by Laura Ducourant

Laura is a fellow pet blogger. We found each other through a site called Blogpaws and I asked her to share the story of her wonderful Pit Bull Bentley.

I have always loved Pit Bulls. I remember seeing my neighbor with his Pit Bull when I was young and I knew that one day I would have one too. I got my first Pit Bull when I was 14 years old after begging my mom for months on end. She finally gave in and I ending up going to the animal shelter, picking out a beautiful caramel colored Pit and naming her Mama. That dog showed me what loyalty truly was. She protected me when an ex-boyfriend was abusing me and never left my side. She passed away years ago, but I always wanted another Pit Bull.

Three years ago, I moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles for a change in scenery. One day I was on my way to poker tournament when I saw a homeless man with this tiny puppy on the Strip. I had to stop due to my obsession with puppies and there she was, with this little face and the most adorable puppy dog eyes, staring up at me.

Pit Bull puppy

It was over 100 degrees at the time, the middle of summer and I felt so bad for the man and his puppy. I offered him money to buy food and asked him what he was going to do with the puppy. He said that he wasn’t quite sure as he had recently lost everything, but he just wanted her to go to a good home. I offered to take her and promised him she would have a wonderful life. He looked at me for a minute without saying a word and handed her to me.

That is the day our adventure began.

I named her Bentley and started training her right away. I noticed how calm and willing to learn she was so one day I decided to take a few pictures of her with sunglasses and various accessories on and posted them on my Instagram. When I saw how many people were commenting and liking the pictures, it motivated me to start something positive.

Bentley

One thing that I have had to endure as a Pit Bull owner is negative remarks about my dogs. I feel like these dogs are so misunderstood and that people need to see that they aren’t these vicious killers that the media makes them out to be. Now that I had this outlet I felt that it was my opportunity to show people the true nature of Pit Bulls.

I take pictures and videos that show how loving and friendly Bentley is with my daughter and our cat. I take pictures of her dressed up to show that she can be silly and that she doesn’t look “mean”. I even started selling bow ties on my website so others could dress up their dogs to make people smile and I donate 10% to help other Pit Bulls that need homes.

My goal is to help promote positive Pit Bull ownership by showing how a Pit Bull type dog can easily be the perfect family dog with training and lots of love. If everyone that decides to bring these types of dogs into their homes is educated then we will start to see more changes in legislation that outlaws these types of dogs.

BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation, not only affects Pit Bulls, but many other breeds and is imposing restrictions in numerous cities and countries. This is causing the banning of dogs that fall under the category and in every scenario; Pit Bulls are on the list. This means that Pit Bulls are the most euthanized dogs! The only ones to blame are humans so as humans we need to change this.

Laura & Bentley

There is still a lot that must be done but I just hope that I am making somewhat of a difference in changing perspectives and helping save dogs that truly are “Lovers not Fighters” as the saying goes.

Check out more pet stories and articles in our Pet Perspective section, including a column from Fresno Bully Rescue every other month. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to Fresno Bully Rescue.

Laura Ducourant lives in Los Angeles with her daughter Camille and Pit Bull, Bentley, where she blogs and creates handmade dog bow ties on www.MyPitBullFriend.com. You can see more of Bentley on her Instagram page @MyPitBullFriend, and like here Facebook page.