Pit Bulls–The 4-Legged and 2-Legged Variety

I was in Lethbridge, Alberta recently, enjoying a walk around Henderson Lake on a beautiful sunny day when suddenly I heard yelling and screaming behind me.

Squinting in the sunlight, I observed what appeared to be people rolling around on the ground and the air was filled with cursing, screaming and the growling and yelping of dogs.

Making my way towards the scene, I realized what had happened.  A large pit bull, one of a pair, had slipped its collar and had savaged a much smaller dog (still on its leash).  The smaller dog was being cradled by its owner as it bled from its neck and chest  while the owner of the pit bulls was cowering on the ground trying to hold his dogs back.

The owner of the injured dog indicated that she didn’t have immediate access to transportation and needed to find a way to an animal hospital.  With no one around offering help, I took her, her daughter and her dog Mickey to the animal hospital.

We were so concerned about the welfare of the injured animal that no one got the name of the pit bull owner, who didn’t offer any help and left the scene, his sloppy control of these dangerous animals being a ticking time bomb to savage another animal ….

…. or maybe a child.

After I had made sure that everything was ok at the animal hospital, I was thinking about pit bulls and realized that we’ve all encountered pit bulls in one form or another. 

Occasionally, they are the 4-legged variety as in this case.  However, oftentimes they are the 2-legged variety, those who seek to savage or intimidate others personally or professionally.

Personally I have a zero-tolerance level for such people and take action immediately when confronted with such situations.  The funny thing with these “pit bulls” is that oftentimes the greater the intimidator they are, the more affronted they are when someone stands up to them, providing even more disincentive to fight them off.

But fight them off we must.

That being said, not everyone has the strength, ability or capability to fight off the “pit bulls of Life”.

In those situations, people need the help of others, people like you and I, to help them fight off those who savage them.

Savaging others is what “pit bulls” do naturally and instinctively – like the pit bulls at Henderson Lake.

So the next time you sense that someone is inappropriately savaging the Life of another, think about how you would react if that were happening to someone important to you and then find a way to do something about it.

You will not only find a way to help someone now but you may save countless people down the road.  In some extreme situations, you may actually save a Life.

Charles Dickens, whose 200th birthday anniversary is today, once wrote:

“No one is useless in the world who lightens the burdens of another”.

His wisdom is as appropriate today as it was when he wrote those words.

There are lots of people in the world whose burdens we could lighten with almost no effort on our part.

So what are we waiting for?

Create a great day, for yourself and for others.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS Mickey, after staying in the animal hospital overnight and with a few stitches, will be ok.  The pit bulls and their negligent owner are still at large in the Henderson Lake area of Lethbridge, Alberta.