Pit-iful Prejudice

"And here is one of my pitbulls with her mother, and her grandmother," the lady said as she showed me the 68th picture in her phone photo gallery.
 There were 3 pitbulls all lying atop each other like a layer cake.
It was a cute picture,that was not the problem. The problem was that after 10, maybe even 20 cute pictures of her pitbull, I was ready to move on. And while I can be rude when I don't mean to be, being purposely rude to someone who loves her dog so passionately is just not easy for me. Finally, after learning that her pitbull was a dock dog, agility dog, obedience dog, and therapy dog, I managed to convince her I was supposed to be working at the dog show, not yakking it up with the dog owners.

What was doubly strange about this interaction was I had been late to the dog show, and all because of another pitbull owner! (indirectly at least.)
I was late because the very nice Verizon representative that was supposed to be helping me fix my phone, was instead busily talking to me about the virtues of pitbulls. She told me she had no children, but she had a pitbull, and apparently that was better. I am not even sure how the phone technician began talking about pitbulls, but word of warning to anyone who meets  pitbull owners.....they will be more tenacious than their dog. When they get a chunk of someone's ear to talk about the virtues of the pitbull, they hang on with their vocal apparatus firmly locked around your auditory system. They will not stop til you walk away. Their jaws are locked on their prey.

This is not true of their pitbull, by the way, and one of the common strange misperceptions. Pitbulls jaws do not lock like vise grips once they grab their prey. Nor do their jaws exert enough force to bite through kryptonite. They bite exactly like any dog, when they bite. However, they are less likely than most dogs to bite. They have a temperament rating of  82% compared with the typical dog population rating of 77%. The dog most likely to bite is the well known and feared....dachshund.

There are many websites written by and for devoted pitbull lovers. Being as God keeps knocking me over the head with Pitbull people, I read the pitbulllover.com site. Not everyone should own a pitbull. They can be a large dog, and especially if unneutered, can be dog aggressive. However, contrary to popular belief,as a breed, they are  people lovers. A pitbull that is aggressive or shy towards humans is very unusual and not typical of the breed. Their tenacity and intelligence makes them great dogs for families that can give them "meaningful" work. They make great guide dogs, therapy dogs, agility, or working farm dogs. Old granny types should not get pitbulls, but not because they are easy pickings for the marauding devil dog. It is just that old granny types cannot exercise the pitbull as much as they need for optimal health and happiness.
Another favorite misperception is that they are unstable, and will turn crazy because their brain swells and no longer fits properly in their skull. Again, no basis in fact. If a dog's brain swells, it dies.  If left unneutered, around age two the pitbull can become dog aggressive, particularly if not properly socialized. But they do not suddenly freak out for no reason. The overwhelming majority of pitbull attacks are by dogs that are chained, improperly trained or socialized, or even taught to attack.

So the main traits I read (and heard!) over the past few days about pitbulls are : loyalty, tenacity, intelligence, playful, loves kids,strength.
How did these admirable qualities end up making them hated? Personally, it is a list that I used to pick a husband. And when my children display these qualities, I praise God. So I wondered what God was trying to tell me, bombarding me with pitbull lovers every where I turned.

The major enemy of the pitbull is ignorance and prejudice. It is true that they are a favorite choice of the idiots that train animals for dog fighting. Even those poor creatures can be rehabilitated but probably not by the average dog owner. The typical pitbull is a great dog. But even I, a dog lover, am a little scared of pitbulls as a breed. (though pitbull is NOT a breed- another misperception. There are a whole lot of breeds and mixed breeds called pitbulls.) I think God is trying to teach me not to remain in ignorance and mistrust and fear. So much of how we respond in life is based on misperceptions and fear. Those are the worst motivators for any kind of action or belief.

When God lowered the sheet of "unclean" animals from the sky in a vision to Peter, and told Peter to "kill and eat", he was horrified. Not because he was an animal lover, but because the animals were those that Jews were prohibited from eating. God was giving a dramatic lesson in the truth of His Kingdom- nothing He declared holy was exempt from His love and protection.

I think God is lowering a sheet from the sky, and a big lovable pitbull is sitting on it. I think God is telling me, "Look around you. All those ugly, stupid, smelly, struggling souls that you think are unworthy, or only good to be silenced or eradicated.....those harbor souls as precious as yours. Don't be afraid. Reach out and love them. Love all of them as I have loved you."

And all God's pitbulls say, "Amen!"

Acts 10: 14-15
 ¹⁴ “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
 ¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”