Collection: Reesie | FUNDRAISER for Vindicated Pit Bull Rescue

Every day, dogs die because of the way that they look.

Despite growing efforts to implement responsible and effective dangerous dog laws, a number of communities within the US continue to enforce Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). These laws restrict or prohibit the ownership of specific breeds of dogs (typically pit bull-type dogs) within a community.

Studies show that BSL is largely ineffective, with no decrease in dog bites within communities that enact it. Worse, BSL leads to an increase in the number of dogs that end up in shelters (and an increase in dogs killed due to overpopulation), increased housing insecurity for dog owners, and may even lead to an increase in dog bites as these laws take the focus away from legislation that is proven to increase safety.

Breed identification by law enforcement, animal control, animal shelters, and even veterinarians is largely based on visual identification, rarely considering a dog's genetic make-up. Communities that restrict pit bull-type breeds often use visual identifiers such as short fur, a wide head, and a long tail to determine if a dog is "pit-type;" identifiers that encompass a large number of breeds and breed mixes outside of the pit bull-type breeds. This means that dogs in these communities die simply because of the way that they look.

Reesie is one of the lucky dogs that found a way out of a shelter in PG County, a community with BSL, eventually finding a loving home. BSL prevents the shelter from adopting out any dog that has been categorized as "pit-type," even to homes outside of their community. Instead, they must rely on overflowing and under-resourced private rescues outside of the community to pull these dogs into their foster programs. If a rescue isn't found, the dog will die.

20% of the sales from this limited-edition collection will be donated to Vindicated Pit Bull Rescue, the organization that saved Reesie's life. The collection is available through March 6.

To learn more about BSL in PG County, check out PB Proud, an organization that is fighting to repeal BSL and implement effective dangerous dog laws that consider individual dogs and humans, not a dog's breed.