The Pitbull Cuteness Factor
In one of the agility classes I'm teaching we currently have two pitbulls. I think they're cute as heck--social, happy, bull-headed, and capable of hauling the small, female half of the couple who own them across the room, though not really on purpose.
At work this week I was trying to describe to my co-workers how really cute these dogs were when it occurred to me that my co-workers' cute dog aesthetic was really very different than mine. They look at me as if I'm crazy and I realize that I can't even explain to them what I find cute about a pitbull.
When most people look at pitbulls they see big and maybe mean and holy crap who would want a dog like that? Fifteen years ago I probably looked at pitbulls like that too. That there are mean pitbulls in the world is without dispute. That many of them have owners who don't understand them, breed, train and raise them badly, is also true (and a much bigger factor, in my opinion than pitbulls who are just flat 'born mean').
There will always be a scaryness factor to pitbulls. But one of the things I'm grateful for in my life is that I'm able to appreciate their cuteness too.