Former Vick Pit Bull Appears on Rachel Ray
Johnny Justice, an adorable black and white Pit Bull, was the star of the Rachel Ray show this past Friday. Johnny served as the spokesdog for BADRAP (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), a group who took on 10 of Vick’s dogs once they were turned over for rehabilitation. Donna Reynolds, the co-founder of BADRAP explained the process - ” We had to petition the prosecuting attorney to allow us to go in and even look at the dogs,” “So when he said yes, which was landmark, we then had to sit at home and wait to see if the judge would allow us to bring them home. We had a lot of sleepless nights wondering if they would let us do it. When he said yes, it was fantastic!”
Photo credit: BADRAP
While the Vick situation was horrific- it seems that it may have opened the publics eyes to some of the mis-truths the media has been perpetuating about the breed. “Hopefully,” Donna said, “now that this case has shown America what so-called ‘fighting dogs’ are like, we can take the word blood-thirsty and throw it in the trash. These are individual dogs — these are pets — who ended up in a horribly abusive situation, and they’re proving to everyone that they deserve better. That they deserve to be evaluated as individuals and treated with compassion.”
I’m so happy that the chef opened her show to this topic! As some of you might know, Rachel is a Pit Bull owner herself! She has a dog named Isaboo who she mentions constantly!
March 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
No one loves dogs more than I do, however saying that a pit bull is just as harmless as any other breed is just plain naive! I have worked with the SPCA for years, socializing dogs, playing with the rescues until they have homes. And yes, pit bulls or pit bull mixes comprise up about 80% of the dogs that are turned in. I’ve played with them, chased balls with them and hugged them, and I love them as any other breed. But, don’t be stupid. These dogs can be unpredictable! You can own a dog for years and you will never know when something makes them mad and they attack. Do you want it to be your child, your grandmother, your other dog? At SPCA/LA, we do not adopt pit bulls out to families with small children or other small dogs. Why do you think that is? And these people are experts. A survey done by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Assn in 2000, showed that 76% of human deaths by dogs were caused by pit bulls or pit bull mixes. Do people just choose to ignore this? I don’t want these dogs hurt in any way and I deplore what Michael Vick did. But use common sense when bringing a dog like this into your home and know what you may be getting into
March 19th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
[...] recently received a response to my post about one of the Michael Vick Pit Bulls appearing on Rachel Ray’s television show. What follows is the comment in it’s [...]
March 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
In response to Sandy’s comment, that is about the most ignorant thing you could speak, don’t hide behind the guise that your a friend to the Pitbull your obviously uneducated about the breed. Have you ever owned one>? I bet not, Anything with teeth can bite you and alot of dogs have an aggression trait or the ability to attack but Pits are always the scapegoats, most of these alleged dog attacks you speak of are done by dogs who resemble pits but actually have no Pit in them. Case in point that story about VIng Rhames friend dying in Cali taking care of 2 bull mastiffs and a pitbull, they originally reported that the dogs attacked and ate the man, but a month later it was deemed the guy died of a drug overdose completely unrelated to the dogs but the dogs were already dead so it didn’t matter. Did the news do a rebuttle NO because saying a pit is a good dog does not sell ratings. If pits are so unpredicatable like you say I wonder why they used one while filming with kids on the little rascals? Or why they trusted one to be Hellen Kellers companion? Or why the US military had one save an entire US platoon? I too volunteer in an animal shelter and to say pitbulls are unpredictable is simply put STUPID. You get out of something what you put into it. NO dog should be left alone to it’s own devices. It’s the owners repsonsibility to make sure there dog of any breed is properly socialized when a dog bites someone it’s not the dogs fault. Hold the irresponsible dog owners responsible not the dogs their just doing what theyve been taught, unless there is a neurological disorder dogs don’t just bite for no reason. Before you post another bogus comment do your research, 10 out of 10 vets interviewed would rather work with pitbulls than any other breed. Here’s another question for you genious, If they are unpredictable man eaters how can dog fighters put them in and out of the ring without being attacked? People like you and your stupidity really need to stick to your maltese and shut up about dogs you don’t know anything about.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
You didn’t dispute her statistics; you just threw out some dubious others. and some pit bulls, unpredictably, do bite refs when carried in and out of the pits. those dogs, however, are culled immediately. the net “result” of an individual fight is a group of specific dogs that didn’t attack the ref. this net result might give, i suppose, the appearance of a group of dogs that don’t attack humans. but not exactly the full picture, eh? so let’s be real about that situation.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
[...] adorable Pit Bull Pup is going to inflict some chewing revenge on this Michael Vick chew [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I think that this person Sandi Gateman it the most ignorant person I have read on the net so far. How could you make believe you are a friend to the pit bull and then say those things. You are a fiend. I own a pit bull, (which you obviously do not), and he is THE most well trained calm sweet dog I have ever MET and I am not saying that cause he is my dog. Dogs dont TURN, people turn. Dogs grow up and learn and behave according to what you teach them. If you feed them gun powder yeah they might turn cause they have an embolism in their brain, and who’s fault is that? Not the dog or the breed. You are just like every other hater out there I bet your predjudice against black folks too? They are all mean unruly and you cant trust them?? Oh common and wake up.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I actually think Sandi seems a little hostile
and possibly violent. Maybe she needs a trip to the vet? And for any dog’s sake I hope she’s not a dog owner. She is obviously uneducated, close-minded and a hipocritical ignorant person. I couldn’t agree with Mimi and C Swift more. It’s people like Sandi who are the ones giving our beloved pits a bad rap. My Pit is by far the most loving, mild temtered, caring, affectionate dog I have ever met. How’s that you ask? Because she was raised that way. In a stable loving environment. Blame the careless, violent, irresponsible owners. These dogs are the victims. So Sandi, get your facts straight, and stop being an ignorant racist person.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Go Katie - I could not have said it better!
