PBPP FAMILY LOST 5 DOGS IN HOUSE FIRE

It is with a saddened heart to announce that one of PBPP's most loyal "family" members had a terriable family tragedy on  this   past Tuesday February 13, 2011.

Renae  and Jr. Biggs came home to find their cherished pets perished in fire. All 5 dogs were resued pit bulls, with CGC designations, ambassadors themselves. Everything in their home is gone. We need community support (money) to help them.

Description

On February 13, Renae and Jr Biggs went to the store to get dog food. In the short time that they were gone an electrical fire started in their bedroom. They came home to hear the fire alarm ringing and in a manic rush to save their 5 dogs. They were able to bring all of them out and the fire department tried doing CPR but they were all gone due to smoke inhalation. All 5 were pit bull ambassadors  and were loved by the community. Along with the loss of the dogs they also lost precious family heirlooms that were in the closet next to where the fire started, as well as cash and money orders they were saving for surgeries planned that week. They are devasted, homeless and hearts ripped open over the loss of their "kids". These dogs were their LIVES.  

Ranae and Jr are beloved in this community because they themselves would be the first people to step forward with whatever they had to help another in need. At this time while they grieve for their lost family, lets please make the rest easier on them. Insurance will be helping at some point, but as of midnight on 2/13, EVERYTHING they have is gone. The most urgent need is money, so they can rest easy knowing the mortgage is paid, bills are paid, and get the essentials to survive. They will also need a place to live until their house is restored, could be months.

Please visit the chip in page and make a donation, every single dollar adds up!

For more info, or to make specific donations etc, please email save.the.apbt@gmail.com

This family , 2 legged and 4 legged were  and still are ardent advocates for our breed and were shining Ambassadors.

Long time no blog

Hello ...

STILL HERE FOR THE BREED

Due to all the social networking we are now associated with, I have been neglectful of this blog. My new years resolution is to try and keep up on this blog and to publish it in a timely manner.

But this is a new year -2012-..and Yes Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement Inc is still around and going strong in our community.
                                                               
I am so glad to say that within the last 4 years since our inception the PIT BULL COMMUNITY has come sooooo far and Pit Bull Awareness in Tampa Bay has practically come full circle. We now almost have too many Pit Bull "experts" in our community.(tongue in cheek lol ). We now have numerous Pit bull rescues, educational organizations and events through out the Tampa Bay Area.

We have always had the full support of Hillsborough County Animal services and I am so proud and happy to say that their adoptions of pit bulls have triple over the years due to all the hard work of some pretty awesome volunteers (who many are original PBPP members)and the backing of the "Heads of the HCAS". They now have the PIT BULL AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, The ADOPT training program and the PIT CREW PROGRAM which is sponored by BEST FRIENDS inc.

SO LETS GET CAUGHT UP
Here are some of PBPP's happenings over the pass year or so :

I must start off the updates with very sorrowful news : Brutus - the true reason and  inspiration behind PBPP being founded  passed away on Sept 16, 2011 after a valiant battle with Osteosarcoma (bone) cancer.  He was only 8 years old and was at the prime of his life.  He has been missed tremendously. Everytime I hear that another Pit bull has been adopted from HCAS I have a bittersweet smile on my face as this is how I know his legacy will forever live on and his trials in life was not in vain.  He was my teacher in all things PIT BULL. Please click on the link below the picture  to find out more about how he was so instrumental in saving and rehoming so many Pit bulls in the Tampa Bay area and beyond and to find out more info on Canine Cancer.


http://brutusjimenez.blogspot.com/2011/10/brutus-legacy-lives-on.html

COMMUNITY AWARENESS EVENTS


This past year PBPP has again held our annual PIT BULLS POUNDING THE PAVEMENT WALK for Pit Bull Awareness month. This year we had over 120 dogs and participants. After the walk we had a big party at Gaspars Grotto with all kinds of doggie contests. It was an awesome event ( I promise to Post pics real soon)!!!! We could have had more but this is a safe number. The safety our dogs is our top priority. We had some pretty awesome dogs and wonderful responsible pit bull educated owners.

We were invited back again for TAMPA'S CHILDREN'S SANTA FEST parade (3rd year) and Pinella's Parks Christmas Night parade (2nd year). Last years parade (2010) we were honored to have BEST FRIENDS representatives join us to help show off our dogs. 

