Pit Bull

You cannot begin to fix the problem of overcrowded shelters and the destruction of adoptable dogs unless you grapple with the category of dogs labeled pit bulls. I cannot say enough good about this book. Thorough, fair, well-written, inspiring, instructive, just amazing. Every person involved in dog advocacy, rescue, or training should read this book, heck, every person that loves dogs should read this book – especially those who have opinions about pit bulls. This book will make you think about how the media dictates our popular opinion about pretty much everything. Thank you to Bronwen Dickey for writing such… show more.

By turns celebratory, heartbreaking, and multilayered, Bronwen Dickey’s examination of the changing status of the pit bull over time forms a portrait of a changing society itself. A dog breed can be a mirror to human culture and concerns, and perhaps no breed has shown us our own image—in all its valor and its blackness—with quite the sharpness as the pit bull. Dickey’s book is a masterpiece of the journalist’s art, with a big dash of heart and an even greater passion for truth.

Bronwen Dickey is like a dog with a bone as she sticks her snout deep into the mysteries and contradictions in our modern lives with dogs. Her focus in this book is the pit bull – the dog that surely wins the prize for the most misunderstood in the whole of dogdom. Dickey is a great writer and a sure-pawed guide as she takes the reader from the dogfighting pits of the nineteenth century to the sweet pitty pup she brought into her own home. Her passion – and her compassion – are totally infectious!

Well researched, eye-opening, and surprisingly entertaining, this book proves that the legacy of the pit bull and the dogs themselves are miles apart. I’m a frequent pit bull foster mom and I know firsthand how wonderful these misunderstood dogs are, but Dickey actually brings the facts to paint a picture of a breed in peril through no fault of their own. This book will make you question everything you think you know about pit bulls.