Jason Saola stirs up attention, and draws notice each time he walks two sunglass-sporting pit bulls down the streets of San Francisco, with hopes of helping the breed’s reputation. The two well-mannered and friendly pit bulls, Orange Juice and Psycho, happily romp down the street along side Saola and seem to enjoy all the extra attention their daily walks get them- which seem to ultimately lead to new friends and extra belly rubs.
Saola hopes the dogs will help people see that not all pit bulls deserve the bad reputation and stigma that frequently surrounds the breed. He is a Fiji native who has spent the last twenty years here, but was raised in a culture where dogs were treated very differently. In Fiji, dogs are rarely kept as indoor loving house-pets or members of the family and are treated more primitively mostly being housed outdoors. He did not grow up in a place where dogs were dressed up or pampered like these two- but he has become accustomed to the American dog-loving culture, and admittedly prefers this American type of treatment towards dogs.
The cameras, smartphones and smiles come out every time Jason Saola and his dogs stroll the brick sidewalks of Market Street. Saola and his dogs in shades, Orange Juice and Psycho, have been a daily fixture downtown for nearly three years, and still they turn heads wherever the go. Most 3-year-old American Staffordshire terriers wouldn’t stand for the flashy plastic shades that Saola says are made especially for dogs. […] he started training the tan pit bulls to wear them when they were puppies, and now it seems the fashion accessory is second nature to them. “Pit bulls have a bad reputation,” Saola said. When Saola’s friend Isaiah Lopez encounters Psycho in Union Square, he scratches the tan bully on the belly and the 90-pound beast turns to putty. When my boyfriend went to jail nobody would really take care of Psycho, so Jason was the one would feed him and walk him. Aside from trying to improve the public image of pit bulls — and hoping just a little that a Hollywood producer might spot the dogs and spread their fame — Saola has another reason for strolling the city with his shaded pups.
Source: Pit bull ambassador lets dogs out in shades – San Francisco Chronicle
