LOGAN SQUARE — As the first dog I ever had, Shadow will always be the best dog I ever had.
He was handsomely shaggy and tolerated wearing every piece of jewelry in games of "Pretty Pretty Princess."
He grew old as I grew up; at 18, I prepared to leave him for college, but he left me first.
I've always imagined that when I was ready to adopt my first dog as an adult, he'd be a golden retriever mix, just like Shadow. Or maybe a similarly furry, medium-sized mutt.
That idea changed, though, when I talked to canine masseuse Erin Kowalski about bully breeds, for a story about her foster dog Josh, who she is helping regain use of his hind legs.
Kowalski said that she had the same feelings toward Labradors that I do goldens — she grew up with them and considered them her favorite breed.
But as she got more involved in Chicago's "rescue community," she found herself working most often with "bully breeds."
Bully breeds are usually dogs that are part American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Boxer, Boston terrier or Bulldog, and they are often classified as "pitbull," though it's technically not a breed.
The Tribune reported in 2013 that "Pit bulls make up 40 percent of the dogs that come into Chicago Animal Care and Control — and about two-thirds of the dogs that get euthanized if they can't be adopted."
While adopting any shelter pet can be life-saving, in Chicago at least, bully breeds might be the ones most in need of rescue.
When I'm ready to adopt, I'll no longer be searching for my idea of the perfect dog, but the dog for which I can be the perfect home.
Hear Erin Kowalski explain how she went from a lab-lover to falling in love with bully breeds:
(DNAinfo Chicago/Kyla Gardner)
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