1.08.2013

Netflix Must See: Beyond The Myth

How would you feel if animal control knocked on your door and took your pet? Your pet that you view as a family member in your home. A pet that had never harmed another animal or person it's entire life. The movie Beyond The Myth is a film about Pit bulls. The city of Denver has had a ban on Pit bull ownership for years. (or even dogs that were mixed or appeared to look like a Pit bull) If your family dog happens to be one, it will be taken from you and killed.

Beyond The Myth1

I used to be uneasy around the breed until I gained my own personal experiences with them. When I worked at the animal shelter I had to work one on one with many different Pits daily. In a 3 month time period I went from fearing them, to having them sit on my lap, to now wishing that I could own one of my own.

The film is educational. It's not just about Pit bulls, it's eye opening to other issues as well. I am from Cincinnati, OH and didn't even know that there was a Pit bull ban there. This film was shocking, informative and heartwarming. People share their stories about how they have fought to keep their family pets and others tell their story of how they lost them.

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Michigan has a ban on multiply breeds, including Great Danes. WHAT? I grew up with Great Danes. They are such gentle giants!! The film is eye opening and if you are an animal owner/lover you should watch it. Plus I think it's good to educate yourself on such a "hated" breed. Pit bulls honestly just want to lick you death and sit on your couch like other dogs.

It's sad that Pit's are given such horrible reputations. I understand why it's happened. The media always makes sure to let us know when a Pit bull has bitten someone or sadly killed a person. There are many dog attacks and bites by other breeds that aren't reported though, because the media doesn't show interest in those stories.

Ironically I now have a Pit bull living next door to me. I was excited at first because I have become so attached to the breed after working at the shelter. I realized pretty fast though that THIS Pit didn't seem to have the same warm fuzzy feelings about me. He tends to rush the fence while barking viciously at us. He will however wag his entire butt if I am outside with food. I just ignore him because I know it's just THAT dog. It's him. Plus, if his owner is outside sometime when I am, I plan to just ask about him. See if maybe they can introduce me to him. That way the dog knows that I am no longer a threat. If not, I just don't show fear. It's just another example of how ANY animal can be mean. We have to break stereotypes, because they don't do us any good!

Here is a quick trailer of the film...

17 comments:

  1. I think this is so sad. I have had pit bulls (and I believe my current dog said to be a beagle mix, is a beagle pit mix) as pets, and they're just like any other dog.

    I feel so sad for these people who had to give up their dog. I would be moving the fuck outta Denver. That's for sure!

    I'd be interested in watching this documentary! Definitely. Even though, I'd probably cry the whole darn time!

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    1. It's crazy because we go to Denver all the time. I would never think such a "hippie laid back" city would have such a law. I can understand putting down MEAN dogs that kill people. You can't just go into someones home and take a pet away for what I feel is NO REASON. :( I won't ever move there that's for sure.

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  2. We had a pitbull for about 6 years. He was the sweetest dog ever! I have not met a sweeter dog since, seriously. The only thing that was against him was how strong he was, he was so happy to see us when we'd get home from school he would really hurt us with his tail. One time he jumped up to lick my brothers face, knocked him down and he hit his head pretty bad, had to get stitches. But no one feared him. I miss that silly dog sometimes and whenever I see one outside (usually with muzzles) I just want to run up to it and hug it.
    So sad that people judge a whole breed on just a few dogs that have been trained to attack, when really we can do that with every breed.

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    1. We always called the Pit's tails at the shelter "happy tail". They would wag it so much that the tip would open and bleed everywhere. We actually had to cut one dogs tail off because it would never heal. They are strong dogs.

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  3. I love Pit bulls, unfortunately there are very few left in England due to idiotic people breeding them for fighting. It breaks my heart to think of how many lovely natured family pit bulls were put down due to idiots breeding them for aggression and giving them a bad name.

    In England now most people tend to hate staffies ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffordshire_Bull_Terrier ) because the same thing is happening with them. I find it crazy people are breeding these dogs for fighting because they were originally nanny dogs and the staffy we used to have at our yard was the sweetest, most loyal dog ever.

    I did have a scary experience with a not to well brought up one trying to kill Effy though, it was terrifying! And i'll admit, until I met a few more sweet and gentle staffies recently I was a little scared of the breed.

    Also, how crazy is it banning great danes??? I've never heard of them doing anything aggressive?? The ones I know are big softies that get bossed around by tiny little dogs!

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    1. I know what you mean about the Great Danes!!! I couldn't believe it. They are very sweet. There are lots of mean Pit's, I did see some at the shelter. Sadly they appeal to people that want to have them for fighting or the wrong reasons. I fear the problem will never be solved, but we can't just kill all of them for no reason. :(

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  4. The trailer almost brought me to tears. I can't watch this on Netflix as I'm not a U.S citizen, but I can't believe that people would go as far as to kill the pitbulls. That's awful. Thanks for showing some awareness to this!

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    1. Sorry that you can't watch it. Netflix needs to get to everyone!!!! It was a sad movie. I couldn't imagine someone taking my pet from me just because of it's breed.

