Pit Bulls: From Nannies to Misunderstood

by Tracyann Mains, Pets 911 Program Director

I’ve never met a pit bull that I didn’t like. Of course, I’ve only met 4, but I’ve liked each one of them just fine. I’ll admit my guilt right off the bat, when they first approached me, I immediately started to pray.

Why is that? Why do pit bulls reach down into our gut and pull out fear?

Turns out that a lot of people have this reaction to pit bulls. It seems quite unfair considering that in the 40s and 50s pit bulls were often referred to as “The Nannies of America”. The Little Rascals had a pit bull…the RCA dog was a pit bull…Helen Keller owned a pit bull. How did a breed go from being nannies to being feared?

Maricopa County in Arizona is overwhelmed by pit bull surrenders, rescues, and strays. Sadly, the majority of these dogs are euthanized because no one wants them. Kimberly Noetzel, Vice President of Marketing & Community Relations for the AZ Humane Society, states, “We strive to find homes for as many healthy, ‘adoptable’ pit bulls as we can; but we also hold pits to a higher standard than other breeds and we only place “breed ambassadors” up for adoption.” Sadly, this is one breed of dog that nobody wants to adopt. Even the gentlest pit bulls are passed by without so much as a glance of consideration…all due to the reputation of their breed.

That got me thinking about my pit bull encounters. My first meeting with a pit bull was brief. She was blind and deaf and very little. She was the sweetest little thing and was great around small kids and other animals. Of course, she couldn’t see them or hear them so maybe that helped. More likely, it was the fact that her family adored her and took good care of her.

My second meeting was a bit more in-your-face (or in-my-face to put it more accurately). I was pulling some weeds in my front yard and had my cattle dog mix, Copa, out with me. I felt a presence and looked up only to be staring into the jaws of the biggest pit bull I had ever seen in my life. My initial thought was to slowly…very slowly…stand up and put my dog in the house. See? There’s that fear again…this time for the safety of my dog.

Pit bulls were bred to fight other dogs. That is a sad fact. But, did you know that they were also trained to be gentle with people so that their handler could reach in and pull them out of a fight?

Turns out that putting Copa inside wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Pit bulls can revert to their “nature” around other dogs – not to say they will, but they can.

Dr. Rodrigo Silva, Director for Maricopa County Animal Care & Control recommends never leaving your newly adopted pit bull – or any newly adopted dog – alone with other animals or with small children. While many pit bulls are great with children, they could interpret a child as a dog – children are the same size and “wiggle” like dogs do. (I wish I could capture Dr. Silva’s impressive “wiggle’ demonstration. You’d easily see his point). Monitor your new pet, provide training and socialization including all the members of the family on a regular basis.”

Vodka, we found out, lived 3 doors down with her very large brindle pit bull brother named “Whiskey”. I came to enjoy their company and missed them after we moved. Who wouldn’t miss having Vodka & Whiskey show up at their front door?

My fourth pit bull friend, Kharma, lived diagonal to our current home. Kharma was an escape artist. (I have since found out that pit bulls are known Houdinis.) She would come running at me on all cylinders with a big smile on her face. When I first had this experience, however, my brain interpreted this as “Oh Geeeezzz… A large powerful dog is lunging at me with ‘lunch’ on her mind!”

Truthfully, Kharma was not being well cared for at all. She wore no collar or tags. She wasn’t being socialized or getting any attention. Her repeated escapes put her in danger of being hit by a car or encountering someone who would turn her in…or worse! Luckily, after many negotiations, another neighbor adopted Kharma. She now lives across from us with her new parents, enjoys having canine siblings, and goes on supervised walks!

I relayed Kharma’s story to Dr. Silva who said: “Pit bulls are not for beginner dog owners. They are not on the Dogs 101 list. Pit bulls need to be consistently and regularly socialized … consistently and regularly exercised … and receive consistent and regular attention.” Dr. Silva believes that with proper handling and responsible owners, pit bulls can - and do - make wonderful pets and companions.

So, I say, let’s start to respect the pit bull again. Let’s put the media hype into perspective and get to the root of the problem – the overpopulation of this breed, the mistreatment of this breed, and the myths about this breed. If we begin to deal with these issues, then organizations like the Arizona Humane Society and Maricopa County Animal Care & Control won’t be stuck in a no-win situation of having too many pit bulls that too many are too afraid to adopt.

Sources: AZ Humane Society, Maricopa County Animal Care & Control, Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BAD RAP)