This post is sponsored by The Animal Farm Foundation and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the The Majority Project, but Simply Southern Mom only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Animal Farm Foundation is not responsible for the content of this article.
I grew up being terrified of “bully breed” dogs; German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and Dobermans. I wasn’t sure why I was supposed to be afraid of them, but my mom gave me the vague comment, “They will hurt you.” This was confirmed when I went to visit a relative who had a trained German Shepherd guard dog who decided small children were loud, noisy threats and attacked me. After that I avoided any friend or relative with one of these breeds. One day a friend drove up with their Pit Bull, who was frantically wagging her tail and trying to get me to notice her. “She needs to stay over there,” I informed him. “No, she’s friendly and loves people,” I was told, “Just pet her” It took all my courage to pet her, but when I did I discovered she was friendly. She wanted to play with me, with our pet cat, who was rather taken aback, and our dog. She was well-trained and perfectly adorable. I had an epiphany that day; there are no “bad breeds.” It’s a myth!
I admit, I still had a fear of German Shepherds. One day, shortly before I got married, someone dumped a part German Shepherd, part Collie mix. Bryan’s family felt sorry for him and decided he was a keeper. Roscoe loved all the time he spent with our family; car rides, sitting beside us being petted, going for long runs through the woods. Any doubts I had about aggressive dog breeds vanished one day when I had to run into the house for a moment, leaving my then two year old daughter and three year old niece with their Pawpaw and Roscoe. I returned to find my daughter sitting on Roscoe’s back, yelling, “Giddap!” while my niece said, “Hold still, Roscoe” and tried to put toy lipstick on him. Roscoe wore a look of stunned disbelief and resignation. “What did I do to deserve this?”
Because of my experiences, I am thrilled to be teaming up with the Animal Farm Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, that has been rescuing and re-homing animals, as well as making grants to other humane organizations, since the mid-1980’s, to help dispel the myths surrounding “bully” breeds like Pit Bulls.
They have formed The Majority Project, a photo collection illustrating how countless “pit bull” dog owners make valuable contributions to their communities and families every day. If you own a Pit Bull, feel free go their web page print and personalize an “I am the MAJORITY” sign and submit a photo with your dog.
The Majority Project with Jon Bernthal from Animal Farm Foundation on Vimeo.
Want to know more? Watch this public service announcement by actor and “pit bull” dog owner, Jon Bernthal. You can also connect with The Majority Project on Facebook and Twitter.
I’m glad you had your epiphany! Roscoe sounds like a great dog, I know a lot of dogs who wouldn’t handle playing horse and dress up so well.
Pit Bulls can be such a great pet. It is all how they are raised. Ant dog can be mean.
Interesting organization. It’s great to have folks fighting for causes they believe in. I don’t care much for bully breeds, but I respect folks that have them. I do tend to keep my children away from big dogs with reputations of hurting people. I will let them pet dogs carefully, because I always wonder how people have raised their pet. The problem is never knowing. Dogs can be sweet, but they can also be vicious and it’s sad that some people raise their pets that way. It gives the rest of them a bad reputation whether they deserve it or not. I’m glad my girls love dogs so much though, and they aren’t even afraid of them. We just try to be mindful.
What a great project! I have to admit that there are certain dog breeds I’m afraid of, but I know I shouldn’t be.
We had the best guardian protecter german shepard for 13 years. The best dog ever.The kids climbed her, wrestled with her and just had fun. Each time a new baby entered the house, she would lay beneath the crib on guard all night. She would herd usfrom danger (usually a snake).I firmly believe… it is not the breed…it is the owner.
This is an amazing campaign! Way to shed some light on pit bulls and their owners!
I’ve never had a fear of animals. When I was born we had a Siberian Husky named Neko. Since then I have lived with pets my entire life. I can’t imagine a world without them. I have volunteered at HSUS, SPCA and local animal shelters. I’ve even done rescue, transport and even have my own rescue girl. The whole issue around bullies really angers me. It’s not the dog, its the owner. Dog aggression comes from two things, fear or training. They are either scared of someone and just trying to protect themselves or they have been trained to attack and fight.
There is a super smart bully on Facebook. His momma taught him out to say yes and no. His name is CZR (Cesar) and I encourage everyone to check him out. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1425724514384908&set=vr.1425724514384908&type=2&theater
We have a German Shepherd. He acts all vicious when a stranger, the UPS guy or mail carrier comes to the door, but he is a real big sweetie. He is so gentle with children and smaller animals.
I love dogs. All dogs. The only ones I’ve ever been scared of are rotties
I was attacked by one as a kid. Never ever encountered anything but sweet pits. I’m a firm believer it’s all in how these beautiful dogs are raised. This is really great!
I grew up with smaller breeds, but I’ve had both large and small dogs in my adult life. I love that we are focusing on the positive stories behind breeds that are often misunderstood.
I know someone who’s Pit Bull took kittens out of the rain… one by one, he took the kittens on to the carport so they wouldn’t get wet. No idea where the mom cat was… but I saw it with my own two eyes. 🙂
I love how this organization is bringing light to the good in dog breeds. My husband was attacked by a German Shepherd when he was little and has a massive scar on his leg to this day. He was terrified of dogs until he met me. Now we have to huge boxers and he is a softy towards all dogs now.
I think German Shepards are beautiful dogs. But yep, I am scared of Pit Bulls.
I am not scared of dogs as long as they are not aggressive. I go to clients all the time and theor dogs are usually big, but friendly
Great organization. I am not going to lie, but I am scared of big dogs.
Pitbulls can be such sweeties! I’m glad this project is helping to dispel the myths about these dogs!
Oops! I meant they learn what WE teach THEM! I still have flu brain! LOL
Dogs like children learn what they teach us. Maybe it’s because I grew up with ‘big breeds’ I was never afraid of them, We had a Rottweiler when I was younger and I had a German Shepard too, I love big breed dogs, always wanted a Pit, might get one next! Thanks for sharing!
I’m not a dog lover, enough though I’m not afraid of them. For me it is just a life time of being allergic. However I was bitten in the past year by a German Shepard and that has made me more cautious around dogs. More so just my own actions.
I’m so happy that you fought through your fear! I am not the majority but I am still careful with any dog. We have a Rottweiler and she is a baby and loves everyone, however, when children come over I still don’t let them put their face in her face and introduce them. It’s not that my dog would ever hurt a child but she’s a big girl and even playing she can get excited and jump even though she IS trained. We always have to remember that they are animals.
A total myth. I have an English Bulldog, and he’s the BEST family dog. He loves our son and is perfect for our family. I love all the bully breeds!
I love everything about this organization. It think it’s great that they donate to other animal rescues, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that they are working to bring awareness to people about certain breeds. Did you know that Pitts and Staffordshire Terriers are bred to be family dogs? They were NOT made for fighting. Horrible people just use them for it because of the breed’s power.
I was scared of ALL dogs when I was growing up. I don’t even know what it was, but I was terrified – until I decided the only way to get over it was to get a dog 🙂