'American Dog: Poppy' is a warm puppy hug for Pit Bull owners
'American Dog: Poppy' is a warm puppy hug for Pit Bull owners
BOOK REVIEW: Young adult fiction novelist highlights leading by prejudice instead of proof
Five years ago, when I first applied to work with Wag!, I was so desperate to hang out with dogs that I didn’t have any kind of rules about breeds, age or even distance. My condo board (at the time) banned dogs, and I was determined to hang out with friends on four legs. So when I opened the crate for a dog named Emma Rose, I didn’t pay attention to the app informing me the dog I was walking was a Pit Bull. I opened that crate, and that Pit Bull leaped into the air and licked me right across my lip gloss. I stood in that back room, shocked.
If I knew how to navigate the Wag! app correctly as a newbie, I’m not altogether sure I would’ve accepted the walk. I was just clicking “accept” on any dog owner who allowed me to walk their dogs. My guess is I wouldn’t have hesitated, judging from zero fear of strolling around 11 Pit Bulls a few years before then on a reporting assignment.
Sitting next to that many pits — half of which acted like a bashful girl on her first date — I’d imagined something totally different before I arrived to cover this assignment, especially considering all 11 had participated (willingly and unwillingly) in dog fights. Their bodies looked tough, but their demeanor clearly didn’t get the memo. The same thing happened with Emma Rose. About the only fight she picked was gawking at her reflection in a glass door.
Recommended Read: "The Humane Society of the United States and Carroll Care Center partner to end dogfighting," Chicago Defender, September 12, 2009
Over the years, I’ve been around more intense Golden Retrievers, Terriers and Australian Shepherds than Pit Bulls — the latter of which was a crossbreed who stole my yoga mat and refused to get off of it. From first-person experience, this is one of many reasons I enjoyed Jennifer Li Shotz’s book “American Dog Poppy.”
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Printed Mint
The young adult fiction book is about a girl with a birthmark, who is extremely insecure about people staring at it. At a prior school, some people even wondered if her birthmark was “contagious.” When she moved to a new town and met the neighbor’s Pit Bull, who strangers also gawked at, the two found that they had something in common — people prejudging them for something they have no control over and having a patch on one side of their faces.
Recommended Read: “Racism is NOT equivalent to being anti-pit bull ~ Stop using the term ‘racist’ when you don’t know what it means”
What I like about this book, in addition to enjoying the world of young adult fiction where I can escape from adulting for a few hours, is that Shotz was able to set the tone and visuals for how people reacted to a reputation versus going the (frustrating) usual route of comparing Pit Bulls to black people. (I’ve heard this one too many times. If Pit Bulls had a history involving the Middle Passage, Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, redlining and onward, then we can have that parallel. Until then, stop it.)
Recommended Read: “'Star': Young adult fiction novel highlights dyslexia, adopt-don't-shop, friendship ~ BOOK REVIEW: 'American Dog' series is full of Lucy Ricardo antics (read: terrible plans)”
She was able to consistently give examples of how a variety of people from all age groups and backgrounds were just so brainwashed by what they’d heard about these dogs to the point of not being able to behave around a teen girl, who was hugging, surfing, walking and playing with this dog all the time. For the most part though, the adults in “American Dog Poppy” reminded me of the adults in Peanuts comic strips — you didn’t hear much about them or from them until they played a part in the kids’ lives. Other than that, it was all about a group of teenage girls, a dog and an ocean.
Recommended Read: “Embracing ‘island brain’ in Hawaii ~ Honolulu: How paddleboard yoga helped ease my mind from a family member’s death”
Whether you are a Pit Bull owner, Pit Bull lover or someone who is terrified by pits, I think this is an easy read for all of the above. All three groups can at the very least grow to love Hannah (and loathe Sophia). Check it out, dog lovers!
Shamontiel is a dog lover to her core: 586 completed walks with 99 dogs, eight dog-housesittings and six dog boardings at the time of this publication.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote,” “Tickled,” “We Need To Talk” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
If you’re not ready to subscribe but want to support my writing, you’re welcome to tip me for this post! I’ll buy a dark hot chocolate on you. Thanks for reading!