Dad defends his decision to allow his 1-year-old son to nap with their pet pit bull.
Jarad Derochey of Los Angeles, California, is a breeder of American Bullies, XL-XXL dogs, and pitbull puppies. A debate erupted after he posted photos and videos to Instagram of his very young children cuddling and playing with their rather large family bully dogs.
When it comes to a child’s safety around dogs, pit bulls are frequently at the center of the debate. Some believe this breed is dangerous and a threat to society.
While some viewers laughed and smiled, others were outraged and scolded the father, highlighting the age-old question about pit bulls as a breed: dangerous or lovable?
Derochey is a regular poster on the MVP Bullies Instagram account as a local pit bull breeder for MVP Kennels in Los Angeles. Much of the footage depicts Derochey’s children interacting with pit bulls, such as playing, cuddling, and petting. Inside Edition aired the video, which sparked equal parts outrage and likes. Derochey’s 1-year-old son was seen cuddling with their pet pit bull.
The American Kennel Club defines pit bulls as a group of breeds that include American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American bullies, and Staffordshire bull terriers. The breed is described as friendly, courageous, confident, and intelligent. They are trustworthy and social dogs when adequately bred and raised.
People were divided after Derochey’s social media post, and they were unsure how comfortable they felt knowing that a baby could nap alongside a dog.
Bronwen Dickey is a lecturer and author who attended Columbia University. She wrote “Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon” and spent seven years researching pit bulls. She stated that pit bulls are a divisive term but that they are “just dogs” who frequently serve as a “proxy for our prejudices,” as reported by The Cut.
According to Dickey, supporters and detractors of the mythology get many facts wrong. A pit bull’s jaws, for example, do not lock. Similarly, Dickey stated that there is no evidence that pit bulls work as nannies with children.
She also cautioned against assuming that a pit bull with scars and injuries was the victim of abuse; it’s more likely that it was involved in an accident.
Banning the breed will have no effect on the number of people whose dogs bite, and she cited Multnomah County, Oregon’s leash laws as an example of a positive solution.
The county has a highly successful, potentially dangerous dog program, which allows Animal Control to intervene when a dog becomes a threat or a nuisance. To avoid escalation, the agency recommends training for the dog’s owner and maintaining contact. As a result, there were fewer bites.
Social media users were divided about the video Derochey shared. Some people pointed out that bad dogs result from bad breeders and owners and that pit bulls aren’t aggressive unless they’re taught to be. Others, meanwhile, remained deeply concerned about the children.
Derochey defended himself, stating unequivocally that he trusts his pets with his children. “My dogs are lovely and intelligent. “It’s like I live in a day care because they play so much with my kids,” he said.
What are your thoughts on mixing small children with any dog, especially pit bull breeds? Do you feel comfortable having your pit bull cuddle your small child? Please let us know, and please forward this to your family, friends, and any dog lovers you know!
