(Little Darling’s) PinUps
for PitBulls: A Celebration of America’s Most Lovable Dogs, by Deirdre Franklin (Overlook Press, 2014, 185 pages, $27.95)
How Non-Traditional Can You Get - Pin-Up Girls and Their Dogs!
No doubt you, dog lover that you are, are aware
of the Love Your Pit Bull campaigns in recent years – if you are any kind of
dog lover at all, that is!
· “If I can’t bring my dog, I’m not going.”
· Pit Bulls are Adore-a-Bull
· “Take my Leash, Not my Life”
· The Bully Crew, etc.
These organizations promote responsible pit bull
ownership and truly adore their adorable canine family members. They started a
movement that has quickly caught on in the dog rescue community, the family pit
bull community, and simply everywhere.
One such organization, PinUps for PirBulls, features
All-American pin-up girls with their own adored pit bulls in books and, for more
than ten years now, in calendars.
A Conversational Coffee Table Book
Perhaps you have even attended a dog walk or dog
expo and visited a Pinups for Pitbulls booth or purchased one of their
calendars. Now you can also read the story begun by the lady behind the non-traditional
movement in Little Darling’s PinUps for
PitBulls (or listen to her interview on NPR).
Anatomy of the Book
Author Deirdre Franklin tackles everything –
from the history of her organization and the popular calendars and prints, to
the latest research, to suggestions of how to spread the truth about America’s
family dog, the Pit Bull.
Multi-page snippets are written by Larry Levin,
Drayton Michaels and the family of Wallace,
the rescued pit bull Frisbee champion.
The only thing this reviewer would have liked –
a table of contents to make the reading journey easier.
Nevertheless, it is a book you will return to –
for the information as much as for the excellent creative photos.
Perhaps you will even answer the call for future
pin-up girls!
But Who is ‘Little Darling’?
Little Darling was the burlesque stage name of
author Deirdre Franklin who found that her twin avocations of modeling and pit
bull advocacy coalesced perfectly in 2005. She has brought back the pin-up girl
and modernized her into the current world at large by teaming her up with
adorable pit bulls in retro costumes and photos, primarily in collectible
calendars (most pages from previous years’ calendars are available for
purchase).
“Licking Discrimination”
Franklin’s book is a history of the pit bull
advocacy movement told in words accompanied by photos that deserve continued
scrutiny to absorb all the details present. Many photos are recognizable as being
similar to the work of Norman Rockwell and posters from World War II (e.g., Rosie
the Riveter). Beautiful women and adorable pups in classic poses will stay in your
mind’s eye for a long time.
Franklin set out to remove the Kill Pit Bull
policy in so many rescues and shelters across the country, starting in
Philadelphia. The United States Humane Society website even features Franklin’s
graduate thesis, Public Policy: Community
Safety Through Breed Bans? Even the Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association published a study in December 2013 that found pit bulls are
not inherently dangerous.
And, Thank Goodness, . . . .
On page 110, Franklin recommends positive
reinforcement training for pit bulls and non-pit bulls alike because training
is not breed-specific. And Franklin also delves into Breed-Specific Legislation
(BSL) and the fact that it just doesn’t work. To join the fight against BSL,
contact the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), the American
Kennel Club (AKC), The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the
White House, or the National Animal Control Association (NACA).
Who Else Loves Pit Bulls?
 |
| FURgotten Heroes (dogtag) |
Helen Keller, Jon Stewart, Rachel Ray, Albert
Einstein, . . . . Join them!
Read More About It:
Did you
know the first American canine war hero was a Pit Bull type? Check out these
other great Pit Bull books, too.
I’m
a Good Dog: Pit Bulls, America’s most Beautiful (and Misunderstood) Pet,
by that wonderful author, Ken
Foster – to be reviewed here soon on DogEvals
The classic, Pit Bull:
The Battle over an American Icon, by Bronwen Dickey – to be reviewed here
soon on DogEvals
The
PitBull Life: A Dog Lover’s Companion, by Deirdre
Franklin and Linda Lombardi – to be reviewed here soon on DogEvals
And the well-known story of a pit-bull type dog, Oogy:
The Dog only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
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