Happy Pit Bull

It’s hard to be a pit bull today, and even harder to be a pit bull owner.

When I started learning about pit bulls, good information about pit bulls was difficult to find. Most of the available literature on pit bulls was written by macho men who wanted to be sure I knew that my pit bull was unquestionably the most badass dog out there, definitely capable of killing a wolf or maybe even a lion.

I read these ridiculous books while my “badass” pit bull, newly rescued from an abusive owner, cowered behind the sofa day in and day out. I didn’t want a badass dog. I wanted a nice pet dog. My new dog clearly wasn’t interested in fighting. Where were the books about raising and owning a nice pet pit bull?

Since those days, the Internet has brought us a lot of information about pit bulls. It has brought us facts that are sometimes true, and sometimes false. It has brought us a lot of misinformation and stereotype. Most significantly, it has offered an alternative to the pro-thug published literature of the past decades.

I created Happy Pit Bull a decade ago, as a positive and reasonable voice amongst the divergent viewpoints about pit bulls. These dogs are not badass thug accessories, but neither are they vicious monsters or fluffy sugarpuff angels; they are dogs—plain, ordinary, normal dogs. They bark, lick, fetch, obey, bite, scratch, pee, shed, and love, just like any other dog. They deserve loving, caring homes and responsible owners, just as any dog does.

Pit bull owners who want to raise a nice, normal pet pit bull face an uphill battle unlike that experienced by owners of other types of dogs. Pit bull owners must combat discrimination and stereotypes from the general public, even as they also flounder through the sea of information about pit bulls and try to evaluate the legitimacy and usefulness of that information. These struggles are compounded for pit bull owners that attempt to do “normal” canine activities with their pit bulls, like agility or therapy work, because society does not easily accept pit bulls working in these areas.

This site is dedicated to my first dog and my first pit bull, my heart dog: Felanie (1998-2008).