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A FEW GOOD POINTS FOR ANTI-PIT BULL CAMPAIGNERS

We all run into anti-pit bull people who stand fast on the claim, to them the fact, that pit bulls are solely bred for fighting and thus to be aggressive in nature.  While we ALL know and understand that is not the case and that those who choose to believe all negative press and propaganda on pit bulls don’t, or won’t, understand is that breeding or intention for a dog's behavior does not dictate a dog’s behavior all of the time or as some people believe most of the time.

First of all we need to remind these people that only a very, very small portion of dogs, compared to the total dogs being bred today, are being bred for fighting and/or gameness.  Meaning that dog fighters and their breeding stock make up only a very small portion of pit bull type dogs that are being bred today and that most people who breed pit bulls today do so to lessen or eliminate gameness, eliminate aggressive tendencies and to increase calm, agreeable and acceptable behaviors.  In other words they breed for desired positive temperament, not undesired negative.  This is done of course through what dogs are chosen to be included in the breeding stock.  That is by ethical, responsible, professional breeders.  Backyard breeders may or may not breed for temperament with as much attention given to their breeding stocks temperament but one would think logically that backyard breeders breeding stock is comprised of dogs that they can easily handle that don’t exhibit any serious negative behavior tendencies and are not aggressive.  Solely based on this ‘fact’ they, the anti-pit bull people, should be advised that what pit bull type dogs are being bred for today differs completely, in most cases, from what they were originally bred for or at least when the anti-pit bull people believe they were originally bred for.  So that means that if the anti-pit bull people truly believe that breeding and the characteristics and traits a dog is bred for is so strong in dogs then they MUST accept that A VAST MAJORITY of pit bulls today are being bred to be AND ARE reasonably calm, easily handled, friendly toward all living things and are easily capable of being loving family dogs.

It's always a good idea too to share with anti-pit bull people that even those dogs bred and trained to be aggressive are only bred and trained to be aggressive to other dogs and that in selecting their breeding stock the dog fighters purposefully breed out any signs of aggression toward humans whatsoever.  This is so the dog fighters can easily handle their dogs without worrying about injuries to themselves by dogs that are in a 'fighting state of mind'.

While we remind them of these simple facts in addition we need to ask them to tell us if they believe that every horse bred to be raced ends up being a winner or champion OR is even considered good enough stock to be trained for racing.  These people have to admit that for every horse that is specifically bred to race and to win there are likely hundreds bred with the very same intention that never make the cut because in spite of their ‘breeding’ or heritage they do not have what it takes to be a winner or even a good competitor in the sport of horse racing.  If they can’t admit that simple fact/analogy we need to at the very least give them the idea to ponder. 

 

I think this is a great analogy for the pit bull discussion regarding breed characteristics and how much of a part they play in an animal’s behavior or tendencies behavior-wise.  If someone can admit/accept that every horse bred to win races doesn’t have what it takes to be a winning race horse, or in some cases not even be trained to race, then logically every dog specifically bred to be a fighting dog will not have what it takes to be a fighting dog or even be considered worthy of training to be a fighting dog.  Concurrently we need to bring up the fact that most, if not all, dogs bred for fighting by dog fighters when proven not to have the desired gameness or stomach for fighting is usually used as a bait dog or is killed as unwanted breeding stock by the dog fighter…making these dogs that were specifically bred by the dog fighters to be ‘killers’ the innocent victims of human beings. 

As we all know, these dogs - pit bull type dogs, are typically much more victims of humans than the other way round and this is what we should be saying to the anti-pit bull people instead of how cute, sweet, cuddly and/or lovable pit bulls are as a rule.  They don’t understand our interpretation of what these dogs can be in the right hands however they should be able to understand how these dogs are much more victims of us than we are of them.

In the end we all know, we who have done the research and who have the personal experience with these dogs, that the anti-pit bull campaigners claim that because pit bulls were once bred to be aggressive (have high game/prey drive and tenacity) that means they are all aggressive today is completely unfounded and has no anecdotal, no statistical data and/or no scientific evidence to support those claims.  In other words these poor misled people are allowing the fears and lies of others to influence how they view dogs and most especially how they view pit bull type dogs.

