Lilly had fun at the park yesterday, and I did too, but I left the park in tears for reasons she can't understand. Pit Bull prejudice hit us hard at the park yesterday.
One thing that I feel that is important to say from the very beginning is that Lilly really does not care about toys when she is at the park. She will fetch balls for us inside the house but the second she steps into the park she doesn't give one flying fladoodle about any toys there. If someone throws a ball and a group of dogs runs to fetch it she joins in, but she isn't running to get the ball, she is running to try and play with the dogs. I don't think she even realizes half the time that the other dogs are on a mission to fetch something. She is there to have fun, and to her fun involves people and dogs, not toys.
Lilly found a group of dogs that she liked soon after we got there and we watched her run around with them while Chris and I set up her water bowl at a picnic table. The group of dogs she was playing with all came up to Chris and I for water and pets. They were all super sweet and one even jumped up to give Chris kisses. One of the dog's owners was at a picnic table not far from us and she started engaging her dog in one-on-one play. She would throw the toy and her dog would bring it back to her. Lilly decided to join in, not because she wanted the toy, but because she wanted to continue playing with her new doggy friend. As Lilly was running alongside the dog in the process of bringing the toy back the dog suddenly dropped the toy and bit Lilly in the face. Lilly just stood there like "what the heck just happened" as the dog continued to growl at her. I ran over as the other dog's owner was breaking things up. Lilly found another group of dogs to play with and went along with her business.
Around an hour later the owner of the dog that had bitten Lilly threw a tennis ball to a group of dogs. Her dog got to it first, clenched down on the ball, and stood there growling like a maniac until all of the other dogs ran away. All of the other dogs except Lilly. Lilly stood there with her whole but wagging a million miles an hour as this dog growled at her trying to tell her to back off the tennis ball. Lilly didn't even want the ball. She just wanted to play with the doggy, but the dog and the dog's owners didn't know that. Lilly stood there barking at the dog with her tail wagging as the dog's owners put their legs around the dog and tried to get the tennis ball out of the dogs clenched jaws. I got to them as the female owner's husband was putting himself in between Lilly and his wife and dog and yelling at me that "I'm lucky Lilly hasn't bitten anyone yet." I put Lilly's leash on her and kept her by me as the couple and their dog made their way to the gate of the park. Once they were far enough off I let Lilly off of her leash. Lilly decided she still wanted to play with their dog and ran over to see the dog again. The female owner grabbed her dog and stood with her legs around the sides trying to protect her. The male owner again put himself between his dog and wife and again yelled at me like I was the devil and Lilly was my demon spawn. I think that it is important to point out that Lilly never touched their dog or either owner. Was she barking? Yes. She stood about 2 feet back from the dog and owners and barked as she continuously wagged her tail. There is no way that anyone should have considered what she was doing aggressive or vicious in any way. She never growled and never made a movement toward the dog or owners. She just wanted to play with the other dog and didn't understand why there were two people blocking her from doing so and yelling so much.
It didn't matter that the other dog started the issue each time or that Lilly never responded in a negative way. She's a Pit Bull so any issue is obviously her fault right? I left the park yesterday feeling so absolutely defeated. After the incidents Lilly went right on playing with her other puppy friends. She played with small puppies and small children. A couple let their 2 year old son throw tennis balls to her and run around with her. She is such a sweet and loving dog. There isn't a mean bone in her body. It infuriates me that when something happens some people immediately decide that it's her fault. She is a pit bull so she is obviously vicious and she will obviously turn on me and other dogs and people. Why? Because that is who pit bulls are and that is what they do. (so many eye rolls)
This is why it is so important to advocate for the breed and show the world that Pit Bulls are not their stereotypes. It seems like anywhere you look on social media and news channels you can find a negative story about a Pit Bull. Why on earth are giving such negative and isolated events so much attention? Where are the stories about the search and rescue pit bulls? Where are the stories about all of the pit bulls working as therapy dogs? Where are the stories showing how screwed up some people are that they are training and conditioning innocent puppies to fight?
I know I've been on a soap box for the entirety of this post and I apologize. It is just frustrating that there are still so many people in the world that refuse to see pit bulls past their stereotypes.
If you're feeling down and defeated like I was yesterday my heart goes out to you. Keep your head held high and give your pibble a hug today.