# My pit bull rescued Penelope yesterday!



## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

I hate when people say pit bulls are vicious and dangerous. My 3 year old pit bull Bae is the sweetest, smarest, most obedient dog I have ever met. She even loves my rats! She is so gentle with them. I inroduce them (with the rats in my hands of course, just in case) and she just sniffs them slowly and lets them grab her nose. One time Olive even bit her ear (not aggressivly, just curiously) and Bae just yelped a little and jumped back. Didn't snap or anything. She even plays with Olive! Olive will run back and fourth inside her cage and bae will chase her around hahaha. I never realized just how good she was with the rats until my friends dog came over to visit. We all went upstairs to see the rats, and her dog instantly went WILD. Barking and snarling the second he saw them move in the cage. Bae just sat there quietly not knowing what the fuss was about.

Yesterday, Penelope got loose somehow (mustve snuck out the door before I closed it). I searched everywhere in my room, on my hands and knees with a flashlight (she likes to hide). Finally I just gave up and sat on the floor crying scared I'd never see her again. Bae had been downstairs sleeping by the fireplace...but she mustve sensed I was upset. She walked into my room and greeted me with kisses. I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said "Bae wheres your sister? Wheres Nelop?" she walked around the corner of my room a bit sniffing and then stopped at my nightstand. She sniffed, then looked back at me. I had already searched under the nightstand so I just hung my head, thinking Bae must not know what I'm talking about. I asked her again, one last desperate plea. She sniffed the nightstand, looked back at me and stomped her feet a little. So I looked under the nightstand one last time and voila, there she was. I coaxed her out with a yogie and now she is home safe, all thanks to Bae.

Anyway, moral of the story, there are no bad dogs. Only bad owners. If anyone reading this has a negative view of pit bulls because of their reputation in the media, please take a minute to learn about these dogs. Millions are euthanized every year because the media portrays them as these vicious, untameable animals. In reality, pit bulls were bred to fight, yes, but they were bred to fight other dogs. They were bred to obey their owners, no matter what it takes. It is extremely rare to find a pit bull that will attack a person. They are prone to be more dog aggressive than some other breeds, but that can easily be deterred by proper training and socialization. They are the most loyal breed you will ever know. Bae has changed my life.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

My sister must volunteer so many hours for a community service thing. She picked a rescue that was closing down, one of the last remaining dogs is a young pitbull.

The first day she worked there she was on poop=scooping duty. She was working hard in the yard (HUGEEEE) and suddenly heard a bark. She looked up to see Rocco. Suddenly, Rocco began running. This yard is the length of a football field, she was at one end he another. This entire length he is running and running, gaining speed and she's freaking out. She can't outrun him. She screams and throws herself to the ground.

Rocco reaches within ten foot of her and applies his puppy-breaks, and essentially rolls the last few feet, ending belly=up at her feet (where she is crouching) He just sat there, tongue lolling waiting for his belly rubs. My sister told me she can never believe the media-hype saying pitbulls are mean once this happened. Now, everytime she is there Rocco runs and finds her, runs around her before finally begging for belly rubs.


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## HeatherElle (Aug 16, 2012)

Aww, cute story. We have a pittie too. We initially took her in as a foster dog but wound up being foster failures; we love her too much to let her go. She is not rat-friendly or cat-friendly or pretty much any small animal-friendly lol, but she is the SWEETEST dog in the world with people. She gets along just fine with our Beagle, too. Totally agree with what you said at the end there about them being bred to fight other dogs while obeying their human owners. That is so misunderstood.


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

They truly are amazing dogs. Everyone who meets Bae always falls in love and then they ask what breed she is. When I say pit bull people are always so shocked. 

There are some bad pit bulls out there, but there are bad dogs of every breed. It's all how you raise them. Bae is seriously like a person. She studies my every move. Her world comes crashing down if I am upset. She knows when she upsets me (like if she rips the stuffing out of her brand new toy mommy buys her)and when she sees me get upset, she does everything in her power to cheer me up. Shes so funny, even when she farts I go "BAE you tooted!!!" in my high pitched puppy voice, and she gets so embarrassed, puts her ears back and slowly walks away with her head down...SO ashamed hahaha

Shes always the most behaved dog in her group of doggy friends, people are always so amazed that she actually comes to me when I call her name. Theres no doubt in my mind she would take a bullet for me. She is the greatest thing thats ever happened to me, I just wish people could see that side of them.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

It's definitely how you raise a dog. My friend didn't believe me, so I showed him.

