PitBulls

FriendOrFoe

                                                                   By Vonia Martin

Just before Christmas 2019 I found a post on NextDoor to rehome a family pet, Zeus. Zeus turns out to be a Red Nosed American Pit Bull Dog. At first, I was going over to the dogs home and taking him for walks to try to wear off some of his energy. I was hoping to go over twice a day to walk him so that they might keep him if he behaved better but they wanted him rehomed. My boyfriend, whom I live with, was not on board with getting another dog but I had already fallen in love with Zeus. So for another week or so I dragged my feet at taking possession of Zeus, I was also waiting for my check to pay the $200 they were asking for. Luckily, Zeus's owners decided that Christmas Day was a good day for me to come take Zeus home. This worked in my favor because my boyfriend's family was over for the holiday and they love dogs. It's not usually my practice to go against my boyfriend but in this case I did. I needed another dog to go on long walks with me, so I can stay in some what of good shape. My Jack Russell, So.b, doesn't want to go for very long walks any more. So.b will be 10 years old in July and is over weight by about 10 pounds. He is so fat that he now has a fat pocket. Yeah a pocket of fat on his chest, I thought it was a man boob, at first. LOL not really. 

Back to my pit bull Zeus. The couple I got him from gave him to me on Christmas Day without charging me the $200 they originally wanted. Which of course I spent on him, getting a bed, harness, shots, toys, and treats. Zeus, being a pit bull, is freakishly strong. I mean, walking him is a constant chore. If I'm not constantly ready, he will take me down. He has already bit me, twice, not breaking the skin but leaving a deep bruise. He could have easily broke my arm or pull it from the socket, he is that strong. This is not a breed I would want around children, or anyone for that matter. This breed is a huge responsibility to own and should not be taken lightly. Zeus is a big puppy and wants nothing more than to play but play to him is gnawing and chewing on whatever he can get him mouth around. Which is a lot! His mouth is huge! I am not training this dog to be aggressive and for the most part he is not, until he is. Just his head alone is a lethal weapon that can knock your ass out if collided with. So when I do play with him it has to be under very controlled environment. My biggest fear, of course, is that he would bite a child. For this reason I feel the need to carry a fire arm in case I have to shoot him for biting some one. It may sound mean but with pit bulls when they bite their jaw can lock on and there is no way to get them to let go unless you have complete control or kill them.  

With all the controversy and debating over this subject, I have to weigh in on the side of caution. No dog breed is worth a child's life or the life of any person. Dog fighting is a barbaric and horrific practice and breeding a dog for this sole purpose is not only criminal but should be considered a crime against nature. We have plenty of wild animals that fight to the death every single day in nature because it is natural but to breed a domestic animal for the sole purpose of entertaining us is unconscionable. These dogs can't help what we have bred them into becoming, it's now in their nature to be aggressive. Zeus doesn't realize his own strength because he doesn't feel the same as we do. His nerves are not on the surface but rather buried under a lot of muscle. There are documented cases of pit bulls being shot, which a large caliber hand gun at point blank range in the head and lives. I mean a .45 caliber bullet shot through a bit's head and lodges in his jaw and leads to him drooling all over but that's it. That is one tough dog and scary! 

Zeus has no idea how terrifying he is to some people. He acts and believes he is still a puppy but in a big dog's body. He is very clumsy tripping over his own paws at times. If I run, he runs after me, catches me by the arm with his mouth and starts to take me down. I know, instinctually, not to go down because it would be over then. It took a minute for me to find the right words to make him let go but I finally did. My arm is so bruised and sore with several puncture wounds. He did not break the skin but could have easily taken off my whole arm.  This is not a dog nor dog breed I would want around children, just in case. When it comes to kids I think we should eliminate any and all possible threats to them as possible. There are just too many threats to children already why add more? Are these dogs that important? NO! Is the fact that this breed has been known to maw people to death not enough to keep people with small children from getting one? No! People are so stubborn and stupid it's a wonder our species still exist. It wasn't easy for the people that gave me Zeus to do so because he was their family pet but since they had children they realized the risk Zeus posed to their kids and got rid of him. My boyfriend finally got on board since I brought Zeus home on Christmas Day. Thank goodness! Zeus is now part of my family and I will go to mat for him against anyone. I was even willing to leave my boyfriend if he wouldn't let me have Zeus. 

My Jack Russell doesn't like him at all and bites him and growls constantly at him and Zeus ignores him, letting So.b jump all over him. They play tug of war together with So.b fearless of the fact that Zeus could eat him in one bite, well maybe two since he is so fat. LOL

This is my opinion that I formed recently, since adopting a pit bull, I have never had children so my opinion comes not from direct experience but rather from what I remember of being a child. 

