In my experience, people often find their callings through a myriad of circumstance. In the case of Ray Ruiz, it almost seems like he was born to work with the American Bully breed. By day, he works with elevators, by night, along with his daughter, he breeds american bully’s, and travels with his dogs to shows. A fascinating guy, for sure.
“Before I got into the American bully breed, I was raised around the pit bull breed since I was smaller, it was amazing, the bond and the energy that the American bully breed gives is wonderful,” Ruiz said. “Meeting new people and going to different events with the breed is always a great opportunity, as well. It’s great interacting with other like-minded people.”
Ruiz was always into his dogs since he was younger. As an elevator technician, Ruiz likes to make the bully’s a family thing. “Now that we go to shows, we meet people from all over the world,” Ruiz said. “We’ve been blessed to win first place at a few shows in the past here and there, it’s cool.”
Since the dogs are essentially family pets, Ruiz’ daughter is a natural with the breed. She loves to play with the dogs, handle the puppies and take them out. When Ruiz takes her to the dog show, she gets excited to go, ever since she was very young. The family aspect of breeding has resulted in his daughter becoming friends with other breeders and their children. “She gets to see her friends and other junior handlers,” Ruiz said. “Being a parent, I love that. There’s so much positive energy with the breed.”
Ruiz highlighted some of the responsibilities with the breed includes, being hard-working and providing a good life for the animals. Making sure they’re healthy and providing responsible medical care is obviously incredibly important for Ruiz and he takes great pride in being able to do so. “You have to avoid the politics of the breed,” Ruiz said. “It’s bad enough that people are scared of pit bulls or that they look at pit bulls as the worst breed of dogs. The American Bully breed is a whole different animal. Different look, that kind of thing. I like to stay focused on the positives with the breed and not deal with the politics too much.”
Competitively, Ruiz pays attention to the trends when it comes to the American bully breed. “So far, I’m seeing a lot of positive things associated with this breed. There are tons of up-and-coming breeders with some beautiful dogs,” Ruiz said. “There’s a lot of great things going on with the bully community that’s really nice to see. The breed is getting bigger and better on a positive level. Now, more people are getting into the breed and starting to really understand how to work with the breed. The American bully breed has a beautiful personality. You need to live it to understand it.”
“You need to live it to understand it.” I think that’s a pretty apt descriptor when it comes to the American bully breed. Ruiz is a man who’s incredibly aware of the stigma attached to bully breeds. However, his positive outlook doesn’t allow him to get bogged down by the ugliness of what people say or what people’s preconceived notions are.
“The breed allows you to be yourself. You are what you breed and the dog will feed off your attitude. They just want love and attention, and need to bond. The more you bond with the American bully breed, the easier your life is. They make life easier, if you can believe that,” Ruiz said. “It’s amazing. When you understand the breed, you understand the attachment.”
Ruiz puts an emphasis on understanding the breed and taking time to really connect with each dog. “There’s a lot of good here. Don’t come into this breed trying to get rich or trying to get attention. The bully breed has a lot to offer, whether as a family pet or a show dog. It’s like having a best friend,” Ruiz said. “To be a breeder and breed this type of dog, just do it the right way. Don’t get too crazy with it. From my perspective, the breed keeps me focused on life and keeps me positive.”