LOVE TRAIN

Exercise, Discipline, Affection - Linn Boyke

Pack of Pit Bulls: THE LIGHTER, AND LIKELY MORE ACCURATE, SIDE OF THE...

Pack of Pit Bulls: THE LIGHTER, AND LIKELY MORE ACCURATE, SIDE OF THE...: I admit that I have posted many blogs, comments on Facebook threads and tirades about the trolls, haters, overly-emotional whiners and cl...

THE LIGHTER, AND LIKELY MORE ACCURATE, SIDE OF THE ANIMAL WELFARE COMMUNITY

I admit that I have posted many blogs, comments on Facebook threads and tirades about the trolls, haters, overly-emotional whiners and clearly immature people who operate in and around dog rescue, animal shelters, dog advocating and generally in the animal welfare community.  Yes I have gone out of my way to try to get people to stop with the drama so that they can get on more efficiently with the business of educating the public, helping the dog owning public and helping save the lives of dogs.  I do this NOT because I feel I'm right and others are wrong and NOT because I feel superior to anyone; I do it because I truly feel that we need to 'clean up' this community so we can help it be much more effective, much more successful, much more helpful to those who need help and MUCH MUCH less dramatic and traumatic for everyone involved.

Well this blog isn't about the trolls, the haters, the overly-emotional whiners or the people who are led solely by their emotions.  This isn't about those people who say they are in it for the dogs but who repeatedly create obstacles to helping dogs rather than working to help dogs together.  This one is about the OTHER side which sadly enough I don't recognize or write about often enough.  I'm one who always tries to see the brighter more positive side of life and of every situation however when I'm faced with the negative side of things that's the one I seem to feel the most impelled to talk about. I'm going to do better and am going to do more to support and recognize people who choose to do this animal welfare thing with dedication, maturity and a true sense of teamwork for the good of the dogs.  This will be my first installation but not my last singing the praises of people I have been blessed to connect with and even work with in this community.

Today I want to recognize a few people by name because I want to hold them up as perfect examples of what can be accomplished through common sense before emotion and through good ol' fashioned teamwork.  To be clear not everyone mentioned in this blog today and I see everything eye to eye however we both choose to have a mutual respect for one another and always are looking for new opportunities to help one another do more for the dogs and the people who have them.  In other words these people ROCK!!!  

The first I want to mention is my newfound friend and ally Shannon Glenn the Executive Director of My Pit Bull is Family.  My Pit Bull is Family works tirelessly to help raise awareness about, help provide solutions for and alternatives to breed restrictions in rental property housing as well as home owners/rental property insurance policies.  Shannon is working very hard to help as many people as possible with this all too serious and frequent issue of finding a place to live with a pit bull.  Shannon and I have just met but I feel we will work together in the future as often as we can AND that it will be FUN.

Another I want to mention is Amy White proprietor, with her husband, of the Original Bully clothing line.  Amy, her husband and their crew work so hard to educate the public about bully breeds as well as to help and support all organizations that save these dogs or work to educate the public about them.  They donate a generous portion of all of their proceeds to rescues and shelters and are always looking for new ways to make money for their beneficiaries.  She's a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word and is one with such a giving heart.  Amy and I have also just met but I can tell we are going to have a great time helping raise awareness about pit bulls and saving dogs here in Portland and around the country together.

Then there is my famous friend Shorty Rossi who runs Shorty's Rescue, hosted the show Pit Boss and who is a real powerhouse when it comes to advocating for pit bulls and saving them.  He is someone I know I can count on if I need help and he knows he can count on me for help.  As snarky as he can be at times, and he knows this about himself, his heart is bigger than all outdoors and he works so very hard to advocate for pit bulls and help save pit bulls among other animals.  He ROCKS in my book and I feel very privileged to call him a friend, fellow advocate and a partner in the work we both enjoy are dedicated to.

I must also recognize Deirdre Franklin founder of Pin-Ups for Pit Bulls.  I just very recently met her face to face after knowing her on Facebook for several years and I have to say what a pleasure she is.  Deirdre is another powerhouse of a pit bull advocate who works so hard not only to further her own organization for the benefit of the dogs but also, so much like all the others I've mentioned here, works to support and assist other organizations.  She has done so much to educate people about these dogs, to help people who have pit bulls and to support other organizations that saying thank you would never be enough.  Deirdre is a true team player and partnering with her is a great asset to anyone who seeks to be successful in advocating for and saving pit bulls.  I feel blessed to have her friendship.

