The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida responded to calls from concerned local residents about a pit bull on the loose in their neighborhood. When the officers arrived on scene, they found that the dog was not a threat but a friendly pet that had gotten lost. A Facebook post about the event went viral with many users commending the actions of the officers.
The Sheriff’s Office had responded to a call in the area’s south district about a pit bull on the loose, and residents were worried.
Upon arriving at the scene, they were pleasantly surprised to learn that, according to their Facebook post, the “wonderful dog was just out looking for friends to play with.” The officers proceeded to play for a bit with the brown pit bull before returning him to his “loving home.” They even posted some pictures of the adorable pup next to their squad car.
As it turned out, the pooch had escaped his yard after the owners accidentally left a gate unlocked. But thanks to the officers’ efforts, the pup was returned to his owners.
Pit bulls have a bit of a bad reputation, and oftentimes the public views them as being more dangerous than other dogs. That may be, in part, because many of them have been used and bred for dog fighting.
However, according to the ASPCA, they are no more likely to be aggressive towards humans than other breeds, even if they were originally bred for fighting. “Research on pet dogs confirms that dog aggressive dogs are no more likely to direct aggression toward people than dogs that aren’t aggressive to other dogs,'' the ASPCA website explains.
The ASPCA also notes that even if some types of behaviors may be breed specific, each dog is an individual that should be treated as such.
The Facebook post describing the event went viral with 47,000 likes. Thousands of users commented to commend the officers for reuniting the pooch and his family and shared their own views on this often misunderstood dog breed.
One comment read, “Thank you officers for taking care of someone’s pretty sweet baby.”
While another remarked, “I think they are beautiful dogs and misunderstood. My Dad raised them. And I sat out in the back yard at 3 years old with ten of them and played . never got any thing but a lick which I called a kiss. Raise them right no different than any other dog.”
A particularly poignant comment said, “I love this! The media has made people panic over them, they’re actually one of the most loyal and tolerant dogs, but some people have bred them and trained them to be violent, and due to the widespread fears of these dogs, they are harder to socialize with people and other animals. We need stories like this to drown out the breed bashing and more people to teach proper training and care, hero stories, or simply fun stories like this one.”
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