Every morning I open my eyes to a happy little face staring back at me. This face belongs to my 50lb Pit Bull mix Holly Madison, who waits patiently for her mom to wake up, but once my eyes open, I am smothered with Pit Bull kisses.
Typical of the breed, Holly is full of excited, positive energy and is happy to get to know everyone she meets.
This Sunday, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the Pit Bull Awareness Day, hosted in Austin, TX by the Pit Bull Advocate group, Love-A-Bull.
Leading the Parade were Meghan Turner, co-founder of Love-A-Bull with Pit Bull, May, Shorty Rossi (of Animal Planet's Pit Boss) and Pit Bull, Hercules and the men of the National Geographic show Rescue Ink.
Love-A-Bull began as a simple meetup group, where a rather small cluster of Pit Bull owners got together to walk around Town Lake, in the heart of Downtown Austin, once a week. Two years ago, Meghan Turner and Lydia Zaidman, then members of the meetup decided to take things further and founded Love-A-Bull, Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit mission-driven to promote responsible ownership, promote positive aspects of pit bulls and dispel myths through education and advocacy, to truly repair the damage that has been unfairly done to the reputation of these great dogs.
Love-A-Bull currently has 851 members and is now ranked the second largest Pit Bull Advocacy group in the country, following New York City's Pit Bull meetup.
The Pit Bull Awareness Day brought in over 1500 attendees, with nearly 600 Pit Bulls gracing the grounds of Republic Square Park. True to Pit Bull form, the park was a sea of happy, wiggling tails and slurpy kisses, including the Pit Bull Kissing Booth.
Pictured here is the 'Pit Bull Kissing Booth' and myself taking in a big smooch!
With so many people and animals crowded into such a small area, our Pit Bulls stayed true to form and made a wonderful impression on the city. With no serious altercations, our Pit Bull community proved that Pit Bulls are not killing machines, as the media often portrays them. These sweet dogs are full of love, loyalty and most importantly, they are part of our families!
The Pet Studio would like to thank Love-A-Bull for all of the wonderful things you do for our Pitties. Thank you for hosting such a wonderful event. The Pet Studio is looking forward to attending the 2011 Pit Bull Awareness Day!
Stephanie Conrad
The Pet Studio
www.petstudioart.com
In honor of Pit Bull Awareness, The Pet Studio is offering 10% off of any custom painting to the member's of Love-A-Bulls meetup!
More Photos from the Pit Bull Awareness Day Austin can be found on the Pet Studio's Facebook Page!
Sources:
Meghan Turner, Founder - Love-A-Bull
