Pit bulls are being freed from their bad reputations and returning as America's top dog
It's a great time to be a pit bull.

Pit bulls may finally be ditching their misinformed reputation.
Believe it or not, pit bulls used to be one of America's favorite dogs, a trusted family pet with a great temperament. People are often shocked to find out that the block-headed pups deemed as aggressive by society actually score really well on the temperament test, landing at 87.4%—only two tenths away from the score of golden retrievers. Yet for the past 50 years or so, they've been in a battle for their lives due to bad press and misinformation. But it looks like their luck is turning around.
Pit bulls have essentially been victims of a half-century-long smear campaign that they didn't sign up for. These extremely affectionate dogs are the product of cross-breeding bulldogs and terriers for the purpose of capturing and restraining livestock. Of course, eventually some not-so-nice humans decided this breed could serve as a money-making endeavor and began to breed them to fight and train them to be aggressive, though those traits are not inherent.
Basically pit bulls are much like any other dog—if you train it to be aggressive, it will do what it's trained to do. If you train it to give you its paw and sit pretty for a treat, it will.
Chocolate pit bull.
Photo Credit: Jacalyn Wetzel
The problem with the information circulating about pit bulls being aggressive is that many dogs who are not pit bulls are labeled as such due to their features, according to the American Pit Bull Foundation.
Recently there has been a counter campaign for the breed and it seems to be showing promise. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone who has owned a pit bull, affectionately known by their owners as "pibbles," to say anything bad about the dogs. Aside from some chewed-up shoes and being bombarded with kisses while they snuggle in your lap like a Pomeranian, pit bull owners speak highly of the breed.
Nowadays, the breed has a lot more advocates, from organizations and shelters to soccer moms. Villalobos Rescue Center helped to catapult the dogs back into the spotlight, helping to change the narrative with the docuseries "Pit Bulls and Parolees." The show even documented the stricter laws and misunderstandings around the breed in California, which forced the rescue organization to flee to New Orleans to continue its work.
It's thanks to shows like "Pit Bulls and Parolees" as well as shelters and veterinarians combating the negative stereotype that more pit bulls are ending up in homes snuggling on couches than euthanized. Though some states still have strict laws on the books essentially banning the dogs, advocacy groups and pibble owners have been fighting back in court.
Breed discrimination certainly isn't new. Other breeds such as Dobermans, Rottweilers and German shepherds have all done time on the "bad dog" list due to bad press. But the discrimination against the pit bull seems to have taken an exceptionally long time to turn around.
These dogs deserve a chance just like any other dog. All dogs require responsible humans to train and care for them and an entire breed shouldn't get a bad reputation and possible death sentence because a few people decided to be irresponsible. National Pit Bull Awareness Day is October 29.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."