[seosoftseo]

With BSL, bad press, prejudiced friends and family and all, you would think a person must be nuts to buy, adopt or keep a Pit or any of the "bully breeds". So, why did/do you do it?

I bought my AB and took in my Pit because I was looking for an intelligent dog with short fur that had a lot of personality, few health issues, a decent lifespan and could be had for a reasonable price. I started narrowing it down and pretty much ended up with the bullies. I bought my AB as a pup because I so loved the qualities I was looking for plus the smoosh nosed face and the fact that they are so individual with their markings. I then took on my Pit because she needed a home and I was all up to speed on the breed, so I felt I could give her a great home.

My husband was harder to convince as he never had a dog growing up and thought all the bad things were probably true, but he came around pretty fast after meeting some friends Pits. Now, he is so pathetic with them that I actually caught him this morning feeding the dogs some leftover eggs...with a fork...while talking baby talk.

Having lived with these dogs, I couldn't imagine owning something else. Even with all the problems and challenges that come with having a bully I think I will have these breeds for the rest of my life. Just not a pup next time. I'll be too old for that. Heck, I was thrilled Rita was over a year old because I was still too wore out from Ike's puppy stage to do it again!

So, why do you do it and if you knew then what you know now, would you do the same thing and get a "bully breed"?

[Sierabiera]

My first pit bull was adopted by me when I was working at the Humane Society. The AC officer took me in to the quarantine room one morning to show me a really great dog that had come in the afternoon before. I had been looking to bring another dog in to my home but hadn't met the right one. The moment I laid eyes on Cooper I was done. We spent time together in the training room and I felt an instant connection. Brought my dogs in to the shelter the next morning to meet him and adopted him that evening. I hadn't planned on a bully breed, per se, but worked with them every day and loved them. Cooper was with us for 8 years before he passed from osteosarcoma 2 years ago.
My current pit bull came from a pit bull rescue here in Pittsburgh. I was an approved adopter/foster home for this group and this guy showed up in their rescue and once again, I was hooked. Emmett came down with parvo the night I adopted him and survived, then developed demodex from the stress to his immune system. It was a tough first month but he is a special boy. Bright and loyal, trusting and lovable. One of the most laid-back, chill dogs I have ever owned.
I will always have a pit bull or bully breed in my home. Theyr'e too wonderful not to.

[ZZChristopher]

Gypsy was an 'oops'. I was completely ignorant of the breed, aside from hearing all about them on the news. I hadn't intended to keep her when she came into my hands, but I fell in love.

I remember calling and telling my parents that I had decided to keep her, and them asking her breed. When I said 'pit bull', they got all worried and told me to "be careful".

I started reading and reading and researching, and the more I learned, the more I loved the breed. Honestly, the bad rap didn't phase me at all.

Keeping Gypsy was one of the best decision of my life, and I have never, ever regret it.

Oh, and both of my parents are wrapped around her paw now, lol.

[iiilizium]

OF all the dogs my husband and I knew, most of the great people friendly, sweet, smart, dopey dogs were Pits. When it came time to adopt another dog, it was the only breed we could really agree on!

No, my mom lives with us and has all the worries and stigmatisms of the breed, but we never say Pit Bull around her. Paddy is (as far as I or anyone else know) AmStaff mix and that she will always stay. My mom loves her to death and I want to keep it that way.

[IvJlNwum]

Me getting Lily was fate. I met her when she was 8 weeks old, after she'd been found as a stray at 6 weeks. I fell in love (but who wouldn't fall in love with an 8 week old puppy). I asked my ex-boss if I could have her, and apparently I was 3rd down on the list. Well option #1 decided they didn't have time for a puppy. Then I got word that option #2 adopted her. I was pretty upset, since I heard this guy had never owned a dog before and I didn't know him.
Then I got a call the next day from my best friend saying that they guy brought her back because she was supposedly deaf. I immediately went over there and took her home.
I found out she wasn't deaf. She has turned into an incredible dog, even though she's only 8 months old. I knew she was meant to be my dog, and I was right.
I didn't choose her because she was a bully breed, but I'm glad she is one, because she's an excellent ambassador for her breed.

