(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?
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| 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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