Viewers' Voice: Pit N Proud hopes for education, awareness
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After several recent reports of pit bull bites and the death of Michael Cook by his own pit bull mix, KGUN9 looked into the truth about pit bulls: How dangerous are they, do they get a bad rap? That story sparked off an enormous amount of feedback. Video by kgun9.com
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RAW VIDEO: Pit N Proud discusses Pitbulls and provides and intimate look at several pits who visited the KGUN 9 On Your Side studios. Video by kgun9.com
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Trista Lashley's pit bull shares a tender family moment
Reporter: Jennifer Waddell
Web Producer: Ina Ronquillo
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - After several recent reports of pit bull bites and the death of Michael Cook by his own pit bull mix, KGUN9 looked into the truth about pit bulls: How dangerous are they, do they get a bad rap? That story sparked off an enormous amount of feedback.
Here at 9OYS we give our viewers a voice so we invited a Tucson group, "Pit N Proud" to be part of the dialog. This is a portion of our conversation, you can watch the entire interview in the video box on this page.
Rachel Molyneux, program coordinator for "Pit N Proud", told us what she sees as the best attribute of pit bull type dogs. "To me the most noteworthy characteristic of the American Pit Bull Terrier and all of the related bully breeds that are classified as pit bull type dogs, is their adaptability. they can do nearly anything. they make awesome family dogs if appropriately exercised, socialized and trained."
Anthony Holcomb is a certified trainer and works in that capacity for Pit N Proud. We asked, "what do you say to the people out there who see pit bulls that have attacked that seem to be trained and had good owners who didn't abuse them? How do you respond to that?" Holcomb said, "there's always some type of missing variable in the environment. There's usually something happening with the dog that the average owner does not see or understand."
Holcomb went on to tell us warning sings that a dog may be ready to bite saying, "a dog backing away is one sign. A dog who stays very still and tense and gives a lot of eye contact is a dog who is very fearful."
In Holcomb's training experience, he says the pit bull type is easy to train, and continuing that training is important - as with any dog.
Rachel Molyneux, said dog owners need to be responsible and accountable for their dogs, "if you're having issues, be proactive in fixing them because we all have a responsibility to work on behalf of these dogs and the image of the breed. We have to be exemplary owners right now with the climate what it is."
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