This Pitt isn't with Angelina

I realize this is my 3rd post of the day, so you better believe it's something worthy. This is not for the faint of heart, dear friends. I am so shocked an appalled when I hear of dog fights in the news. I wish it was a rarity. Unfortunately, I live in Miami. Miami is not the place to be if you're a dog, statistically speaking. Duke is lucky - he has a loving home and people who adore him and treat him well. Miami has one of the highest stray animal populations in the country (we see strays in our neighborhood every day, sometimes pregnant and sick - it breaks my heart). In addition, Miami has a large immigrant human population and many of those people come from what we consider "third world" countries. Entertainment in those parts of the world often includes animal fights. Cock fights, dog fights, the works. Here in the U.S. dog fights usually involve pitt bulls.

Anytime you take an animal and force it, train it, torture it into fighting you demonize that breed. Pitt bulls have born the brunt of this kind of demonization. They have gotten a terrible reputation in the public eye due to the aggression shown by a relatively small number of their kind - the ones trained to fight and kill other dogs. Pitts aren't vicious by nature. In fact, dog bites are more often from a German shepard or a labrador retriever than any of the breeds who are thought of as "aggressive", "attack" or "guard" dogs - rottweilers, pitt bulls, mastiffs, dobermans, etc.

This is a video that shows what happens when a dog is brutalized and, conversely, what happens when a dog is treated humanely. I think Duke has a little pitt bull in him (being a stray before his rescue no one knows what's mixed with the mastiff) and he's the most loving dog I've ever known. I've known pitts all my life and not one has been mean. Luckily for those dogs, their owners aren't mean, vicious people. If you can stomach it, watch this video. The next time you hear about a dog fight, or a ban on pitt bulls (like here in Miami) think about what you see here and don't jump to conclusions about the dogs involved. And please, if you get a puppy, don't dock that poor pooch's ears! It's awful.

For those of you who haven't seen him - this is Duke. My big, droopy baby dog. One of the "vicious" mixed breeds.