Being invited to participate in these parades is such an honor as the Childrens parade never allowed animals prior to our first appearance, more less pit bulls.  They were so impressed that we are now on the permanent invite lists. I want to send both cities our sincerest thank yous as they have been very instrumental in helping us educate our community on this breed.

Trying to get this blog caught up has made me realize exactly how much PBPP has changed and grown over the years and how much of an impact we have actually had in our community. WOW... sigh..slight smile... WOW....

Thank you to all the wonderful people who helped this community grow and to whom continue to help our breed look forward to much better days .....

dog aggression? long read but worth it

Thank you Lindsat Biddle for a great article I COULDNT HAVE WRITTEN THIS ANY BETTER !! The things in bold I strongly aggree with ,


What should we do about dog aggression?
Filed under: PIT BULL BLOGGS — bahamutt99 @ 3:18 am by Lindsay Biddle

When we talk about the American Pit Bull Terrier, most dyed-in-the-wool fanatics will tell you (often with the gleam of pride in their eyes) that it is without a doubt a dog-aggressive breed. But when you ask the unknowing public about Pit Bulls, they often equate them more with consuming babies than with attacking other dogs, and will even use terms like “pack mentality” when referring to them. Of course, the remainder of APBT enthusiasts are scattered somewhere in between. Some take sensible precautions with their dogs while others go so far as to turn them loose at a dog park. Still others don’t even bother to think about the aggression at all until it explodes like a landmine in their face.

What about those of us who are responsible for the breeding, judging and overall continuation of the breed? What are we supposed to do about the dog aggression in our dogs? On one end, you have fanciers who wouldn’t dream of owning (let alone breeding) a dog who did not show enough fire. On the other end are those who are working to squelch that fire completely. Is there such a thing as right and wrong here? Is it right for a breeder to focus on producing dogs that are so hot they cannot breed without human intervention? Is it wrong for another breeder to produce dogs so cold that they might as well be Golden Retrievers? (And I am not saying that as a breed Goldens are 100% dog-friendly; they were the first example that sprang to mind.)

When researching about pit winners that got along with other dogs outside of the pit scenario, I came across a lot of “I heard,” and “I was told,” but there are enough tales circulating that we can reasonably believe that there were some pit CH and GRCH that could tolerate other dogs. Two that spring to mind were GRCH Santa’s Mongoose and GRCH Greenwood’s Jimmy Boots. Mongoose was said to roll on his back and allow puppies to nip at him, while Jimmy Boots was said to ignore other dogs unless they made the horrible mistake of attacking him first.

These were exceptional dogs, no doubt, but is there a reason why they shouldn’t be the ideal? We strive to preserve the heritage of the breed, but do we adhere so blindly to a limited purpose that we also limit the breed’s future?

Today’s dog is usually measured by his capacity as a family dog. It is our responsibility as proponents of the breed to maintain his functional ability, but I think we have to come to terms with the fact that most APBTs are in pet homes. And pet homes don’t necessarily want a dog that will kill their other dog, or their neighbor’s dog, or a visiting friend’s dog. I hear in my head the counter-argument – one which I’ve made myself – that this is not the right breed for every home and people should respect that. There is sound truth in that statement, but is it a good enough reason to discourage breeding dogs who lack the characteristic dog aggression?

Those that know me know I’m no fan of matching, but I can’t help but wonder if it is actually the criminalizing of matching which has led to an increase in dog aggression. Perhaps enthusiasts – robbed of the opportunity to prove their dogs in the pit – are simply selecting the dogs who behave in the most fight-ready manner.

Before I am driven out of the community with pitchforks, I feel I should share my viewpoint on the subject. My take is simply that dog aggression should not be a factor in a breeding program. Breed your best dogs and don’t worry about the rest. If that means the breed’s temperament becomes a bit more moderate over time, so be it. But it is foolishness to my mind to value a fight-crazy maniac more highly than his equally nice (but relatively laid-back) brother. Just as I feel it is foolishness to exclude a dog from a breeding program because it is too hot. I no more want to see the APBT watered down than I would want to see him become a Sheltie, but I think some breeders are over-emphasizing keeping him as hot as possible.

I can easily embrace the idea of wanting to preserve the breed as a complete animal, including a temperament that reflects his history. But are we as modern-day fanciers of the breed inadvertently favoring dogs who themselves would not have been favored 100 years ago? I have heard many historical stories of dog-friendly or dog-neutral pit winners, and not so many of dogs who were so hot that they would attack puppies and females in heat. (The source is lost in my muddy memory, but I have heard of dogmen who disliked dogs that would attack puppies, thinking they were curs. Things like that give the lie to “bait animal” stories, but I digress.) Perhaps it is just a blind spot with me. Or perhaps it means that old-time pit dog breeders didn’t place a high emphasis on a dog’s willingness to grab any other dog.

