By Nancy E. Hassel, ThisFurryLife.com
My dog Cody gets a lot of attention where ever he goes, 90% of the time it is good attention because of his non-stop wagging tail the big smile on his face and his happy-go-lucky attitude. It helps that he is a handsome pup and people just love to stop and pet him, ask me how old he is, laugh at his silly antics (he likes to talk to people or howl hello).
For a dog that sat in the municipal shelter for 6 months of his life waiting to be adopted, nothing phases him and he absolutely loves everyone he meets, humans and other dogs, ignores other animals (i.e. has zero prey drive), and just takes everything in stride. A lot of humans could really learn something from his incredible fun loving attitude towards life.
Every once in a while, we meet someone who is a bit afraid of him or enamored enough to want to say hello to (that wagging tail and smile sucks people right over!), but they are weary because, nope he is not a Labrador, but an American Pit Bull Terrier, a bluenose.
Last night was one of those nights where I could only get about 10 feet until someone stopped was crouched down petting, hugging Cody. Many people said, “Great dog, we have a pit bull too – such awesome dogs aren’t they?” ‘Yes, they are,’ is always my response.
I can’t tell you how many people asked me, “can I take his picture?” One guy even had his son, who was about 5 or 6 years old, and avid animal lover, pose with Cody for a picture. (It was of course adorable!) This was earlier in the day at the Hampton Classic. Another lady while at the Classic was telling me that her horse trainer who’s pit bull had passed recently and was looking for another, a rescue of course and probably soon. I gave her my card and told her to let me know if she needed any help finding a pittie.
Even though here in NY, being a pet parent to a pit bull terrier is more common than not, and people absolutely love and adore the breed, know how ridiculous Breed Specific Legislation (BSL – which is illegal in NY!), and know all the awful hype and BS about the breed that is just not true. But every once in a while you get people who are just either scared of him, but see how friendly he is and they end up coming over. That happened last night a mom and her two adult sons from Rockville Centre, NY, said, “Your dog is so beautiful, is he a pit bull? Seems so friendly.” With that Cody was doing his thing, wiggling, wagging, and charming them to the point where they could not stop petting him and asked me a lot of questions. After a few minutes, they left and said, “thank you we never met or got to pet a ‘Pitbull’ before – he is so sweet.” I said, “I am so glad you stopped, and now you can tell anyone you know how you met a typical Pitbull – happy and friendly.”
It makes me so happy that Cody is such an awesome ambassador for the breed. Cody is exactly what being a DOG is all about – and how he educates mis-informed people on a daily basis is just icing on the doggie cake.
People tell me all the time they want Cody. I say go to the animal shelter, find your own awesome dog – there are many just waiting for homes. You can follow Cody on his Facebook page and Instagram @AdventureswithCodytheBluenose and see his silly antics and how much fun he has.
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