PITBULLS Pitbulls, everyone's heard of them, right? The big block headed, stumpy, mean dog that you should avoid any chance you get, yeah, them. How much do you really know about them? What makes them so mean and why do you need to avoid them? Well, believe it or not, they’re actually not all mean and if you're given the chance you really shouldn't avoid them. What is a pitbull? There really is no technical definition of a pitbull, Dr. Victoria Vioth and her team have found in recent studies that more often than not today's pitbulls are actually a mix of several other breeds. The main origin of the pitbull, however, is the American Staffordshire Terrier. There are many
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Pitbulls are more commonly known as family dogs today but are often still used in dog fighting. There are more pitbulls in shelters across America than any other breed and only number 3 on the list of most likely to be adopted. Pitbulls are often overlooked in shelters due to their terrible reputation. But pitbulls are one of the most trainable dogs. In 2001 50 pitbulls were seized from a dog fighting ring Bad Newz Kennels, ran by NFL athlete Michael Vick. Most of these dogs had only known the ring and were born into it. Out of all 50 only 1 had to be euthanized to do behavioral problems. Many of the dogs rescued from Bad Newz have been rehabilitated and deemed safe to be adopted. 5 of the Michael Vick dogs are therapy dogs and 6 others have earned their Canine Good Citizen certificate. In 2016 the state New York rescued their first pitbull, Kiah, to be trained to work alongside the Poughkeepsie police force. Kiah was hit in the head with a hammer shortly before coming into the shelter. With a little love, patience, and training, Kiah was sworn in to be Poughkeepsie’s K9 officer. Shortly after Ohio joined in and rescued Leonard off of death row, despite being deemed aggressive, to become Clay Townships first official police
Pitbulls are more commonly known as family dogs today but are often still used in dog fighting. There are more pitbulls in shelters across America than any other breed and only number 3 on the list of most likely to be adopted. Pitbulls are often overlooked in shelters due to their terrible reputation. But pitbulls are one of the most trainable dogs. In 2001 50 pitbulls were seized from a dog fighting ring Bad Newz Kennels, ran by NFL athlete Michael Vick. Most of these dogs had only known the ring and were born into it. Out of all 50 only 1 had to be euthanized to do behavioral problems. Many of the dogs rescued from Bad Newz have been rehabilitated and deemed safe to be adopted. 5 of the Michael Vick dogs are therapy dogs and 6 others have earned their Canine Good Citizen certificate. In 2016 the state New York rescued their first pitbull, Kiah, to be trained to work alongside the Poughkeepsie police force. Kiah was hit in the head with a hammer shortly before coming into the shelter. With a little love, patience, and training, Kiah was sworn in to be Poughkeepsie’s K9 officer. Shortly after Ohio joined in and rescued Leonard off of death row, despite being deemed aggressive, to become Clay Townships first official police