I gave my dog a bone I know she doesn't like and acted excited when she took it. When she didn't chew it I look at her and said sadly -- "You don't like it?", as if I was going to cry. She looked at me, the bone, me, then obligingly popped the bone in her mouth. I praised her and gave her a proper bone, one she likes, for participating. It was clear she didn't want to eat the bone, but more than that she didn't want to upset me.

My sister's dog, on the other hand, wasn't properly raised at all. Mia will jump up, will roll in mud and then your carpet, and will piss on the carpet while looking you dead in the eye. She doesn't care much for the emotional state of her humans. Her world is Mia's world. I told my sister if she ever tries to correct the dog and take something away, I have a feeling Mia would bite.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Thats amazing!! Pits are the BEST  sadly, in my city, people will actually refuse to adopt shelter dogs because "theyre all mean pit bulls!" and it makes me shake with rage. There wouldn't be a pit problem if people would stop back-yard breeding and trying to sell them for $500 on craigslist and on street corners. I've heard so many stories of people just taking or paying for puppies to get them out of nasty human hands. 

I completely agree, they're how you raise them. I have a border collie/springer spaniel mix (with no prey or herding drive, go figure) and everyone raves and raves about what a good dog he is and how well he listens and does exactly what I tell him. He walks better off leash than on and people always compliment that. My aunt has 3 dachshunds and they are TERRORS-- spoiled rotten and rule the house. The family thinks its funny, I think its awful to live where your 8 year old dogs were never house broken completely, have to be locked in the kitchen when no ones home, have awful separation anxiety, toy aggressive, dog aggressive with dogs not in the family, etc etc they just have SO MANY PROBLEMS and its definitely how they were raised.

I can't wait to get a bigger place because I'm going to foster for the city shelter and I have no problem spreading the good word about pit bulls.


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

I know! Everyone I know who has dogs never bothers to socialize them or train them and they all end up terribly behaved (especially the small ones). I don't know what it is, but small dogs seem to not have any regard for their humans. Thats why I'll never own another breed. Bae, and every other pit bull I've met, always has the utmost respect for people. They CARE whether you're upset...not because they know they aren't gonna get a treat, but because they actually care how you feel. It's like Bae's purpose in the world is to keep me happy, ALWAYS.

The funniest thing she does (that I've never seen any other dog do before) is, whenever people walk in the house, she gets so excited that she bits the bottom of their pant leg and drags them inside. Obviously, she is just over excited and not biting in a mean way, and she does it so gently. I think it is absolutely hysterical, but I can see how some people don't like it, so I tried to train her to stop the behavior. She is the most obedient dog, EXCEPT for this. For some reason she just can't kick the habit, but like we were talking about earlier, she KNOWS I don't like it and she gets upset at herself that she does it lol! You can see her trying to hard not to, but she just can't contain her excitement. She doesn't jump up, or bark or anything like most dogs do when people walk in the door, she just gently grabs your pant leg, violently wagging her tail, and walks you along into the kitchen. My command for her to let go is "Bae close your mouth" because thats how I trained her not to play bite as a puppy. So I'll tell her to close her mouth and she will stop for a second, but then bite it again. Sometimes she'll run and grab a toy and rub it against your leg to try and psyche herself out. It's absolutely adorable.

Oh and also, I know the frustration of trying to have a pit in the city. I moved back home to live with my dad after college because he had knee surgery and needed some help, and I just simply couldnt afford it (boston is ridiculously expensive). Thats when I got Bae. I sort of got her on a whim, not thinking, and totally had to adjust my lifestyle around her to make it work...and I didn't thinkk about the fact that I'd be moving out eventually (hopefully lol). I tried looking for an apartment in Boston, but not only are there barely any dog friendly places, but the ones that are are usually breed specific (aka no pits allowed). Which is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If your dog is well behaved, what does it matter??? My dog is probably sweeter than any of the stupid little chihuahuas in that building!! So basically I'm stuck at my dads house until I can afford a place outside of the city or find a place that allows them. Luckily MA is probably the best when it comes to getting rid of BSL laws, our governor just passed a bill stating that no dog can be deemed "dangerous" based on its breed, but rather its temperment. Finally!!


