Oh Life. lol. I've come to really enjoy the changes that life brings over time. some for better, others for worse, some aren't good or bad, just different. When I lived in Columbia, SC, I went through several different changes: from retail management to broke college student, single to engaged & back to single(whew, I dodged a bullet there!LOL), single dog owner to two dog owner, two dog owner to three dog owner. While there were ups & downs, they were all learning experiences. That's what life is, right? Learning experiences. I say dog owner, but I don't really view my dogs as items that are my possessions, they're part of the family. Having a family that's 75% pit bulls can lead you in some interesting directions(although it did even when I had only one pittie too.)
I didn't have pits, or even larger dogs, growing up we had a Miniature Schnauzer and a Toy Fox Terrier. I don't think I'd ever even met one until I was in my early 20's, at least that I was really aware of. I had a good friend, who then became a roommate, that had a female pit bull named Dolce, she was the first pit I'd ever met. She has since passed away from Lymphoma but she was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. Dolce formed my original opinion of pit bulls. She also quickly introduced me to the negative aspects of the breed, the way they're viewed by the media and so many others.
Fast forward like 6 years, during one of those life changes in Cola I decided I wanted to do more within my community. Almost every time I left the house I took at least one of my three dogs with me and it never failed that someone would want to talk to my dog. Folks would be squatting down, rubbing all over the dogs, in the middle of a conversation with me and they would ask what breed the dog was.... Half the time they'd be shocked when I said, "pit bull", "pittie" pit mix" etc., "Really, this is a pit bull? BUT, he/she(depending on who I had w/me) is so sweet?!?" The other half of the people either already knew what breed my dogs were or responded with, "oh, I LOVE pits, my "enter family member or friend here" has one and they are such amazing dogs" I wanted a way for local bully breed owners to socialize with each other and to show our community what great dogs the bully breeds really are. After a bit of research online and through social media, the Columbia Bully Walk was born! A monthly walk to help raise awareness about the bully breeds.
Started in January 2013, the group has grown from just a couple people to 25-50 people every month along with multiple rescue organizations that bring adoptabulls too!! It was a long road and countless hours spent whoring myself out on social media to grow the facebook page and getting people to show up on a regular basis. I made several great friends along the way too! In a December 2013 meeting, the Columbia City Counsel member brought up an idea to enact some BSL against bully breed dogs in Columbia. We responded with our January bully walk taking place on the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse with about 130 people and at least that many dogs in attendance from all over SC and a few from GA as well. The city council hasn't brought it up since. LOL. When I knew I would be moving to Arizona I started recruiting a few members to take my place and ensure that the Columbia Bully Walk would continue to occur and grow.
I guess I bring this up because having moved to AZ, I left SC five months ago today, the Columbia Bully Walk is what I miss most. I wish I had the time to start one here in Tucson but at this point I do not. That's life though, it just keeps going. So, if you've got any of the bully breeds, or want to show the CBW some love go like the FB page. I realize most of the pics I post are of my dogs, just thought I should share just how much they really mean to me! :)