WARNING: You may end up with a loyal new best friend in a Pit!

by Anonymous
(Illinois)

I have grown up with dogs of all different kinds all of my life. Most of them were mixes, mutts, and the occasional unidentifiable "heinz 57".

The first dog that I grew up with from age 4 to 14 was a pitbull/black lab mix named Skylar. He was the first pit type dog we ever had, and honestly he was the BEST dog my family ever had as well. He was loyal, sweet natured, friendly, great with kids... I could go on and on listing his fantastic qualities.

This dog was my best friend growing up, and he went just about anywhere that I went. He tolerated the normal idiot child behavior like tail and ear pulling, being dragged around by the collar, and all the general rough play that young children engage in. He dealt with it like a true champ and he never once growled, bit, snapped, or even looked at me or other children the wrong way either.

My family lived on 80 some acres in the country when I was twelve. I used to take off on my own into the woods, with my dog in tow of course (no leash required)and I would be gone all day and not come home till the sun went down. My dog NEVER left my side. He was never more than twenty feet from me at all times and I was always within his line of sight.

My parents always told me that they never really worried about me because they knew that Skylar was with me watching out for me. This dog was literally my "nanny" when I played outside as a young child. I can definitely believe the stories about Pits being left to watch over young children during the early half of the twentieth century. I believe that he would have fought to the death for me if he knew it was necessary.

Skylar was proof that Pits and Pitt mixes have the potential to be fantastic, fiercely loyal family members. I would recommend these types of dogs to any responsible, knowledgeable dog owner as a great family pet.

In fact, I recently adopted a pitbull/boxer mix from a local shelter. I am proud to have her in my pet family. She is another great example of a dog with fantastic potential, a great temperament, and lots of love to go around.

She gets along great with my cocker spaniel and great big Maine Coon cat. I've never had a Pit mix that was aggressive with other dogs or cats either. I hear and read about so-called aggressiveness with other animals out of Pits/Pit mixes a lot, and I don't know where this information is coming from because I have never had this experience.

I guess this goes to show that there is A LOT of misinformation about these wonderful dogs, and it really is a shame that so many people are willing to just believe everything they see and hear.

Either way I don't care what I hear; I still love them based on my personal experiences, and it is doubtful that my feelings will ever change.