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## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

I love pitbulls. Mum won't let me have them though.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Ahhh I LOVEEEEE Boston!!! I almost went to school there but couldnt afford it lol. Gosh I'm jealous I wish Philly would enact a legislation like that. Most apartments here in Philly are the same way-- theres an approved list of breeds and your dog has to be under 45 lbs is the general rule. -eyeroll- 

Try if you can get away with calling her a different breed. Like, Boxer mix or American Staffordshire Terrier mix. I know the principal of it sucks but it might work to get into an apartment! I know a lot of rescues that use pit bull sparingly because of the negative connotation it has. Funny enough, pits were originally bred to be nanny dogs, looking after children!


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

ratsaremylife said:


> I love pitbulls. Mum won't let me have them though.


My family isnt too keen on them either. My aunt scoops her terrors in her arms and runs the other direction. My mom instantly puts my dog on the leash when she sees one. I fawn over them, lol.


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## smknowitall101 (Dec 14, 2013)

I own a pittie and she is by far the greatest dog I've ever had. I even got a tattoo of her so that she will always be by my side


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## ratty_milkshake (Feb 24, 2014)

Pitties are AMAZING! We have 2 and they are soooo sweet! When we go to the park they just want to play with the other dogs. Its mostly small dogs who try to "attack" them. They just look at them and continue playing! 

Pitties are actually the best dogs when it comes to temprament:

*"** In December 2010, the American Temperament Test Society showed the American pit bull terrier scored an overall temperament rating of 83.9%, compared to the 77% score of the general dog population."*


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

I like pitts too and looked into getting one at one point, but when I researched more on them, several pitt rescue websites actually warned not to adopt one if it would be living unconfined and unsupervised with another house animals (i.e. cat or dog). They said that although you can train them to ignore the other animals most of the time (and when you're around), if their prey drive kicks in, then they could very well kill the animal just on instinct... The same with most terriers (and pitts are terriers). They also said that although most pitts can live with other dogs, it is likely that if they ever do get in an argument over something (i.e. one takes the other's bone), it will escalate more quickly and severely than other breeds due to their background). This may be different from lines that have long been removed from fighting and have been bred for a more neutral temperament, but most rescue pitts are from fighting lines. 

Because I know that I'll always have at least one house cat, I decided that a pitt wouldn't be for me... I just couldn't live with constantly worrying that I'd come home and find a massacre, or know that I'd have to crate the pitt every day when I went to work so the cat would be safe. 

If I were to only have one free-roaming indoor pet, then I would defiantly consider a pitt... They do traditionally have very good temperament when it comes to people, but again, this can be a separate thing from animal-centered aggression. I know that the sources I read are probably leaning more towards the cautious side, but again, they were well-respected pitt rescues, so I figured they knew what they were talking about. *shrug*


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

That's a weird thing to say. All dogs have prey drives to some point or another and the limits of their temperament. My rat terrier does fine with my free range birds and can sit in the room. I can take a bone or my nieces but not my mom or her dog. 
My sisters lab is worse by far. Strangers, animals smaller than her and kids she doesn't like all get her growling. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

artgecko said:


> I like pitts too and looked into getting one at one point, but when I researched more on them, several pitt rescue websites actually warned not to adopt one if it would be living unconfined and unsupervised with another house animals (i.e. cat or dog). They said that although you can train them to ignore the other animals most of the time (and when you're around), if their prey drive kicks in, then they could very well kill the animal just on instinct... The same with most terriers (and pitts are terriers). They also said that although most pitts can live with other dogs, it is likely that if they ever do get in an argument over something (i.e. one takes the other's bone), it will escalate more quickly and severely than other breeds due to their background). This may be different from lines that have long been removed from fighting and have been bred for a more neutral temperament, but most rescue pitts are from fighting lines.
> 
> Because I know that I'll always have at least one house cat, I decided that a pitt wouldn't be for me... I just couldn't live with constantly worrying that I'd come home and find a massacre, or know that I'd have to crate the pitt every day when I went to work so the cat would be safe.
> 
> If I were to only have one free-roaming indoor pet, then I would defiantly consider a pitt... They do traditionally have very good temperament when it comes to people, but again, this can be a separate thing from animal-centered aggression. I know that the sources I read are probably leaning more towards the cautious side, but again, they were well-respected pitt rescues, so I figured they knew what they were talking about. *shrug*



Yeah I can definitely say that is true, but then again that is true of every dog...pits are just so powerful that most others don't stand a chance. As sweet as my girl is, she has had a couple fights. My parents little shih tzu has always been aggressive with other dogs, and when I got Bae she was no exception. He would always attack her, snapping at her, growling, biting her face etc. Bae usually just submitted and rolled over on her back, but once she got older, she realized she didn't need to take his crap anymore. One time he attacked her and she fought back. She pinned him to the ground and bit his neck. The vet said if she had wanted to kill him she would have, but she was just defending herself and pinning him to stop the attack.

