Chris finally decided that it was time to take her to the dog park so I went to our local animal shelter and registered her with our city. Every dog that goes to the dog park has to be registered and have a special tag on their collar proving that they are up-to-date on shots. I'm sure that not every dog running around the dog park on a daily basis is registered with the city, but hey, that's life.
It was Sunday afternoon when Chris and I put her harness on her and I announced that we were going to the park. Lilly knows the word "park" and associates it with the park that we go for walks in occasionally. She squealed, wiggled her butt, and ran to the door crying hysterically as she waited for us to open the door. Once we had her buckled up in her special seat-belt attachment we headed off for the dog park and she cried the entire drive there.
We walked Lilly around the perimeter of the park so we could get a feel of how things worked. There were so many dogs inside the large dog area and they seemed exceptionally well behaved. We walked inside and kept Lilly on the leash for a little bit as we walked farther into the park. A woman walked up to us and said in a very sarcastic tone "Oh my gosh! They have a Pit Bull!! Ahh!!" as her Pit Bull ran up beside her. I knew right then that we were going to be okay there. Lilly really liked her Pit Bull and they ran around and played with each other for quite awhile. Lilly stood by the gate and cried when the lady and her Pittie walked out to go home. It nearly broke my heart.
Not long after we arrived some of our friends showed up with their dogs. The larger of their dogs is named Pune and he LOVES to play. Immediately after meeting each other Lilly and Pune were rolling around in the sand and chasing each other all over the place. Pune likes to try to fit other dogs heads in his mouth and he kept trying to fit Lilly's giant head in his mouth. It didn't work very well. She laid down in the sand butt wagging a million miles and hour and let him continuously try to fit her head in his mouth. I swear if she could talk she would have been saying "Wow! Good job Good Job! This is great! Good try!" in a ridiculously happy and playful voice. They played together off and on for the rest of the day.
In a different area of the park a guy was throwing tennis balls for his Great Dane. Lilly decided to try and be friends with the giant doggy. She looked like a chihuahua next to him! It was the funniest thing to watch. He had no interest in her but that didn't keep her from running circles all around him trying to get his attention.
So many people came up to us and asked to pet Lilly and play with her. One women even squatted down so Lilly could give her a big slobbery kiss. I was not expecting such a welcome reaction from the people at the dog park. We've taken her back several more times since our first visit and she has so much fun each time. I love watching Lilly run around and have fun and I especially love seeing people interacting with her. It warms my heart to see that there are more people in the world that love pitties.
I am never going to let fear of the thoughts and actions of others keep me from doing something with Lilly ever again. I was so afraid to take her to the dog park, and I'm not sure I ever would have taken her if my husband hadn't finally pushed for it so hard. Lilly is a pittie and everyone has their own idea of pittes, regardless of whether or not all of those ideas are accurate. I was afraid to take her to the dog park because I feared what others would think, do, and say. In doing so I bought into the false stereotypes of pitties and gave them the power to control my actions as well as Lilly's. Part of advocating for the breed is breaking stereotypes and proving them wrong. You can't do that very well if you are letting the stereotypes control you and constrain you.
My advice? Break free of the stereotypes and prove them wrong. If you've never taken your pittie/bully breed to the pet store or park or anywhere because you felt discriminated against or worried that someone would make a rude comment....take them! Use it as a chance to advocate for the breed and spread correct information. Don't let the false stereotypes control the places you go or the things you do with your bully breed. It isn't fair to them.