National Pit Bull Awareness Day Date in the current year: October 26, 2024

The term “pit bull” has two meanings. In most English-speaking countries except for the United States, it is an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier. In the United States, it also can refer to bully breeds in general: a heterogeneous group of dog breeds descended from bulldogs and terriers, which includes the American Bully, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and crossbred dogs that share certain traits with these breeds.

Most pit bull-type dogs descend from Old English Bulldog and Old English Terrier crossbreeds, known as bull and terrier, that were bred as fighting dogs in 19th-century England. Due to their history in dog fighting, pit bulls have a controversial reputation as pets, which has been exacerbated by negative media attention. Many people believe that pit bulls are mean, aggressive, dangerous, violent, and nearly impossible to train.

However, pit bull advocates argue that the bad reputation of pit bulls stems from the abuse the breed suffered from humans in the past. According to them, most pit bulls aren’t inherently any more aggressive than any other dog breed; studies have shown that pit bulls are statistically responsible for more dog bite incidents than any other breed not because they bite more, but because they are reported more often due to their reputation. With the right training, pit bulls are obedient and affectionate pets that know how to behave and do not attack unprovoked.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day (NPBAD) was created by Bless the Bullys, a pit bull rescue and education effort in Tennessee. Its main goal is to raise positive awareness of American Pit Bull Terriers and celebrate their responsible owners. NPBAD is usually observed on the last Saturday of October, but it is moved to another day when Halloween falls on the last weekend of the month.

NPBAD events aim to combat the stereotypes surrounding pit bulls through education, advocacy and positive communications, as well as to stop people from judging an entire group of dogs and their owners based on negative media attention.

You can observe National Pit Bull Awareness Day by learning interesting facts about these amazing but misunderstood dogs, interacting with pit bulls to change your perception about them, donating to or volunteering at a pit bull rescue near you, campaigning against breed-specific legislation and dog fighting, and spreading awareness with the hashtag #NationalPitBullAwarenessDay.

If you’re a proud pit bull owner, share photos and positive stories about your pet on social media to let people know that pit bulls aren’t inherently bad. If you’ve been thinking about adopting a pit bull, this is your time to act! Of course, you should do your research first to make sure you can fully commit to taking care of a put bull.