Monday, October 27, 2008
LSU student Winter Morvant is a pit bull owner and works for a local veterinary hospital.
My name is Winter Morvant. I am the loving mother to a 1-year-old black-and-white terrier mix (pit bull) named Deuce Franklin.
Deuce is my heart and my whole world, and he’s known for being a kind, loving, obedient, gentle dog who will instantly earn a spot in your heart.
I recently visited a Baton Rouge pet spa to check out their pet services (I spare no expense when it comes to Deuce). I was impressed with the look of the place and thrilled to see they offered painted pet portraits along with doggie day care.
I asked the lady at the front desk about day care services, since I work and go to school during the day. I told her about Deuce. She scoffed and immediately blew me off. I was told the business would take no part in the care and boarding of pit bulls or chows—even though we’d previously been told the business would accept all breeds.
As a loving owner of a pit bull, I took great offense. The business’s website even states that “all animals require love…,” but their actions say otherwise. I felt as if my dog and I were not welcome, appreciated or respected.
Breed discrimination is a big deal to me. Pit bulls are one of the most abused breeds, and just because you’ve heard a news story about a pit bull or other breed biting someone doesn’t mean it’s right to form an opinion of hatred towards the entire breed. Every breed has examples of dogs becoming aggressive if provoked—whether for self-preservation or protection or simply coming from an upbringing of mistreatment. There are dogs smaller than pit bulls that will snap your head off if you touch them.
The stigma placed upon this brilliant breed is due to careless owners, not “bad” dogs. A dog’s demeanor depends on how it’s trained or raised. A dog raised to fight will fight, while a dog raised to love will love. To assume every pit you see is dangerous is an unfair stigma.
During World War I, pit bulls were America’s sweetheart breed—they were admired, respected and loved by figures such as Helen Keller and Theodore Roosevelt. Why should today be any different? Pit bulls are known for their loyalty and intelligence, and they make loving, protective companions.
I certainly will not do business with any company if they discriminate against a breed. I hope that more people form their own, better opinions about pit bulls.
Comments
Posted by sew on October 30, 2008 at 8:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great article! Thank you, 225, for printing Winter and Deuce's story and showing these wonderful dogs through a loving, responsible owner's eyes. Every dog, no matter the breed, is an individual animal and should be treated as such. My own pit bull is one of the canine lights of my life (along with my chocolate lab, yellow lab, husky, and shar pei mix). She is a wiggly, funny, loyal, people-loving clown, and I could not imagine my life without her. We must always remember to judge the deed, not the breed.
Posted by RedStick5 on November 7, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am a owner of a pitbull, Hooch- he's such a major sweetheart and always win everyone's heart once they meet him. Hooch loves to cuddle, sleep, and play just like any other breed. I have faced some issues with breed discrimation like at PetSmart's Doggy Day Care- they say they cannot accept "bully breeds" and pitbulls fall under that category. I brought Hooch in with me to fill in the information and he was wagging excitedly hoping to play with other dogs as he sees through the glass window. They said, nope, sorry no can do. HUH? Look at Hooch! Do you honestly think he will chew all the dogs up? Check out his good behavior! He's excited!! He wants to play. He's a sweetheart. They still say no bully breeds, period. (ah screw em)
It broke my heart to tell Hooch with his saddest puppy eyes... sorry buddy, you're not invited here. Of course to make up- I took him out to a dog park for him to play. It just sucks not being able to bring Hooch to play with other dogs whenever I go out to do errands or when I am out of town.
Do you recall the kid movie, The Little Rascal? The dog with a circled eye, Petey, in that movie is a pitbull. He was a famous pitbull dog-actor. He was in over 20 films! So see? It is not fair to stereotype that all pits are awful, vicious fighting dogs.
What do you say about this? A small Pomeranian dog killed a 6-week-old baby? It is a fact. Even small dogs can be as vicious as any dog. Therefore, there should be no breed discrimination.
Ok, I think I am done rambling. :)
Posted by pitcentral on December 16, 2008 at 4:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
we are trying to move to baton rouge for my husbands job. We have three pits and cant seem to find someone that will let us rent a house with our dogs. Does anybody know of anywhere that will or can help us?
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