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Audrey Bergen

Considering National Pit Bull Awareness Month




Pit Bulls are a dog breed that, unfortunately, are often viewed in a negative light. In reality, many pit bulls have sweet, gentle, and goofy personalities. At one point in time, they were known as "nanny dogs" for the attentiveness many of them showed to the children who were a part of their family. According to the American Temperament Test, a leading dog behavior assessment, 87.4% of America Pit Bull Terriers passed. (2017, atts.org). This test looks for dogs' shyness, aggressiveness, friendliness, and other factors. This score, compared to that of other breeds, proves that pit bulls do not deserve the societal stereotypes against them. Because of the bad reputation that pit bułls have wrongfully gained, National Pit Bull Awareness Month was created to shed light on this misunderstood breed.


There is a shelter in Sanger, California, called the Fresno Bully Rescue that focuses on rescuing "bully" breeds, including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and American Bulldogs, among other species. According to their website, "We are one of the only breed-specific, no-kill rescues with an actual kennel-facility in California." (fresnobullyrescue.org). This shelter and others in the area have foster programs where those interested open their homes to dogs, cats, and in some cases, other animals for some time. Sometimes this period is predetermined, for example, when puppies need to wait until they're eight weeks old to be adopted or when an animal needs time to recover from an injury before being made available for adoption. Fostering animals profoundly impacts them, as it gives them a place to recover from the stress of the shelter while they are waiting to be adopted.


I can personally attest that Pit Bulls are misunderstood from my three years volunteering at the Valley Animal Center, an animal shelter in Fresno, CA. Pit bulls are some of the sweetest, most affectionate dogs I have ever met, and it pains me to see the negativity they receive. I have included pictures that I have taken of some of the pit bulls who are currently available for adoption at the Valley Animal Center. Santana is energetic and affectionate and has been in the shelter for two years. Her favorite thing to do, even though she is 60+ pounds, is to sit on people's laps. Fido is a senior dog who is very sweet and is pictured laying across my lap. You can learn more about these dogs and any of the shelter's adoptable dogs at https://valleyanimal.org. All these dogs and dogs of other breeds in shelters want to be loved. If you or anyone you know is interested in adopting an animal from a shelter, donating, or volunteering, I will encourage you. You can have a profound impact on animals' lives.

 

Works Cited


Webmaster. “ATTS Breed Statistics.” American Temperament Test Society, Inc., Dec.

2017, https://atts.org/breed-statistics/statistics-page1/.


“We Are Their Shelter. You Are Their Future.” Valley Animal Center,

https://valleyanimal.org/. Fresno Bully Rescue, https://fresnobullyrescue.org/.

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