Tough on the Outside, Soft on the Inside!

So you think Pit Bulls are tough? Take a look at THIS guy! His name is Bernard Hopkins. True, that does not sound terribly tough or scary but then you may not know his profession or nick name. Mr. Hopkins is a professional boxer known as “The Executioner.” He not only help ALL FOUR middleweight championship belts (the only fighter to do this at any weight class,) but successfully defended his belts over 20 times in 10 years.

This is a very, VERY tough man.

Why is this important? Because Mr. Hopkins is also a very soft, loving man that has partnered with another VERY tough but VERY loving partner – Pit Bulls. Together they are trying to dispel some myths about Pit Bulls, specifically the myth that spaying or neutering your dog will ‘make it worse’ or otherwise change your dog negatively. The truth is that Spaying and Neutering your Pit Bull is a GOOD thing. In a recent article on Phily.com Mr. Hopkins said:

"I'm a dog lover. At the end of the day, if you don't spay and neuter dogs like this, it can cause chaos."

Mr. Hopkins will be featured on billboards in primarily inner-city areas to help get the message out that spaying and neutering is not only a GOOD thing, but is very important to the health of the dog and their socialization. These billboards will also feature some more very though people like Ivan “Mighty” Robinson, and an Olympic Hopeful by the name of Mike Jones. The hope is to show inner city males (the prime demographic for this issue) that their manhood is not tied to their dogs testicles, but that they are actually more of a man by taking care of their dogs and being a responsible owner.

One of my favorite quotes from the article is from Kathy McGuire, president and founder of NJAFA:

"Neutering your pit bull doesn't make it any less of an animal, but it makes you more of a man," said McGuire.

Take that you guys!

This program is being sponsored by the New Jersey Aid for Animals (www.njafa.org)