Time goes on no matter what we do, and the breed does change. We have a responsibility to preserve the American Pit Bull Terrier, but we also must at some point decide where our priorities lie. What is most important to the APBT’s future? Do we keep the fire burning at all costs; worship the grab-anything dog as the escutcheon of the breed? Do we throw out that old warrior business and start breeding the APBT as the ultimate family pet? I can only hope that the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes.

Comments (0)
September 18, 2008
A word about courtesy

TAMPA'S ONLY ALL PIT BULL OBEDIENCE CLASS GRADUATION

YESTERDAY was the graduation of Mid Florida APBTA's
First ALL APBT obedience class.

Looking back to the first class all the owners and dogs were kinda loosey goosey in their training and ownership and we had a few very dog aggressive /high prey dogs in the class that were charging each other, barking , growling, horting and snorting , some had dominance issues and others just plain out had bad manners.

Duane the Trainer told us on the first class that beginners obedience is more about the owner than the dog and promised us by the end of the 8 week class that all would be able to stand within inches of each other with out inappropriate behavior. I am sure many of us were skeptical.

Through the 8 week course we learned that: we the owners were responsible for our dogs behavior and the more time you spent with your dog and demanding more from yourself as well as your dog it would show and WHAMO he was right..
We had a few unsure, non confident owners ( one being me ) who stepped up to the plate and demanded more from ourselves and the proof is in our dogs.

During the last class ..Graduation day .. all the dogs and their owners had to go through their final exams..sitting and staying for 3 minutes , doing a non assistant down and staying for 3 minutes, stay and recall and sit. During this time 3 dogs together were being tested at a time and it was amazing to see these dogs within feet of each other sit, stay , down and stay for over the allotted time but the amazing part was that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop ..all the dogs were sitting and actually paying attention to their owners and not the other dogs or any of the other distractions in the park that day.....
Before the class was over , the owners were instructed to stand in a circle and TO MOVE IN ..step by step each owner and dog moved toward the middle of the circle..within 4 or 5 steps all the dogs were inches from each other and were almost face to face , all were sitting on command and not one dog broke the command,..not one dog snarled or growled ..this lasted 15 minutes or more...

I was amazed At all the quietness and then I realized
..
DUANE DELIVERED ON HIS PROMISE TO US AND WE INTURNED DELIVERED OUR PROMISE WE MADE TO OURSELVES AND OUR DOGS....

MOVING FORWARD TO THE INTERMEDIATE CLASS !!!!

Tampa Pit Bull Training Class

Mid Florida APBTA has been offering to its members and the Public the only training class specifically focused on the AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER in the TAMPA BAY AREA.

The first class started AUgust 8th and is an 8 week class which ( August 8th - thru September 26th).The class meets every Saturday morning at 10:00AM. Veteran's Memorial Park, 3602 N. Hwy. 301, Tampa, FL 33619.

Trainer Duane Bryant has over 30 years experience in dog training/dog behavioral issues. We think you all will be impressed with Duane's program. Duane himself owns Rotties and Pitties.

DUE TO THE HIGH RESPONSE AND NEED FOR THIS CLASS THIS CLASS IS FULL FOR THIS SESSION

This class will be offered again in the Fall of 2009.
Add your name to the mailing list by emailing Lisa Hutches, President at midfloridapitbulls@earthlink.net or call (813) 335-0708 .

MFAPBTA + PBPP = ONE

OPTIMISM + INFORMATION = HOPE

Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement is proud to announce we have reunited our efforts to promote the American Pit Bull Terrier with Mid Florida American Pit Bull Terrier Association . It is exciting to know that the Bay area has such experienced, educated and dedicated organizations to serve our community. Together as one, we can make a difference!
Mid Florida American Pit Bull Terrier Association is a sanctioned club of the American Dog Breeders Association. Our foundation lies with the ADBA registered American Pit Bull Terrier. We are dog fanciers who understand responsible and educated breeding for the correct purpose, and responsible and educated ownership. Our mission is to preserve this incredible breed. But Mid Florida APBTA isn’t going to stop with just being dog fanciers. There is much work to be done surrounding this breed, such as the battle of breed specific legislation, animal cruelty, irresponsible ownership and negative and incorrect media reporting. We are grateful to join forces and establish a hardworking family-bond with Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement to achieve all of our goals.