Joe and Tambria Frazier of Love A Pit Rescue has to be on this first list to recognize those who work well with others and who work tirelessly for the dogs.  Joe and his wife Tambria has been great supporters of everything my advocacy does and we support them as a pit bull rescue and advocate equally as much as they supports us.  I know we can count on Joe and Tambria for help with a dog in need and they know they can count on us for help with a dog in need.  We make a great team and we are so proud to have them as supporters and as people who we support.  Joe and Tambria, in my personal opinion, does dog rescue THE RIGHT WAY and anyone who adopts a dog from them is lucky to have done so.  I wish more rescues would follow their model because more balanced dogs would land in homes they will stay in for the rest of their lives and more adoptive families would have the lifelong support of the rescue they adopted their dog from.

I must mention a person who I feel is a great positive influence on pit bull advocates everywhere and who should stand as a positive model for anyone wanting to advocate for pit bulls. Johanna Falber founder of Stubby's Heroes ABSOLUTELY ROCKS!!!  Her organization is a GREAT model for pit bull advocacies and I most certainly aspire to be much more like her and for my advocacy to do much more for the public and for pit bulls like she does.  Her homeless outreach program is inspiring.  Her dedication to remaining calm, mature and respectful as a pit bull advocate most certainly makes her a force to be reckoned with in the animal welfare community.  I admire her drive, her dedication and her philosophy on how to advocate for pit bulls and how to help pit bull owners in need.  She is the REAL DEAL and I am so very grateful for her friendship.  

Okay I must, must, must mention at least two more people who absolutely deserve recognition for their bravery, their dedication and their willingness to work with others for the benefit not only of pit bulls but of all animals.  I mention them together because to me they are more my brother and sister than they are my friends.  Foster Corder the founder of the on line shows Conversations With A Pit Bull and Fosters Animal World is AMAZING.  He has chosen to use his talent, thirty years experience and contacts as a Hollywood cinematographer to help animals and most especially to help pit bulls.  Foster has a heart that inspires others to care and to act.  He is family to me and I am so blessed to have his personal friendship and his support in doing what I do.  Along with Foster I would truly be remiss in not mentioning Ms. Paula Archer, creator of many dog networking Facebook pages, whose dedication to networking for dogs in shelters in need of getting out is BEYOND compare.  Paula, who is my soul sister for lack of any blood ties, is AMAZING. She is personally responsible for literally HUNDREDS of dogs in shelters around the country being pulled from the shelter by rescues and/or adopters sometimes just hours before being euthanized.  I cannot say enough good things about this woman and her dedication to saving dogs lives. My love and admiration for her knows no bounds.  Like everyone else on this list she is the REAL DEAL!

In closing I just want to say that I am so very proud to know these people and to have the honor of working with them in this community.  They choose common sense, maturity and rationality over drama and seek to work with anyone who can help further the causes we all work so hard on.

"Stop Bullying Summit With Love" 1

Is Dog Rescue Broken???

A good friend of mine who recently got a birdseye view of the darker side of the animal welfare/dog rescue community commented to me that they felt that rescue was ‘broken’.  My reply was that I didn’t think that rescue itself was broken but that there are just simply some emotionally unstable people who get into rescue in a subconscious effort to fix themselves because in one way or another they are broken.  I can't stop thinking about this issue now because if we humans can’t get our collective shit together in this community then how are we going to stop animal abuse, help people who want their dogs keep their dogs, abandonment, pet overpopulation and successfully address all of the other things that contribute to dogs needing our help?

There are so many people involved in dog rescue that are calm, rational, logical and emotionally stable and who would do anything for or with anyone to help a dog.  We rarely hear about them being involved in a controversy and will very rarely see them blasting someone for something on Facebook or other social networking sites.  These people, likely hundreds of thousands of them, operate their rescues and advocacy's in an organized effective way and over time help countless numbers of dogs and dog owners.  They work as a team and welcome anyone into their circle that is like minded and who is willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work helping dogs.  These people are responsible with funds donated to help the dogs and help other rescues as much as they are able to by sharing the wealth; what little there is of it.  This, I would like to think, describes the vast majority of people and organizations who are in the animal welfare community.  These people and their organizations are anything but broken and are the backbone of the machine that runs 24/7 to save and help dogs and the humans who love them.

