Celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Month Every October

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During the month of October it’s time to correct the impression of pit bulls as dangerous.

It’s National Pit Bull Awareness Month, a month to spread the word that pit bulls are loyal and courageous. Not dangerous killers.

The Month grew from National Pit Bull Awareness Day, held on the last Saturday in October. Jodi Preis of Bless the Bullys began NPBAD in 2007. Pit Bull Awareness Month arrived a few years later, in 2011.

 

Some Pit Bull History

Once upon a time, people loved their pit bulls. The dogs helped on the farm and protected the home.

They were part of the family. Loved. Loyal. Brave. Protectors of the children.

In World War I, Sergeant Stubby was honored for saving human lives. The pit bull was also used on wartime posters, symbolizing courage

The dogs haven’t changed. They’re still happy and loyal. Playful and intelligent. They’re also very friendly if they’ve been socialized properly.

But somewhere along the line, human’s perception of the dogs changed. Maybe because some people started taking advantage of their loyalty. Taught them to fight. To act as guard dogs. And because they want to please, they did as they were asked.

They attacked whoever their owners asked them to. From other dogs in dogfighting rings to people those owners didn’t like, they attacked because they wanted to please.

So they got a reputation as vicious and dangerous.

Now landlords won’t rent to people with pitties. Insurance companies won’t insure people with pitties. Neighbors complain when one of these dogs arrives in the neighborhood.

And shelters are full of abandoned and surrendered pit bulls hoping to find a new home. Sadly, potential adopters usually pass them by. Because they’re “dangerous.”

But they’re no more dangerous than any other dog.

Yes, they were originally created for dogfighting by crossing terriers with the Olde English Bulldog. But the breeders deliberately worked at creating dogs that would fight each other but not bite humans. They were considered very trustworthy with humans, including children.

They still are, when raised with love. And even when they’re not raised right, abused pitties can often be rehabilitated with a lot of love and time. Michael Vick’s rehabilited pitties are proof.

 

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It’s Not the Breed, It’s the Treatment

Whenever a dog hurts a person (or another dog), many people automatically assume the attacker was a pit bull.

But any dog can (and often will) attack if it feels scared or threatened. It may also attack to protect its family (both human and dog).

Yes, the stronger the dog the more likely it is to do damage when it does attack. But the answer isn’t to punish/ban stronger dogs. The answer is to treat them right so they don’t feel the need to attack.

A study on dog bite fatalities in the December 2013 issue of The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association supports this.

In this study breed was not a factor in the attacks. In fact, in most cases the breed of the dog couldn’t be verified. Of those that could be verified (only 17.6% of cases), 20 different breeds were involved.

But various human actions were more common:

• The human had previously mismanaged the dogs (37.5% of cases)
• The dogs were treated as residents, not pets. In other words, they lived on the property, but not necessarily in the house. They weren’t socialized, trained or given much (if any) affection. (76.2% of cases)
• The owner had not neutered the dog (84.4% of cases).

 

So basically, to avoid attacks neuter (and spay!) your dog and make it part of the family.

That seems like what any responsible dog owner of any breed does.

 

“Pit Bull” Isn’t Even a Breed

Pit Bull is a generic term used to describe a group of similar breeds … and any dog that looks like them.

So-called pit bulls include:

• American Bull Terrier (this is the one most commonly thought of as a “pit bull”)
• English Bull Terrier
• Staffordshire Bull Terrier
• American Staffordshire Terrier

 

But many dogs called pit bulls aren’t. They’re mutts that look like pit bulls. No doubt some (possibly even many) are at least part bull terrier.

But since bull terriers/pit bulls come in such a variety, it makes no sense to condemn them all based just on what they look like.

Especially since the actual evidence suggests these dogs are no more likely to attack humans than any other.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this worthwhile month

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Ideas for Celebrating National Pit Bull Awareness Month

So … how can you celebrate this month?

Well, since it’s also Adopt a Shelter Dog Month—and there’s an awful lot of pitties stuck in shelters—consider adopting a pit bull.

And if that’s not an option, there’s still plenty else you can do.

Be a responsible pittie owner

Already have one (or more)? Make sure your pet has been spayed/neutered. And if you have a puppy, get this done as soon as your vet recommends it. This can help in two ways:

• Neutering can make male dogs less aggressive
• You avoid adding to the pet overpopulation problem

 

Also make sure your dog is well socialized and well trained. A pittie with good manners is the absolute best way to show how sweet these dogs can be.

Spread positive stories about pit bulls

Yes, sometimes a pit bull attacks a person. But so do other breeds. But for some reason we forgive the other breeds easier than the pit bulls.

Let’s change that.

Here are some stories of fiercely loyal pit bulls who protected their families:

• Lefty got shot trying to stop home intruders from hurting her family.
• Tater tot alerted his new human brother’s mom something was seriously wrong.
• Levi was also shot protecting his humans. Being 15 years old and having only 3 legs didn’t stop him from charging the intruder.
• When Ember’s human brother had a seizure, she woke his mom. Then she stayed close by his side after he got home from the hospital.
• Goliath is a service dog who seems to know which human needs his help at any given moment.

 

You can probably find many more examples.

Donate to a Pit Bull Focused Rescue

You can find a list of pit bull rescues and pittie-friendly rescues here. It’s not a complete list, but it’s a good place to start if you want to adopt or just help pitties.

These rescues promote awareness and rescue pitties year-round.

Of course, do your homework before making a donation!

Join the National Pit Bull Awareness Day Campaign

Hold an event or have a booth at some other local event.

Bless the Bullies has quite a few good NPBAD event ideas that even individuals can do. The page was set up for 2013, but the ideas are still valid!

Do you have any other ideas for celebrating Pit Bull Awareness Month?

 

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