Dog owners defend pit bulls against stereotypes
A love of pit bulls brought out the crowd in Santa Cruz, Saturday.
“They’re super loving and want to be a part of the action,” said pitbull owner, Tiffany Helmich.
“They’re super cuddly and family oriented,” said pitbull owner, Chandler Townsend.
It’s all part of what the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter calls, “St. Pitties Day.” It’s a play on the annual St. Patty’s Celebration. The shelter said they want to end the negative stereotypes against “bully breeds” like pit bulls.
“There’s a lot of ignorance from people that don’t own pit bulls or have only had a negative interaction with pit bulls,” said Helmich.
Tuesday, a pit bull was stabbed to death after attacking another dog at a park in Pacific Grove. The dog’s owner said her pit bull was always well-behaved and doesn’t want the incident to affect how others view the breed.
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter said they’ve been working to change the conversation for years. “There are so many great pit bulls in our shelters, and everywhere, that we’re learning the way the stereotypes started are not the general truth,” said Jenny Price with the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.
Price said many of these stereotypes have to do with the way the animals are bred. “People are breeding them for looking tough, being bigger, faster, stronger, more muscular. This only leads to, not only potential behavior problems, but medical problems,” said Price.
Price added that the majority of “bully breeds” are just as loving as any other dog, which is something pit bull owners said they’ll continue to defend. “The more stuff we do like this and the more people see pit bulls in the community, behaving appropriately, is important,” said Helmich.
