|
Then Along Came Barney: The Story Of A Dog Who Changed My Mind About Pitbulls |  | Author: Barbara Bullington
Publisher: CreateSpace
Category: Book
Buy New: $7.00
as of 11/22/2009 14:10 MST details
New (3) Used (3) from $7.00
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 214776
Media: Paperback
Pages: 154
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.4
ISBN: 1440469156
EAN: 9781440469152
ASIN: 1440469156
Publication Date: December 12, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Imagine what it's like when the pet you know as sweet is reviled and greatly feared by some. Picture taking your dog for a walk and people practically running in the other direction. Imagine finding out that because this dog is a member of your household you aren't welcome in a number of communities across the country. All this and more become the experiences of the author after she adopts a very ill, pit bull. A 30-something college instructor and freelance journalist with a penchant for rescuing animals, the author initially fears the pit bull might be dangerous. But this dogs turns out to be a funny, smart and, yes, sweet animal, leading the author to question the validity of the negative pit bull stereotypes. An eye-opening journey follows. Using humor along with investigative research-including interviews with experts and pit bull lovers-the author discusses pit bulls in general, her experiences with Barney the pit bull mix, and life with multiple dogs.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Goes a long way to dispelling the ignorance of myths May 3, 2009
C. Wilson (TX United States)
I enjoyed this book and the author's comments because I have three rescued female bull-breeds: a pit, a bull terrier, and a bull terrier-pit mix. Rounding out my pack is a large male greyhound, a breed famous for their fragile, thin skin. He leaves marks all over them (they never notice)when playing but none has ever so much as touched him with their ferocious-looking teeth. Of all the media-fed myths and fears a bully owner has to combat, it's the ignorance of the fact that dog aggression is NOT the same as people aggression. Yes, their fighting past means they may, just like terriers and hounds bred to hunt and kill prey, show aggression towards other dogs or animals. However, their pit-fighting history means that these breeds are the LEAST likely to show aggression to people, even when gravely injured and in extreme pain. That's because it was necessary to be able to safely remove wounded and dying dogs from the fighting pit, so any dog that harmed a human was killed. No other breed has been culled to eliminate human aggression like the bully breeds. Vets don't muzzle or restrain my dogs even for painful procedures, despite their powerful muscles and jaws, because "with this breed we can do anything without a problem". Try that with a poodle or yorkie!
I've lost count how many times I've been told, "I'm scared to death of pit bulls" even as they admire and pet my pit bull. People mistake over two dozen breeds as pits, which makes one wonder just how many of the 'vicious killers' described in sensationalized news reports as pit bulls actually are. The thugs that continue to fight dogs and the evil creatures who deliberately override their adoration of humans must be eradicated. It takes deliberate, sustained abuse and cruel neglect to create a bully that doesn't by nature love and trust people.
Even after terrible treatment they are usually still loyal and loving to people, yet because more myths than facts are trumpeted more and more breed bans limit the opportunity for responsible, law-abiding normal bully-breed owners to have their dogs in public. When the majority of people have never met a real, live pit bull it just feeds vicious cycle of ignorance. No, they aren't for everyone. They are athletic and require plenty of exercise and creative containment (like some other breeds they are clever escape artists), consistent and fair rules, strong, calm and patient leadership, and lots and lots of affection. But the only difficult part of ownership for us was the assumptions people made about us and our dogs. Previously, like most responsible dog owners, being hit by a car was our worst worry should the unthinkable happen and a dog ever accidentally get out. But there's one even more horrifying: because merely approaching a stranger with a doggy smile (as dogs who trust and like people will do) can be misconstrued as "charging aggressively" by someone who knows nothing factual about dogs, officers more and more choose to shoot and kill anything they suspect as a pit bull rather than call Animal Control for capture. If someone feels fearful, regardless what the dog is actually doing, it is enough to justify killing the dog. This is a serious concern not only for bully-breed owners but for the many other breeds often mistaken for pits.
Shelters and rescues nationwide are awash with bullies who have no home through no fault of their own. Hundreds die for every one fortunate enough to be adopted. Please research and then consider giving yourself the gift of the love of a rescued bully. Once you've had that, as this book so ably describes, no other type of dog will do.
From the author March 8, 2009
Barbara Bullington (Stokes, NC United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hi. I know I just gave myself five stars, but it wouldn't let me post a message without a rating, so well, you know. Anyway, I continue to learn everyday about pit bulls even though it has been a few months since I finished the book. If I could tell everyone just one thing about pit bulls, it's that there are plenty of people out there all over the country/world, who have pitbulls as pets, love them and live daily without incident. That just doesn't get reported on too often. Time and again, I've seen people meet my dog Barney and I can tell they're kind of unsure at first, but he ALWAYS wins them over. I'm not going to say pitties are like every other dog because they're not (I discuss that in the book). I think it takes a really responsible person to own one. Most of the time when your hear about things going wrong with a pit and they almost always start with, "The dog got out of it's enclosure" (which is often made of cheap wood, or involves an old fence). Not usually too surprising the dog got out. Anyway, as I also discuss in the book, BSL is just BS. Hey, that's pretty good huh? Feel free to use that. Anyway, instead of banning pit bulls, how about requiring owners to take precautions, such as having a sturdy fence or other enclosure. (I myself keep Barney in the house all the time except when he goes outside to go to the bathroom. Pits like people so much usually they don't really want to be outside without their owners.) Well, I guess that's more than one thing! Take care and thanks for checking out the book!!! Barbara Bullington
 Enjoyable and informative! January 27, 2009
C. R. Walters (New York)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My sister has a pit bull mix and he's a really great dog, so it's good to see a book that talks about pits in a positive light. He is very gentle and good with other animals! I think this book would be good for anyone who likes these dogs but doesn't know a lot about them, or who has a pit bull and wants to give the book to others who are ignorant about pit bulls (as many people can be). This book is really informative, but it's also funny and the author tells about her
experiences as they happen.
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Working Dogs | |
