Our Experience with Animal Cruelty and "Bad" Breeds

Animal advocacy is something I hold very close to my heart. As a mom of three fur babies, one of which is a rescue, I feel very strongly about animal cruelty. This post has been a long time in the making, mainly because I am so passionate about it that I get to worked up to even write anything.

Meet Murphy, our rescue pup, who is one of the best (and most challenging) animals I've ever had in my life. I adopted him from a shelter in 2015. They guessed that he was about 1.5 years old. The shelter had no history for Murphy other than where they had found him, which was in a wildlife trap. He is part pitbull and the shelter had him at the top of the "to be sent to a high kill shelter" list. When I asked about why he was on the list to be transferred they said it was because he was an aggressive breed and he had very slim chances of being adopted. I had no intention of adopting a dog when I went in that day but as soon as I saw that sign, I knew I was taking him home.

What I could gather in Murphy's first few months in his new home was that he was not house trained, i.e. didn't know how to behave in a house, period. His previous owner beat him. He was afraid of my husband for months, and does not trust strangers. Loud noises and fast movements spurred accidents. He did NOT like being left alone. AND he started experiencing localized seizures (from the neck up), which is scary, both for him and for us.

These are the result of animal cruelty. It makes my blood boil every time Murphy cowers at a hat being taken off or a sudden noise or movement. Not only because he's scared of us in that moment, but because someone was cruel enough to lay a hand on him when he was a puppy. This still happens and its been almost four years since I brought him home.

Murphy is the sweetest dog I have ever met. He loves his cat brother, Oliver, and his “big” brother, Woody. It breaks my heart when people are afraid of him or places we looked at renting deny us because of him. He's not aggressive. He's not mean. He does not fit any stereotype that the pitbull breed has been infamously known for. At this very moment, he's curled up into the tightest little ball sitting next to me, snoring. And if you want to see how much of a goober he is, just head over to my Instagram and watch all the videos of him in my stories.

Pitbulls get a bad reputation because of how some have been trained and portrayed in media. That does not mean all pitbulls are vicious and aggressive. What the media doesn't show you is that they were called "nanny dogs" because they were so gentle towards children. All dogs behaviors are a result of how they were raised and trained. Yes, some of it has to do with genetics and temperament, but that does not have to be the be all end all. Proper training and care make a huge difference in how your dog acts and reacts.

Murphy loves kids. He watches them like a hawk when we are out and about. And if he loses sight of them, he gets worried and will go check on them if we let him. We've had kids (even toddlers) come up to us while we're out and ask to pet him, and he'll give them big kisses and wag his tail. When people see that he is friendly and sweet, they take a second look at the stereotype that they automatically assumed about him. My husband takes him to work and he's an educator there. The first week my husband explained to his customers that Murphy was with him, gave them the proper information on how to interact with him, and explained that he's a big teddy bear. Now they all come looking for Murphy and that's one more positive experience for people to have with a pitbull.

Any time I can show someone that not all pitbulls (not even a majority) are aggressive, scary dogs, I will.

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The sad fact is that most cases of animal abuse are not reported and the people doing the abuse are not held responsible. Animal cruelty is not limited to violence. It can be intentional or lack of proper knowledge (in which case, some people don't understand that they are doing something wrong and the best thing we can do is help educate). If it's lack of proper knowledge, ask questions, google it, look on the back of the bag for recommended feeding, etc. The most important thing to remember is if you see something, say something. No animal deserves abuse.

Before I continue on, I know that not all animal abuse is directed towards domesticated animals (dogs, cats, etc.). I realize that farm animals, exotic pets, and even wild animals face abuse and I will probably have a whole separate blog post about that later on. For now, I'm going to share what I know, and that is how we have created a safe environment for Murphy.

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One of the biggest things that helped us care for Murphy was to ask questions. I have spent hours searching for different ways to do things with him and my husband has asked customers and friends with experience in this area what they've tried. We are constantly learning for his sake and in an effort to be able to share what we've learned with others.

Here's what we've found so far:

Abused dogs need time to adjust to new environments. They've been through a lot so when you introduce them into your home, give them space. If they decide to snuggle up to you, let it be their choice. Murphy took a little while to adjust. I had a cat already and the shelter wasn't sure of his experience with cats. I kept Oliver in the bathroom while Murphy sniffed around the house. Once he felt comfortable, I let Oliver out. They took time getting to know each other and now they are best buds.

Observe their behavior. Some just want love and some may need a little bit more work before they will let you even pet them. Murphy just wanted love but we made sure to observe how he reacted to being near him while he was eating and kept an eye on him as we went about our day. This was when we started noticing that he cringed each time there was a loud noise or a quick movements.

Be patient. They need to know that they can trust you and that takes time. We set a basic schedule with Murphy so he knew what was going to happen throughout the day and that established trust. Even though he wasn't a puppy when I brought him home, we treated everything we did like he was. We had to do potty training, a few lessons on manners, leash training. Each training with a lot of treats and praise. Just like a puppy.

Consult your Veterinarian or a Behavioral Therapist. They are one of the best resources you have. Don't be afraid to call them or find information published on the internet by reliable sources. Murphy has separation anxiety and seizures. We talked with our vet about using CBD for pets and got the thumbs up. It's been one of the best additions to Murphy's day! He has not had a single seizure since we started using CBD as a preventative in October 2018. We use this one! (There will be a post later on about all the CBD products we use and why)

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Thanks for reading!