Rescue Dogs Saved By An Ethical Circus

Circuses have gotten a bad rap lately for their abuse of animals. The people working there can have the best intentions, but when it comes to traveling with elephants and lions and bears it is kind of hard to do so respectfully to the animals. Elephants weren’t made to travel in a circus, they are very smart creatures who deserve our respect. Animal rights groups have noticed the poor care of these amazing animals and decided to protest circuses whenever they come into town. This hurts the circus’s attendance and leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. That is why the Midnight Circus in the Park decided to ditch the exotic animals for something a little more humane, rescued dogs.

The Midnight Circus in the Park which is based in Chicago threw a show in an effort to raise money for the hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. The circus shocked viewers by bringing out two beautiful pit bulls who performed flawlessly. Junebug and Rosie Rae helped reverse the negative stigma associated with pit bulls and dazzled the crowd with some unbelievable entertainment. This isn’t the first time the Midnight Circus in the Park has used pit bulls as performers, there was one named Lola who started the whole thing back in 2013.

The ringmaster of the Midnight Circus is Jeff Jenkins and he loves pit bulls as a breed. He is an advocate for pit bulls and has loved these dogs for a long time. Before running this circus Jeff Jenkins worked for the Ringling Brothers which has gotten a lot of flack for mistreating animals in the past. Jeff decided to take the negative connotation away from circuses and pit bulls as well. Now they are no longer mistreating animals, but in fact, rehabilitating them.

When Jeff is not working in the circus he works as the head trainer in the American Humane Society’s “End Dogfighting” campaign and it was working here that gave him the brilliant idea to incorporate dogs into his circus. He met the dog Junebug when a boy brought the dog to class and Jeff could tell that she was being poorly treated. The boy loved the dog and did not want to give it up, but Jeff offered the boy a deal, if Jeff could take care of Junebug then the boy could be a class assistant. This position was highly-sought after so the boy couldn’t say no.

Jeff took his new friend as well as Rosie Rae whom he adopted from a shelter and started to train them together. He put time and effort into turning them into seasoned circus performers who were just as loving and affectionate as any other dog. The only times the dogs have messed up have been when they stole a kernel or two of popcorn from a kid sitting in the front row. Other than that, they’re showing everyone just how sweet this breed can be and how fun and responsible this man’s awesome circus is.