Nelson, Nijlen, Belgium

My name is Nelson. I am my human’s second bull-breed dog.

Before me, my human had a pit bull named Tyson. Tyson was a very good dog who loved kids. He went along to drop off and pick up his human sibling from school every day, until the school decided that he wasn’t allowed near the school childeren anymore. He was too “dangerous”.

Tyson was puzzled because all he did was eat the leftover sandwiches he got and give kisses to the kids that petted him. 🙁

My human was glad when she moved out of the city because she hoped there was less prejudice there and that Tyson was welcome again at the school gate (which he was).

When Tyson died of old age, he left a huge hole in my human’s heart so she remained dogless for 2 years. She saw me on a photo that her sister-in-law sent to her via Facebook.

My human’s sister-in-law lives with my sister. I was originally going to be adopted by other humans but my sister’s human talked to the man that put me up for adoption and finally he said my human could come and see if I was ok for her.

This man (my mom’s human) was very good to us, even if we were not really expected (my mom had a little accident while playing with my dad, and the result was me and my 7 brothers and sisters). My mom’s human kept reports of our growth, weight and how we responded to our shots. My human received a sheet with my data when she took me home and the man cried when he saw me leave.

I have not been an easy dog: I am very stubborn, and have tested my human’s nerves several times. I’m lucky to have my human, because she always says if I lived somewhere else they would have abandoned me because of my behavior. 🙂

But my human is stubborn as well. She went to school with me and plays with me every day. She also cuddles me a lot, and allows me to sleep with my human sibling, who is now a teenager. Even though she socialized me well, I am still afraid of certain things, children and people in the dark being some of them.

Yesterday we went for a walk, and I played with one of my doggy friends while my human spoke with the other human. Another person came by and asked the other human to keep my friend with her. The friend’s owner told my human that we would see each other at another time.

The person walking by said she did not like bull-breeds. My human answered that we were good dogs, the person laughed and said: “that’s what they all say.” in a tone my human did not like. She answered “don’t judge what you don’t know” and I felt she was very angry and hurting inside, because even outside of the city, there still was prejudice about our beautiful breed.

We went back home and she cuddled me tight and said she would never ever let anybody call me a bad or dangerous dog.

Thank goodness for humans that don’t judge our blocky heads and strong bodies; they are the ones that keep us alive and out of the shelters. I know my human will defend me against people who don’t take time to get to know me and tell people with small children to keep their distance because they make me nervous.

I have a responsible owner and I am thankful to have her.

Nelson

Parent: Liz