By Monica Mankinen, Founder of Daisy Davis Pit Bull Rescue

When Daisy entered my life, she inspired me to found Daisy Davis Pit Bull Rescue (DDPBR). She has inspired me every day since I met her, and as my life changed, so did my husband JoJo’s.

My husband has always been very supportive of DDPBR and has a close relationship with Daisy. He helps out with everything. Being a new rescue, we struggle with having enough help and he has always been there.

Even though he has been extremely supportive, JoJo has never been the one that has wanted to talk about the breed to people. Being a non-confrontational type person, he always has said, “You know, Monica, not everybody is going understand or care about what you have to say about the Pit Bull breed, some people just won’t like them.” I would reply, “But when they say these horrible things, they are talking about dogs just like Daisy.” For me, it is personal, I have met so many wonderful Pit Bulls and heard so many people say terrible things about the breed. But JoJo’s attitude was “If they don’t like our dog, screw them — we know she is a great dog.”

One day, DDPBR held a small adoption day out in front of a local store. At events like this, we always have all of our information on the breed and a board game — Find The Pit Bull — to engage with people. Looking out the window, I could see one of our volunteers, Megan, talking to this man. I saw the man talking to Megan and then I saw JoJo step into the conversation. That was unusual. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I saw JoJo holding a DVD and I could see he was talking to the guy and this time not keeping it short. Eventually they shook hands and the guy moved on.

In that moment something changed for JoJo. Without hearing a thing, I knew, I could see it, something had changed for him. I waited until the guy left, and then I asked our volunteer Megan what was going on. Megan said that when she would answer a question or try to say anything, the guy became chauvinistic toward her.

When I asked JoJo later what he said, he told me that the guy was talking sh** about Pit Bulls and wouldn’t listen to Megan. He also said that he told the guy, “I have a Pit Bull and you have it wrong, my dog Daisy is nothing like your idea of Pit Bulls.”

Since that day, I noticed that JoJo wears all of his Pit Bull shirts to work. He comes home and tells me stories about customers and things that he said in defense of the breed. This is what is true for me, LOVE IS PERSONAL. When you know love, you know what feels right. And JoJo loves Daisy and, therefore, not saying anything doesn’t work anymore.

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About Monica Mankinen:

After years of volunteering and working with Pit Bulls and Bully breeds, I met Daisy and she changed my entire life. The love that I have for her has fueled me to speak out, open minds and bust myths about our most misunderstood breed — American Pit Bull Terrier — through Daisy Davis Pit Bull Rescue. I will never stop fighting for equal rights for this breed. I will never stop sharing my life with this breed. I will never stop loving this breed. I will never stop.