Dennis Weaver is a behavior specialist with the Austin Animal Center, and has been for the past seven years. While he works with a wide variety of dogs that come in and out of the shelter, he believes that Austin is one of the most accepting cities when it comes to pit mixes. “We’re fortunate to be in this area, Austin specifically. Everybody seems to gravitate towards having a pet, and dogs have not really had stigmas [in Austin],” he said. A lot of the bully breeds, including pit mixes, have been embraced by the Austin community and AAC is starting to see a positive change. “[People in Austin] understand and embrace the positive traits that these scarred dogs have…and the public has really responded well,” he said. As many people are starting to realize in such a pet friendly city, the dog’s behavior will depend on the way the owner trains it. That’s why behavior training is so vital to the dogs that come in to the AAC. Typically the more involved the behavior specialists are able to be, the more likely the dog will get adopted.
The behavior team at the AAC works as much as they can with each dog to ensure that they get proper training to increase their chances of getting adopted. The dog first goes through their pet resource center. If it’s an owner surrender, the previous owner will fill out a profile for the dog so the AAC will have a good idea of how the dog will act in different situations. The more challenging side of this is when a dog is brought in as a stray. The staff essentially has to start from ground zero, and build each dog’s profile by testing them and finding out how they react to certain situations.
In the meantime, every dog that goes through intake becomes immediately eligible for adoption. The behavior team does as much as they can to further ready them by evaluating each dog one by one to see how they act on a leash, how they react when they’re in the kennel, and how they’ll react to being around new people. After each dog is evaluated, they’re introduced to play yards, where they are given a chance to interact with others dogs and then be evaluated. Behavior specialists like Dennis pay attention to how the dog interacts when in contact with new dogs, and if that behavior can be deemed dangerous. All of this is taken into account and is entered into the dog’s database, furthering their knowledge of the dog. The dogs are then given color-coded dots according to all of these factors. The green means they’re adoption ready, the blue means they may need a harness or help being walked, and red and orange mean they need more work on their behavior, or have health issues. These dots help staff and visitors know the status of a dog, and what needs to be worked on in the future.
In order to fully understand the amount of pit mixes coming in and going out of the AAC, it is important to compare the number of pit mixes taken in, and the number of pit mixes adopted. The histogram (right) compares the ages of pit mixes that are taken in by AAC to the ages of pit mixes being adopted out. Just by glancing at the chart, it is easy to tell that there is a discrepancy among the dogs that get adopted, and the dogs that get left in the shelter. The highest discrepancy is among the 0-2 year age group, which is typically when these dogs have the most energy. From 2013 to 2018, 1,749 pit mixes younger than 1 year were intakes at the AAC, while only 1,013 were adopted within that timeframe. The discrepancy decreases slightly as the dogs get older: 1,691 one year old pit mixes were taken in while only 1,271 one year old pit mixes were adopted out, and 1,943 two year old pit mixes were taken in while only 1,359 were adopted out. The younger pit mixes can require a lot of attention and exercise, which could definitely be a factor in why they’re not getting adopted as quickly as older pit mixes. As the dogs get older, the ratio of intakes to adoptions is pretty much even, but there are still slightly more intakes than adoptions. Dennis believes that this could be attributed to the fact that the breed is still slightly misunderstood, and that some people still adopt them for the wrong reasons. While pit mixes have definitely defied stereotypes, people still like to adopt them for their machismo and tough looking body shape. “It’s almost like they’ve become an accessory for something that’s cool or badass,” said Dennis. “I think it’s just because of history, dog fights, and past incidents all have big influence on that…but I think people are breaking through that.”
Pit mixes can also find safety in Austin because Austin is considered a no kill city. A no kill city is defined as a city that saves at least 90% of the animals that it rescues. The Austin Animal Center is currently sitting at a 98% save rate, which is a reassuring number for a breed like a pit mix. With most shelters around the nation having the majority of their dog population as some sort of put bull mix, this number is important to the survival of the breed, and de-stigmatizing it as a whole. Dennis said, “They’re animals, they didn’t ask to be that way…They’re innocent victims.” Luckily, Dennis and other AAC staff members are working tirelessly to improve people’s views on bully breeds like pit mixes, and the results are showing. A combination of the skilled behavior team, in depth profiles, and appealing pictures of each dog on the AAC website, pit mixes and other breeds are on the right path to getting adopted.