Dogfighting is a vicious and pervasive form of animal cruelty that is seen far too often across the country. No dog deserves this kind of life, and at the ASPCA, we work every day to protect victims, help them become thriving pets, break dangerous stereotypes, and fight to end this heinous form of animal cruelty. 

We recently spoke to actor and animal lover, Justin Theroux, whose love for his own dog, Kuma, drives him to advocate against breed discrimination concerning pit bulls, and speak up on critical dangers dogs are facing nationwide. In honor of National Dogfighting Awareness Day, we asked Justin about his passion to end dogfighting, breed discrimination and why we need to keep fighting to help cruelty victims nationwide. 

“Dogfighting is indefensible. Period,” says Theroux plainly and definitively. “Dogs do not want to do it. It is not their nature and it’s taught to them through a series of cruel tactics.”

“It was believed that my old dog Pooma was fought. If it wasn’t dogfighting, it was direct abuse at the hands of a human,” he continues. “She had been starved, her teeth had been filed down, she had a deep skull fracture on the top of her head, long scars on her front arms and bite marks on her face. Signs also indicated she had been bred for puppies, presumably to sell or fight—talk about a dog who needed to rebuild trust with humans. It took several months, but after that time, once trust had been established, she was perhaps the most loyal dog I ever got to care for.”

Many dogs who are rescued from fighting go on to lead happy lives as beloved pets. Though some may need more time or supportive care than others, there’s no denying the resilience seen every day in former dogfighting and cruelty victims.

“If anything, Pooma was a testament to a pit bull’s ability to forgive humans,” adds Theroux. 

Many different breeds are used throughout the world, however, in the United States it is most commonly the American Pit Bull Terrier, leaving these dogs battling increasingly unfair stereotypes and biases.

“Kuma is my fifth pit bull,” says Theroux when asked about the breed. “Each one has been fantastic, but that is not to say each one hasn’t been work. All dogs are a commitment, but banning any dog based on breed is extremely narrow-minded.”

He also adds that pit bulls bring their own special qualities to everyday life. 

“Did I mention [pit bulls are] silly? Silliness is one of their most pronounced traits,” he says. “Honestly, if anything, pit bulls suffer most from bad branding—they have a terrible name. It literally has ‘pit' and ‘bull’ right there in the title. A better name would be ‘Velvet-Gummy-Clown-Mouth-Smile-Seals’… but I’m not in charge of these things.”

We hope that with Justin’s support we can encourage even more people to use their voices to speak up for dogfighting victims and misunderstood breeds like pit bulls. See more information on dogfighting and how you can report animal cruelty near you!