Fearless

"Fearless in the fact that this dog has only seen 3 people in his life and he is willing to be your friend and not be afraid... I agree with that. I take dogs that have never been off the property or on a lead and take them to dog shows. They have a blast... that's really brave to me." Said by Joanie of Tatonka kennels, on Ultimate Pit Bull Forum.

This quote is rather dear to me. Fearlessness and bravery are what sets the Pit Bull apart from any other breed of dog. What Joanie is saying is that she can take a dog from her yard - who has been living in her yard, doesn't go anywhere or do anything specifically, and she can take it somewhere and the dog can interact with people no problem. If you think about people fighting dogs, larger operations operate in the woods. Their dogs live on chains or in kennels in the woods, they don't interact with people on a daily basis, they don't go through half of the socialization that most 'pet' pups go through, yet they can accept a human they only just met.

That is amazing.

I know I wrote about the moment I first saw Seppel when I began writing this blog, but I'm going to revisit again because I feel like the above quote completely fits him and our situation.

When Seppel arrived at PDX he had no idea what was going on. He had been put on a plane some 9 hours earlier, who knows what the flight was like - I imagine it was rather stressful and scary. When he got off the plane he didn't have to be friendly. It would have been okay for him to be freaked out, not knowing who or what to trust. But Seppel wasn't afraid at all. When I saw him through the glass it's like he knew me. There's no way to really explain the depth of that moment, when I saw him and he saw me. It's something I still remember like it was yesterday. When we went to pick him up the guy at loading said we could take him out of the crate. He didn't bolt out like I would have expected, I was able to catch his collar and put his leash on him. He was happy to see us and happy to be out of the crate. He was especially happy to see me. It was so weird - I swear, he knew.

Everything I have thrown at Seppel he has taken in stride. It blows my mind that he came from another state, another home, he left everything he knew and was able to adapt and be a part of my life. If nothing else, this is why I absolutely love my Pit Bull, and why I have fallen in love with the breed.

They are fearless and they are brave.