By Scottie Brown

The Selma Times-Journal

While many people may have the misconception that pit bulls are a vicious or aggressive breed, Chad Mitchell wants to help set the record straight for the breed with the first “Dallas County Bully Bar B Que” Saturday, July 26.

Mitchell, who works for the Selma Fire Department, is currently the owner of four pit bulls, and said he wanted to disprove the myth that the breed is violent and savage.

“It’s an event where we want to display the positive side of the breed itself to let the people of Selma know there are responsible Pit Bull owners, and there are dogs that are bred with excellent temperaments,” Mitchell said.

The event will take place Saturday, July 26 starting at 10 a.m. at Bloch Park, and Mitchell said he is anticipating a large crowd.

“We put it out on our webpage Friday, and today we have almost 9,000 hits for two days,” Mitchell said.

The event is free to the public, and Mitchell stressed he wanted everyone to come to learn more about the dogs.

“We’d just like to show the positive side of the breed, because they always have negative media about the breed,” Mitchell said. “They’re used in illegal activities, such as dog fighting, and we’re against that.”

While the event is free, food served at the event will cost $10. All the proceeds from the day will go to the Selma Animal Shelter.

Mitchell said that while the event was to service a pit bull audience, he wanted the money to go towards helping all breeds of dogs.

“It’s just for specifically pit bulls, but the proceeds will be going to the animal shelter which will be taking care of all breeds.”

While the event is aimed to stress the gentle temperament of the dogs, Mitchell said there would be guidelines and restrictions dogs and owners must follow. Mitchell said the dogs should be well behaved, and owners should expect to pick up after their dogs.