The bull dogs have been one of the most maligned and media-abused breeds on the planet. The fear mongering that has gone one is just horrendous! I’ve seen other breeds go through this kind of thing and my internal attitude problem says, “Oh yeah? That bad? Show me!” The UHIB ABKC Club (Ultimate Hawaiian Island Bullys American Bully Kennel Club) did just that.
There’s a full copy of the event flyer here. This site with the flyer has a great video. Follow that link — I was fascinated watching the video. I couldn’t help but think about how people would react to the dog pull. “They’re going to say it’s cruel, I just know it.” So, I made an extra effort to watch the animals in the video. Um, they were enjoying it. It’s a Bully Pulley! Yeah, okay, only a woman would call it that!
My favorite part of the “rules” for this event said something about there being no aggression — dogs or people. They were more worried about the people. No surprise there!
What got me to this event initially was a Facebook message from Henry Agbayani, owner of the Purebreed Clothing Co. I always try to figure out a way to go to events where Purebreed will be hanging its banner. I usually fail miserably, but not this time!
This is Henry and Christine Agbayani. They were under the larger tent so it was kind of dark. A click on the photo will take you to their website where you can see the fun t-shirts! I scooped one up at this event!
The other thing that drew me to the Stadium on a hot Sunday afternoon was the concern about protecting a breed of dog that is so dearly loved by so many. There is so much negative publicity surrounding the pit bull. What they don’t say is that the information is based on a few unfortunate incidents that happened with dogs belonging to stupid owners.
If you’re one of those abusive dog owners, then you know who you are. If you feel insulted, tough. Bite me! Any dog will bite if you teach it to. Think about it, didn’t the Dobermans and the Rottweilers have to go through this too? Why are we so anxious to ban animals, especially by breed, for the mistakes made by a few thoughtless, or ruthless, humans?
Much like messages gotten from vendors like the Purebreed Clothing Co., I have to say, “Don’t blame the breed!”
This Bully Show just gave me another chance to prove a point. Follow this pictorial story and see if you don’t agree that these bullies are, in reality, a very docile, and adorable, breed of dog.
Good animals come from being raised by good people. The above organization is a case in point. K9 Kokua is all about health, safety, and the protection of the animals. They even have an adoption thing going for dogs currently in foster care because, sadly, they’ve ended up being homeless with their owners. I kept finding my way back to this booth (three or four times at least) for a variety of reasons. A click on the photo will take you to visit their site. Maybe you can rescue a dog from being homeless!
A lot of dog owners were in attendance at this event and there was a lot going on. There were even some cars on display. But, the focus was on the dogs! Mine certainly was.
I was surprised at the number of vendors and “bully” people that were there. It was news to me, good news, that the Bully Fancy, if you can call it that, is this well-represented. In fact, there are probably more people who didn’t even make it to the event. This was a heartening experience for me — to see this much care and concern for such a media-battered breed was amazing!
How is this for dedication? They have their own t-shirts even! Nice looking design too!
Love the pink shirt!
You’ve got to love some of the names of these kennels!
As stupid as this was on my part, I had to ask, “um, you guys didn’t, um, you didn’t come here all the way from Vegas did you?!?” They laughed and said no and that they have a sister organization in Las Vegas. I had to ask.
Lightenings Edge is a cool name!
This was pretty good too! Check out the King Kong silhouette in the background of the banner!
Kia’i moku would be to guard over something. Kia’i Moku Kennels are the Guardians of the Islands. I like that. I’m not sure if you can make out the Hawaiian helmet in the silhouette of the banner but it works nicely. If you had to find a good thing about people’s fear of these dogs, it would have to be that it makes these cuties more effective guard dogs! It DOES NOT make them killers!
Just to help make my point, in the above picture you will find a dad, a mom, the kids, and the family dog. Please take note of the dog and the baby stroller. Gasp! Pffff! Repeat after me, “family dog!” Please also take note of the spray bottle in the little girl’s hand. It was very warm — uncomfortably so.
Those bottles were a very welcome sight. The owners were very attentive and kept their animals well watered and joyfully spritzed! At some point I was envious and wished I had a bottle too!
This little stubby character had cooling down to a doggy science — sprawling out on cool cement is a great way to cool any chubby belly!
He wasn’t moving for his little friend either. The little girl was more afraid of my camera than the dog was!
I didn’t know dogs could flirt! If that look doesn’t melt your heart, you need to keep going.
