1. WHY DO YOU WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH "PIT BULL" DOGS?
2. WHY DO YOU PUT “PIT BULL” IN QUOTES?
3. DOES YOUR WORK SUPPORT PURE BRED DOGS, AS WELL AS “PIT BULL” DOGS?
4. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIONAL CANINE RESEARCH COUNCIL?
5. WHY DID AFF ACQUIRE NCRC?
6. I CAN'T KEEP MY DOG, CAN YOU TAKE HIM?

1. WHY DO YOU WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH "PIT BULL" DOGS?
Animal Farm Foundation mission focuses on dogs that are labeled “pit bulls” because they are the dogs most likely to be discriminated against. Dogs labeled “pit bulls” are discriminated against by municipal legislation that bans or restricts ownership and by animal shelters with discriminatory adoption policies. The dogs labeled “pit bulls” are the dogs that are most in need of our help. We look forward to the day when all “pit bull” dogs have secured equal treatment and our work is no longer needed.  Back to Top

2. WHY DO YOU PUT “PIT BULL” IN QUOTES?
Through our work we have come to understand that the phrase “pit bull” means something different to everyone. Animal welfare workers don’t agree on how to define “pit bull”. Law enforcement officers don’t agree. Even dog owners don’t agree on exactly what a pit bull is! Additionally, there is no standard legal definition for “pit bull”. The use of that label, “pit bull” is arbitrary, subjective, and often randomly applied.

When labels are applied, correctly or not, they can carry serious consequences. No dog should be discriminated against because of a label. When a person calls a dog a “pit bull”, that dog is now saddled with a label that might get him killed in a shelter that does not adopt out “pit bulls” or kicked out of an area with BSL. While we don’t have any interest in arguing about what is or isn’t a “pit bull”, we are interested in protecting all dogs labeled “pit bull” from discrimination.

Our work supports any dog experiencing discrimination based on the label “pit bull” - that is our number one goal here at AFF. It doesn’t matter to us if your dog is pure bred or not, but it does matter to us if you and your dog are discriminated against because of what your dog is called. AFF is fighting discrimination for any dog labeled “pit bull.”  Back to Top

3. DOES YOUR WORK SUPPORT PURE BRED DOGS, AS WELL AS “PIT BULL” DOGS?
Yes. Any dog who has been labeled a “pit bull”, whether pure bred or mixed, might be discriminated against. Our work supports any dog experiencing discrimination based on the label “pit bull.”

For more information, please see FAQs about labeling dogs.  Back to Top

4. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIONAL CANINE RESEARCH COUNCIL?
NCRC is a subsidiary of Animal Farm Foundation. NCRC’s mission benefits all dogs by working to preserve the human-canine bond.  Back to Top

5. WHY DID AFF ACQUIRE NCRC?
While doing our advocacy work on behalf of “pit bull” dogs, we realized there was a real deficit in fact-based, scientific research that promoted the value of the human-canine bond. We knew from history that the cycle of discrimination that is currently plaguing “pit bull” dogs had plagued other groups of dogs and unless we did something to end that cycle, more dogs would be discriminated against in the future.

Karen Delise, the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council had already been researching instances of when the human-canine bond was broken. We approached Karen about expanding the mission of NCRC to include preserving the human-canine bond and she agreed. Karen Delise remains the Founder and Director of Research for the National Canine Research Council.

Does your relationship influence their research? It is the other way around. The independent research of NCRC is relevant to all kinds of dogs and dog owners and is therefore often helpful with the mission of Animal Farm Foundation.  Back to Top

6. I CAN’T KEEP MY DOG, CAN YOU TAKE HIM?
No. We do not take owner surrendered dogs. All of our dogs are transferred to us from shelters, rescues or law enforcement. Please see our Resources for Dog Owners section for more information.  Back to Top