Barry the Pit Bull??

Our first moments with Barry. This was taken on December 3, 2013, the
evening we adopted him.

When we adopted Barry I didn't immediately think "this dog is a pit bull...". Instead I was focused on the fact that he was intense and super energetic. His looks were secondary. Once we got him in a home, fed, and calmed down is when all of the actual facts started sinking in. His physical features are that of a typical pit bull breed. Muscular rear legs and front, lean waist, short hair and, big and wide head. In the end it just doesn't matter his breed or body type. This guy is a bundle of love.

He's already too large to be a typical pit bull. Many times in the news you'll hear of a pit bull that mauled someone and it's described as being 100+ pounds. That isn't normal. It might be a pit mix of some sort but that's not a normal size for a typical pittie. It's just not. Your typical pittie maxes out at 60 lbs. They are lean and muscular dogs but they don't get to be the massive sizes most people have come to be used to hearing about. Barry is a pit mix. He's not the full pit bull breed (even though that even in itself is such a dichotomy). He's a dog. He's an adventurous, loving, independent, nosy, playful, happy, and friendly dog. He loves every dog he meets (but that doesn't mean every dog he meets loves him back), he longs to find squirrels on each walk, he loves the outdoors more than anything else in life (except for maybe string cheese), and he wants to cuddle with us each night as we tuck ourselves into bed. He's a dog.

So, when we're asked what kind of dog he is or is he a pit bull or bull dog, we don't really know how to respond. I feel like he has some pit bull, American Scott Bull Dog, labrador, pointer, cow, and maybe a touch of cheetah. We really don't know. We can say he's awesome and smart and we love him.

When I was young we had a dog named Smokey. He was a pit bull mix. Brindle and black sweetie. He was huge though. I know I was just a kid but that dog was big. He was 100+ pounds. I remember sitting on him and he'd walk around with me on his back. Such a cool and laid back guy. A good dog. I was around 10 years old when he died, I believe of heart worms. Smokey was my first experience with dogs and pit mixes in general.

You know how so many times people say how lucky a dog is to be in a home because they're treated so well or because they were rescued out of a bad situation? Well, I feel like we're the lucky ones that we found Barry. Barry has changed us. Barry has shown us something different. We are the lucky ones. I won't lie and say that Barry isn't lucky but I feel like we have totally scored with this sweet guy.

Gettin' down and dirty, and probably eating yellow snow.

Pit bull or not - Barry is a dog. He's our dog and he's awesome.