Faithful Friend or Born Bully?
“Unconditional love is often not found in our world, but through man’s best friend it is a regular occurrence when a true friend is on both ends of the leash.”
Tony Loiacono, Creator & Executive Producer of “Faithful Friends.”
Pit Bulls are the bully target today, but it wasn’t always so. Did you know that German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans and even the St. Bernard are considered aggressive? What happened to turn Pit Bulls into fighters, making them number one on the aggressive breed hit list?
The very qualities that make these dogs outstanding companion dogs — intelligence, loyalty, courage and trainability is how Michael Vick and 20,000-40,000 others abuse their strength and power in the multibillion-dollar dog fighting industry. “There is absolutely no true concept of sport in inflicting pain on those who only know how to love unconditionally,” said Wanda Goldberg, host of “Faithful Friends” on Animal Planet. “Be a voice for those without, abuse stops here, it stops now.”
Saturday, January 17th at 9am “Faithful Friends” on Animal Planet will be covering this topic. Host Wanda Goldberg and Dr. Marty Smith ,of Doctors Foster and Smith Pet Supplies, will expound on why it isn’t the dog’s breeding but the owner that makes the difference.
At the turn of the 20th Century, the American Pit Bull Terrier was the #1 family dog in the United States and Petey, a Pit Bull Terrier, was the de facto “babysitter” of the kids on the “Our Gang” TV show.
Today, they achieve the fourth highest passing rate of all 122 breeds tested with an 82.5% that took a temperament test vs. 77% of all breeds on average. But, it is the owners at the end of the leash that turned a lover into a fighter. In the US, dog-fighting is considered a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho.
Human intervention is trying to ban this breed with BSL, which is interesting because that’s exactly what turned these dogs into fighting machines. Wouldn’t it be better to change the laws that govern dogfighting than creating new ones to eliminate a breed?
Why not focus on rehabilitation rather than extermination of Pit Bulls? It’s truly amazing what can happen with patience and unconditional love. Out of the 53 dogs removed from Michael Vick 52 have now been adopted into loving homes.
One of them is even a therapy dog providing comfort to people going through chemotherapy. Does that sound like a vicious killer to you?
*Caesar with his true friend.
That’s actually funny, thinking of a St. Bernard as aggressive!
I’ve even heard people say that Siberian Husky’s and Alaskan Malamute’s are aggressive! Hah, could you picture a vicious, fighting Mal?
I think that toy breeds are more likely to bite than any big dog like a GSD or Rottie because people think of them as cute little lap-dog accessories that don’t need training, discipline or socialization!
Don’t target a specific breed, but rather the individual dogs and OWNERS that let their dogs become aggressive and vicious!
I have owned Pit bulls and Am Staff Terriers — they are great pets. Thanks for writing about this.
Ultimately, BSL gain success because of the stupidity of the general public. It’s the same with gun-laws, where people seem to think that the underlying problem will go away if you eliminate the tools people use to commit the crime. Most people cannot seem to associate that it’s the person, not the animal that is at fault. “It’s just a dumb dog, so it’s in its nature to attack people,” seems to be the sentiment of far too many people (especially those in power).
Human beings are the smartest, most intelligent life form this planet has ever seen, and yet people still can’t comprehend that maybe it’s the people causing the problems, not the dogs.
I still personally believe that most BSL would not succeed if more people would get active in the community and vote. Only half of the population voted in the ‘08 Presidential election. Averages only about 35% on non-presidential national elections. You know it’s probably even lower than that on local elections/polls. I know that most people I talk to are against BSL, but they don’t do anything to stop it, and them whine about it when it passes and becomes law. Same with gun bans. It’s the vocal minority that gets these things passed, when the silent majority is against it.
Ok, I’ll get off my soap box now
I just read an article in Sports Illustrated about the status of Vick’s dogs and I think your data in your recent blog is wrong. According to the article, “What Happened to Michael Vick’s dogs?”, here is what they reported:
“In the end, 47 of the 51 Vick dogs were saved. (Two died while in the shelters; one was destroyed because it was too violent; and another was euthanized for medical reasons.) Twenty-two dogs went to Best Friends, where McMillan and his staff chart their emotional state daily; almost all show steady improvement in categories such as calmness, sociability and happiness. McMillan believes 17 of the dogs will eventually be adopted, and applicants are being screened for the first of those. The other 25 have been spread around the country; the biggest group, 10, went to California with BAD RAP. Fourteen of the 25 have been placed in permanent homes, and the rest are in foster care.”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/12/22/vick.dogs/4.html
Hi Stephanie…This is from http://www.faithfulfriends.tv/vickdogs/ site.
As Michael Vick prepares to be released to a halfway house on January 20th, 52 of his 53 dogs live in loving homes throughout America.
And Leo, one of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels, after spending five weeks being trained and rehabbed by California trainer Marthina McClay is now a therapy dog at the Camino Infusion Center, where he brings comfort to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
The first episode of 2009 “Misunderstood Friends” on Animal Planet airs this Saturday at 9:00 am, and it takes on this controversial issue of breeds that are considered vicious by insurance companies and consumers in general. “This was one of the most positive shows I have seen in over 40 years of working with this breed,” says Joe Burford, the President and Director of the Salt Lake Pit Bull Terrier Association.
