Notable pit bulls[edit]
Pit bull breeds have become famous for their roles as soldiers, police dogs, search and rescue dogs, actors, television personalities, seeing eye dogs, and celebrity pets. The American Staffordshire Terrier, Pete the Pup from the movie Little Rascals is a historically well known pit bull. Lesser known, but still historically notable pit bulls include Billie Holiday's companion "Mister",[76]
Helen Keller's dog "Sir Thomas",[77] Buster Brown's dog "Tige",[78] Horatio Jackson's dog "Bud",[79][80]
President Theodore Roosevelt's Pit Bull terrier "Pete", "Jack Brutus" who served for Company K, the First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry during the civil war,[81]
Sergeant Stubby who served for the 102nd Infantry, 26th (Yankee) Division during World War I, and Sir Walter Scott's "Wasp".[82]
Contemporary significant pit bulls are: Weela, who helped save 32 people, 29 dogs, 3 horses, and 1 cat during southern California's widespread flooding in 1993;
[83] Popsicle, a five-month-old puppy originally found nearly dead in a freezer, who grew to become one of the nation's most important police dogs;[84]
Norton, who was placed in the Purina Animal Hall of Fame after he rescued his owner from a severe reaction to a spider bite;[85]
Titan, who rescued his owner's wife, who would have died from an aneurysm,
D-Boy, who took three bullets to save his family from an intruder with a gun,[86]
Star who while protecting her owner was shot by police in a video that went viral,[87]
and Lilly, who lost a leg after being struck by a freight train while pulling her unconscious owner from the train tracks.[88]
Daddy, Cesar Millan's right-hand dog was famous for his mellow temperament and his ability to interact calmly with ill-mannered dogs.
