By: Joel Allen
Folks, recently I decided to drop into our local Athens-Limestone Animal Shelter to interview the workers and discuss pit bulls, also known as “pitties.” I spoke with Mendi, one of the supervisors at the shelter. She shared with me an interesting story about a recent incident at the shelter that involved the Limestone County Animal Control and a neglected pit bull.
On February 6, 2019, Animal Control Officer Joe Moss answered a call about a possible neglected dog chained outside that may have been abandoned. Officer Moss went to investigate and found that the dog was a black female pit bull with a large chain around her neck, food in an automatic feeder, and an empty water dish. Out of concern for the welfare of the dog, Officer Moss took custody of the dog and left a calling card on the door of the residence.
Now I am always keeping tabs on any dogs the shelter takes in and posts on my Facebook page. I even ensure I share the posts with everyone connected with me. In saying that, it was not until February 11, 2019 that the owner showed up at the shelter wanting his dog back, and it was Mendi who met with him. Let me point out that it took this man approximately 5 days to come for this dog! That indicates one of two things — either he went by to check on the dog when it was time to refill the feeder again or he heard she was at the shelter. I’ll let my readers decide as they read what Mendi told me about the interaction with the owner, and it went something like this:
“He came through the door asking for his black pit bull, and I asked him what would make him think she was at the shelter?” He said that he had heard that she was here. I start looking through the folders, and he starts talking about her being on a chain and that Animal Control had been out there. We started realizing who it was. I called Joe for him, and we could hear only his side of the conversation and he was saying, ‘Of course she is going to be aggressive. She’s a guard dog.’ He had left her there because he did not live at that property anymore and that she was guarding his place while he wasn’t there. He kept repeating that of course she is going to be aggressive, that is what she’s for. And he said that just because she is a pit bull, we had a problem with it. He also said that we didn’t need to be worried about what some other person said because they didn’t belong on the property anyway. He kept repeating that was what she was for, a guard dog, and we started questioning him on that as far as she had heartworm and was she vaccinated. He stated that she had not been vaccinated, and he did not need a guilt trip. We asked him if he was going to get her vaccinated, and he kept brushing us off and kept saying he didn’t need a guilt trip, and he wasn’t here to listen to all that. He was just there to pay his money and get his dog. Which he did. He threw the money at me and wanted her instantly, but we had to get her rabies vaccination taken care of. He did get the dog back. I told him he at least should get her seen about the heartworm problem. He kept saying she was only a guard dog, and that’s what she was there for.” That was pretty much the conversation Mendi had with this man. She also informed him that it was because of people like him that pit bulls get a bad reputation from being chained outside and mistreated making them mean. I will say this because it was said to me, and it is fitting, “The dog is only as good as the IDIOT raising it!”
Pit bulls have a bad reputation that is only fueled even more by the media. A lot of the negative coverage causes many to judge this breed harshly. Many places here in the US will not allow this breed to live on their property because of this. Let me say this, I have seen pit bulls make wonderful service dogs. This breed has been around for centuries. Yes, they were originally used for blood sports. But there are many other breeds of dogs that were used for far worse. Know your history people, and stop thinking that all pit bulls are bad. I thought it fitting to share this with my readers. I have met my share of pit bulls, and I will say that 90 percent of them have been loving dogs, unless they have been mistreated or they felt threatened. Let me challenge those who are seeking a dog. Go by the shelter and meet the pit bulls that are there. I know for a fact that they are loving and kind. You won’t be disappointed.
By: Joel Allen
