A Pit Bull Once Left for Dead Gives Back to His Community
After a miraculous recovery, Theo brings love to everyone he meets — and has changed many minds about his maligned breed
I walked my dog Theo out of the hospital’s elevator and towards the Infusion Ward, where I bring him once a week in his capacity as therapy dog.. In the hallway, a woman in a wheelchair asked if she could meet him, and I brought him to her. Theo placed his head on her knee and she pet his furrowed brow.
“He’s just beautiful,” she said, and then complimented his green eyes and his smooth fawn coat. “What breed is he?”
“He’s a pit bull,” I said. She withdrew her hand from his head and looked up at me.
“But I’m terrified of pit bulls,” she said. A moment passed, and then she smiled. She put her hand back on Theo, and rubbed his ear. “Or at least I thought I was.”
Since I adopted Theo nearly four years ago, he has been met overwhelmingly with love and kindness, but occasionally he has encountered judgment based on his breed rather than his behavior. I understand that not everyone is a dog lover, or a big dog enthusiast, but there is a stigma that is reserved for pit bulls, that I would argue is unfair, and that I love to see Theo overcome on a one to…
