So, my boss is involved in Pit Bull rescue. You might remember me fostering a Pittie mix puppy a few months ago for her.
I don't know whether or not I should say anything to her. I mean, I'm sure I won't. But it bothers me to no end the way that she handles Pit rescue. First off, the puppy that I fostered who was CLEARLY part Pit Bull, whose mother was CLEARLY 100% Pit Bull, she adopted out as a Lab mix. I work at a Dog Daycare and he along with his siblings are in the system as Lab mixes, making it ok for them to be in group play, with dozens of other dogs in a small room.
See, the company does not allow Pit Bulls and mixes and other fighting breeds in group play. Including Bull Terriers and American Bulldogs. They can have "individual playtimes" with a small group of dogs, making them much easier to supervise, and allowing us to pick and choose the right personality matches to the dog. Not that I agree with the rule... but it's a rule, nonetheless.
I recently puppy-sat a 3 month old dog who was too young to board, and the owners called my boss desperately. She called me and said that this "Border Collie puppy" needed a puppy-sitter for 4 days and I was their only hope. I agreed and went to pick her up. Well, this was a black and white Pit Bull puppy. And a very mouthy and impulsive one at that! I talked to the owners about her, and the Mom said that the shelter told them she was a "Border Jack". The Dad was furious that they lied to them, and had no idea she was a Pit Bull until they brought her to a Vet. He was unsure about keeping her. I brought her to work to meet my boss, who swore up and down that this puppy was mostly Border Collie. Umm, I have puppysat/raised several BCs, and this was no BC puppy! It really troubled me, not only because A) this puppy needs a lot of training and socializing and bite inhibition work (not that it's a breed thing; I puppysat 5 Pitties none of which were like this lil terror) and B) this puppy is going to start growing up and looking more like a Pit Bull... is the Dad just going to end up dumping her once she's no longer a cute little puppy? She was a very intense, energetic puppy who needed dedicated owners. Not owners who would up and dump her the moment they found out that she might be part Pit Bull. My boss told them to get their Vet to change her breed to Border Collie mix, saying "they can't just slap a Pit Bull label on that puppy!" Which REALLY rubbed me the wrong way.
So, I want to get your opinions on this, especially those of you who are very involved in the breed and know the breed inside and out. Is it ok to lie and deny, given that this breed has such an unfair reputation? Is that really helping the breed in the long-run? My boss claimed that shelters "label everything as a Pit Bull mix", but in my experience, they don't do that if there's any other predominant breed in the dog... in fact, I see a lot of obvious Pitties who are labeled as Lab or Boxer mixes. And it isn't Labs or Boxers who you constantly see roaming and who fill up shelters, it's Pit Bulls. No? Yes? I don't know how to feel about this issue.
I don't know whether or not I should say anything to her. I mean, I'm sure I won't. But it bothers me to no end the way that she handles Pit rescue. First off, the puppy that I fostered who was CLEARLY part Pit Bull, whose mother was CLEARLY 100% Pit Bull, she adopted out as a Lab mix. I work at a Dog Daycare and he along with his siblings are in the system as Lab mixes, making it ok for them to be in group play, with dozens of other dogs in a small room.
See, the company does not allow Pit Bulls and mixes and other fighting breeds in group play. Including Bull Terriers and American Bulldogs. They can have "individual playtimes" with a small group of dogs, making them much easier to supervise, and allowing us to pick and choose the right personality matches to the dog. Not that I agree with the rule... but it's a rule, nonetheless.
I recently puppy-sat a 3 month old dog who was too young to board, and the owners called my boss desperately. She called me and said that this "Border Collie puppy" needed a puppy-sitter for 4 days and I was their only hope. I agreed and went to pick her up. Well, this was a black and white Pit Bull puppy. And a very mouthy and impulsive one at that! I talked to the owners about her, and the Mom said that the shelter told them she was a "Border Jack". The Dad was furious that they lied to them, and had no idea she was a Pit Bull until they brought her to a Vet. He was unsure about keeping her. I brought her to work to meet my boss, who swore up and down that this puppy was mostly Border Collie. Umm, I have puppysat/raised several BCs, and this was no BC puppy! It really troubled me, not only because A) this puppy needs a lot of training and socializing and bite inhibition work (not that it's a breed thing; I puppysat 5 Pitties none of which were like this lil terror) and B) this puppy is going to start growing up and looking more like a Pit Bull... is the Dad just going to end up dumping her once she's no longer a cute little puppy? She was a very intense, energetic puppy who needed dedicated owners. Not owners who would up and dump her the moment they found out that she might be part Pit Bull. My boss told them to get their Vet to change her breed to Border Collie mix, saying "they can't just slap a Pit Bull label on that puppy!" Which REALLY rubbed me the wrong way.
So, I want to get your opinions on this, especially those of you who are very involved in the breed and know the breed inside and out. Is it ok to lie and deny, given that this breed has such an unfair reputation? Is that really helping the breed in the long-run? My boss claimed that shelters "label everything as a Pit Bull mix", but in my experience, they don't do that if there's any other predominant breed in the dog... in fact, I see a lot of obvious Pitties who are labeled as Lab or Boxer mixes. And it isn't Labs or Boxers who you constantly see roaming and who fill up shelters, it's Pit Bulls. No? Yes? I don't know how to feel about this issue.
