Pit Bulls

Today is Pit Bull Awareness Day - here are ten books on this breed!

American Pit Bull Terrier: Smart Owner's Guide from the editors of Dog Fancy Magazine - Dedicated to the American Pit Bull Terrier, one of the world’s most loyal, intelligent, and versatile breeds, this Smart Owner’s Guide, created by the editors at Dog Fancy magazine, offers the most up-to-date and accurate information every dog owner needs to become a well-informed caregiver for his dog. Illustrated with color photographs of adorable puppies and handsome adults, this easy-to-read primer is designed in a modern, lively manner that readers will find user-friendly and entertaining.
Each Smart Owner’s Guide offers a description of the breed’s character and physical conformation, historical overview, and its attributes as a companion dog. The reader will find informative chapters on everything he or she needs to know about acquiring, raising, and training this remarkable purebred dog, including: finding a breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy; preparing for the puppy’s homecoming, shopping for supplies, and puppy-proofing the home; house-training; veterinary and home health maintenance; feeding and nutrition; and grooming. Obedience training for basic cues (sit, stay, heel, come, etc.) and solving potential problem behaviors (barking, chewing, aggression, jumping up, etc.) are addressed in separate chapters, as are activities to enjoy with the dog, including showing, agility, therapy work, and more.
Entertaining tidbits and smart advice fill up colorful sidebars in every chapter, real-life heroes and rescue stories are retold in full-page features, and recipes, training, and care tips are also highlighted on special pages.

Angel on My Shoulder: My Life With An American Pit Bull Terrier by Jolene Mercadante - On a bitterly cold February day in 1992, a woman named Jolene found herself with a choice to make: the brindle puppy in a kindly stranger's left palm-or the red puppy in his right?
For Jolene Mercadante, a librarian and lifelong animal advocate, this was the first tentative step on a journey that would impact the way she lived the rest of her life. She had no way of knowing how Rumer, a single little soul the size of a sausage, was about to change her life.
Through all of life's great adventures-the perfect five-week-old baby; the lanky, rebellious teenager; the extraordinary, splendid adult-Rumer was a creature of humor and love. She joyfully shattered the unjust "pit bull" stereotypes. She might not have been a heroic rescue dog, a therapy dog, or a war hero; there are other pit bulls who can claim this fame. But Rumer did touch the lives of everyone who knew her, and that made her heroic in her own way.
"She did save us, she did rescue us, and she was our hero in so many ways."
Rumer was an ordinary dog who lived an ordinary life, but that's what made her extraordinary. This memoir is an unforgettable love story and an uplifting journey brought about by the life of a truly pure and beautiful soul.

I'm a Good Dog: Pit Bulls, American's Most Beautiful (and Misunderstood) Pet by Ken Foster - Filled with inspiring stories and photographs, this heartfelt tribute to the pit bull celebrates one of America's most popular yet misunderstood dogs. Perhaps more than any other breed, the pit bull has been dogged by negative stereotypes. In truth, pit bulls are innately wonderful family pets, as capable of love and good deeds as any other type of dog. Setting the record straight, Ken Foster sings the praises of pit bulls in I'm a Good Dog, a gorgeously illustrated, tenderly written tribute to this most misunderstood of canines. Founder of the Sula Foundation, which promotes responsible pit bull ownership in New Orleans, and the author of two acclaimed books about abandoned dogs, Foster has made it his mission to bring overlooked canines into the limelight. I'm a Good Dog traces the fascinating history of this particularly maligned breed. A century ago, the pit bull was considered a family dog, featured in family photos and trusted as loving companions for children. More recently, pit bulls have been portrayed by the media as stereotypes of everything they are not. Foster shatters that reputation through moving profiles of pit bulls that serve as therapy dogs, athletic heroes, search-and-rescue dogs, and educators, not to mention as loving pets. Foster also profiles many pit bull lovers, from Helen Keller and Dr. Seuss to actor Todd Cerveris, who took his pit bull on tour with him for the musical Spring Awakening. Proving that there's much to love and nothing to fear, I'm a Good Dog restores the pit bull to its rightful place as friend, family member, athlete and entertainer.

Incredibull Stella: How the Love of a Pit Bull Rescued a Family by Marika Meeks & Elizabeth Ridley - Marika Meeks fell in love with Stella the moment she saw her. The adorable pit bull puppy had been abandoned in a cold field in winter -- but her warm, friendly eyes and boundless affection could melt anyone's heart. Even so, Marika wasn't sure she was ready to adopt a dog. As a busy entrepreneur, wife, and mother of two daughters, Marika's life was crazy already. She was recovering from stage 3 breast cancer, and her family was still reeling from her brush with mortality. But Marika couldn't deny the way Stella made her feel -- the pure joy of this sweet-natured dog's unconditional love -- and she knew in her heart what her family needed... In a leap of faith, the family welcomed Stella into their home, and thanks to this incredible dog, the daily pressures of work, stress, and Marika's health problems seemed to slip away. As Marika's cancer receded and her family found renewed vitality, she began sharing Stella's story with the world. Now an international social media star, Stella helps Marika to spread their heartfelt message of advocating for pit bull breed awareness, explaining the benefits of pet ownership, and supporting shelters and other organizations that save animals' lives. If you've ever experienced the joy that only an animal can bring -- or felt the healing power of a pet's unconditional love -- you're going to adore Incredibull Stella.