[CruzIzabella]

I have been around the breed all my life
So in my eyes no other dog can even compare in loyalty, wanting to please wiliness to learn and stability

[AlexanderPalamayr]

I had grown up with numerous Pit Bull Breeds and had grown fond of many of them however my decision was made on a whim with little actual understanding of the breed. I was actually one of those, if you raise them right people. However after joining a couple of the pit bull forums I began researching the breed more thoroughly. I'll have to admit, at first it was shocking and I kept thinking no, that's not possible, my dog is being raised with other dogs...I stayed, watched and listened though and have a much better understanding of these wonderful animals and I really do love them.

[Frjrbefd]

I did not want a dog, nor did i have any experience with any bully breeds, nor much experience having a dog period. I rescued Jewelz because my heart told me to, and my plan was to make sure she was good with people and adopt her out when she was in a healthy condition. Well then i starting reading about the breed (mostly on this forum).. and as time went by, i fell in love with her and decided that if im willing to learn and i am responsible, i can keep her. Not only that, she would be in better hands with me than anyone else around here.
Now shes my best friend in the world, and i fell in love with the breed.

[mrPronmaker]

i've always loved bully/bulldog breeds, ever since i was a little girl. they are my breeds of choice.

[pennadyFeet]

Ive been around the breed since I was 16, when i first met my first pitbull I didnt know anything about the negative attention. Every since I met one I read up on the breed and had one, HAVING one I found out the absolute shit reputation they have. I have been working towards educating the public since. It was like love at first sight! They are a brilliant breed with such amazing personalities and LOVE people. I have never owned anything but mutts growing up but still hadnt encountered such a loving breed, driven, smart, expressive breed

[Karinochka]

My first experiance with apbt was with a friends dog.She was just a great dog,and I really liked her personality.I then had been in the position to help 2 pups that were pit mixes,wich I gladly took on.I bottle-fed 2 pups because the mother was abused while pregnant,and she didn't have sufficiant milk,and her rescuers were overwhelmed with the litter.This was ginger and romeo(aka domer or DD),sadly ginger became HA and had to be PTS,domer had sadly got cancer,and at the end of his battle with his disease,he was PTS,to end his suffering. After falling in love with domer who was a pit mix,I knew I would someday own another pit bull. 2 years after domer passed,and many discussions, we saw an ad in the paper for free pit bull puppies.We went and got Bella,my seal apbt girl.I have not been let down and consider myself lucky to have such a sweet pittie girl as a part of my family.I couldn't imagine life with out a pittie in the home.I will likely allways own a pit bull.I have such a fondness for them.

[fuesquemill]

20 years ago I had a roomate with a pit bull. We never had any dogs growing up so I was just in AWE of the whole concept and Chassis, man, what a great girl. When I was moving away to another city, I was completely traumatized about leaving Chassis and could no longer imagine life without her. Strangely enough, word got through the grape vine and I got a call about a three week old pup needing a home and I scooped her up. That was my first girl Venus and the rest is history. I never really gave two squirts about what anyone thought about the breed whether it was family or the general public and I can't see me ever being without one again.

[metrocartockasur]

I've owned 4 pit bulls since I was 17. I've always loved the breed. My wife was totally against having a pit. She brought home a bluetick coonhound one day. We had the puppy for several months and we lost him through an accidental death.

The family of a very good freind of mine breeds pits from the Sorrells bloodline. Another long story... He called me the week after Klutch's passing and said, "I just want to give you a dog. I was thinking of you and want you to have one of our puppies. I don't know why I just have a strong feeling that you need this dog." My wife and I went and looked but she was still VERY against having a pit bull breed.

After meeting Klik's dam and sire and playing with the other puppies we fell in love and brought Klik home...

[grattperret]

My fiancee and I were looking to get a puppy and I had actually been talking to a breed about a pair of Black and Tan Coonhound pups because my fiancee really wanted to get back in to coon hunting and I thought I would buy him a couple of pups. But he decided that he wanted to adopt instead so he started looking at dogs from the local shelters on Petfinder. Well he saw a really cute APBT puppy on there and went to the shelter to go see it but it was actually in a foster home and the lady wasn't home. Another dog caught his eye, Mater and AmStaff mix, so he asked the volunteer about him and she told him that Mater was actually going to be put down in a few days when he was 6 months old. My fiancee asked if he could play with Mater and that is how my fiancee fell in love with the pup We never had any prejudices against bully breeds and my fiance even used to have 2 Shar Peis when he was younger so he was used to strong willed dogs. We do not regret our decision for a minute and I would do it in a heartbeat again.

