When Your Bad Boy (Or Girl) Is Not So Bad

At 115lbs, Moses is a very muscular 18 month old America Bulldog. His brother, Samson, is a 3.5 year old 120 lb Rottweiler. When the two of them are being walked, they are a sight to behold.

However, their human says that she feels bad that people look at them like they are vicious when they are not. In fact, Moses expresses that he has no desire to harm anyone and feels like he is a, "little boy."  His human states that he is like a "big baby," finding that Moses is very sensitive in nature.

Samson says that he does look after Moses as well as his human family members. His human confirmed that he does pick up on her energy so if she feels scared he will act protectively. However, he does not get out of control.

Moses & Samson

These breeds, as well as many others (Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Chow Chows), suffer from what has been termed, "breed prejudice."  In addition, black dogs are the most likely to be euthanized due to people being unwilling to adopt them. Shelters have even taken to holding adoption events specifically focused on adopting out black dogs.

Moses explains that he is confused when a person is afraid if him since he does not want to hurt them. He says that he feels like he needs to back away when he feels people are afraid of him and he doesn't understand exactly why that is.

When I asked Moses and Samson what is important for people to know they both reply that they just want to be loved.

For dog loving humans, it is important to remember that not everyone is open to all dog breeds and to maintain control of our dogs when we are in public with people who might have certain fears. Although it can be difficult to imagine that some don't feel comfortable having the dog we love near them, we do need to respect other people's boundaries.  Providing education to people is the best way to help these breeds, as well as to consider adopting black dogs and breeds that might have difficulty finding homes.

Meet Mama Cosette! She was dumped at a kill shelter and her foster mother says, "she is the most beautiful soul I have ever met." For adoption info: Rescue Dogs Rock - http://rescuedogsrocknyc.org/