This puppy had to be the cutest thing! Of course I had to catch the moment when this adorable guy piddled in his cage and was quickly whisked away for clean-up. The picture doesn’t do him justice. Look at those big feet. This is probably the only time anyone would think of big feet as being something cute. Huge feet and short legs make for a very cute dog!
I must confess. I just know that I insulted the owner of the dog pictured in the photo above. I didn’t mean to! I couldn’t help it. The dog’s name is Nightmare. I just wanted to squeeze his big, chubby face and hearing his name just made me laugh. I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it!
Since I insulted him, let’s talk about him. Look at the chest on this guy! He was the picture of health, calmly behaved, and being very obedient and cooperative with his owner. I just wanted to hug him because he looked so huggable.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t. Out of respect for the owners, I make it a practice not to touch animals at shows. I don’t want to risk the transfer of illness from one animal to another. But, trust me, my hands were itching to reach down and touch or stroke some of the beautiful, shining coats that walked by!
There was so much going on all over the place but this little lady was just kicking back and people-watching, like I was dog-watching. She could have taken out several ankles if she wanted to — mine included. It wasn’t going to happen. She was just chillin’ with no presence of malice in her pretty little canine brain!
Judging went on here as well. This was a chance to see different sizes of the breed. Shorty bulls, or pocket bulls, were fun to watch!
There was also a guest speaker there from Colorado who spoke of legislative changes that freaked me out, as any pet owner would have been! Some of the horrible legislation that is currently being approved on the mainland is enough to rattle all of our cages! You can see an example of some of it here.
I missed the gentleman’s name and his full story but they have promised that it will be shown in its entirety on the OC16 channel, but I don’t know exactly when. I will keep an eye out for it and post the information as soon as I see it! I’ll try to include a more detailed synopsis of it as well. It is worth watching.
Part of the reason I made the extra effort to attend was to sign a petition to protect the dogs from being outlawed, banned, or whatever it was that they were trying to do to them. As it turned out, the materials I had been reading must have been dated. That piece of legislation was squashed before it made it to committee because of the public outcry. Even the Hawaiian Humane Society took a stand against it!
I learned these things from Rose Woods whom I contacted after the show to see if I could get things straight. Rose has apparently been quite a spokeswoman for the bull dogs! She continues to be an advocate for the bullies while striving to “create education and awareness in the community.”
Rose had quite a bit of knowledge to share and I was impressed with her passion for this cause. I like the way she spoke and I want to share some of her words of wisdom. She said, “The issue is not the dogs, it’s the owners.” Then she went on to talk about the legislature and how the “policy makers have to create policies that address the issues, not that fit the budget.” Well said!
Rose also shared a desire to reach out to the bad owners and bring them into the fold of proper animal management and community awareness. No matter what kind of pet you have, you have a right to protect them. Along with that right, however, is the obligation to do so responsibly!
A couple of brochures from K9 Kokua and my Atomic Dogg bracelet came home with me. I taped the “bracelet” into my notebook.
Of course I couldn’t leave without a Purebreed shirt! Relax; the shirts are decorated with fun, tongue-in-cheek expressions. The back of this “deadly force” shirt says “protecting the aina.” Must be those toxic trash bags after being filled with the trash we find on the side of the street! I must admit that does tick me off! But that’s a topic for another post.
Again, a big mahalo to Purebreed for taking me to places that always seem to get me on a soap box, but always for a good reason!
Just in case you missed it, Hawaii’s Safeway Stores have a new program running — for the time being it is just for Hawai’i residents. That little red Safeway Club card has just gotten a little bit better!
I have to admit to being stunned. I shouldn’t have been since Barack’s roots are here, but I have to admit it — I was speechless (for all of about 3 seconds).
This year’s event comes with an added touch for those who are literary-minded. We have an O’ahu resident whose book will debut at this event! 
The book is now available at our local book stores and if you want to get a head start on One Man’s Paradise before the Festival, or if you can’t make it to the Festival, you can still get a copy and meet the author at:
Charles Djou was my original favorite and the commercial was enough to make me duck under the table in horror. Sigh. Fictitious nonsense. Can we be any more irritating?
It always comes as such a surprise and I am always quite moved when a corporation takes steps to assist the community where it does business, and/or takes steps to educate itself about that community. Respect, preservation, and education is not always something taken on by corporate America’s larger brand names.
