Good evening, everyone. As we celebrate International Dog Day, I want to focus on a specific type of dog that is perhaps the most misunderstood breed in the world—the pit bull. It makes me unhappy that public opinion about pit bulls is that they are extremely dangerous. If a pit bull is that meaning, that's only as a result of being taught to fight other dogs to the death in dogfights. The truth is that a pit bull is very faithful and loving.
A pit bull is a cross between a terrier and a bulldog. That's why their coloring can be different from one dog to the next. Pit bulls all have short fur. They came over to the U.S. from Britain with their immigrant farming families. Pit bulls guarded the cows, sheep and family from thieves. They were beloved members of the family because they were so faithful and loving. They were also very strong, especially their jaws.
Unfortunately, bad men turned a good thing into a bad thing. Since these dogs would do anything to please their masters, it was easy for these men to teach the dogs to be killers. Dogs fought other dogs in fenced "pits". Dog fighting became illegal in the U.S. in 1875, but it still goes on. Today, pit bulls continue to be farm dogs, but they are also trained as police dogs, search dogs and of course they make great pets!
I have a pit bull myself. Piper is the friendliest dog you'll ever meet. He sleeps next to me at night. Even though he is an adult dog now, he still acts like a puppy sometimes. He would never bite me or anyone else! With proper and loving training, pit bulls are the best pets ever!
