“There is no animal welfare without human welfare.”
When I adopted Zoe in the fall of 2018, I had no idea what I was getting myself into – in a myriad of ways.
In truth, I had some hesitation about adopting her because I’d never had a dog before, and from what I could tell she was less “beginner level” than “intermediate.” When I met her at the shelter, the staff had her in a large outdoor kennel far away from all the other dogs, where she was pacing, barking and looking generally ferocious. That’s her kennel, they explained to me, because she can’t get along with other dogs.
But when they pulled her out of the kennel, I learned my first important lesson about animal rescue: the dog you see in their kennel is never the dog you take home.
That environment is so stressful that animals do whatever they can to cope. In Zoe’s case, that meant barking and pacing and not eating because she was too upset. In the shelter manager’s arms, however, she melted into a little puddle.
After several visits, lots of thinking, submitting an application and then backing out again, I brought Zoe home. I can say now it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
The next few months were a whirlwind of learning how to be a dog mom, how to crate-train and potty-train and get her to walk on a leash and cope with apartment life. I was in over my head as often as not, but there was no greater reward than seeing her fall asleep on the couch next to me, for once utterly at peace.
What I didn’t know at the time was that we were about to take a whole other journey together, because Zoe is a pitbull-type dog.
I say pitbull-type, because truthfully that is an umbrella term that has come to describe a whole host of dogs simply by physical characteristics, such as a barrel chest, a short coat, and heart-shaped head. As Bronwen Dickey writes in her wonderful book Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon, many mixed-breed dogs identified as “pit mixes” actually have no genetic identification with the four recognized breeds that are true pit bulls (American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, and American bullies).
And unfortunately, just as there is a lot of murkiness around being able to properly identify these breeds, there is even more misinformation about their temperaments and characteristics.
Throughout her book, Bronwen describes how pitbull-type dogs went from being widely popular at the start of the 20th century, acclaimed as friendly, family dogs, “good-natured, brave, resilient, and dependable” to vilified just a few decades later as super-predators and monsters, lock-jawed killing machines who were bred to fight. These dogs are mistreated, misunderstood, and marginalized in ways that few other breeds ever come close to.
I encourage you to read this book. Not just because I have a vested interest as a pitbull mom (yes, we did Zoe’s DNA and she turned out to be over 60% American pitbull terrier), but because in the book Bronwen makes the best argument I have seen yet for how the horrible public image of the pitbull over the last forty years has direct connections to poverty, violence, racism, and a general failure to care well for humans so they can care well for animals.
Next week, we will begin our summer movie series, Movies that Matter, with a movie that takes a hard look at this relationship between animal mistreatment and that of humans; animal welfare and human welfare, particularly as it relates to pitbulls.
The movie tells the story of Rebecca Cory, a woman who suffered domestic abuse during her childhood as did her family’s dog Jones, and who has grown up to identify closely with the plight of pitbulls and to even found the organization Stand Up For Pits to help advocate for them.
We will watch this movie at church, as part of a church program, because I also believe that it has direct connections to our faith.
When God gave the Israelites laws in the Old Testament to structure their society, to make it distinct and set apart from other ancient cultures, God was clear: they would respect human and animal life.
If someone saw their neighbor’s animal wandering away, they were to bring it back. If they saw an animal fallen in the road, they were to help it up. Animals were not to be slaughtered on the same day as their young, nor were they to be overburdened or exploited.
The sabbath day was instituted as a day of rest both for people and for animals.
I could go on, but this much seems clear: God cares about people and about animals. God expects us to treat both with dignity and compassion and care.
And so this conversation, which is about people and about pitbulls, is about our failure to live up to that.
But it also about resilience and hope, about the animals who transcend all the terrible things that happen to them, about the humans who are working to care well for people and for their animals, and for all of those reasons I really, really hope you come.
Yours,
Pastor Jen
Learn more about the movie “Saving Jones” and the Stand Up For Pits Foundation here: https://standupforpits.us/
Purchase “Pit Bull: Battle Over an American Icon” here: https://www.bronwendickey.com/book-1
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 18th at 6 PM and join us in the Youth Room for this screening!
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