Ty: Guilty by Association
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

August 2009
Hello,

My name is Catherine and I'm 14. I had a pitbull dog named Ty. He was gentle and would never hurt anyone. I would take him for walks and he was loyal and stayed by my side, so he didn't need a leash. (To enlarge the photo of Ty, click on the photo or link)
a-ty_small

I took him down to a river on a sunny day and there were other dogs there, but he still stayed by my side. A big dog, I'm not sure what type it was, it was like a black lab cross with a husky or something, a very beautiful dog. Ty looked up to me when the other dog came over and I asked the woman if her dog was playful and she said yes, but she also said she was a little wary about pitbulls, but I told her nonsense, Ty would never hurt anything, so she said alright and then let her dog off the leash.

They played for a bit and then the lady put her dog on the leash and tried to walk away. I whistled for Ty to come, and he just sat there. I didn't know what was wrong, so I walked over to him. The lady's dog ran at me and started growling and barking. He snapped at me and the lady called for her dog. The dog tried to bite me, but Ty immediately went into action and stood between me and the dog. It was a very gory fight. The lady tried to intervene which was very stupid, and HER dog bit her. I called for Ty and he stood there for a minute then came, the other dog was bleeding and so was the woman.

About a week later she took my family and me to court, and many witnesses said that her own dog bit her, but she kept saying no no it was that savage pitbull. I started to cry when the judge told us that Ty was to be put down.

I really want to help get rid of this discrimination against pitbulls, because bad dogs aren't born, their made (quote the movie Corky Romano). here is a pic of Ty when he was a puppy. and I was wondering if you could help me find some way to help.

Our reply to Catherine:

Dear Catherine:

We're very sorry to hear about Ty, and we agree that humans are responsible for making dogs "bad".

One of the way we can help is to publish your story.

Most humans believe that is it easier to kill than to be kind to animals, that is unless it's their own "pet". We need to re-educate the public to the plight of all animals. Pit bulls are just a small part of the problem, but it is definitely an important part of the re-education toward a kinder and more gentle society.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary


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