Andre Gatling has had a long and successful career in the entertainment business as a stand-up comedian, among other roles. But his real love in life is rescuing and training an array of animals, particularly pit bulls.

Andre has spent well over 25 years working with animals and much more time growing up around pit bulls. He realized he had a unique approach to changing the behavior of aggressive dogs from his personal experiences with dogs and his time working with quarantined dogs in animal shelters. In his own words, Andre will tell you, “Aggression in a dog is similar to aggression in a human. We’re both scared of what we don’t understand, and our need to protect leads to aggression. Changing that aggression in a dog is more complex because the dog doesn’t speak English, so I had to learn to speak dog.”

Andre lives in Potomac Falls, Virginia with his two pit bulls, Chloe and Jordan, both of whom have American Kennel Club (AKC) accreditations. Chloe—who Andre calls a Ball Addict—has an AKC Canine Good Citizenship Title, while Jordan—who he calls the Bone Collector—achieved her AKC Star Puppy Award. These accolades help Andre’s advocacy for pit bulls to help change the perception of the breed.