Arizona: Camp Verde (Arizona) Animal Control Officer D.J. Caldwell wants to convince you that Pit Bulls are good with children

ARIZONA -- Since the start of 2014, Camp Verde Animal Control has sheltered 63 dogs, 13 of which were pit bulls. Of the 13 unlucky dogs, three eventually returned to their homes.

Are pit bulls misunderstood?

D. J. Caldwell, the Town's Animal Control officer, says yes.

"When the breed first came about, they were known as the nanny dog, because of their nature and their gentleness with kids," says Caldwell, who has worked close to 10 years either as a kennel manager or in animal control.



Camp Verde (Arizona) Animal Control Officer
D.J. Caldwell says pit bulls were bred to be family
dogs and gentle with children.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals website says that today's pit bull is a descendant of the original English bull-baiting dog, a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals. Pit bulls are proof that some dog breeds are now bred for different purposes than they were originally intended.

Here are five other things the average person may not know about pit bulls:

1. Pit bulls are not naturally aggressive towards people.
"You do have some that are, because of bad breeding or bad owners," Caldwell says. "In general, outside of protecting their families, pit bulls are fairly docile. Even the ones that are bred for fighting are not aggressive towards people.

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2. Not all pit bulls are "dog aggressive."
"Only the ones that are bred for fighting are bred for enhancement of dog aggression," Caldwell says. "A properly bred pit bull is gentle and docile with any or all animals."

Camp Verde Marshal Nancy Gardner has eight years experience working with animal control. She says pit bulls "seem to be the breed" when there is an attack of another animal.

"Unfortunately, this is because pit bulls are often raised to be fighting and protection dogs from the time they are puppies, due to their strong jaws and muscular necks and shoulders," Gardner says. "On the other hand, I have seen some of the sweetest and friendliest pit bulls as a result of how they are raised."

Though CVMO keeps statistics on animal-related calls, they do not specify how many calls are related to pit bulls. Since July 2013, CVMO responded to the attack of a donkey attacked by a pit bull and horses being attacked by pit bulls.

"And we recently had an officer bit on the leg by a pit bull," Gardner says.

In the past 12 months, CVMO has responded to 763 calls regarding animals.

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3. Pit bulls are "extremely loyal."
"If you want a dog you can count on, a pit bull is it," Caldwell says. "If you have a pit bull, you won't need to worry about someone getting into your house. The pit bull will let others know that they don't belong there."

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4. Pit bulls are playful.
"They may want to lick your face too much!" Caldwell says. "Their energy levels are high, so they need to play. And they tend to be inquisitive."

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5. Pit bulls are easy to train.
"They're easy to teach to fetch," Caldwell says. "Due to their intelligence, they can be trained to do a lot of different tricks."

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(CV Bugle - Aug 9, 2014)