This story from the Washington Post about Michael Vick’s pit bulls made me cry … in a kinda good way.
As best as anyone can tell, Lucydog (as seen below) is an American Staffordshire Terrier who was abused in her previous life. has the scar on her head that will never heal to prove it and was found by her first rescuers on the side of the road with two broken legs.
Lucy sometimes gets a bad rap and not because she’s vicious in any way. Just because at first glance one might group her into that vague concept of a “pit bull” and assume she’s an aggressive dog.
She’s not. She loves to have her belly rubbed. She loves to go on long walks. She loves to cuddle on the couch or in bed. The only aggression she’s ever shown is in chasing rabbits or hunting moles. She’s snapped twice in her life upon being frightened by someone being in her face, which is just more evidence of her prior abuse.
What moved me so much about that article is the fact that a judge took it upon himself to see that the Vick dogs be saved. And now that experts have had time to evaluate them, they’ve learned that there are some very loveable dogs in the bunch. It warms my heart to know that there are people out there taking the time to understand that pit bulls and their respective “dangerous breed” cousins get a very bad rap. I cringe every time I hear of a breed-specific restriction.
If you’re a dog lover, please take the time to read this story. If you’re not, please take the time to understand that a dog is not bad because of its breed and possibly not even bad because of its upbringing.
Wow! What a great story!
I can’t stand how dogs get pigeon-holed because of people’s random fears and associations. Argo is a big baby, and as gentle as can be. And my friend has a pit bull who is the most well-behaved dog I’ve ever met. I think that responsible owners of “dangerous” breeds try harder to make sure their dog is friendly and well-behaved.
I have an American Staffordshire named Harley. He’s one of the most lovable dogs I’ve ever had. In fact…my CAT Ella is more aggressive than he is…she’s a big ball of fat and fangs let me tell ya. LOL!
Lucy is beautiful. I really really wanted to adopt a pit but living at home still with other small dogs, my dad was worried. I let it go but do hope to one day adopt one, they are such beautiful dogs. They get such a bad name but some are the sweetest dogs ever.
Oh she pretty, I have a German Shepherd and we get the same reaction, he’s the soppiest fool in the world too…great bark for burglars though
Allie: I think we feel like we have to overcompensate for other people’s assumptions! I know I do.
Vanessa: That’s exactly what touched me. And the Modern Dog knows how to work that cuteness to her advantage.
Minda: I’m so glad to know you’re a fellow Staffy parent 🙂
Jamie: You’re probably best to wait — they do say you have to be careful with pits around other animals. I’m glad to know you appreciate them.
LizSara: That’s probably the one good thing about people being scared of “dangerous breeds,” they do make good unintentional guard dogs.
I totally agree. Pit bulls are NOT angry dogs, in general. Stupid assholes who breed all the aggressive ones together, and then raise the pups to be fighters and abuse them just to make the dogs “tougher,” that’s the problem. Dogs are called Man’s Best Friend for a reason. They’re nice as long as you’re nice to them!
Lucy is bootiful! Michael Vick is a miserable sick bastard. I wont get into that. YA.. its a shame seeing a lot of that stuff on Miami Animal Police on Discovery too.