February 7th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Two weeks ago I had to have my 13 year old Pit put to sleep after unsuccessfully trying to get her well over a six week period. She was the most fabulous dog I ever owned and I am 60 years old and have owned many dogs over the years. I will get another when I’m through crying over this one. They are a great breed that wants nothing more than to please their human. Mine was a true clown and a cuddler. If you check out the American Temperament Testing Society website you can compare breeds and will learn that APBTs bite about as often as Golden Retrievers and WAY less than Cockers, Poodles, Chihuahuas and many other more popular breeds. When I was 8 years old I was bitten in the face by a Cocker Spaniel and had 28 stitches by a plastic surgeon. I’ll take a pitbull any day over a Cocker. The problem is you never hear about dog bites on television unless it was a Pitbull.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Pitbulls are just like any other dog!! They are just stronger and it seems like some of the worst people own them. But I have owned mine for 5yrs and have a 2 year old daughter he is wonderful with. My vet told me that he has never been bitten by a pitbull in all his years of being a vet ( and this guy is old) but has been bitten by labs, german shepards, cocker spanials ect…Kudos to Rachel for putting a positive light on these dogs! Its the owner not the dog!!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I agree with Mccoy, you really don’t hear about dog bites unless its about pits. It’s sad because where I lived a pit bull took three bullets to the HEAD for his family when a robber broke into their house. The dog charged for the intruder and despite gunshots never let the guy go. The dog was thankfully saved and is now back with his family but the sad thing was, though this news was big enough to make it on the media, it wasn’t good enough to say that the dog who took the bullets for his family was a pit.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Is this chick jokeing ?
May 21st, 2009 at 11:18 am
Wow Im Impressed that someone so stupid can actually used the internet and type her comment that’s fascinating.. Pits are a great breed of dogs if you worked for the SPCA then you would know that. Dogs act they way their owner teaches them to act, again if you worked on the SPCA or actually owned an animal you would know that… I hope you get some education before you go typing nonsense
May 24th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I had my pitbull for 11 years before he got cancer and had to put him to sleep. I can tell you that not ever did he attack a person or another dog in his life. All he did was show love to the family and loved ones.We was my best bud and I still miss him. Sure at times he did know his own strength but if you acted hurt or anything he would stop playing and come by and check if he did anything. I loved my pitbull and they are GREAT GREAT GREAT dogs. Good learners, he was house broken and never acted up. I doubt I will ever get another dog because no dog would ever replace my pitbull.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Sandi, Sandi, Sandi….
Really? Could you please stop putting false information into peoples heads? It’s people like you who generate false information that are the real problem here.
The belief that dogs which are classified as “pitbulls” are too dangerous, is a completely biased and prejudice idea. The personality of a dog is similar to that of a human with the idea that our personality is made up of biological traits as well as conditioned traits. It is my opinion that dog and human personalities alike are mostly shaped by the environment which they are in and they reflect the personality of the person or persons who raised them. Because people have this prejudice belief that pitbulls are dangerous, some owners use unnecessary force while training them and they purchase the specific breed for the use of protection and intimidation instead of companionship. I know personally that the pitbull breed is constantly misconceived because I own a pitbull and let me just say that she is the SWEETEST, FRIENDLIEST, SMARTEST AND MOST LOYAL DOG I HAVE EVER OWNED. I find it completely contradictive for people in the United States to discriminate against specific dog breeds when for decades we have worked so hard to diminish the racism within our country. Segregating pitbulls from other dog breeds because of misconstrued perspectives is unjust. This is called RACIAL PROFILING and no matter if it is a person or a dog, it is unethical and we need to do something about it. It is socially unacceptable and blatantly wrong for a person to be denied a home based solely on their race, this idea should apply the same for dogs too. It was we the people who first bred these dogs to withstand fighting to the death for our own personal enjoyment and it is we the people who are now trying to end the breed altogether. So you tell me, who is in the wrong? My idea, BAN STUPID PEOPLE NOT DOGS!!!
And Sandi why don’t you do some research before you open your mouth! Here’s a link for you to compare the temperament of a Pitbull to other dogs. American Temperament Test Society.
http://www.atts.org/stats1.html