The Story Behind Christine continued
Sooooo... off on our hunt for a Pit Bull to bring home!
At the Huntington dog pound I thought I had found "that dog" in Melody. Melody was a mostly white Pit Bull with what seemed to be a sweet temperament. The caretaker informed us that she had another dog that we might like as well. After meeting Christine my wife had her mind made up. This was the dog she wanted. She was looking a little scrawny and dirty when we got her but as you will see in the pictures below, we made sure she got healthy and clean shortly after!
Some of our family members were a bit concerned at our choice in a pet. Even my own mother who is usually pretty open minded expressed some fear. However, once met, all fears were quieted and, as a matter of fact, everyone loves her!
One of the most important things was riding in the car since my daughters live 5 hours away and being able to travel in our car or van was very important. I am happy to say Christine loves riding with us so much that she gets upset if we leave without her! Once she sees her doggy travel bag come out, she starts bouncing around and wagging her tail! Christine goes everywhere with us and patiently (ok, sometimes not so patiently) waits for our return if we're shopping, visiting or whatever.
As far as people go, we haven't met a person or child yet that Christine doesn't love. We walk her through Port Jefferson, a little town on the water, where lots of people walk right up to her and say things such as, "Oh my god she is so pretty!" Of course, from time to time, we also see the "Oh my god, it's a Pit Bull... Run for your life!" attitude but we ignore them because we know they are just ignorant about the real Pit Bull temperament. Other than that, little kids, babies in strollers and anyone else accepting, gets a big wet kiss when in range.
My 12 year old stepson literally wrestles (I mean like real wrestling) with her and she has no problem with it. She loves getting physical but seems to have an inherent instinct of knowing how much of her strength to use. She loves gnawing on my fist and no matter how crazy I get playing like that; she has never once bitten down too hard. When my 9 and 12 year old daughters come to visit, the 9 year old sleeps with Christine on her special bed in the TV room.
She has no possession issues at all as I can literally get down on the floor, stick my face by her bowl while she eats and she'll wag her tail and lick my face.
The only thing we would like to change is that Christine needs some adjustment around other dogs as she does not appreciate even the slightest show of aggression. If the other dog is submissive, Christine adjusts quickly.
Christine continues to amaze me as time passes. She is without question THE most intelligent dog I have ever owned. As for loyalty the only dog that ever came close was my dog Shadow who was a Rotweiller/Newfoundland mix. Shadow was a one of a kind but I won't get into that here.
Pictures! Yes we have them. Check out the before and after shots. Keep in mind; these are the dogs that everyone accuses of being so terrifying and vicious!
