Thursday, May 29, 2008

Confess: Are YOU a THUG?

If you got your pit bull from a shelter, you might be one of those - you know - Thug Types. So says PETA.



Pit bull owner Charles Brettell wrote recently to challenge PETA on their position which calls for the death of all sheltered pit bulls. (Compassionate much?) A PETA spokesman explained:

But we must consider that nice families rarely come to a shelter to adopt pit bulls; almost without exception, those who want pit bulls are attracted to the "macho" image of the breed as a living weapon and seek to play up this image by putting the animals in heavy chains, taunting them into aggression, and leaving them outside in all weather extremes in order to "toughen" them. There is no denying that pit bulls are at a higher risk of suffering a horrible fate. - Jeff Haines PETA Spokesman

If you think you might be a thug, please confess. Send us a web-link to your family photo or video...with said pit bull please...and we'll post it here on days when we're too busy home-checking thug adopters to blog.

Also, tell us a little bit about yourself: Are you a thug with a mortgage? a college educated thug? a soccer-mom thug?...any fashion or music preferences?...And we'd love to know what kind of suffering your pet is enduring at home.

Thug Mail

Thanks. We'll have to figure out a way to gather up the pix and share them with our friend Jeff.

Thug Alert!


True Thug Confessions are rolling in. Dangerous Sarah of Baton Rouge LA with dog Wicked Riley writes:

"Over the years we've enjoyed numerous thug-centric activities with Riley, including obedience classes, long walks around our middle-class suburban neighborhood, intense fetch sessions in our backyard, and hours of snuggling on the couch.

A lot of my time is spent caring for our four dogs (we also claim a chocolate lab, a husky and a shar-pei/possible pit bull mix as members of our family), but I also enjoy reading, jogging, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering with my local animal rescue organization. I currently work in an administrative position for a large veterinary hospital, but this summer I will be entering a full-time graduate program in Education at Louisiana State University. Next year I hope to start teaching English classes to middle-school students, where the first order of business will be learning the definition of "stereotype."

Watch out Louisiana. That lady is packin' some real Cajun pit bull heat!

20 comments:

Kirsten said...

Carrie Edwards of PETA sent me this doublespeak, when I hassled, with the tagline "I hope this clarifies our position and clears up any confusion you have regarding our work" : "Please know that PETA does not believe that every pit bull should be euthanized, but we do advocate a ban on the breeding of pit bulls. Indeed, we should ban all breeding of dogs because of the tragic overpopulation crisis that causes millions of unwanted animals to be killed every year in this country. We hope that our support of such laws will stop people from bringing more pits—one of the most abused dog breeds—into the world to be hurt and exploited..."

I'm all for spay and neuter programs, but, correct me if I'm wrong, if this *masterplan* came into effect and (suspend disbelief here) ALL breeding was banned completely, wouldn't dogs become extinct? In like, 20 years?? I guess I'm still confused...

PETA + logic = ??*%!

Not a thug yet, but sure hope to be one day.

Kirsten said...

P.S. Thats lots of 'adoptions pending' over there on the available doggins page, including Miss Josie Kat, wa hoo!!

Jen M said...

Wow - I'm a THUG...my parents will be so proud!! :)
Email and pic of thug life have been sent! ;-)
Jen

Anonymous said...

PETA makes me ill. I have a friend who works in chinchilla rescue and thought they would help her to save some chinchillas from a ranch from being turned into pelts... Of course, PETA wouldn't help her at all, they're only interested in making scary movies and in getting media attention, not actually helping animals.

At least the word about them is getting out and people are starting to realize the truth about how they spend their money. As for me, I only donate to shelters and rescue groups that actually spend the money directly on helping animals.

Anonymous said...

I had an awful time convincing our local animal control to let us adopt a very friendly Rottie they'd confiscated. They seemed in total disbelief that anyone BUT a thug might want a Rottie (or pittie). Like I was some nice, middle-class girl that was just a "mule" to sneak this dog out of the hands of euthanasia where I'd transfer her to someone into the thug world. Ridiculous...

not the same as the pitty, I know, but the breeds reputation isn't much better.

Anonymous said...

I had an awful time convincing our local animal control to let us adopt a very friendly Rottie they'd confiscated. They seemed in total disbelief that anyone BUT a thug might want a Rottie (or pittie). Like I was some nice, middle-class girl that was just a "mule" to sneak this dog out of the hands of euthanasia where I'd transfer her to someone into the thug world. Ridiculous...

not the same as the pitty, I know, but the breeds reputation isn't much better.

pamipoo said...

Does a white girl from Mountain View qualify as a thug? Gee I hope so! I feel a make-over coming on!! I always wanted to be a bad-ass! ROTFLOL! My Ariella would laugh if she could, she is a pitbull that loves to play dress up and craves a good snuggle. Count us in on the thug photo album!

Donna said...

Bring it on, homegirl!

TP said...

Man, we tried to raise our 2 and 4 year olds right and now they're thugs. What is a parent to do?

www.trinitythepitbull.com

Anonymous said...

I'd like to know what planet Mr. Haines from Peta is from????? I've been a THUG mom twice and thanks to breed legislation here in my home, Bermuda, I've adopted two THUG cousins, American Bulldog rescues for the time being,who are wonderfully large hugbunnies. With a bit of luck our breed legislation will be overtuned by year's end and we'll be a THUG family again as fast as we can fly to BADRAP and apply for a bully. The last time I looked I was a middle aged, law abiding citizen with 2 kids in college. Obviously Mr. Haines doesn't realize that,"Once you go Pit, You just can't Quit!" There's not another breed lik'em. If owning a bully makes me a THUG, I'd be a proud one! Perhaps I should get a grill???

spongebrooke said...