That’s one side of the animal welfare community coin.  The side that we all hope represents MOST of the people who are in this community.  However there is another side to the coin; the dysfunctional broken side.  That is the side that my friend was recently exposed to in a very real and literally in a very threatening way.  In an effort to open the lines of discussion between members of the animal welfare community who are in conflict my friend brought together several people who had complained to him about the ‘trolls’, the ‘haters’ and the other people in the animal welfare community who had victimized them, who had stalked them and who had taken serious steps in an effort to hamper their ability to rescue dogs.  There were many extremely wordy emotionally charged reports about court cases, stalking, hate mail, slander, theft and just about every hateful negative thing you could imagine that was done to them by others in this community.  Both sides, in this meeting, had nothing but hateful and accusatory things to say about the other and in the end my personal take on it was that the victims were as much perpetrators as they were victims. Because BOTH sides view themselves as "THE VICTIM" it's obvious that there were actually no victims but only dysfunctional perpetrators in a struggle for fame, recognition, funding and pity.  This is where things are broken in rescue.  A lot of shit was slung, a lot of accusations and a whole lot of dysfunctional behavior was exhibited on BOTH sides.  Once the reports of personal slander that destroyed reputations, cost people their jobs and sent them to the poorhouse were shared then it came out; the real, honest source of the hatred, the judgment and the anger…MONEY!!! 

Surprise! Surprise!!!  In the end it was all over money.  Who gets pledged donations to pull a dog out of a shelter…that money is what they were all fighting over when it all came down to the brass tacks.  Accusations were tossed around about people who claim to be a legitimate rescue who takes the pledges that kind hearted people donate to get a dog out of a shelter, pull the dog out of the shelter and then just get rid of the dog and keep the money.  These accusations were being shot around about rescues that have been around for a while and were considered legitimate, responsible dog rescues.  These accusations were slung with such venomous fervor that it was hard to believe that any of the people involved gave a damn about anything but hating on someone else.  It was/is ugly and the worst thing is that during this time my friend was trying to get everyone to talk to work out their differences, so they could all continue on with their dog rescue efforts in virtual safety from being harassed by others, HE was attacked.  His e-mail inbox and Facebook suddenly was overrun with hateful messages hating on him.  WHAT THE HELL???  What the hell is wrong with some people and especially what the hell is wrong with human beings who claim to be compassionate, caring, selfless people that feel justified in hating on, stalking, blaming, judging and trying to harm other people???  Other people who claim to want all of the same things that they claim to want.  Other people who could be a partner in their goals rather than 'the enemy'.

Here’s the thing from this writer's perspective; the animal welfare community is over-worked and over-taxed mostly because the general public doesn’t know much about what’s going on with animals around the world and quite frankly it appears, as it is very often stated by many of the emotional among us, as if the general public doesn’t care.  Has anyone ever considered that perhaps most people in the general public care a great deal about animal welfare issues but that when they see some of the utter bullshit, dysfunctional, hateful, judgmental and downright crazy crap that comes out of our community through Facebook and other social networking sites that they simply aren’t willing to deal with us ‘animal welfare crazies’ in order to join our causes and help us help animals?

In the end it's a fact that people are watching us.  That’s not paranoia talking but is simply what I have observed.  The general public is watching and what they are seeing is those who speak loudest and say the most controversial things…this is what paints their picture of our community; not our good deeds or dedication to helping one another and the animals. So I suppose the question is whether or not there's anything we can do to mitigate the effects of these people who are doing what they do for sometimes nefarious and more often than not for purely emotional reasons?  Can those of us who choose to work together in harmony influence those who choose dysfunction over partnering and drama over effectiveness?  Is our community broken as a whole or do we simply have some dysfunctional groups/areas that we need to focus on cleaning up?

