The reality star's fans came to her defense on Instagram after she was criticized for owning the dog while she is pregnant

It’s been a ruff 24 hours for Paola Mayfield!

On Sunday, the 90 Day Fiancé star posted a photo to Instagram where she sat on the front step outside of her home alongside her and husband Russ Mayfield’s pet dog, Phoebe.

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Though Mayfield, 31 — who wore a strapless, black mini dress and white converse — has recently been criticized for being too sexy and also for having bleached hair on social media, it wasn’t her appearance that her followers were preoccupied with. Instead, some people starting calling out the reality star for owning a pit bull while being pregnant.

“Paola, please never allow a pit bull around your child,” wrote one fan. “Hundreds of children have been killed by them… Pit bulls were bred simply for bloodsport and are simply not safe to have around children… I understand if you want to block me now and that’s fine.”

“I’ve owned pit bulls, fostered them, and volunteered with them. They are not safe, especially for children. And they were NEVER ‘nanny dogs,'” added another fan. “If you cared about your child, you wouldn’t have a pit in your home. So many mothers said the same thing as you, ‘all it takes is love and you can erase genetics.’ And they are shocked when their pit snapped.”

Image zoom Paola Mayfield/Instagram

Mayfield — who’s expecting her first child, a son — refused to let the comments bother her and thanked the first fan for their concern, clarifying about her dog’s actual breed.

“thank you… it is ok and I wouldn’t block you for that,” she responded back. “my dog isn’t a pit bull she is a hound mix and she is the sweetest dog.”

She later posted a video to her Instagram Stories of Phoebe, whom she rescued as a 3-month-old puppy, as they went out for a walk. “My sweet dog,” she wrote underneath the exploring pup.

Image zoom Paola Mayfield’s Instagram Stories Paola Mayfield/Instagram

Mayfield’s fans later jumped to her defense and criticized the people who claimed her dog was unsafe to be around as an expecting mother.

“I have 2 pit bulls and 2 small children,” one fan wrote. “No matter the dog you should never leave a baby alone with one. Its all training and common sense on the parents part 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s not a ‘breed’ issue. #sorrynotsorry #dontbullymybreed”

“what an ignorant comment. I own a pit bull i have for years and he is the sweetest dog I’ve ever had,” added another fan. “Any dog is capable of attacking and killing someone, it’s the owners who raise them. Pitbulls aren’t born evil, their owners make them that way.”

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), all dogs, including pit bulls, should be properly trained by their owners to ensure aggressive tendencies are prevented.

“All dogs, including pit bulls, are individuals,” the ASPCA wrote on their website. “Treating them as such, providing them with the care, training and supervision they require, and judging them by their actions and not by their DNA or their physical appearance is the best way to ensure that dogs and people can continue to share safe and happy lives together.”

This is not the first time that Mayfield has clapped back at her followers.

In an impassioned message she shared on Instagram earlier this month, the reality star preemptively dismissed critical comments by implying to her followers that they should keep negative thoughts to themselves.

“Before the #momshaming start with the blah blah blah comments. Let me tell you this,” she wrote in the caption of her video, where she showed off her baby bump and backside in a bathroom mirror while wearing a white halter top and thong underwear.