American Pits:
In the U.S the American Pit Bull Terrier has become synonymous with violence, gangs, drug dealers, and dog fighting. They have become so closely associated that there are even states where they are not permitted. There are even landlords who do not permit them even in states where they are allowed to be in. People walk away from them in the streets and their owners are even stigmatized for having one. Due to their muscular build and being the canine with one of the strongest jaws they are ideal to train to fight or have for security purposes. Society has become so afraid of them especially when they are adults that the Pit Bull is the most common dog breed in shelters. The reason for that is, when they are puppies they are cute to everyone but when they start to naturally get big and strong they become too much work for many and they are given to shelters or abandoned. Also when a Pit Bull is found to have been a fighting dog they are considered too dangerous for adoption and are almost automatically euthanized. When Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring was raided they captured 51 Pit Bulls and were prepared to euthanize all of them because they were deemed evidence to the case so they couldn’t be given away, and they weren’t going to take care of 51 dogs in the evidence room. After documenting them they were prepared to euthanize all of them but the number of dogs was just so large it was unethical to just kill all of them so of the 51 Pit Bulls taken, 2 died shortly after the raid and 1 was euthanized. The rest now have become pets as well as therapy dogs for sick children. The same way believing the breed of a dog dictates its character are the same type of beliefs that perpetuate the idea that a humans race/color dictates their character. The dog photographed here is “Sir” and as soon as I met Sir I was caught off guard by his size and the amount of energy he had. This dog is huge, even though you might not be able to tell since the model is 6’6, this dog is super muscular and standing on his hind legs is I’d say is almost 5 feet tall. This dog was extremely strong and fast and anything a “scary dog” would be. However I was never afraid of Sir, not even for a second, this was one of the friendliest dogs I ever met. And this is coming from someone who owns a dog and has met many. The amount of training this dog has received is beyond believable. Not for a moment was this dog out of control or a danger to anyone. The way its owners commanded him made it seem like he understood English. And I say all of this to show you that when someone makes a decision regarding the life or living conditions of a Pit Bull know that Sir is also one of them and there are many like him.

I want to thank everyone who helped make this shoot happen and appreciate them for working with me and my idea.

Model: Karl Charles

Film Photo: Tashi Bhutia