The reason why most people did't think I would live this long is because they thought I was too stupid. I use to think it's because when asked where I see myself in the year 2000, I said dead. It was my go to answer for any future predictions. Statistically, this should have been correct but for whatever reason I am an exception. In my opinion, life likes me only because I don't like it back. Just like a man or woman to want what they can't have but as soon as they do they don't wan it any more. Unless some one else shows interest, then you want it again. Below are a few pictures of the bruise my pit bull left from just putting his mouth around my arm. If he had wanted to he could have easily broke if not tore my arm from my body. He is so strong! You have to scroll down a little to see pictures. If you are thinking about getting a pit bull do not take this responsibility lightly, they are a dangerous breed without training them to be.

A Step In My Shoes

AndYouWouldBeFreeFalling

By Vonia Martin

Remember when you were a kid and you went shopping with your Mom for school clothes or something? At some point you get separated from her, you can’t find her any where. Panic sets in as you start calling for her, “Mom” you cry but no answer. It occurs to you that you may never see her again. What if she doesn’t want to see you again? What if she left you on purpose? Tears start to threaten to spill over the rim of your eyes but you suck them back. You don't want any one to see you cry, not knowing if they would harm you or if they knew your Mom left you there. Remember the sheer panic and fear you felt not knowing where or when she was coming back or even if she was coming back? If you can remember that feeling then you have a small idea of what a foster child feels like everyday. That panic you felt at the possibility of never finding your Mom is how they feel all the time. The idea that their own mother would choose to leave them is not one that is easy to get the mind around. No one prepares you for the possibility.
Foster children have nothing to lose. People that have nothing to lose can be dangerous.
Let me rephrase that, foster kids have everyone of us to lose by giving in to those feelings of despair and hopelessness. All foster children ride on the reputation and deeds of those that came before them.  There for we have every thing to lose because I'm sick of the stereo type society has set for us. We need to step up and take our rightful place in society and we can't do that if we're dead. We and we alone are equipped to reflect societies true nature. I, for one, am ready to stand up and say me3#. Society is finally in a position to stop putting us down but it has to be us that lifts us up. We must act like we matter, find things that set you apart. It won't be easy because no one will encourage or support you in discovering things about yourself. It will be even harder to remember what they are when you don't share them with some one. Share them with yourself and practice when you can, I always talk myself through things, it helps me retain them longer, out loud so I can hear it.
My life, at times, has been a living hell. Some of my own doing, but the one thing that I could always depend on to see me through, is my pride. Proud, not for being a foster child, proud that I made it through without too much of it sticking to me. When you're a foster kid, they try to break you if you're not broken already. It sounds weird, I know, but I wouldn't mention it if I hadn't experienced it myself through out my life. Society has a sub-conscience. It, like humans, do a lot of things it is not completely aware of. Mostly, it is to protect ones self or selves. Likely, as a whole, our sub-conscience deals in numbers prioritizing possible threats knowing what the likelihood that the threat will become realized. Wether we want to admit it or not we are a society of prejudices, judging those of us that are not like ourselves. Fearing the unknown we just kill it until our experiences tell us other wise. Since foster children kill themselves before the age of twenty one society assumes they are guilty of something criminal, why else does some one kill themselves? Normal people may need to be guilty of something, foster children just need to believe they are guilty of something. People with PTSD, and I believe most foster kids have it, are far more likely to commit suicide than anyone else. It gives you a false sense of responsibility. We were taken, if not forcibly, from our homes and families. Placed in a strangers house, after being told time and time again not to talk to strangers and yet we're supposed to feel good about living with some?
No one tells you anything, about your own life they tell you nothing. Not that you could hear anything over the constant screaming going on in your head. That screaming never stops but you will learn to live with it. That's another thing, stop trying to get over it, you can't. Every one will tell you to so you'll try and fail, this is only one more failure to add to your growing list. Don't set yourself up for failure; ever. You will fail, without having to set yourself up for it, these failures are what you learn from the ones you set yourself up for you can't learn from. No one can. It's designed that way on purpose so we don't go around setting ourselves up and/or each other in order to teach a lesson. Only God or karma can do that. It's hard, I know, believe me I know but it is not up to us to teach only to learn and we do that by observing one another then mimicking that behavior the best we can.
Off point, as usual. All I'm trying to say is that until we, foster kids, value ourselves and each other no one else is going to. Even when we do they still may not but who cares, it's their loss, not yours. Never detour from your goal to be the best person you possibly can no matter what. This life you are living is all you have so make it count. If you think about it we are stronger than most people with the ability to adapt to any situation. EVEN IF YOU DON'T FEEL CONFIDENT; ACT IT ANY WAY.
The more you do this the more confident you will become. Exercising, in some way, will aid you in this. Run, jog, walk just keep moving. The more you exercise your body the better you will think and the better you think the better you'll be at making good decisions. Do not use your situation as an excuse for poor behavior!! You are only as good as your behavior so behave as though everyone is always watching you. Let's face it, God watching isn't enough any more even if you believe.