Pit bulls are not for everyone, but these dogs can be fantastic family pets with the right handling, and if the dog’s temperament is sound. Rascal2 is now waiting at the A&S Pit Bull and Am Staff Rescue in Antioch, Illinois.
Rascal has already been there too long, and may not be available when you read this. Hopefully, he will go to a good home, and the rescue organization won’t need to euthenize him.
Unfortunately, there are far too many of these large, energetic dogs available in shelters and rescue organizations, and not all of them can find homes. Rascal appears to have a good temperament, according to the rescue group, and is good with people and other animals – but the scare stories that abound, and the large numbers of unwanted pit bulls, means that he has several stikes against him.
My mother once owned a Staffordshire terrier (the English version of a pit bull) and he was a loving, even-tempered dog. Much of his personality was the result of careful breeding to remove all traces of the pit bull’s traditional fighting temperament. Unfortunately, when you adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue group you have no way of knowing the philosophy of the breeders, or how the dog was treated in his previous home.
Some of these animals are, unfortunately, the result of random breeding by less-then-savory characters who still participate in dog fighting as a sport. This means that extreme care must be taken to make sure the dog is sound and safe before you bring him home. You can read more about dog behavior and temperament on my main site. Most responsible shelters will test their animals before releasing them for adoption, but this does require training – and not all shelters have volunteers or staff who are qualified to do this testing correctly. To be safe, be sure to get to know as much as you can about any dog you adopt (no matter what it’s breed) before you decide to bring him home to your family.
I hope by now Rascal has found a new home, with a nice soft, warm bed and plenty of attention and exercise – doesn’t every dog deserve a human to love?