What a great video. That was pawtastic! I currently have an American Staffordshire Terrier who was first introduced to me when he was about 4 months old. My son and his girlfriend had brought him home. I just found out that they got the little guy from a Pitbull Rescue Group. It doesn’t matter to me though. He is one of the sweetest dogs you ever wanted to meet. My son and his GF left Buddy with me when they moved out. One or the other blamed the other for the break up and threatened to have Buddy put to sleep. Well, Buddy was legally living with me, and I had gotten his shots and licenses in my name. Therefore, I made sure that they knew that Buddy was going to remain with me. Buddy had a lot of cuts and scratches on him when he first came to live with us. I treated them and they healed well. There was two episodes where Buddy “attacked” my other dog. The first time my other dog had to have surgery. The second time he just had some scratches. We should have separated them after the first attack, but we thought it was just a random act. We did separate them after the second attack and they have been separated since. That was over 5 years ago. They still communicate with each other. But we are very careful with both of them. They are both very loving dogs. Buddy is just the sweetest thing. I think my Dino is just to active for him. Buddy likes to nap. He does not like to play much. He loves to give kisses, he loves to be petted and he loves belly rubs. Most people tell me I should have had Buddy put down after the altercation with Dino. That would be like telling me to hurt one of my children. I wouldn’t do it. I love both my boys and keep them both safe. I might have to use safety gates to keep them separated, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make for both of them. Thank you for the heads up on the Animal Planet show. Hopefully I will be able to see it. I seen a sign that said the following: “Any Dog, Any Breed, If Raised Wrong or Abused, Can be Dangerous. Ban Bad Owners!” So I agree wholeheartedly with the article you have here and what was said on the video.
I totally agree. Aggression is more of a Learned Behavior. Improper socialization and/or abuse are usually to blame.
we got judged, and changed their minds.
As a Bully mom in a very small town in Texas we were judged everytime I’d take my girl out with me. When she is in the cab of the truck, like at the bank, store, horse event & someone passes or trys to tap the window to get her up, she will bark growl, spit and looks like a dog gone wild. “thats her truck, those are her horses!” Now when i take her out she turns into a wiggling kisser. It has take us a longtime to educate people shes a wonderful pet. That loves her family, and is carefull to watch out for us. She has taken it uppon herself to be carefull to watch who approches the truck, as we mostly travel alone. Shes my loving compaion, my friend, and my alarm system. Shes not just a “pit” and with time together we have taught people that.
So take those friends to the parks, and other places so real folks can see them in loving action. You too can help change the minds of others. The breed is just seen when they are doing something bad. Help show the other side. You will make friends and so will they. those friends will help us spread the word that “pits are pets!”
I have two pitties now and had one a year ago we lost to cancer. I miss her so much. My dogs mean so much to me, they are security (Who wants a dog licking then from foot to face), love bugs and a warm blanket.
I recently lost my dad and grandmother withing two months. My dogs were there to love me through it. I also ate my way through it. Now they are there to help me walk off the weight.
My dogs have never once looked at me as if to say make me fight. They look at me as if to say where are we going and who are we going to meet.
I love this breed with all my heart and soul. And yes the way to change minds is to have our love bugs out in public and show them the love.
Although I agree with your point, Horst, the facts as you cite them from the Faithful Friends site are incorrect: I know for certain that Best Friends still has many of the Vick dogs living on-site, as I see them every day.
You can read about them at:
http://www.bestfriends.org/vickdogs/
More factual errors: Wyoming and Idaho both made dogfighting a felony in 2008:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335390,00.html
Now, I know TV shows are shot in advance, but laws passed in March 2008 shouldn’t be ignored in a press release from Jan of 2009.
The truth is on our side – so it’s sad to see people making up easily disproved “facts” to fit their opinions; in the end that’s just not very helpful. The entire press release is badly and sloppily written and contains multiple errors of basic fact (quiz: how many dogs were taken from Vick?). The home page for the show on Animal Planet contains details of episodes with titles containing basic spelling and grammar errors like “inriching your pets nutrition” and “when your away from home”. (http://www.faithfulfriends.tv/) I’m sure these folks have the best of intentions but they’re presenting themselves in a way that makes them not look very bright in addition to looking dishonest, which in the end is not helpful to the cause they seek to promote.
Dogs are generally as well behaved as their owners. The problem is that too many people get pits because they want the mystique of the “tough guy dog” and then train the dog accordingly.
My niece has a beautiful female pit and she’s the biggest princess you’ve ever seen. Hates to get her feet wet. Loves children. So much for the big, bad pit reputation.
Thanks for the great feedback about the show. We appreciate it. I oversee the project for Drs. Foster and Smith.
This episode on Misunderstood Friends has generated a lot of positive comments regarding getting the word out about these breeds that have been so badly misunderstood and in some cases, misused.
As for the accuracy of the number of Michael Vicks dogs that have been adopted etc., our information came directly from the Georgia SPCA. One of their representatives was on our show in the episode and provided that information to us. I was there on set during that shoot and heard the numbers first hand.
While there may be a difference compared to what SI reported, the source we have is reliable as I’m sure their’s is, and the point being made is the same in each case.
Our information about dog fighting laws also came from an expert in the field, who apparently simply didn’t have the up-to-date information about the two particular states that now have made dog fighting a felony as well. We apologize for not having that information at hand, but thank you for bringing this to our attention! We appreciate it!
We hope you enjoy the show and that you and your pets benefit from the information shared there!