A few years ago, dog dad Aaron Michael Louis decided to adopt a new pet in hopes of giving his senior Lab, King, a companion. He scoured local rescues for the perfect match and fell instantly in love with a little pit bull puppy named Gigi.
Within seconds of meeting Gigi, Louis knew she was just the pup he and King were looking for.
“I met Gigi, and she was just the sweetest, kindest little dog,” Louis told The Dodo. “So I brought her home, and it was like an immediate bond between them.”
Gigi established herself as the rambunctious baby of the pack, eager to play with everyone and everything. But her Labrador brother was her favorite companion of all.
“Anything her older brother did, she did,” Louis wrote on Instagram. “The bond was unmatched. She definitely played the role of the annoying little sister.”
King sadly passed away the month before Gigi’s two-year adoption anniversary. While Louis grieved the loss of his beloved dog, Gigi reeled from her brother’s absence. The two turned to each other for comfort and became closer than ever.
“It was like a strong grief period for both of us,” Louis said. “That was a turning point of our relationship. She started to trust me more.”
As part of their healing process, Louis and Gigi took daily walks around their San Diego, California, neighborhood and would often stop at parks along the way. Still as playful as ever, Gigi always waited for other dogs to pop in and play with her, but sadly, everyone avoided her.
“People were avoiding her,” Louis said. “They didn’t want their dogs playing with her, so she ended up playing by herself.”
Louis was heartbroken to see Gigi disregarded at the park. He knew what a fun-loving and kind dog she was, but no one else could see it due to their assumptions about her breed.
As a Black man, Louis recognized this treatment toward Gigi instantly. And he realized that, together, the discrimination they experienced was doubled.
“The biggest obstacle, I would say, that me and Gigi run into is the prejudice and the stereotypes against both of us,” Louis said. “But I never get, like, frustrated or mad because in my mind, I’m just like, ‘They don’t know us.’ They’re going off something that they believe without even meeting us.”
Louis and Gigi struggled to fit into the dog community in their area, so they decided to create their own. Louis soon planned a pit bull-specific meetup, which he called Bully Breed Bunch, in his area.
A handful of pit bulls showed up to the event, and Gigi wasn’t sure how to respond to the attendees at first. She assumed her usual people-watching position before being approached by a new friend.
“When new dogs showed up, the tail was wagging, she was happy,” Louis said. “Eveything [I] kind of hoped it was, it was, like, even better.”
You can watch Gigi play at the first Bully Breed Bunch event here:
Gigi played happily with her new friends while their parents swapped familiar stories. At the end of the day, Gigi and Louis went home with giant smiles on their faces from their new community of friends, looking forward to their next event.
Louis has since held various Bully Breed Bunch events, every one just as fun and fulfilling as the last. The devoted dog dad is happy to have created a space for other pit bull parents to meet, but he feels proudest seeing Gigi and her friends thrive.
“My favorite part has been just seeing these dogs grow in that space and find their comfort zone, find their happy place with their humans,” Louis said.
