If you know me personally, you probably know that I love dogs. I have a powerful affinity for dog breeds that have had tarnished histories or bad reputations because of dogfighting and generally poor owners. As a kid, my dog was pretty ambiguous, but it was pretty clear he was either American Bulldog or Pitbull, and so was his brother. The dog that we take care of for about a month each year is also a pitbull-boxer mix. Similarly, my family and those around me have also had quite a few Pitbulls, Dobermans, Rottweilers, and other ‘dAnGeRoUs’ dog breeds. Through all this experience, I have not met a single one of these dogs that were aggressive even in the slightest. In fact, the most aggressive dogs I have met have been breeds that are usually considered well-mannered.

However, despite having such a wide range of great experiences with dogs of these breeds, I have met an abundance of people that are either scared of these breeds or dislike them because they believe they are dangerous. Usually, it’s some story about how they were kids and got barked at or nipped at, or even bit by a dog of said breed. To me, this literally just sounds like racism. When someone comes out with their excuse for why they dislike a particular breed, it’s usually worded exactly the same as when a racist says they don’t like a race of people. I mean, think about it, telling you like labs but not Pitbulls is not that far from saying you like one race of people and not the other. In terms of weight and general history, it’s not exactly the same, but in biological terms, it’s strikingly similar to racism. I’m not saying it’s ok to prefer a breed and look for one that you want, but having a pre-set prejudice against a dog breed is dog racism. Don’t be a dog racist.