Category: Pittie Party

Amstaff Makes History at Westminster Dog Show

For the first time in the 147-year history of the Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) Dog Show, an American Staffordshire Terrier, aka Amstaff, won the Terrier group. Hooray! “Trouble” is a very handsome 4-year-old whose pedigree name is GCHP CH Lbk’s Rebel And Proud Party Crasher.

Although Trouble the Amstaff was in the running for the coveted Best in Show title, that honor went to yet another historic first: A cute Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen named Buddy Holly. A dust mop — er, Pekingese — won the Reserve Best in Show title, meaning he/she/it is the second runner-up.

Trouble’s handler summed it up perfectly when asked what people should know about this breed. “They’re just the best family pet that anyone could ever have,” she replied, and I bet anyone who’s had one as a pet would wholeheartedly agree.

While it’s exciting that an Amstaff was awarded this honor, I have mixed feelings overall. Amstaffs are usually lumped in with American Pit Bull Terriers and subject to the same breed bans and undeserved reputations as “dangerous” dogs due to negative media stories and a very misleading bite reporting website. Because of unfortunate factors like overbreeding and landlords (and most home insurance companies) who prohibit them, shelters across the country are full of these “pit bull type” dogs.

My concern is that people may decide to buy a purebred Amstaff instead of adopting one of the many dogs who also very deserving of a loving forever home. Here’s hoping that won’t be the case, and instead Trouble will encourage more people to adopt this breed.

If you’re like me, while watching the WKC Dog Show you probably spent some time assuring your dog that they, in fact, were the actual Best in Show. This is true of my Ella and true of your dog(s), too.

Photo: FOX Sports/YouTube

Hero Pit Bull/Chihuahua Mix Loses Life Protecting Kids from Mountain Lion

Lady, a small Pit Bull/Chihuahua (wow!) mix, liked to keep a protective eye on the kids in the Havens family of Idaho Springs, Colo. 

When the Havens family adopted Lady three years ago, they knew right away she was something special, Virginia Havens, Lady’s owner, told CBS4.

“Any time the kids were outside, she was five steps behind them,” Havens told CBS4. “They would play in the sandbox, she was keeping watch everywhere, all the time.”

Lady was doing what she always does on June 14 when a 6-foot mountain lion began stalking the children as they played in their front yard. When Lady saw the big cat, Havens said the hero dog first took off in the other direction to gain momentum before springing on it.

As Havens’ husband grabbed the kids and brought them inside the house, the mountain lion clamped its jaws around Lady’s head. Lady “was doing her best to get out of the hold,” Havens told CBS4. “I heard her crying out, which made me more frantic because she was my fur baby,”

Havens called the police. When they arrived, they shot the mountain lion with non-lethal rounds, The mountain lion dropped Lady and took off.

Havens said she screamed when she saw Lady’s injuries. “She was just a bloody mess,” Havens told CBS4. “Her eye was bulging, she had labored breathing and a hole in her skull.”

Although Lady was rushed to an animal hospital, she sadly had to be euthanized due to her severe injuries. But thanks to Lady’s bravery, the Havens children were unharmed.

“If she had not been there, we would have had a completely different type of tragedy,” Havens told CBS4. “She was absolutely our hero.”

Photo: Olivia Danielle Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

RIP Frodo, Last Surviving ‘Vicktory Dog’

Back in 2007, a shy young Pit Bull named Frodo was one of 48 “Vicktory Dogs” seized from the horribly cruel dogfighting operation run by NFL player Michael Vick.

Fourteen years later, Frodo has become the last Vicktory Dog to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

“Sweet Frodo – How we loved him. He was one of the bravest survivors we’ve ever met,” BAD RAP wrote today on its Facebook page. “[W]e estimate that he would’ve been 15 years old — and THIS is the important part — the last 14 years of his life were spent being pampered like a prince with the Ramirez family and dogs.”

Frodo “was once so timid that he couldn’t look his caretakers in the eye, much less take treats out of their hands,” according to his BAD RAP bio, “but he has since blossomed into a cheerful dog who prods his favorite humans for attention.”

Those favorite humans are Kim and Toby Ramirez, who adopted Frodo from BAD RAP. To help soothe Frodo at night, Kim would turn on a fan or a music channel on TV. “I’ve had to somewhat rearrange my life in a way for Frodo,” she once said. “And he’s worth it.”

It was thanks to the efforts of BAD RAP and a few other animal welfare organizations that the lives of Frodo and the other dogs were spared. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States at the time, said the rescued Vick dogs would never be suitable as pets and thus should all be destroyed. PETA agreed.

