Blurb

The shoes didn't fit. It was an omen.













Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A to Z Challenge, Day 14: P is for Pit Bull

pit bull

Pit Bulls get a bad wrap in the media. But do they really deserve it? I say not. It should be their careless and cruel owners who should get mucked all over the news.

Teach a dog to fight. He will. Teach a dog to chase and abuse a smaller animal. He will. Dogs are just little fur children. They do what they know.

Brandy is a Pit Bull who has a special place in Secondhand Shoes. Not only does Lila blossom into a strong and worthy character but so does Brandy.

Here are some lines starring Brandy, the Pit Bull:

Coon sat behind the wheel, chewing his tobacco gunk, looking in my direction, and I slowed to a walk when I saw his Pit Bull, Brandy, (she’s known to chase cats up trees and eat them, and terrorize children on their bikes) sitting next to him.

The dog walked toward a corner across from me, plopped down, facing us. She watched the drama in the room, ripping my last Keds to pieces.

We inched closer to the car. Brandy pulled a chain from behind her, trying to jump out of the truck bed. It jerked her back, making her squeal. She caught her breath, letting out a series of vicious barks and growls. Her lips curled back, baring her teeth at us. Gram appeared behind her, and kneeled beside her. She leaned her head toward her ear. Her lips moved, and she stroked the top of Brandy’s head, calming her down.

DISCLAIMER: No one may use the written content. This belongs to Shelly Arkon.

22 comments:

  1. Great idea! My first visit to your site.

    http://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com

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  2. I agree on the Pitbulls. My brother had one who thought he was a lapdog. The neighbors didn't like him and poisoned him. I remember having to help my brother and mom get him in the car to go to the vet because we didn't know what was wrong with him. He died a short time later. The vet found ethylene glycol and the contents of his stomach was pork chops or a beef. He wasn't fed from the table so but Animal Control said we could prove nothing. Not all of them are bad dogs.

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    1. No they're not. I once new someone who trained his pit to chase cats and rip them apart b/c he thought it was cool.

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  3. I did like, when reading the book, the way you had the dog gradually shift from a menace to the way she interacted with Gram. It felt just right.

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  4. I agree with you on Pit Bulls. And rotties and all the other dogs who get a bad rap because of the ignorance of their handlers.

    I have a German shepherd who has never done anything vicious in his life but still occasionally gets looked at as though he's a rabid man eater or something.

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    Replies
    1. Like I said, they're just little fur chidren.

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  5. As is (almost) always the case in such cases... all blame goes to the owner, not the dog. Pit bulls, when raised right, are very sweet.

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    1. Yes. They can be very sweet. But the media over does it. In fact, where I live Pit Bulls are not aloud in the neighborhood.

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  6. My husband's family had pit bulls when he was young. One lived in the house. His name was Bobby and he was very sweet. I loved everything about him except for his gas issue.

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    1. The one I knew had gas issues, too. And it was bad.

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  7. Visiting from a to z.

    The sad thing is that pit bulls don't bite more frequently than other dogs; it's just that their jaws are so much stronger that they significantly injure or kill people much more frequently, so they make the news while other breeds don't.

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    1. Andrew;

      You're correct. They don't bite anymore than any other dog does. ANd yes, they've got powerful jaws.

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  8. I liked this post! It is true; they do get a bad rap. Sad ...
    YOUR writing was soo good! Keep at it :D

    Thanks for visiting me~

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    Replies
    1. Ella:

      Yes. It is sad. And thank you for the compliment.

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  9. I love the line "Dogs are just little fur children!" Your story sounds wonderful, and I like the loving relationship that Brandy shares with Gram! Yvonne gave you a nice shout-out earlier today, and she was right! Julie

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    1. Well, thank you. I'll have to head on over to Yvonne's blog then.

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  10. A few doors down from where I grew up the owner had a pit bull and treated it horribly. I remember having to walk on the other side of the street to pass the house because I was so afraid of the dog. It was so tragic for the dog :(

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  11. I'm playing catch-up and read your last 4 posts in one sitting...

    I tend to disagree on the pit-bull issue.
    Maybe it's because I know of 3 recent incidents where a pit-bull has ravaged and killed someone/another dog. I have to admit though, that I don't know how these afore-mentioned pit-bulls were treated by their owners...
    I heard somewhere that a pit-bull is designed to be aggressive... part of their make-up... "wired" in that way? True? False? Any evidence to support this or show otherwise?

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  12. Shelly,
    A pit pull named Brandy...now that ironic! :0)

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I'm dying to know what you think.