Both of these organizations are made up of dedicated and committed individuals that will work tirelessly to promote responsible pit bull ownership, who will spread the truth by educating the owners and the public about this awesome breed, and the issues of misunderstandings that surround this breed. Together we will continue to work diligently to promote this incredible dog, serve our community’s needs with training and diversified activities for both the dog and its owner, all the while remaining true to our beginnings…..the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Mid Florida APBTA is the oldest established pit bull organization in the Tampa Bay area born into existence back in the 1980’s. We have survived the test of time because we stand as stoic as our dogs, and have chosen to stay true to the breed and dedicated to the dogs themselves. We always have been and always will remain….here for the dogs. We understand the challenges of owning this breed, will forever help owners overcome these challenges, and labor tirelessly to maintain the right to own the breed of our choice.

Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement was the brain-child of a dedicated and hardworking member of Mid Florida APBTA, CJ, who had the foresight to see the need in our community for the pet bull owner, has the heart for a pit bull in need, and has the drive and determination to develop this very unique and innovative program to promote this breed and improve its overall image. In fact, Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement’s efforts were so successful it has since been mimicked not only here in the Bay area, but in other parts of the country as well.

With the efforts of Mid Florida APBTA and Pit Bull Pounding the Pavement working together we have the community’s best interest and needs at heart. From the dog fancier owning the high performance athletic pit bull who wants to experience the conformation dog show, weight pull competition or learn how to work and condition a breed of dogs that needs to work, to the family lickey-loo pet-bull whose loyalty cannot be matched…you will find Mid Florida APBTA and Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement….. TOGETHER AS ONE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
New and exciting activities and opportunities are being developed as this is being written….dog shows, walks, training and much, much more. Watch for the upcoming announcements on our various websites. Get yourself and your dogs ready….we’ll soon be rock’n the State of Florida once again!

www.midfloridapitbulls.org
www.pitbullspoundingthepavement.com
www.myspace.com/midfloridaapbta
www.myspace.com/pitbullspoundthepavement
www.meetup.com/Mid-Florida-American-Pit-Bull-Terrier-Association/
www.midfloridapitbulls.blogspot.com/
www.pitbullspoundingthepavement.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/MFAPBTA
www.flickr.com/groups/1058503@N20

pbpp status

It with a heavy heart that I must inform you that PBPP’s hiatus will be longer than expected and all events have been cancelled until further notice.

I would like to thank all the participants and walkers who helped PBPP accomplish its original goals. PBPP’s goal was to promote responsible Pit Bull Ownership & Positive Breed image, educate the owners as well as the public to all the issues that surround our breed including temperament and training issues as well as to bring awareness and advocacy for our beloved breed. With your help and eagerness we have accomplished our goals!!! I receive hundreds of inquires locally and countrywide from people and organizations who want to emulate us and follow in our foot steps. So please pat your self’s on your back and say JOB WELL DONE !!!!

PBPP activities has opened the door for the many other advocacy groups that have popped up since our inception. I am proud that they have used PBPP as their spring board in starting their own organizations.

Even though PBPP is stepping aside for a while this does not mean we will be permanently gone. Within the next coming months PBPP will be once again combining their efforts with one of Florida’s oldest and respected Pit Bull Organizations- Mid Florida American Pit Bull Terrier Association- in efforts to help promote responsible ownership, bite prevention, training and true pit bull breed educationtrue pit bull breed education. We will work hard to bring the Pet bull community and the Show community together for the same common goal and that is to promote our dogs in a positive and true manner that is befitting of this wonderfully loyal and courageous breed.

In the mean time I humbly ask that you continue to walk your dog on a daily basis, spend time getting to know your pit bull’s temperament, get to know all their likes, dislikes and any little quirks that make them the unique breed that they are. Please continue to provide supervised and controlled socialization as much as possible and if your dog prefers to be the only dog that gets your lone attention that that is fine too. Please remember never to set your dog up for failure .I highly encourage that you form your own little walking groups with other known pit bulls and their owners. Get out there and show what responsible ownership is all about and be a true Pit Bull advocate.

It is has been such an honor to meet all of you and your beautiful dogs and I hope to see you again.

Most sincerely and humbly yours
Crystal Jimenez
Founder PBPP

You can stay on touch by reaching me at my
at our blog spot ……http://pitbullspoundingthepavement.blogspot.com