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http://dontbullymybreed.com/

We have taken in quite a few pit mixes lately.  In fact, we've taken so many that I almost feel like a pit rescue <!>.  All of the pits we have saved were last minute dogs that were going to be gassed because the were the only ones that other rescues left behind.  Yet, all of these unwanted dogs have turned out to be SO sweet and loving - true ambassadors of the breed!  There is so much misinformation surrounding these loyal dogs that even other all-breed-rescuers are sometimes scared to take them in. Heck, even Rachel Ray seems to think that her dog-aggressive pit is going to turn people-aggressive one day even though it seems that everyone (from families experienced with this breed to PhD behaviorists) has been shouting from the rooftops about how dog-on-dog aggression isn't a precursor of dog-on-people aggression....! 

I must confess that I wasn't always a fan of pit bulls.  I would see pictures of them crossposted all of the time but always turned them away because I had heard so many times that there were just too many of them and that no one wanted them so I just "knew" they'd be hard to adopt out......

Then came Rufus!  

Rufus was a tiny little guy (7 months and about 32lbs) that was the only one left at the shelter at the end of the week after all of the other rescues pulled -- he was definitely doomed for gassing.  I couldn't let such a young dog die all alone in a metal box just because of his breed so Jay and I figured that we would just foster him ourselves and keep him for however many months we needed to until he could find a home.  Rufus arrived sick (and dying, literally) with parvo.  But he was a champ - after a week of hospitalization, he regained his health and turned out to be one of the most loyal, docile puppies I'd ever fostered.  He immediately bonded with my other dogs and with everyone else that he met.  He attended a meet and greet once where there were 7 other (non-pit) dogs barking and jumping on everyone they met -- Rufus just sat quietly amidst the chaos (just like in the picture above).  He wasn't scared, he was just patiently awaiting his new family.  Rufus, who I thought would take months to adopt out, had about 10 great applications within a few weeks time.  I couldn't have dreamed of a better placement than the one we found for him - his new Dad loves him so much and still stays in touch with us :)


After Rufus, I realized that the hype about pits (being hyperactive, hard to train, impossible to adopt out, etc) was just that -- hype.

So I kept taking them. 

And you know what? 

The pit mixes that have passed through our rescue have been my favorite dogs!
And we've had a lot of them in foster care for a lot less time than any other types of dogs because even though many people are scared of them or dislike them, many other people know how great they are! 

Check out a few of them below and if you haven't yet shared your life with a pit, you'll begin to understand why people say that once you've had a pit, you will never want another breed :)

There is Bruno...who is now part of my family and a detriment to my job since he begs me to snuggle with him just a little longer every morning!  He serves as resident greeter to of all of our adopters when they come to my house to finalize their paperwork.

There was Lucy....when she met Bruno it was love at first sight for the two of them...I was SO tempted to adopt her myself!  She was turned into the shelter as a previously chained dog by a "family" that never bothered naming her and simply didn't want her anymore.  She sure did look like a mean junkyard dog with her scrunched up face, huge biceps, and pointy tail but all she wanted to do was sit at your feet and be loved.  She never jumped, barked, growled, pulled on a leash, chased cats, etc.....she was just grateful and.....perfect.  Her new family as also a little hesitant at first about getting a 'mean dog' but after meeting her, she quickly changed their minds!  They tell me that she now attends doggie daycare sometimes and I'm sure she's impressing everyone there too!

   

There was Angel....who endured so much in her life (living at the end of a chain with no shade from the North Carolina sun to the point where she developed skin cancer, ears being hacked off with scissors, forced to fight, overbred, etc) but when she came to us, she behaved from day one like a classy lady.  She loved everyone (even my cats!) and she thought it was her job in life to let you know how grateful she was by giving kisses all day long.  She also loved being pampered and even let me dress her up in pink sweaters!  I wanted to adopt her too but there was no shortage of loving families willing to take this sweet girl in - Angel now has the 'retirement' she deserves (and thank goodness it came at such a young age for her!) and even though I haven't seen her since adoption, I often think fondly of her and her wonderful new mom/adopter - I couldn't imagine a better pairing than those two!  




There was Bella...abandoned at the shelter after being used for years as a chained up puppy-making-machine.  Poor Bella was bred to death - I mean this literally because even after she was spayed and underwent several lumpectomy surgeries, her breast cancer wouldn't dissipate.


Fortunately, when we saved her from the shelter she was placed into one of our most loving foster homes with two wonderful people who decided to adopt Bella and give her all of the love and medical attention she deserved.  They've even taken her for chemo but that too has been unsuccessful.  Bella is in her last days as I write this - it's heartbreaking to know that her life is being cut short because of someone's greed (and even scarier thinking about where all of her puppies are right now) but it's heartwarming to know that for the past several months she has known freedom, love, good food and....snuggling!   Bella, like all of the other pits you've just read about, has loved everyone she's met.  I still remember the night that she came in on transport - even after the long ride and the stress of being in a new situation, Bella was driving away with her new family with a huge smile and wagging tail - it was as if she knew from the moment she met them that they were her angels.  She picked them.  And given her great temperament, it's no wonder why they picked her too!



There was Lenny - as you can tell from his photo, if Lenny has a flaw, it's only that he loves everyone - even the animal control officer that would have been the one to gas him had we not gotten him out in time. Every time you see this dog, he's ready to lick you up.  Words cannot describe the zest for life that this puppy has.  When you meet him, he's like a little tank (about 1 foot tall and 50lbs of muscle) with a wagging butt.  He's so excited that I'm surprised his whole back end doesn't topple over from the wagging!  I can't imagine anyone ever being fearful of a dog that has Lenny's temperament - I fell for him the second I met him and so did his foster family - they've now adopted him!



There are others too -  Mariah, Oliver, Sally, Maggie, Aries, Carl, Vicky, and my most recent favorite (who is still in need of a foster and/or adopter) - Brutus!  All of these dogs have one thing in common - loyalty! 
They are the epitome of what a dog should be -- a great companion!

(By the way, Brutus' shelter picture is below - the only way to describe him is "Big BABY!" - he's just like Lenny and wants love love love!  He also happens to be short and stocky like a little tank and he has a big wagging butt too.  Someone dumped him at the shelter wearing a 2 inch black leather spike collar - they probably bought him hoping to have a mean dog to impress their friends with and when he turned out to be a sweetheart, they became bored and left him to die.  We're working on getting cuter pics and a bio of this little guy but in the meantime, if you want to meet him, just email us!  He's quite the charmer and will surely floor you with his flattering ways.)



In honor of the lovely dogs above, and all of the others who never make it out of shelters (or who endure fates worse than euthanasia) I'm going to do a series of posts about these all-American dogs that are truly the most forgotten, most ignored and most overlooked companions in every city, town and suburb of our great nation.

For now, don't forget to visit http://dontbullymybreed.com/


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