March, 2002

Extraordinary Bullys -- page 55

Bully breed fans know these dogs are much more than muscular, one-dimensional stereotypes. They can be anything from heroes and caregivers to athletes and drug sniffing crime fighters - and of course loyal, obedient and loving companions. We've gathered the inspiring stories of seven extraordinary bully breeds, including Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers. Some overcame daunting public misconceptions to get where they are today. To their owners, the message is clear: With love and training, a bully breed can become the dog of a lifetime.

Dakota and Cheyenne overcame breed prejudice to become powerfully healing therapy dogs.

Kristine Crawford's attention-loving dogs, Cheyenne and Dakota, visit nursing homes and hospitals monthly to spread sunshine and encourage improvement in patients' conditions. "Their eyes light up when we go in there." Crawford says of patients. "I find it also helps them with therapy like moving their fingers." She is touched to see patients strain to reach out and pet Dakota's and Cheyenne's furry heads. One man in his 80's and recovering from a broken hip was walking slowly down the hall with his cane. His therapy session that day was to practice walking. Crawford noticed that he didn't want to do it so Crawford handed him Dakota's leash and asked him to please do her the favor of walking the dog. "A few minutes later I look, and he's walked Dakota all the way down the hall. It wasn't therapy for him. It was walking a dog," Crawford says.

Another man, a stroke victim in his 70's, was learning to use his right arm again. Crawford sat Cheyenne on his right side and started petting her and said, "Cheyenne likes you to stroke her like this." The man reached for the dog with his hard-to-use right arm. "You could see him struggling to do it because he wanted to pet the dog," Crawford says.

Crawford is amazed by the reactions of those whom she visits with her dogs. Once a tightly curled-up, frail woman began to smile at the sight of the dogs, and she slowly relaxed and unfolded her knees. The hospitalized woman began to stroke Cheyenne. "Without speaking a word, Cheyenne had made all the difference in her world. The woman now knows that someone cares for her, and she has made a new friend in Cheyenne," Crawford says.

Bully breeds aren't normally thought of as therapy dogs. But the national Delta Society's database of its "pet partners" includes atleast 15 Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers that visit hospitals and nursing homes. Still other dogs are registered with other pet-therapy groups around the country.

That there aren't more bully breeds doing therapy work may be explained by the public's assumptions about these dogs. Years ago, when Crawford called a local therapy-dog organization to say she wanted to join, the conversation went well--until she was asked her dogs' breeds. "I've got pit bulls," Crawford said. "That's the end of this conversation," said the woman on the other end of the line. Click, the phone went dead.

Some weeks passed and Crawford called again. This time, when the breed question arose, Crawford said, "They are Terriers and they are also search-and-rescue dogs."

Wonderful, said the woman on the other end of the line. But her tone changed to anger when she finally got to meet the dogs. She relented and allowed the dogs to try working on one floor when she saw that the dogs were warmly greeted by passersbye in the hallways. When all went well, the dogs got the green light to visit all three floors, then a list of hospitals.

To Crawford, doing animal-assisted-therapy and search-and-rescue with her dogs is more rewarding than their erstwhile competitions in obedience and tracking. When they did a good job [in obedience and tracking] they got a trophy or a blue ribbon," Crawford says, "Now when my dogs do a good job, they make a differnece in someone's life."