Chicago kids and their dogs choose kindness

By Elizabeth Doyle, Best Friends Magazine Jan/Feb 2007

We’re on the south side of Chicago, and some young guys approach our car. Our host, Tio Hardiman, has told them we’re coming. They shake our hands firmly and welcome us cheerfully to the “hood.” I probably look a little funny in my bright pink Best Friends sweatshirt, but none of them comments on it. However, they do strongly suggest to Troy Snow, the photographer, that he carry a little less camera equipment as we walk down the street.

They’re eager to talk about pit bulls. One of the guys points out an empty lot full of trash. “Why they not talkin’ about that garbage over there?” he asks. “Why they not talkin’ about how there ain’t no jobs? But they talkin’ about a pit bull that ain’t done nothing to nobody?”

They’re worried. They’ve heard about breed-specific legislation, about places that have banned pit bulls entirely. They hear rumors about people who don’t want anyone in the ghetto to be allowed to have a pit bull. They’re afraid it will start with ex-cons being banned from having pit bulls – and that it’ll gradually extend to the rest of the neighborhood. They want us to understand: Pit bulls are popular dogs in these parts. It’s not a sinister thing. In some rich areas, dogs that fit in your purse are the favorite. Here, people like pit bulls. What’s wrong with that? Putting down pit bulls is like putting down their neighborhood. “We ain’t all fighting pit bulls,” says one of the guys.

Another goes into his house to get his pit bull, Kofi, (pictured with Tio) to show us how nice he is. “Yeah, you can pet him – go ahead.” Kofi is big and floppy and slobbers on everyone. He’s so cute, you just want to hug him, and he’ll gladly give you a kiss if you do. “It’s how you treat the dog,” they say.



We tell the guys about Best Friends and give them some magazines. They flip through the magazines and suggest that Best Friends put together a video of all the pit bulls looking friendly and get somebody to do a pit-bull rap. Then, they say, they could put it on some of the cool websites for us. Not a bad idea!

As we leave, Troy tries to shake hands with one of the guys, who says, “Naw, naw, this is how we do it in the ghetto,” and shows him a different way to shake hands (some elbows involved). When I try to do the same, he repeats, “Naw, naw, this is how we do this in the ghetto,” and forgoes the handshake altogether in favor of a tight hug. We promise to convey their message to the world: Most people love their pit bulls, no matter what neighborhood they live in!

One neighborhood at a time
These young folks don’t know it yet, but they are about to play an important role in a revolutionary project. Tio Hardiman has a dream. He wants to stop pit-bull fighting, and dispel the notion that pit bulls are mean animals who need to be disposed of. By talking to kids like these, he hopes to build a neighborhood coalition to help reduce abuse of these dogs and decrease their numbers in animal shelters. In the process, he wants to improve the image of both the community and the pit bulls.

His plan involves identifying leaders in the neighborhood, and asking them to bring the community together on this issue. He’ll work with legislators to protect the dogs without outlawing them. He’ll host hurdle-jumping competitions for the dogs, so people can show off their pit bulls without anyone getting hurt. The winners get a small cash prize, a trophy and bragging rights about their athletic dogs. He’ll put friendly pit bulls from the ghetto into the spotlight to change the negative way people think about them. Best Friends is sponsoring Tio Hardiman’s efforts. If the statistics at the end of one year show that Tio’s plan is a success, then perhaps he can take this show on the road to other cities.

If anyone can make a difference here, it’s Tio. He grew up on these streets. When he was young, a kid bashed his head into the sidewalk just for walking past him on the way to the store. Tio’s stepfather got revenge by shooting the guy. It was a tough way to grow up. “In that environment, I didn’t feel anything,” Tio says. He never joined a gang, but it wasn’t too long before he started committing small crimes, and he learned how to fight to defend himself.

Eventually, though, he found a niche as what he calls a “revolutionary.” He was into Black Power, but not in a way that put down any other race. It was about building a nonviolent community. His convictions propelled him into a leadership role as an advocate for nonviolence. He remembers an incident in his old neighborhood when 400 gang members were gathering for a fight. A real blood bath was in the works! Tio stepped into the middle of it, told everyone to hold on, talked to the gang leaders involved, and got them to call the whole thing off.

In 1999, his reputation earned him a critical role as a mediator against gang violence in a new organization called CeaseFire, a community-based effort to stop the shootings and killings in Chicago. An initiative of the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention, CeaseFire uses outreach workers from the community, involvement of the clergy and public education to accomplish its mission. In the neighborhood to which Tio was assigned, shootings have fallen by 50 percent.

