Being
someone who originally never wanted anything to do with pit bulls, I know how important it is for people to get beyond the media tales and actually meet pit bulls in person. In light of
National Pit Bull Awareness Day, this coming Saturday, we decided to kick start our own "grassroots" campaign to get the pooches out there so people can see for themselves how congenial, well-behaved, and smart pitties really are. We took the pooches to the streets to meet the people. People are always impressed by how nicely the dogs wait on the sidewalk and don't move even when dogs walk by and people nearly step on their tails. While waiting for E outside the bicycle shop, we meet our first "customer": a woman stopped to ask what kinds of dogs they were, and she was surprised to hear these were pit bulls.
The pooches turned heads as we walked down the busy restaurant-filled strip on Division. A couple in outdoor dining asked what kinds of dogs they were, two groups of people stopped to ask if they could pet them, and another girl stopped to tell us about her pit bull she has at home.The pooches were happy to get so much attention.
Dogs are allowed at outdoor patios, so we stopped at
Angels and Mariachis. The food here isn't the best, but it's a fun place to get drinks and people watch; they also have a great discount coupon on
restaurant.com. The pooches waited patiently as we ate:
Though Miss M kept eyeing the food:
The waitress even commented that they were some of the best behaved dogs that had ever dined there. Another couple stopped to pet them and said Miss M's ears were as soft as velvet.
With the weather on our side the next day I took Mr. B out to the Wicker Park Farmer's Market. This market isn't that great, I really like the one over at Clark and Division, but it's a nice walk for the dogs and I do like hanging out in the park afterwards. We got 2 more questions about what type of dog he is, and Mr. B even got petted by some little kids:
A lot of people stopped to talk to us on our way back. I think they're surprised because We don't look like what they envision a pit bull owner to look like. Mr. B got petted by two more groups of people.
We know a couple of cities are having events for pitbull awareness day:
Pittie Rescue Family is part of a huge event in Nashville (check out
the Miss M and Mr B tees!), and there is more information about
the Richmond event here (with a cameo by Mr. B in a turtle outfit!).
We try to do our small part by getting the dogs out there as good ambassadors. Has anyone else seen any good pitties out there?
26 comments:
What a good job at making people aware that the dogs are just as wonderful as any other breed of dog.
I think it's Most Wonderful that Miss M and Mr. B take their "jobs" as ambassadogs very seriously. It's too bad you can't meet everybuddy in the whole wide world. Those two would change their minds for sure!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
It looks like you all had a fun day! What a great idea to talk one-on-one with people. It seems like that's an effective way to show them what sweethearts pitties are, especially since Miss M and Mr. B are so darn adorable and well-behaved!
Such a beautiful weekend to be out and about! I'm sure the pups loved meeting all sorts of new people. They are such good ambassadors...who wouldn't love them!
I just know the pups had so much fun meeting everyone !!
I try to do this with Barbie, and there is a massive difference in how people react to her when she is muzzled. If she has the muzzle on, people won't pat her, even if you invite them to! If she doesn't (a bit of civil disobedience on my part) she gets heaps of pats and attention. I always carry her muzzle with me in case we see Mr Ranger who might fine us for breaking a stupid law.
That is so great that you take the time to educate the public about pitties, hopefully one day their bad rap will be gone. Stories like this need to be on TV!
I love reading your stories! I also try to go everywhere I can with my parents, I'll be doing a post sometime this week about my adventure on Saturday! I actually just mentioned you guys in my blog last week because I had my first experience wearing a t-shirt in public. You always say how it changes the way people approach you, and I definitely found that to be true! This Saturday we will be going to a Pitbull awareness event in Saratoga run by a local rescue called Out Of The Pits. Can't wait!
-Corbin
Awesome - thanks for the shout-out (and thanks for letting us use Mr. B's handsome mug).
I think it's great that you and the gang are out everyday, showing people that pits are PETS!
I think maybe Miss M is eyeing that margarita on the table! But I know she takes her job (pitbull educator) very seriously and would never drink on the job!
Your pal, Pip
They are such great dogs and they are lucky to have you guys! It's nice to know other pit bull owners out there.
I think Miss M and Mr. B are doing their part to raise awareness every day that they go out! We used to know a really sweet Pittie who belonged to the family who ran a youth group we were a part of. She always had her toenails painted red! She's long since passed away, but she was the first Pit I ever knew and just as sweet as sugar.
This past weekend we went to the Dallas Zombie Walk in Deep Ellum. Imagine this - A ton of people with made-up faces and costumes trolling the streets as zombies. It was a fun time and we met a sweet Pittie that was handling all the fuss quite well, actually. I couldn't help but think that my own girls would've had a meltdown in the same circumstance...
What a great shot of Mr B and his pack in the park!!
Fred sadly no longer wants to wear his, I thought it might be hurting him or something but he has no irritation or rash where it touches him, I dont know :( we will try again in a few weeks.
I know Mr. B and Miss M are ambassadors all year round - I've seen them in action! We try to do the same. Sometimes I feel like an infomercial: "Did you know that pit bulls used to be called nanny dogs?" "Did you know that many of the pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick's kennel are now certified good citizenship dogs who work in therapy situations?" "Did you know..."
ms M and mr B--you two did a fantastic job~! thanks for showing people that bullies are not the vicious dogs that most everyone thinks we are. :)
xo,
COC & SID--Luna too (heehee)
we wish there was a more accessible event near us
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/
Yay for pit bulls and their awesome owners!
It always pisses me off when people are like "Oh. You've got pit bulls" and you can hear the derision in their voices. They are always surprised when I bring our girl along and she is the epitome of doggie manners. The man-dog is not so good.
Your dogs are so freakin' precious!
Ms. M and Mr. B are great reps for Pittie Awareness Day
Miss M and Mr. B
Both my pups have the same pack as your pups! It's great to hear that there are other people changing minds out there. Emma's usually wearing some type of jacket nowadays, and when it's really chilly out she wears a full on jumper. Something about a small Pit Bull wearing a baby blue pajamas suit outside always gets people. We often get swarmed by strangers asking for pats and kisses, which she dispenses willingly, and happily!
Awww!!! You all are adorable!!
Before our previous vet retired he had nice Pitties too!!
They would visit the office sometimes and they were sweethearts!! Very gentle!!
Miss M and Mr. B are very well behaved and we look forward to giving them big hugs again soon!!!
Hugs!!!
Pugga Momma
Thanks for the reminder about Pitbull Awareness Day. Even though I'm not lucky enough to own one, I'd still like to do my part.
I wish everyone could meet Mr B and Miss M! They would completely change their views on pit bulls. It's funny that you mentioned that you guys don't look like what people expect pit bull owners to look like. Unfortunately, most of the people in our area that we see with pit bulls do look like what is expected - usually young macho males.
Mr. B. and Ms. M. are the best ambassadors! I especially love it when Levi meets kids. Even though Levi is pretty aloof, he does enjoy saying hello to children. I hope that somewhere deep down, those kids remember what he looked like and that he wagged his tail and kissed their face. And that that kid grows up to not be afraid and buy into the media hype.
That's so cool that Miss M and Mr B do meet & greets! We love the tees and we saw Mr B on the Nashville blog - all in green! We know several sweet pitties here, but none as talented as you guys!
The Road Dogs
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