Group, society team up to teach pit bulls new tricks
RENFREW — A pit bull nonprofit group dedicated to the rescue and training of the animals has teamed up with the Butler Humane Society to fight the savage image of the dogs.
Started on Sept. 29, the recently finished classes taught by members of The Proper Pit Bull group have the top four canine graduates ready for adoption, said Megan Barber, assistant kennel director of the shelter at 1015 Evans City Road.
Barber said shelter volunteers and staff members were paired with a dog, The pairs then attended class each week taught by a Proper Pit Bull member for four weeks where the dogs were taught basic commands and behavioral training.
“The lessons help improve the quality of the dog’s life and make them more attractive to adopt,” said Jennifer Orris, community outreach comanager at The Proper Pit Bull.
Which is why the society approached Orris’ group for the training, said Barber.
“Right now, we have eight or nine pit bulls,” she said. “They are mostly strays brought in by dog officers, police and any Good Samaritan.”
She said prospective owners are reluctant to even consider adopting a dog because of the fearsome reputation the breed has acquired.
Vanessa Kriley, a vet tech at the shelter, said as the bad reputation has spread “pit bull became a generic term for American Staffordshire terriers, pit bull terriers and any dog with a block head.”
But it’s a reputation that is totally false, Kriley said.
“They’re lovable and loyal. The biggest thing they want to do is please their owner,” said Kriley. “In the old days, they were called ‘nanny dogs’ because they watched over the family.”
“I’ve been here 15 years and the pit mixes were never the ones to bite us. It was only the little dogs,” said Barber.
Orris said, “It’s all in how they were raised. They are good dogs.”
Any viciousness displayed by a pit bull, she said, is more likely caused by an owner’s mistreatment than the animal’s nature.
Orris said her group formed to counter this misconception.
“We’re an all-volunteer-based organization that’s all over Western Pennsylvania that promotes pit bull ownership and responsible rescue through community partnership, education and training,” she said.
Orris said the dogs at the Butler Humane Society were taught to sit, stay, stand and be on a leash.
At the end of the initial training period four dogs at the top of their class were named the “Fantastic Four” and will continue to be trained as they wait for adoption.
Barber said the shelter hopes to have a class for people in the near future to educate them about the pit bull breed.
She said for more information on the “Fantastic Four,” people should visit the society website — www.butlercountyhs.org.
But Barber recommends prospective owners come to the shelter to meet the recent graduates.
“Come in and visit with them, ask to see them out. No dog acts great in a kennel,” Barber said.
