No, a pit bull is not a death machine

I recently saw a comment on a facebook post that all pit bull should be banned because they are automatically going to kill everything they come into contact with. I have a huge problem with that as a rescue worker and a pit bull owner.

The thing is, every time you read about a deadly dog attack and you see pit bull attached to it, this could have gone several ways. Pit bull is not really a recognized breed. Most of the time, they are identified visually by several characteristics, like blocky heads, weight range, and coat type. My pit bull? Was stolen from a guy running a dog fighting right. Has a big, beautiful blocky head. Wrong body type and wrong coat. My pit bull is tall and willowy, not short and squat and she has a different coat than what you would call a "purebred" pit bull. She's still listed as a pit bull mix at the vet, I call her a pit bull, and anyone that looks at her would see pit bull.

So, where does a shelter dog with a slightly blocky head fit in? Unless you get a DNA test, someone is going to look at the blocky head and call it a pit bull. You could walk into the shelter and adopt a lab mix on paper then find yourself with an eviction notice unless you get rid of your dog because something about it screams pit bull to someone. You're shit out of luck unless you get a DNA test and even then, that may not work.

I was bit by a dog while working in a pet store. The dog looked like yellow lab mix to me. Nothing about the dog said pit bull. BUT apparently before the dog bit me, he lunged at several employees. I'm not even going to comment on his owner not getting him out the store after that, but the dog lunged at my face and got my thumb. Everyone the dog lunged at call him a pit bull. Me, who got bit, saw a yellow lab mix and this was years before I ever adopted a pit bull.

There's also this horrible thing going on with breeding dogs right now and pit bulls are included in this. People are combining random breeds to call them hypoallergenic and charging tons of money for essentially a mutt. My other dog was adopted at a rescue. I was told he was a mix. One day, I randomly google his mix and came across his designer hybrid name and a ton of bizarre looking dogs that look like mine. "But JB, they are breeding for temperament and coat!"

Trust me, there was no valid reason to put together the two breeds my little dog is. My vet probably hates me when I bring him in for his dental cleanings because he's too bowlegged to get a vein and he's got an under bite. But he's MY dog and I think he's fucking adorable. I'll face punch you if you tell him he's weird looking to his face. He's already neurotic enough and spent 6 months on Prozac.

They are also doing the same thing with the bully breed. Breeding bulldogs with pits and various other dogs to get a short, squat, muscular dog. You've also got the issue of "status dogs". People who buy pit bulls and various other dogs because they "look scary" or make the owner look macho or whatever the fuck they are trying to achieve. When I was working at a pet store, years ago, someone came up to me and asked me for a supplement to make his dog big and muscular. Making a dog big and muscular is a lot like making a human big and muscular and I told this to him. He proceeds to ask questions looking for a quick, easy fix for a buff dog to walk by his side. I told him there is no shortcut. I explained he could supplement eggs, meats, and proteins into the dog's diet, but he would still have to exercise him. Dude proceeds to ask me where the eggs are......in the middle of the pet store.

Where am I going with all of this? Pit pull identification is largely visual. With all the cross breeding and horrible things we are doing to dogs so that they fit some sort of perfect visual we have in our heads, whether it be teacup and fit in your purse or large enough to compensate for something you're lacking in, you could very well read a story about a pit bull attack and the dog has 0 pit bull. The dog was simply given that breed because it bit and it fit certain visual criteria.

My pit mix was stolen from a fighting ring when she was a puppy before she ended up at the rescue, then with me. Does that make her automatically aggressive? No. My little designer hybrid is 15 lbs smaller than her. She loves toys and he does not. But he does like to take her toys away from her and sit on them so she can't play with them. Is there fighting over this? Nope. I know it's happened because I hear her wailing. She won't take them back from him.

She's not even a good guard dog. She doesn't bark when the doorbell rings or someone new comes over. The only time she barks is this high pitched, wailing bark in the morning because I'm too slow bringing her breakfast to her. I'm not even going to start when my cat wants to stand across the room and give her the stink eye. It involves wailing and her hiding under the bed. Puddles also totally ruin her day.

Do pit bulls attack sometimes? Yes. Do other dog breeds as well? Yes.

Midnight's Sonata is now live

My first novel, Midnight's Sonata is now live on Amazon in both print and Ebook.

If you had told me it would take this long to get it published when I finished it when I was sixteen, I would have laughed, but it's really a totally different novel now, as I changed so much. I'm obviously not fourteen-sixteen anymore and don't think that way anymore, though I did have to channel it for the first half of the novel when I was writing the sixteen year old narrator. I had to go to a few dark places even when I switched narrators to her mother.

I finished and edited in a whirlwind of 4AM nights when there was a word shortage and edited it again before I uploaded everything. It's a hefty 508 pages in print and I've been told I could have gotten 4 novels out of that, but for the most part, I haven't really picked up reading serials. Most of the series I read and enjoy are all at least that long or slightly shorter for each installment.

I remember a few years ago, when the last Wheel of Time novel came out. My husband was so excited as he essentially grew up with these characters and now it was ending. He asked me to read it and if you tell me a book is good, I will generally read it. I've also been bored and read books because I've been told they are bad. That's why I read the Twilight series. I haven't gotten to that point with 50 shades, but did break down and watch the movie two days ago.

I was maybe 20 pages away from finishing the 6th book. My husband would answer questions, but refused to give me any spoilers. I used to leave the kindle on the nightstand before turning the lights off and going to bed. Right around this time, the pit bull came into our lives. She slept in a crate till she was potty trained, and now that she is, she sleeps in bed next to me. The night I was 20 pages away from finishing the 6th book, the pit bull apparently couldn't sleep and decided the kindle might taste good and took a huge bite out of it and cracked the screen, making it unusable.

I had to order a new kindle, wait for it to come in the mail, get my books back on the kindle and try to find my place again. My husband refused to spoil the end for me and pretty much teased me horribly about my nerd reader predicament.

I got him back though because when he asked me to read that, he wanted to know what I was reading, and I just got done reading the last Shadow hunter book and refused to answer any of his questions.

I will acknowledge that the both of us are huge geeks.

Reading and dogs

I have sleep problems, so before bed, I unwind by reading a paper white kindle till I get sleepy.

This is how reading goes down in my bedroom. I'm relaxed and under the covers when a blocky, fawn head pops up on the side of the bed and I have two green eyes staring at me. If I make eye contact and do not scratch the head, she starts verbally grumping at me. If I continue to make eye contact and do not make with the head scratching, it progresses to howling and crying.

If I ignore the two green eyes staring at me, in about five minutes, there is a 32lb pit bull lying next to me licking my face and one paw is over my kindle screen so I can't read. I can say stop and she will quit with the kisses. I can move the paw off the kindle screen, but I'd better make with the back scratches if I have any hope of getting through the chapter I'm on. If I stop scratching the back to turn the page, the paw goes back over the screen.

They don't advertise when they are trying to pass pit bull bans that they are manipulative cry babies that don't let you read unless you are giving them pets at the same time