SHE'S CHANGING...

...will she turn out like all the others?

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This is the little female Pit Bull that lives next door to me. She's been a sweet girl; when I walk out to my mailbox, she runs along the fence and greets me. We even play a little bit; I'll run my foot along the chainlink fence and she'll chase it back and forth. I've scratched her ears and petted her, and she's a good dog. At the same time, I realize she's a Pit Bull. The young guys who live next door evidently have a couple of jobs each, and a lot of the time, no one's there. And when they're gone, the Pit Bull is kept inside their mobile home. I've heard her barking in there. I remarked to one of the guys who live there, that she'd go absolutely crazy on the Ocean Beaches, and was told they'd never taken her to the beach, or much of anywhere else. She's cooped up practically all day long, from what I see. And she's changing.

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Sometimes now, when I get out of my car, she'll stand in one spot and just glare at me. Kinda makes me shudder, y'know? There have been times when she's barked directly at me. But wait...she knows who I am, right? Sometimes I'm not so sure anymore. It's as if she's tried to be a good girl, but she's growing up into a Mature Pit Bull, and is becoming more and more a prisoner of her instincts. I don't know. Sometimes when I've played with her, and reached over the fence to pet her, she's accidentally "mouthed" my hand, and she obviously doesn't know her own strength. And those Pit Bull jaws are quite ominous indeed. I think she needs for someone to spend more time with her, take her to the beach and let her run (whether running free or on a leash). Her personality is changing, and it could be that as each day passes, she's "that much" closer to becoming one of those Pit Bulls we've all heard about, that attack humans, other dogs and everything else that's in their path.

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So nowadays, I'm more wary of her than I used to be. And that's sad. I find myself having to guess at what kind of mind frame she's in each time I see her. Some days I'm glad a fence separates my yard from the relatively-small space in which she's allowed to roam. And then again, I could be totally wrong about her. But I think she's being neglected, and it's starting to show. I still play with her when I'm at the mailbox. But there are also times, nowadays, when she'll just stand in one spot and watch my every move, and that feels really creepy. Perhaps, because of neglect, Pit Bulls just go nuts and tee off on everything. Perhaps the line between the dog's "reason" and their instinctual behavior changes as they mature. And if they're neglected, maybe they act out in a most dangerous manner. So if you have a Pit Bull, or 2 or 3, it's probably wise to spend quality time with them or they'll Act Out. Animals have mentalities, after all...

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Again, I'm no authority. I could be wrong about all this. I hope so. I'd hate to see this good little Pit Bull girl leap a fence and hunt down the kids who playing nearby.