Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Miss Popularity

I am a middle child.  I have one sister who is a year older and one sister who is two years younger.  My sisters have always been my closest friends.  They've also always been more outgoing than me.  They were both cheerleaders in college, and had large groups of friends growing up.  I was more of a loner.  So often when there is more than one dog around, I tend to gravitate to the shyest of the bunch.  Or in cases where their behavior is the same, I often feel a stronger connection with the less "popular" dog.  I am a bit surprised that in the case of my foster puppies, there has been such a large difference in popularity.  Although they look almost identical and act almost identical (nicknames not withstanding), Venture has received a lot more interest than Zoe at last weekend's adoption events and online.  So far Venture has received three adoption inquiries at events and two online applications.  Zoe has not received any inquiries or applications.  And although I am pretty sure that Zoe would not mind being less popular than her sister, I've still decided not to tell her.  She'll find out soon enough how hard it is to be a black pit bull mix dog in this world. 

Venture, aka "Miss Popularity"

Zoe

 There is a lot of work to be done in educating people about pit bulls. During last weekend's adoption event, one potential adopter came up to us oohing and aahing over the puppies, but stating that she was looking for an adult that would be a good cuddle companion. We suggested a couple of possibilities, and one of them was a pit bull. When we showed her a picture of the dog, she immediately backed away and firmly stated "I do NOT want any pit bulls". I may have sounded a bit smug as I pointed out that the puppies she was so crazy about were pit bull mixes. Most people, me included, change their mind about pit bulls after they actually meet them and spend some time with them. In this case, the lady couldn't believe the puppies were part pit bull because they didn't act like her idea of a pit bull. I wish she understood that pit bulls can be some of the best cuddle companions out there. Right now, Venture and Zoe are young enough and cute enough that they will hopefully be easy to adopt out. But for all the black pit bull mix dogs in the shelters that are no longer 9 or 10 week old puppies, being a pit bull mix, and being black on top of it, is enough to cause an almost immediate death sentence. I hope that Zoe and Venture will continue to change people's minds about pit bulls as they grow up.

15 comments:

Kari in Alaska said...

Poor Zoe but hooray for Venture. Lets hope one of the families works out!

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

Anonymous said...

Oh, we totally thought Zoe was gonna be the popular one. We just luvs her little face!

Did you know the DAY BEFORE mom and dad met me, mom told dad she would never, ever in a million jillion years own a pit bull. She told him that they were just TOO unpredictable. Then after they adopted me, mom did lots of reading abouts pit bulls in case I did have pit bull in me and might one day, you know, try to eat her. BOL! But boy, did she ever learn a lot about how very, VERY wrong she was. And now she thinks pit bulls are some of the most wonderfulest doggies ever. It takes a lot to change somebuddy's mind when they believe something down to their toes. But I bet that Zoe and Venture are gonna change lots and lots of minds during their lifetimes.

Paws crossed they find their pawfect homes very, very soon.

Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie

Just Jess for now said...

Do the potential adopters get to see the puppies' names? "Venture" may appeal more to some than "Zoey" because it sounds more outgoing and unique. Maybe? It's just a thought.
As for the black Pitties, I can't even imagine. I had a black lab as my first guide dog. She had a short boxy face and people thought she was part Pitbull and were terrified of her. She weighed only 50 pounds. Whereas, my current guide, Glacier, is a yellow lab and even though he weighs 75 pounds, people aren't nearly afraid of him. Stereotypes are terrible for both humans and animals.
Crossing fingers for your girls.#

brooke said...

Aww Zoey. Im sure she'll get her fair share of applications soon!

Maggie Mae and Max said...

Pit bulls sure do get a bad rap. Some of my best daycare fureinds is pitbulls and I just luvs dem, so does my mom. :) Paws is crossed fur Zoe and Venture!

Woofs and Licks,
Maggie Mae

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

Maybe we should just start over and call pitbulls something else, like cuddleboos. That works! Who wouldn't want a cuddleboo, even if it was black!?

Happy tails!
Stumpy and me

ForPetsSake said...

Oh my god, I agree with Giantspeckledchihuahua....
The name puts people off a bit, doesn't it?
I've found in my experience that Pitties are some of the cuddliest dogs out there - both with people and other dogs.
Cuddleboos, definitely :)

havetailwillwag said...

omg zoey and venture are SO FRIGGIN CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they look so smart and alert too. SQUEEEE!!!!!!

Dexter said...

It breaks my heart how many places have enacted no pit bull or anything that even looks like one rules. Just like any dog, they can be sweet and loving. But I have to admit, that when I look for a dog for my home I avoid the pitty looking dogs. Not because I don't want one, because I am afraid that my home owner's insurance will be cancelled or my town will suddenly enact a no pit bull rule. Even Mango would cause some insurance carriers to cancel. Sheesh. Of course statistically, "nice" dogs hurt people just as often as "bad" dogs, but you don't hear about that so much. People can be idiots.

Mango Momma

Anonymous said...

oh man, that kind of comment makes my blood boil! i am still trying to find an effective and polite way to explain to people that they are idiots, and the only reason they think they don't like pit bulls is that they have never actually met any.
grrrrr....

aleksandra
follow our foster: loveandaleash.wordpress.com

Corbin said...

We always hate hearing people say that. Mom often has to walk away from the conversation when she's at the rescue because she gets so mad when people say bad things about the breed. She often ends with "if you can't love a dog for their personality and temperment, you shouldn't own a dog"... it's never very good -BOL! I sure do hope they find wonderful homes :O)
-Corbin

Sue said...

The Pitties I've met have been first rate cuddlers and just as sweet and gentle as can be. People can just be stupid and believe anything they hear even if it doesn't make sense.

Tori said...

Black dog syndrome is already so frustrating, adding a breed issue on top of it is even worse. And with the "bully breeds" you have to battle the perception from the people who don't know they can be good family pets AND the people who are looking for that type of dog because they are hoping for a brute.

These pups are adorable.

Levi said...

We aren't the norm here. We love black dogs AND pit bulls- go figure :)

Pamela said...

Thought you might need a "cuddly pibble" video in your arsenal. One of the dog blogs I read is doing a series on dog adoption videos. Here's a link to one I think you'll appreciate: http://willmydoghateme.com/animal-welfare/pet-adoption-videos-that-dont-make-me-want-to-kill-myself-5-2