Searches for pitbull pics are very popular on the internet, and will yield many results. Unfortunately, some of the results are disturbing examples of human cruelty rather than adorable photos of pit bulls romping, lounging and playing.
It is pitbull pics such as those that show the dogs bloody and broken that help to foster the incorrect perception that pit bulls are good for nothing except fighting. Sadly, there are people who enjoy looking at such photos and, as long as there is an audience, the photos will continue to appear online.
There are also plenty of options for those of you who would rather enjoy pitbull pics in which the dogs are shown in much happier circumstances. A simple Google search for the phrase "pitbull pics" will yield over 5 million hits.
In between the extremes of the photos of pit bulls being used in dog fights and those being cuddled on their owners beds are others that fall somewhere in the middle. It is sad to see these beautiful creatures chained to a tree, or wandering the streets having no place to call home.
Some are far too thin, others are shown in shelters and represent just a few of the many who are abandoned at such shelters each year. Many of the pitbull pics that one encounters when doing such a search are hard to look at, and some may even make some viewers a bit queasy.
While the temptation is to ignore such pics, maybe the breed would be better served if those who truly care for these dogs took the time to view the most disturbing pitbull pics and then channeled the anger and sadness that they feel into action aimed at changing the circumstances of some of these dogs.
That false feeling of being helpless is exactly what has kept the power in the hands of the abusers of these dogs for so long. With the Michael Vick dog fighting case bringing an abundance of publicity to the plight of fighting dogs, action has been taken.
Could that be, at least in part, because of the hundreds of pit bull pics that were splashed on the front page of newspapers and on endless online sites? Putting faces to the suffering surely must have had some kind of impact.
Some good came of that case as well. The early photos depicted skinny, wounded dogs being led out of cramped kennels by animal control officers. Such photos did not help the reputation of the breed, but what came later did.
A year after the case broke, many news outlets ran stories and pitbull pics about where the Vick dogs were now. Most had been spared from euthanasia. Some had become therapy dogs.
Others went on to perform in agility competitions. Still others are now doted on family pets. Those pit bull pics have gone a long way in proving that it is not the breed that is the problem, but rather the people who abuse them.
Andrew Tomio is a pitbull lover who is determined to put an end to all the myths surrounding the breed. His quest resulted in the creation of the website http://www.pitbull-info-and-training.com where you can find some other great info about pitbulls.