Jeff Jenkins

	Jeff Jenkins is lead trainer on the Pit Bull Training Team. Lola is the top dog. © Saverio Truglia

Jeff Jenkins helped to found the Pit Bull Training Team with the belief that work against dogfighting needs to address the problem on both ends of the leash.

The dogs needed to be socialized, trained and cared for in a safe, humane and realistic manner. The owners of these animals needed to be educated, inspired and treated with respect as well.

Jeff was born and raised in Chicago. Working as an acrobat and clown in the circus for many years, he was exposed to many animals and trainers, some quite extraordinary and others...not so good. When Jeff returned to Chicago, he worked with many dog trainers all over the city. Jeff eventually began to train on his own and developed a reputation as an extraordinary trainer, particularly with more challenging dogs.

Jeff rescued Lola, his pit bull and constant companion, on Chicago's west side when she very young. He knew she was the dog for him when he threw a ball and she raced off after it, returned quickly—and just as Jeff reached down for the ball she bit him. Since that introduction, Jeff and Lola have traveled all over the world giving performances, workshops and seminars at locations from correctional facilities to public schools to Chicago Bulls Games, where they can be seen entertaining 20,000 people on a regular basis.

Jeff is a firm believer in practicing what you preach. That is why he is taking the Pit Bull Training Team into some of Chicago's most notorious neighborhoods for dogfighting. By challenging the owners and their dogs, and giving them the tools to succeed, Jeff Jenkins and the Pit Bull Training Team are having a powerful and immediate impact on the scourge of dogfighting.