PLEASE HELP ME - I'M NOT A HUMAN

I just watched a video someone made about pit bulls that was obviously designed to break the human heart and to solicit interest in what happens to dogs obtained for fighting purposes.  The video told the story of a puppy adopted by a dog fighter and the abuses it endured told from the perspective of the dog.  The dog ‘wondered’ a lot of things, the dog ‘wished’ for a different life (like the one his mother had) and the dog ‘understood’ that the life it was leading was a bad one.  While I most certainly understand the point of the video, hopefully to motivate more people to combat dog fighting, the premise that a dog would be thinking and more so feeling all of this just like a human would I don’t think is helpful at all to dogs anywhere; not even as a vehicle for social change to benefit dogs.

There are already far, far, far too many dog owners, people who advocate for dogs and people who rescue dogs that truly believe that, and behave like, dogs are just like humans in every way except that they live in a different kind of body and have no voice to speak with.  Dogs do have a voice but it’s not the same as we humans have and if they did it most certainly would not be used to express all of the human shortcomings, fears, anxieties, thoughts and feelings that we all experience from time to time.  I can promise that a dog’s voice would not be used to tell sad tales of the past, it’s hopes or express fears about the future but would be used to express what is happening right now without judgment about it but simply to say, ‘I am happy, I am excited, I am playing, I am tired, I am anxious about what’s happening right now, I am afraid of the sound I’m hearing right now, I am hungry, I’m thirsty, I am bored, I want out, I’m so happy you are home, where are you going? I want to go too, etc.”

The belief that dogs have human-like feelings that are the result of human-like thinking is a detriment to dogs and is not a benefit to them.   The expression of our human love for dogs has often been more at their expense than for their benefit.  We show them affection 100% of the time; even when they’ve just exhibited a behavior that we don’t want them to.  We try to comfort them like we might a child when they are afraid.  Even though by doing so we are literally telling them that we want them to be afraid because we are giving affection while they are in a state of fear and that tells them we ‘like’ it when they feel that way.  So since their goal is to please us, every time they are in that situation again they will feel fearful or anxious.  We expect them to rationalize in order to understand our words, our meaning, our intentions and our desires when they don’t have the ability and never will have.  When we relate to them as we would a human and they don’t react or understand as we expect or want them to then we blame their past, what someone else did to them and even their breeding; often getting rid of them because of their behavioral issues when we caused the behavioral issues by treating them like a specie that they are not, will never be, can never be and who I personally would not like them to be.

Treating dogs like a dog is NOT inhumane and is not the sign of a heartless, cruel, cold, unfeeling human being.  In fact treating dogs like a dog based on how they treat one another is a gift that every dog deserves to have from the human who chooses to make that dog a part of their life.  I can’t imagine just how emotionally screwed up a human being might become or how they might misbehave if they were captured by another specie and then expected and forced to think like that specie in order to understand what that specie wants and is then forced to live a life as a member of that specie rather than as a member of our own specie.  How many of us would like and/or understand being forced to live and think like another specie even if it was in the lap of luxury with everything we could ever want?  How many of us would ‘sell our human soul’ and stop thinking/being human just so another specie could 'feel' good about having us in their lives and/or so we could live in the lap of luxury?  I know I wouldn’t.  I am human, deserve to be treated like one and absolutely deserve to live like one.

Treating our dogs like dogs does NOT mean that we don’t love them, that we don’t give them the best life possible, that we don’t make their lives as comfortable and as pleasant as possible.  Treating dogs like dogs, which they ARE, simply means that we go out of our way to observe and understand how dogs relate to one another, how they interact and how they communicate with one another so that we can provide (FOR them) the easiest ways to communicate with them so that they understand what it is we want from them and what is expected of them as a part of our family. 

In closing I just want to say that so many people say that they ‘love’ dogs when often enough the ‘love’ they feel is NOT for the specie itself but is for what that specie gives us which is unconditional love no matter who we are, what we do to them or how we treat them.  For this ‘unconditional love’ don’t you think we should give them the opportunity to be a dog rather than just our cute, four-legged source for unconditional love???  For all that dogs give to us don’t you think it’s time we gave back in a way that will not only serve them but will also serve the relationship we have with them because we are communicating with them on their level rather than expecting them to communicate with us on a human level? IF someone truly LOVES DOGS then one surely loves dogs not because they are a source of undying loyalty and of unconditional love but BECAUSE they are dogs and because dogs are an amazing specie that has a lot more to teach us about how to live in harmony and in a joyful state of mind than we could ever teach them…