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Sit, boy, sit: Training attempts to bond pit bulls and owners
By Margie Fishman
Fatz will sit on a wooden box on command. He will walk without lunging. He will sprawl out on the grass, panting blissfully.
The jagged scars under his right eye came from breeding Fatz to an aggressive female, his owner, Delacy Oates, said.
Fatz is a playful pit bull, what some might consider an oxymoron. Oates of Ellenwood thinks the breed gets a bad rap.
“Punish the deed, not the breed,” he intoned.
Fatz is among the first wagging recruits to participate in The Humane Society of the United States’ End Dogfighting in Atlanta campaign. The program targets youth at risk of fighting their pit bulls by enrolling them in a 10-week agility training class in the back yard of New Life Community Center in Decatur. The hope is that the owners will develop a deeper connection to their dogs over an obstacle course of cones, tires and planks. Organizers say it’s not unusual to see dogs pulled on leashes made of telephone cords, with fresh fighting wounds. Prohibited from slapping or kicking their dogs during training sessions, owners are encouraged to use positive reinforcement.
Atlanta is only the third city in the United States (behind Chicago and Charlotte) to be selected for the grassroots initiative, which includes humane education at area middle schools and churches, enhanced law enforcement training and community events like vaccination clinics and pet product giveaways.
The metro area is known as a hotbed for dog fighting, recently highlighted by big-money dogfighter and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who is serving a 23-month federal prison sentence. Last year, there were 14 major dog fighting busts in Georgia, and animal advocates say that’s a drop in the bucket considering the number of impromptu street skirmishes that go unreported.
Seventy percent of the more than 7,000 dogs brought to DeKalb County Animal Control in 2007 were pit bulls, many bearing signs of abuse, according to Humane Society officials. The county will not adopt out pit bulls to DeKalb residents, and pit bulls are excluded from the “household pet” classification in the county zoning code, along with livestock, pot-bellied pigs and snakes.
Training participant Mark Lockhart, who lets his baby ride the back of his gray pit bull, Storm, dismissed the county’s approach.
“It’s kind of messed up that they branded the dog like that,” he said. “They don’t even give them a chance.”
A county police department spokesperson did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
 Meanwhile, the training class is gaining a following, after only two people showed up to the first class in March. On a recent Saturday, about a dozen pit bulls practiced controlled “red light, green light” walking on a leash, including a five-month-old honey-colored puppy named Big Boy. Most of the human participants were in their 20s or 30s, but volunteers expect word to eventually filter down to younger dog owners. None of the dogs had been spayed or neutered, and several owners said they were affiliated with local breeding operations that frequent the bully breed dog show circuit, which distributes awards for “biggest head.” One dog was named Vick.
Among inner-city youth, pit bulls can be a symbol of machismo, said Amber Burckhalter, a volunteer trainer who previously worked with police dogs. Children as young as age 4 witness dog fights and become desensitized to violence, she said.
Pit bulls are strong, prey-driven animals, said Burckhalter, who owns K-9 Coach in Smyrna a dog training, daycare and boarding company, where pit bulls rarely are brought in for training. The sustained arousal of the breed combined with owner neglect and mismanagement can lead to “the perfect storm,” she said. Volunteers educate class members on the importance of spay and neuter, pet nutrition and health. Participants graduate with the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen Certification, and Burckhalter encourages the owners to go out in the community and help change the public’s perception of the breed.
“If I can turn one guy in that class, he can turn 10 and he can turn another 10,” she said.
In the end, owners need to learn how to treat the breed with respect, said Burckhalter. After all, “these dogs are survivors.”
End Dogfighting Atlanta targets youth who are either fighting or at risk of fighting their pit bulls. Young people interested in participating in the trainings, held throughout the year, should contact Ralph Hawthorne at (404) 697-1526.
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