DNA Testing and Results

ARFF MO has been DNA testing our dogs for a couple of years now. Our main reason for doing the DNA testing was to show that it is very difficult to accurately label a dog by looks. Experts have even proven that it is impossible to accurately breed label or predict future behaviors based solely on a dog’s appearance.

Some may think it's just a simple breed label and may not seem like much of a big deal but many times it can be the difference between life and death for a dog or puppy. For many dogs who are given the label of a "pit bull" or "pit bull mix" due to physical features such as a blocky head, muscular build or brindle in color it can mean DEATH! We owe it to the dogs to examine the language and labels we use to describe them, their lives depend on it.

Let's look at what the label of "pit bull" is. You will find in many places that the term "pit bull" is in quotes. The term "pit bull" is a term that gets randomly used when describing a dog with a big blocky square head and muscular body and a lot of times we've found that being brindle in color. The reality is that very few people really agree on what a "pit bull" really is. From Animal Welfare workers to dog owners, no one person will agree on the label of "pit bull". Additionally, there is no standard legal definition for “pit bull”. The term “pit bull” does NOT describe a specific dog breed. A "pit bull" is a type of dog, just as retrievers, shepherds, and spaniels describe groups of dogs. The term “pit bull” has no single, solid, scientific definition. Your idea of a “pit bull” is a personal and individual idea; no one else’s idea of a pit bull will be exactly the same. Many if not most of today’s "pit bulls" are nothing more than mixed-breed dogs with a certain “look” and with unknown lineage.

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 very quickly gets 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 have no interest in arguing about what is or isn’t a “pit bull”, we are interested in protecting all dogs labeled “pit bull” from discrimination.

Simply put, a "pit bull" is whatever any person says it is.

ARFF MO 100% supports any dog experiencing discrimination based on the label “pit bull”, whether it looks like a lab or a poodle to us our goal is to help fight that discrimination. It doesn’t matter to us if your dog is pure bred or not, what does matter to us is if you and your dog are discriminated against because of what your dog is called. We fight and deal with this discrimination on a daily basis with all of our dogs.

We are now DNA testing all of our dogs that come from area shelters. We use our DNA test ONLY to help prove that you CAN NOT accurately label a dog by it's looks. We will continue to use our results to help continue overturning areas with BSL. Our current DNA tests helped us get Boonville, MO to repeal their "pit bull" ban and instead enforce an aggressive dog ordinance. We have also used our DNA analysis to repeal Fayette and New Franklin's pit bull bans.

ARFF MO Pit Bull Rescue thanks DNA My Dog for doing our tests and helping us to over turn the Boonville, Fayette, and New Franklin bans on "pit bulls". Glasgow MO also overturned their ban! We look forward to adding more towns to our list of overturned bans in the future!

Check out some of our DNA tests that have been done on several of our dogs!!!

Pit Bull Rescue