The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant - This book tells the story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious case of animal cruelty. Animal lovers and sports fans were shocked when the story broke about NFL player Michael Vick's brutal dog fighting operation. But what became of the dozens of dogs who survived? As the author discovered, their story is the truly newsworthy aspect of this case. Expanding on his Sports Illustrated cover story, this book traces the effort to bring Vick to justice and turns the spotlight on these infamous pit bulls, which were saved from euthanasia by an outpouring of public appeals coupled with a court order that Vick pay nearly a million dollars in "restitution" to the dogs. As an ASPCA led team evaluated each one, they found a few hardened fighters, but many more lovable, friendly creatures desperate for compassion. In this book, we meet these amazing animals, a number of which are now living in loving homes, while some even work in therapy programs: Johnny Justice participates in Paws for Tales, which lets kids get comfortable with reading aloud by reading to dogs; Leo spends three hours a week with cancer patients and troubled teens. At the heart of the stories are the rescue workers who transformed the pups from victims of animal cruelty into healing caregivers themselves.

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin - In 2002, Larry Levin and his twin sons, Dan and Noah, took their terminally ill cat to the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia to have the beloved pet put to sleep. What would begin as a terrible day suddenly got brighter as the ugliest dog they had ever seen--one who was missing an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue--ran up to them and captured their hearts. The dog had been used as bait for fighting dogs when he was just a few months old. He had been thrown in a cage and left to die until the police rescued him and the staff at Ardmore Animal Hospital saved his life. The Levins, whose sons are themselves adopted, were unable to resist Oogy's charms, and decided to take him home.
Heartwarming and redemptive, OOGY is the story of the people who were determined to rescue this dog against all odds, and of the family who took him home, named him "Oogy" (an affectionate derivative of ugly), and made him one of their own.

The Pit Bull Life: A Dog Lover's Companion by Deirdre Franklin - Ask any dog lover and they'll say their favourite breed is special but living with a pit bull is different. Pit bull owners know what a bad reputation the breed has. The Pit Bull Life is a celebration of the breed and its owner, with heartwarming rescue stories, a history of the breed, and photos of puppies and seniors. It is also a guide to help owners who need to stand up for their pets. This book provides information on breed characteristics, how to find a good match, and how to navigate the challenges of pit bull ownership.

Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey - When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate, timid pit bull. Which made her wonder- how had the breed--beloved by Teddy Roosevelt, Helen Keller, TV's "Little Rascals"--come to be known as a brutal fighter. Her search for answers takes her from nineteenth-century New York City dogfighting pits--the cruelty of which helped spark the founding of the ASPCA--to early twentieth-century movie sets where pit bulls cavorted with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton; from the battlefields of Gettysburg and the Marne, where pit bulls earned presidential medals, to desolate urban neighborhoods where the dogs were brutalized. Whether through love or fear, hatred or devotion, humans are bound to the history of the pit bull. With unfailing thoughtfulness, compassion, and a firm grasp of scientific fact, Dickey offers us a clear-eyed portrait of this extraordinary breed, and an insightful view of Americans' relationship with their dogs.

Saving Audie: A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent - When Michael Vick's dog fighting ring was discovered, more than forty dogs were rescued. But their struggle was far from over. Most animal advocates believed the former fighting dogs were too damaged to save, but Audie and his kennel mates would prove them wrong when public outcry and the publicity surrounding Michael Vick's punishment won them a chance at a happy life. Teaming up once again with William Munoz, photo-essay veteran Dorothy Hinshaw Patent gives an emotional account of one dog's heartwarming story, showing how Audie, who was only a puppy when he was rescued, was rehabilitated, adopted, and now enjoys the love he deserves.

Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls - One Flying Disc at a Time by Jim Gorant - Today, Wallace is a champion; but in the summer of 2005, he was living in a shelter, a refugee from a suspicious pit-bull breeding operation. Then Andrew "Roo" Yori entered the picture. A scientist and shelter volunteer, Roo could immediately see that Wallace was something special. When Roo learned that Wallace was about to be put down, he and his wife frantically fought to keep Wallace alive until they could adopt him, even though they already had two dogs. Once Wallace made it home, Roo knew the dog needed a mission, and serendipity led them to the world of competitive dog Frisbee. Pit bulls are everything that most Frisbee dogs are not, but that was fine with Roo because part of his mission was to change people's minds about pit bulls. Overcoming everything from injuries to prejudice against the breed, the unlikely pair persevered to become world champions.