After that we realized they shouldn't be together unless under close supervision. Even though it was provoked, we still don't wanna risk anything. But other than that, she is perfect. She loves other dogs, shes very playful. She loves to be chased, she flies around the backyard like a little rocket.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I have a wonderful pit down home, Jericho, who I couldn't take with me when i moved. My mum has him now and she is very much his human. He's a loving rambunctious little Booger and loyal as can be. I've always loved pits


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## Lare (Jan 18, 2014)

Bae sounds like an amazing dog  I would love to see some pictures of her!

My parents owned a pit named Crazy before I was even born. Crazy was the definition of "it's how you raise them" - his mom was a vicious fighting dog, which my parents didn't know at the time. Not sure of all the details but it was arranged that my parents would get first pick of the pups when the female gave birth. Well, birthing came around and the female ate every one of the puppies, besides one, which the man managed to save. This is the puppy my parents got.

They found out the mom was a fighter when Crazy was a few months old and the guy got back in touch with them. He offered them a car with all kinds of cool stuff installed and I think my mom said more than a thousand dollars to get him back. When my mom questioned him the guy finally explained that the mother was a champion fighting dog and she was recently killed in a fight. He wanted Crazy because he knew he could bring out her fight in him. My mom refused and threatened to call the authorities if he didn't leave them alone. 

Crazy wasn't a well-behaved puppy by any circumstances, my parents still talk about how they have no clue how he survived his puppyhood. He had parvo and the vet even offered to put him down but again, mom refused and he ended up pulling through. He ate numerous answering machines and phones, tore up couches, ate the wall a few times, was hit by a car, and was even shot with a bb gun when someone left the gate open and he got in the neighbors yard (vicious pitbull, had to shoot him, you know?). But when I was born he settled down and became my best friend.

I grew up with that crazy dog and I couldn't have asked for a better playmate. He was never anything but gentle, even when I wasn't. He let me ride on him like a horse, dress him up in funny clothes, stick a baby bottle in his mouth. When I wanted to walk him he would never so much as tug on the leash. I have fond memories of me falling and crying and him dashing over to lick away my tears. When me and my little sister played outside, he was always right there keeping a close eye on us. If our ball rolled into this thorn bush at the bottom of the yard, he would dash in and carry it back out for us. Crazy was an amazing dog that loved to go on car rides and share popsicles (I know, 'ewwww!'). He died around 2006 I think, when he got cancer and just couldn't fight it anymore. He lived to be 13 and had a pretty full life.

There is no bad dog, it's the owners. Crazy could have just as easily been a fighting dog like his mom if the guy would have kept him, but we raised him with a life full of love and he returned it tenfold. I just don't understand how people can blatantly say the breed is full of killers when so many of the pits I know are some of the most loving dogs you will ever come across. I will definitely own another pitbull someday. 















Here's two pictures of my lovely boy, hope you guys don't mind (you'll have to excuse my chubby baby face and the quality of the pictures, they're pictures of pictures from old cameras).


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Aww Lare thats an amazing story <3 good for your family!!! Crazy sounds like an amazing dog.

So today a pittie pup fell into my lap, ironically. A woman came into my work this morning with this little guy. She found him in her driveway just a few blocks up from my apartment. We live on the border of a bad neighborhood so im not surprised. Her landlord told her to take him to a shelter and she just couldnt do it. He was seen by a vet and has some minor skin issues, bit skinny, but otherwise a happy healthy pup! Mightnhave a home lined up for him, ill know tomorrow, but if not, we got him a spot at a pit rescue. Hes the sweetest thing ever.


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## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

Awww, they really are just the greatest dogs. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I lose her. I don't think I will survive it! 

Heres some pictures of Bae, I have WAYY too many!


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Omg look at that expressive face!!! Love it!!

Heres another picture of the puppy (whos in a great foster home now!) because hes too cute.


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