kmk]

Nice post, Brent. Cute picture.

But when City Councils and lawmaking bodies pass stupid dog laws, they don't mean "People like YOU". ;-)

I wish I had $10 for every time I heard, "Oh, but we aren't talking about PEOPLE LIKE YOU".

On another subject in this blog, since it came up - reporting dog bites and fatalities - reporters listen to police scanners. About 15 (at least) years ago some friends of ours were interviewed by a local TV station in southern Missouri following a pit bull incident of some description. The Little Missy field reporter brought along a cameraman. The husband half of the couple asked the reporter if they only reported pit bull bites, as he was a meter reader and personally knew of several severe bites and attacks that had occurred recently, all as the result of other breeds; however,none were reported by the media.

Little Missy reporter assured him they were interested in ALL dog bites and attacks.

while the Little Missy reporter interviewed the wife, daughter, and a local non-pit bull owner/obedience instructor that had written a book about home manners for dogs, the cameraman went to the kennels with the husband.

Once they got to the kennels the cameraman told the husband, "She's lying. They listen to the police scanners and they ONLY get interested when it's a pit bull bite or attack".

[Anna Nirva]

Proud owner of Maddax, a pit mix adopted from my regional no-kill shelter. Maddax came into our home as a foster dog who needed anterior cruciate ligament surgery. He lived with us for 3 months through the surgery until he healed and one day it was time for him to return to the shelter. We could not let him go.

Maddax lives with a middle-aged couple, a senior Great Dane, a middle-aged coonhound, and two middle-aged kitties.

Blessings to everyone who stands up to public opinion and adopt a loving pit bull.

[Mollie's Nana]

YAH Brent!!!! It's always refreshing to meet other "pit bull" owners like myself.... average, normal, people. I'm a 45 yr old white female, I have worked for the same company for 15 yrs (insurance claims), have never been arrested, nor have the police ever knocked on my door... because I don't let my dogs roam loose. If they are outside, I know where they are and what they are doing. Sadly, too many irresponsible owners don't have a clue where their dogs are or what they are doing.... The world needs more responsible owners, but until those that are irresponsible are held accountable for their actions, chances are, the irresponsible ones will continue to make the lives of responsible owners, miserable. It's not rocket science... if you get a dog, regardless of what breed it is, take care of it and be RESPONSIBLE! If you can't do that, then DON'T get a dog. Sounds like simple logic to me! Owner of 6 dogs, 3 of which are pit bulls... Mollie, Bella, and the foster, Cooper. =)

Mollie's Nana