Savings Lives, One Pit Bull at a Time

In September, much to my mother's dismay, my husband and I adopted a pit bull from our county animal shelter.  I think my mom imagined us having a more seemingly family-oriented dog. There's just one problem with that.  I am a strong believer in rescuing dogs, not purchasing them from breeders and the shelters aren't overflowing with pretty, golden retrievers or labs; they're filled with pit bulls. 

When we walked into the shelter, we said to each other that we were just looking and that we weren't taking the first sad, pathetic-looking dog that we saw.  We were going to wait until we found the perfect dog.  And then we came across this:

...and we named him Jax.  Sixty pounds of muscle, and he might just lick your face off.  Sure he has his faults.  For starters, he walks me.  He enjoys chewing on prohibited items like my husband's Phillies hat.  He's also a great escape artist.  Just the other week he nudged our sliding glass door open wide enough so he could knock down the screen door and ran about a mile into the woods next to our house.  Luckily we have great neighbors on the other side who called the phone number on his tag to let us know they were keeping him safe until we could pick him up. That being said, he is a cuddle bug, he's surprisingly gentle around kids and it's a good thing we have a home security system because he's more likely to hug an intruder than attack one.

So we understand what all the pit bull supporters have been saying: Blame the Owner, Not the Breed.  Trying to convince people of this is another thing.  One time while I was walking Jax, a neighbor asked me, "Does he eat people?"  Yes, ma'am.  That's why I walking him by the playground because children are more bite-sized than full-grown adults.  Even at our neighborhood's animal hospital, a vet tech asked if he was vicious.  I would expect a vet tech to understand the signs of aggression, like growling; not a wagging tail.  That was our one and only trip to that animal hospital. 

Knowing that Jax was not allowed at a certain doggie day care, it made me wonder how receptive a groomer would be to the idea of trimming his nails.  If the groomers were apprehensive, they didn't show it when we dropped him off.  Still, I was worried about how this would turn out considering that nail trimming can make the most even-tempered dog anxious.  When we picked up Jax, the groomer looked exhausted.  His first comment to us was, "Wow, that dog has a lot of energy."  Uh oh.  Did he bite someone or try to attack another dog?  No.  As it turns out, it took two employees to hold him down while a third trimmed his nails because he wouldn't stop trying to lick everyone.

So next time you come across a pit bull, remember that not all of them are dog-fighting killers, they may just save your life.