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  5. THANK YOU for sharing this!! I have been wanting to see this movie since a friend told me aout it a few months ago but I could't remember the name of it. Pit Bulls have a VERY special place in my heart. My beloved dog Axle is a Pit mix. He is the most gentle, loving, and sweet dog I have ever had.

    I have met some very wonderful Pit Bulls in my day, and I've met some not so nice ones. I also have a neighbor that has two very vicious Chihuahuas. These two dogs have attacked me and my dogs on several occasions. The only difference is that they are tiny and can't really do anything... When this happens Axle just stands there and stares at me like 'this again huh momma?' He has never once snapped back at them.

    The problem IS the owners. If you train a dog to be mean, it will be. It doesn't matter the breed. We have may Pits and Pit mixes that we go to the dog park with. They are all so sweet and wonderful. But thats because they have all been trained properly.

    We were at the park once and LAB was being very aggressive towards other dogs and people. To the point were a few of the other owners asked the owner of the Lab to leave. This dog was not trained properly.

    So form my own personal experiences, Pit Bulls are not the vicious, blood thirsty dogs the media likes to make them out to be. They are gentle, loving, and wonderful family pets. You just have to train them correctly and show them love. The same with Chihuahuas, Labs, or ANY other breed of dog.

    Madison
    atthedogparkblog.blogspot.com

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    1. Very well said. Everything you said is exactly what the film is trying to educate people on. You never know what any dogs history is and you always have to pay attention to it's body language. I was glad to learn those things at the shelter. We had a Chihuahua at the shelter that was really mean, but none of us wanted to give up on fixing her. I think she did go to a rescue instead of being put down. Usually it's because they have been abused. :(

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  6. Awww, Jessie. This makes me so sad. I didn't know about that with Denver. How that ever came to be is a disgrace. We once rescued a Pitbull off of the street. She was so sweet and I never once hesitated with her. I went over to that poor skinny, starved and scratched up pup and let her smell me, petted her for a while and got her in the car. We went and bought a thick dog leash and brought her into my apartment. We fed her, bathed her and loved her. We already had about 10 cats in our apartment, rescues that we were trying to find homes (in addition to our pets that were staying with us permanently). Our apartment didn't know (as we are only allowed 2 pets) and would have evicted us if they found out. So bringing in a dog that, unlike a cat, barks was risky. She was such a good pup and we kept her for about two weeks until we got really nervous because we had to take her out to poop and the manager almost saw us with her. So we put her up on Craigslist and searched and searched. We didn't want to risk the lives of the other animals because if we were evicted they would have take them all. So, after finding no one and calling every single no-kill shelter (which were all full) and even Pitbull organizations (also full) we went to our local shelter. They took her and I asked her what would happen. They said that because she's a Pitbull and because she had a couple of scratches on her they would put her down that day. I just started crying and it's hard not to now. I feel like I failed her. Had I had a house we never ever would have taken her there and would have waited as long as it took to find her a home but we couldn't risk those 10 lives we had in our apartment. It was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made and as a result I have a big soft spot for Pitbulls. I hate the discrimination and now I'm going to go and watch this movie. Thanks for the review.

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    1. Oh my gosh that is so sad. Your story would of fit perfectly in the movie. I am so sorry that you had to go throw that. KUDOS to you for at least giving her a warm home for a few weeks. It's so sad that we can't save them all, but even sadder that your dog was put down just because of her breed. I watched this movie and just had to share it with everyone.

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  7. this is so sad :( i hate that pit bulls are used for horrible purposes in the first place. it's just insult to injury when the entire breed is blamed for something that is not their fault. this sounds like a great documentary!! x

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    1. Thanks Chantilly. It's a great movie but so sad. It's does raise very good awareness though. I just fear that things will never get better for this breed because of all the dog fighting. :(

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  8. I feel like I can chime in on this b/c I too and an animal lover, and I have also worked in shelters and vets for a period in my life. While some pitts are totally loving and gentle and adorable, some are vicious, just like any other breed, large or small. I have seen both. And while working at the vet, the dog I feared most was an evil chihuahua, that sucker was super mean and grouchy and did bite us a lot... but it simply couldn't do the damage to me that a pitt could. Our tech needed 6 deep stitches on his face due to a very loving and playful pitt puppy that very lightly grazed his cheeked while giving him a puppy hug. So yes, breeding and socialization is so very important with this breed, but accidents still happen, even with the best behaved dogs, and it is natural for older dogs to get grouchy and turn as well, even in loving homes. So to me, while I love the breed, I don't allow it around my kids simply b/c accidents happen, and an accident with razor sharp teeth and massively strong jaws isn't worth it. I hope that wasn't offensive to anyone, I have just seen A LOT in my days!

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  9. No, it's not offensive. It's just that they may not fit in all households. They are VERY STRONG dogs. That's why they look so darn buff! THEY ARE. I used to have to attempt to walk them or show them to people who were interested in adopting them. They would almost pull my arm out of the socket. LOL It's all about TRAINING. Which so many people do NOT do. :( I was glad that the shelter I worked at worked very hard at only matching calmer Pit's with certain people and the hyper ones with people who could handle them. Oh and small dogs do tend to be meaner. LOL

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  10. I have watched this documentary a million times!
    Since having my pit mix Jeter I wouldn't own another type of dog. I love em sooo much :)

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