[Pangloss62]

Some good friends of mine, already with two dogs, once noticed that the "family" next door had the penchant for keeping their pit bull mix chained to a metal post on their front yard; to them (my friends) it seemed almost an aesthetic thing since the neighborhood was pretty nice and rental homes were going the way of the Dodo. There was no real security reason for having a pit bull hangin out on your front yard with a big heavy chain. Now, don't jump down my throat when I say this, but yes, this "family" in question was Black; Iwill state without any shame on my part that Blacks in Atlanta find pit bulls among their dogs of choice. The problem with this "family" is that they pretty much just kept that dog on that chain and collar and that was it. The dog just lived this life on a chain.

My friends were kinda concerned for the happiness of the dog, and actually confronted (in a nice way) the neighbors about whether they could take the dog for an actual walk and such. The neighbors were kinda "Whatever" and let them take the dog for a walk. My friends noticed that these people never let out the collar to compensate for the growth of the dog; it was choking to death. Over about a month my friends slowly "adopted" the dog through mere atttention to it. The "family" eventually left. The landlord of the furnished house came to my friends and asked if they had seen the "family." It turns out they took all the furniture and just took off to likely less greener pastures.

This dog, named Buddy, is by far the most friendly dog I have ever met. He is just filled with love and affection, despite his past. But when you play with him, if you do the roughhouse thing, he starts a' growlin and drooling and you can see he might have the potential to hurt you or someone else. But in my mind, it's only potential, and if you treat the dog right, you get nothing but love in return. He remains my favorite dog I've ever met.