About a year ago, I was involved in the start-up of a local pack walk called the Big Apple Pittie Pack. We created a meetup.com group, a Facebook page, did research on how other pack walks around the country operated and even had a snazzy graphic designed by our friends at Our Waldo Bungie!
We organized and scheduled a few very successful pack walks, and learned something new from each one, bringing those lessons over to the next until we thought what we had was almost perfect. Then, summer 2012 hit, and it was brutal. Every weekend, the weather conditions were either unsafe for our dogs or unpleasant for the humans.
We enjoyed our pack walks, and felt like we were having an impact on the perception of pit bulls in the communities in which we walked. We liked being among a group of people who shared similar feelings about dogs and pet ownership, in general. And of course, we loved meeting new people and exposing them to the wonders of a delicious, friendly, adorable pittie. But try as hard as we might, the swing of things just couldn't get back on track and we lost all momentum.
As anyone who organizes a pack walk like this knows, a lot of time, effort and energy go into the planning to ensure that everyone can enjoy the experience in a responsible, safe and pleasant manner. And sadly, we have come to the decision that we will no longer be moving forward with the Big Apple Pittie Pack.
That being said, just because our plans for the Big Apple Pittie Pack have fallen apart does not mean its message is dead. You all can still show New York City that pit bulls, and their owners, are just the same as dogs of any other breed and their owners. And more importantly, that dogs should not be judged based on their breed, but the merits of each dog as an individual.
Thanks to Josh from That Touch of Pit for his assistance in drafting this post.
