Thursday 15 March 2018

Pitying the Pit Bulls

Tecolote is as charming as ever. We found a window of days on windfinder.com that were forecast to be calm - this is not an enjoyable place during its typical El Norte wind blasts - and settled into a site between dunes on the west side of the beach. 

This site is unique in that it is a popular spot for both boondocking snowbirds and local La Paz residents. There is a gringo bar alongside Mexican families playing their crazy tuba music. And it is next to Balandra Bay - one of the most stunning beaches ANYWHERE. 

Within hours of finding our spot, we met the most adorable neighbours - a pair of very young pit bull puppies. Their “dad” was 73-year-old Enrique, originally from Chile but living the past 50 years in Bar Harbor, Maine. They instantly took to Coco and engaged in rough-and-tumble puppy play. 

Enrique explained how buying the puppies was the realization of a 3-year dream. My first thought was...”what, someone actually PAYS for dogs here, when there are so many needing rescued?”. 

There was no denying the pups were absolutely, heart-meltingly gorgeous. They were full on in that awkward puppy stage when they walked like drunken sailors (no disrespect to sober sailers or other kinds of drunken walkers!) and their short hair felt like the finest velvet. 

Rosita was apparently born on Jan 2, making her 10 weeks old, and Pepita was younger. I couldn’t believe either was older than 6 weeks with their floppy movements and barely-there teeth. 

Pepita was especially adorable (though it always feels like a betrayal to pick one over the other) with her stocky body, blue/grey fur with white feet, and blue eyes. 

Then Enrique talked about how he looked forward to breeding her, and my heart sank. I’ve seen the documentary “Champions” about Michael Vick’s fighting pit bulls, about how they are so prevalent in shelters because public opinion is so against them as a breed, and had to speak up. 

“Please at least make sure you have families lined up beforehand - too many pitties end up being euthanized.” 

He shrugged it off with talk that he was going to give the pups away to everyone in Bar Harbor and make it a sanctuary for the breed. At least he didn’t seem financially motivated. 

The next day the pack was clearly the darlings of the beach. Every gringo and Mexican group greeted the little stumbling pups and took hundreds of photos. 

They wandered. They clawed with never-cut nails. They didn’t listen to calls to come. It was clear Enrique had no idea what he had gotten himself into. 

I showed him Coco’s nail clippers and offered to trim their nails while he held them. “It’s important to get them used to getting their paws handled at this age.” He was grateful. 

Still I’m feeling sad. It’s clear he loves these pups very much. But he has no clue about the realities of raising puppies, much less pit bulls and the implications of breeding them. Though well-meaning, he is the exact type of owner who is only going to bring more disrepute to their breed

After watching “Champions” and doing research on breed discrimination, I’m a believer that pit bulls and related breeds have gotten a bad rap in our society. 

Yes, they are incredibly strong and capable of causing serious damage to other living creatures, but in each case you can trace the viciousness back to the way they were raised. The same is capable of German shepherds and Labs and many others depending on their background. 

I can only hope Pepita, Rosita and Enrique have many wonderful years together, without bringing any more unwanted dogs into the world. 



  


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