Taye Diggs reveals the emotional reason he chose to adopt a pit bull
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Taye Diggs recently opened up about his family's decision to adopt a pit bull mix, and the reason behind their choice has a much deeper meaning than meets the eye.
Diggs and his family adopted Mixty Copeland several years ago and, during a recent interview with AOL Entertainment, he explained that he felt a special connection to the often misunderstood dog breed.
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"It sounds weird, but being a black man, we are misunderstood as well, so I kind of felt a simpatico there," Diggs explained to us. "That’s something that we were very aware of and we didn’t want to play into that stereotype. We wanted to kind of go against that. To say we’ve been pleased [with our decision] is an understatement."
The actor explained that they did their research before adopting their beloved dog to make sure that she would get along well with his son, Walker.
"In the research that we did, we found out that pit bulls were referred to as nannies," he explained. "Once we found that out, ti was off to the races. She’s great and makes me want to get another."
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Doing adequate research before deciding to get a dog isn't something that everyone does, and Diggs is trying to change that. In collaboration with Royal Canin, the actor is encouraging prospective dog owners to make sure that they find the breed that's truly right for them.
"A lot of times when people go to select a dog, they go by looks or what is trendy and they fail to do the proper research on that breed, so a dog that starts out cute and small often ends up big and overwhelming if you aren’t prepared," he told us of his "Chews Your Match" campaign. "We’re encouraging people to do this research, because both sides benefit. Most of it is common sense, but you’d be surprised how often people get it wrong."
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