But BAD RAP along with the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) and Richmond Animal League took in the Vick survivors, rehabilitated them and found them loving forever homes in which these “unadoptable” survivors thrived, earning them the name “Vicktory Dogs.” Many became beloved therapy dogs.

One of the survivors, Jonny Justice, was awarded the prestigious ASPCA Dog of the Year award in 2014. Sadly, Jonny Justice died last week, according to BAD RAP, just two days before Frodo.

As for Vick — who, according to a federal indictment, killed poorly performing dogs by hanging them, repeatedly slamming them to the ground or holding their heads underwater until they drowned — he went to prison for 18 months but was then awarded the second chance he’d deprived of all those dogs he killed. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and immediately resumed his NFL career.

As recently as last year, the NFL awarded Vick the honor of being a “legends captain” for the 2020 Pro Bowl. Over 1.4 million people signed online petitions urging the NFL to choose someone actually worthy of that title.

If anyone deserves legend status, it’s Frodo and those amazing Vicktory Dogs. May they all rest in peace.

Want to help BAD RAP save the lives of more dogs? Make an online donation.

Photo: CBS/YouTube

Let’s Spread Pittie Positivity on National Pit Bull Awareness Day

If, like me, you’ve ever had the pleasure of having one in your life, you’re already well aware of the awesomeness of Pit Bulls. Now we just need to get the good word out to the world.

That’s why, for the past 14 years, National Pit Bull Awareness Day (NPBAD) is celebrated at the end of October, which also happens to be National Pit Bull Awareness Month.

NPBAD was started in 2007 by Jodi Preis of Bless the Bullys, a small, non-profit rescue organization in Tennessee. It was conceived as a way to bring much-needed positive media attention to this often maligned — and, sadly, often banned — breed.

Many people who’ve never had a Pit Bull may be unaware that these dogs (along with Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers) are frequently the victims of breed-specific legislation (BSL), laws that single out a particular breed instead of placing responsibility on dog owners.

Because these bans are so unfair — not to mention ineffective in increasing public safety — BSL is opposed by virtually all major animal welfare organizations, including the ASPCA, AVMA, HSUS, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Most major U.S. insurance companies also practice their own form of BSL by refusing to provide home or rental insurance for the owners of Pit Bulls and certain other “dangerous” breeds.

“When Bless the Bullys introduced the idea of a nationwide Pit Bull Awareness Day, the response was overwhelming!” says the official NPBAD website. “It was immediately recognized as an opportunity to educate, change minds and bring about positive media attention to Pit Bulls across the country, all on one day.”

Buh-Bye Pit Bull Bans!

For 31 long years, Denver’s Pit Bull ban was one of the most notorious in the world. Pit Bulls, mixes and dogs that happen to look like Pit Bulls were banned from living in the city. Thousands of responsible Denver residents had to make the terrible choice of finding a new home for themselves or their beloved dogs, or surrendering their pets to the city to be euthanized.

Fortunately, just one week after last year’s Pit Bull Awareness Day, Denver voters woke up and overwhelmingly ended the unfair ban. Hooray! And two months later, the city council of Aurora, Colorado’s third-largest city, also voted to end the city’s 15-year-long Pit Bull ban.

Last month, Overland Park, Kansas, joined this positive trend when its city council voted unanimously to end its Pit Bull ban. Hopefully, by the time Pit Bull Awareness Day 2022 rolls around, these ridiculous bans everywhere will be gone for good.

Pit Bull Fun Facts

Here are a few facts you may not know about Pit Bulls. Please share them with anyone you know who doesn’t like these dogs!

    • In tests by the American Temperament Test Society, Pit Bulls score higher (i.e., they’re less aggressive and friendlier) than Beagles, Border Collies and Yorkies — breeds that are hardly ever considered “dangerous.”
    • The most decorated U.S. military dog in history was a Pit Bull mix named Sgt. Stubby. Sadly, Stubby would be banned from U.S. military bases today because of his breed.

As the NPBAD website says, knowledge is power — “and with education and advocacy, the truth will save lives in terms of negating the fear and bias generated by the media, circumvent knee-jerk reactions such as breed bans, and the truth will result in fewer Pit Bulls ending up in animal shelters.”

Photo credit: Laura Goldman. Those are my late, great snugglebug pitties Larry (1995-2007) and Sophie (1997-2009) in the top photo, and Larry as a puppy in the other photo (those ears!!). Larry, an American Staffordshire Terrier, was my first “Pit Bull” and totally changed my mind about these dogs. Yep, I used to be afraid of them, thanks to all the negative stories in the media.

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