[gusunsuth]

My bf and I had talked about getting a puppy for ages. We finally found a rental house with a landlord who would let us have dogs. We wanted to get one from a shelter, but neither of us were old enough to adopt from one.

I like to think it was fate with Lucy. I'll admit I got her out of impulse, but I had also been researching dogs heavily and had realized that a pit bull would be perfect.

But, yeah, it was definitely an impulse. I woke up and decided I wanted to get a dog that day. I checked Craigslist (I know, evil CL), and saw a rescue that for some reason or another had to find a home for a dog by the end of the day. But when I called, he was on his way to a new home.

I was already by this point all worked up about getting a dog. I found an ad from a guy who had to get rid of his APBT puppy because his landlord didn't allow dogs, and he hadn't bothered to see if they were allowed before he got the pup. So I went and picked her up. It was love at first sight (she was asleep on his couch in the sun surrounded by toys, and covered my in kisses when I picked her up). Plus she was an adorable 8 week old puppy, and they're hard to resist.

She's been a perfect dog, and now I can't live without the pits.

[natahololll]

I never had a dog before. Me and my girl been wanting a puppy for a long time now to grow with us and complete our family. I did a lot of research on toy dogs, but toys dogs didn't cut it. My friend has a Pit who I loved being around and my son loved her as well. So I decided that is what I wanted. Saw many litters in a course of 2 months and saw Tigg with his big green eyes and brindle fur. Yup it was love at first sight. lol. I treat my dog better than I do myself lol.

[fuesquemill]

Cooper was with us for 8 years before he passed from osteosarcoma 2 years ago.

Awwwww.... I'm really sorry. I lost my second girl Marz to osteosarcoma in 2007 at the age of 12. She was the first of my crew to go.

[FalHaitle]

We wanted a medium-sized, shorthaired dog that is active (we like to hike and do outdoorsy stuff) and I wanted a confident, people-friendly dog. I did not want a dog that is shy around strangers or guardy in the least bit since we live in a somewhat dense city.

I was hesitant about pit bulls due to the BSL, breed stigma (and it's hard to find rentals allowing dogs that can't fit in purses) but one of BF's favorite dogs when he was growing up was a pit bull.

As I researched more, it became more obvious that pit bulls really fit all of our criteria and there's no shortage of them in shelters all over the place so we adopted Molly

[Wmshyrga]

When I was 8 I was in school, we were looking in a dog book and I stumbled accross the "Great American Pitbull Terrier" section. Me being a kid I heard and seen people talking crap about them but didn't stop me from getting my 'dream dog' ha. I loved reading about them and drawing them, since I turned 18 I thought it's about time I get one. In Alaska there isnt many people with them(mostly Labs and Alaskan Huskies) and had luck this lady had some pups. They were all healthy, chunky pups so I picked "Tony" from the litter(Was love at first sight and also named him after "Iron Man" LOL) born Aug 30th brought him home on June 2nd. Since then he's been mi corazon

[SarSerceSaice]

My current Terrier mix led me to learn about all sorts of breeds and meet all sorts of breeds, after meeting quite a few Staffordshire Bull Terriers I feel like that is the right breed for my family, and so I hope my next dog will be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

The dog that inspired me I kind of ended up with her by chance. Granted we don't know for sure if she is a bully breed mix or not. I went looking for a small dog at the local rescue and ended up with what was believed to be a Terrier/Chihuahua mix. They Told us she probably wouldn't be more than 12-14lbs. Which was great because we were looking for a smal dog to be a companion to our other small dog. Well I should have known she wasn't a chihuahua mix she didn't have the look or the nervous chi temperment. Full grown she is probably 27lbs and she has overall a great temperment, loves people, was honestly relatively easy to train. Just the best all around dog. We don't know what she is but she opened my eyes to other dogs and to expand my horizons and I started learning as much as I could about all sorts of dogs. If it weren't for her I wouldn't have found the breed that stole my heart. I also had an SBT/JRT mix when I was little.

As far as BSL goes we don't have it here. It was put on the table twice in our county and thrown out both times. I think now the only way our county will have BSL is if a statewide BSL comes into effect, which is a real fear but if all goes to plan and BSL never doesn't pass here our next dog will be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.