No dog yet. I'm just a thug in training ;)

Anonymous said...

My parents will be so proud to know that I am a thug. Not only did I graduate from college at 20 but was an exchange student and now run an Electronic Medical Record for a hospital here in Alaska. My two rescued girls have already changed many minds and they haven't even reached their second birthdays yet. Our pictures have been sent in :)

Boris said...

Makes my Thug teeth ache from all the sweetness. Just got back from the real LA state and the hearts don't get much bigger. KF could sign-up Sarah in his gang.

A special thanks to Kyle and Tom for sharing their hood:
www.trinitythepitbull.com
Like a rainbow on a stormy day, I hope others can find their pot of gold (o.k. Trinity's got spots of gold and her girls are priceless).
Don't know if the name came from the Martix or Dog, whatever she shows spirit that is out of this world.

I'm going to have to catch Patty w/o her VP Admin chains to get a cute picture and montage her with all her past and present BOYS.

Funny enough, when I came into the E. Bay and couldn't hang out at PitBullHall because of the Memorial Day Holiday. I could still run into APBT rescues, in of all place at a San Ramon Art and Wind Festival. A native Hip-Hopster (o.k. very San Ramon style) had two beautiful rescues. Sometimes even when folks try to put-on-the "THUG" by wearing baggy basketball jersey and adding chain plus spike collars to their APBT, they can't hide the gentle temperment of the dogs and the owners love for them. (I got past the vicious licks get in my hugs and roll on back belly rubs). Maybe that is what 'Give-it-Up' means. Give up the hard act and let your APBT temperment show through "Thugs".

Got a run, Boris ritual hook-up with his Saturday klan to get a soy latte at the Tuscan Sun Coffee shop. Boris OEL

Anonymous said...

Shame on you PETA. I'm an administrative assistant at a bank. My husband repairs office equipment. We have 2 pit bulls, a female (spayed) adopted from our local SPCA and a male (neutered) adopted from our local animal shelter. They're our best friends. We wouldn't trade them for anything.

Thugs R Us,
Cornelia & Jim
PB's Misty & Buddy
Lodi, CA

Anonymous said...

I'm a thug and I made my parents thugs too! I am currently a human resources manager and applying to vet. school in the fall. I spend my weekends volunteering at my local animal shelter and with my local pit bull rescue. I have 2 dogs, 1 a lab/border collie mix and 1 a pit bull/cattle dog mix. Both my girls are shelter dogs and participate in very thuggish behavior, including going to doggie day care, going on long hikes, playing in the sprinklers, and sleeping on the couch. My parents recently became thugs when they adopted a pit bull who came from the rescue I'm with. They must be bad-to-the-bone thugs since they drove 1,000 miles to come pick him up and take him back to their home state. He enjoys going to work with my mom everyday, sleeping on the couch, and stealing the cat food. Get real Peta...there are great people out there that see pit bulls for the wonderful breed they are.

Anonymous said...

What's sad is that many pit bull rescues believe the same thing as PETA - in several ways. They oppose city shelters adopting out pit bulls, think anyone that wants a pit bull is going to fight them or use them for bait (because fighters want to spend $100 on altered pit bulls??) and even think non-bully specific rescues shouldn't try to adopt them out - as they're not "educated" enough (newsflash, pit bulls aren't rocket science). They believe they are the only abused breed and they're better dead than risking abuse. This is right in line with PETA...they've heard it parroted enough they believe it themselves.

Well, gotta go - I have to get up early to get to my computer programming job so my husband can get to his volunteer job tutoring at-risk youth and then we can fight our dogs (off from hogging the couch)!

Anonymous said...

"I'm all for spay and neuter programs, but, correct me if I'm wrong, if this *masterplan* came into effect and (suspend disbelief here) ALL breeding was banned completely, wouldn't dogs become extinct? In like, 20 years?? I guess I'm still confused...

PETA + logic = ??*%!"


That *is* their master plan. They want all breeding stopped completely, and nobody to have pets at all. "One generation and out" is one of their slogans. PETA thinks owning a pet is akin to slavery.

Tell that to my poor slave of a cat sitting on my lap purring right now. :)

Anonymous said...

It's too bad PETA is giving the concept of animal rights a bad reputation. There's real animal abuse going on; dog fighting (regardless of breed), factory farms and furriers, but they seem to think certain animals should be exterminated for the abuse humans 'might' inflict on them. Isn't it the duty of activists to change people's attitudes and save animal's lives?

Anonymous said...

I HATE WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!
ok im a 14 year old girl and i am absolutely i love with pitbulls.my cousin just got 2 blue pitbull puppies. i love them.they are the sweetest little things ever.but some people dont see love when they look at a pitbull, they see hate.they dont see that it is the way people train the pits is what is showing the hate.if people would just pitbulls a chance then they would see that pitbulls are the most loyal,affectionate dogs ever. JUDGE THE DEED NOT THE BREED! and thats all i have to say.

Anonymous said...

Hey PETA - I'm a public education school teacher & I own 5 pit bulls, oh & I guess I'm a thug too since I rescued all of my pits. Since Jeff is judging all people to adopt pit bulls - I guess we could say all people at PETA are uneducated biased people because we know Jeff is.....