So, can he reduce the number of dogs brought to local animal shelters and the amount of violence against animals while also fighting breed-specific legislation? He’s pretty sure he can, but he’ll need help. That’s where other community leaders come in.

A message of redemption
At the Liberation Christian Center on the south side of Chicago, Pastor James Dukes is giving a stirring sermon. He says that if you need anything, just ask God, because it’s already taken care of. It was taken care of when He first got the idea of making you. The pastor talks about slavery, poverty, and the one thing that hasn’t changed since the beginning of time – God’s goodness. The congregation is mesmerized. Every few minutes, we’re asked to give each other the high-five or hold each other’s hands.

Tio is listening to the sermon, but his eyes are on another man -- Elder Tony Gordon, who’s sitting quietly on stage. In addition to being a preacher, Elder Gordon is one of the best police-dog trainers in Chicago. After the service, Elder Gordon invites us to a back room where he’s meeting with some ex-convicts who are participating in the church’s Brothers Helping Brothers program. These guys, just out of prison, are facing many challenges on the outside. What has Elder Gordon been using to reach out to them? Pit bulls.

Elder Tony Gordon holds Cinnamon's lead as her family looks on.

The stigma that pit bulls face is a lot like the stigma these ex-cons are facing: Both are feared and often hated, pit bulls for their reputation as aggressive animals and ex-cons for their past. One man tells me he got a job and was doing OK at it. But then his employer ran a background check, saw he had a record, and fired him. The ex-con wondered how he could stay straight if no one would give him a chance. His luck changed when Elder Gordon stepped in and got him a job helping out at Woodlawn Animal Hospital, where his wife, Dr. Allyson Gordon, is the chief veterinarian.

Elder Gordon has been a dog trainer for 30 years, and he’s teaching these men what he knows. Soon, they’ll have a skill that no one can take away from them. And they can use their own troubled past to relate to dogs who have had difficult lives. The men beam when they talk about how much they like animals, and when they think about having not only a job, but such an important job.

So can Elder Gordon -- preacher, police-dog trainer, counselor to ex-cons -- help Tio out? He says he’d be happy to. Pastors are invaluable for bringing a community together to promote kindness to animals. And when Tio wants to rehome pit bulls who’ve been tossed out because they lost fights, who better to have on his side than one of the top dog trainers in Chicago?

A little understanding
The Word family called Elder Gordon a couple weeks ago to tell him about a family disaster. Their beloved pit bull, Cinnamon, had bitten a family member in the face. Gordon came right over. “Dogs never really turn on their owners,” he says. “It seems that way, but it’s always a process.” And in the Words’ case, he feels that well-intended roughhousing with Cinnamon as a puppy led her to think that using her mouth was OK. Trouble is, those little “gotcha” bites aren’t so cute when a dog grows up.

The Words welcome us. It’s hard to say how many people would have called a dog trainer in this situation, rather than taking the dog straight to the pound, or worse. The Words, however, wouldn’t have dreamed of doing anything except calling Elder Gordon. They proudly show us Cinnamon’s progress after just one session with the pastor. “We’re not afraid of her anymore,” they say, as Cinnamon rolls on her back submissively for a belly rub. Elder Gordon demonstrates how he can give her a bowl of food, and then take it away, without any argument from Cinnamon. After just one session!

Elder Gordon reminds us that pit bulls are often featured in the news when they’re aggressive because they’re so strong and can do so much damage when they misbehave. But, in the hands of people like the Words, who have new skills for handling Cinnamon, Gordon says, “Pit bulls are naturally one of the kindest, gentlest, most family-oriented dogs.”

Getting the word out
It looks like Tio is well on his way toward putting together a powerful coalition of community members. Before we leave, we watch Tio as he does his weekly TV show. It’s called “Community Issues with Tio Hardiman” and tonight he focuses on coming together for the animals. Wearing a suit and speaking in a low, firm voice, he takes call-in questions about everything from why dogs should live indoors to why training your dog will help make him a well-socialized, non-aggressive companion. He says, “We are trying to change the image of these defenseless animals.” And he leaves us with this thought: “Feel free to stay positive for the rest of your life.”

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For behind-the-scenes about the Vicktory Dogs go to the Best Friends Blog.

For all the latest on the Vicktory Dogs go here.

Meet some of the Best Friends pit bulls, including the Vicktory Dogs, here.

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