I used to be terrified of Pit Bulls

I used to be terrified of Pit Bulls. I had heard they are vicious, fighting dogs, who can lock their jaws. I had heard that they eat cats. I had heard they will attack, injure, or kill children. I had heard they will attack other dogs. I would avoid them at all costs. If I saw one at the dog park, I would leave. If I saw one coming toward me, being walked by its owner, I would cross the street.

They appeared to be 120-pound killing machines. It’s funny how something you are afraid of can actually look bigger than it really is. It brings me back to the day I was working as a gas station attendant and was held up at gun-point. I can’t recall what the robber looked like, or what he was wearing, but I can remember every single detail of the gun. The gun -- which appeared to be gigantic.

I’ll admit, I hadn’t actually met a Pit Bull. I had one friend who owned three of them. I would make her put them away when I came to visit. The media stories and rumors about Pit Bulls made me scared to death of these dogs. I believed what I had heard.

Then one day, I saw this picture of a little puppy who had been abandoned – dumped out on a deserted country road. She was a tiny little thing, with the most soulful eyes I’d ever seen. She needed a home. I contacted her rescuer and brought her home. I’d had many dogs, of different breeds, in the past, and had several dogs at the time. I love all my dogs, past and present. But THIS dog is different. I am IN LOVE with this dog.

From day one, she wants to snuggle and lay on me. She is extremely eager to please. Training her was a breeze. She was the star of her puppy training class. She loves all the other dogs in our house. She lets the cats swat at her tail, and rub their heads on her face. She adores my nieces. She is a wonderful example to every foster dog we’ve brought in the house in the past year. She comes to work with me, at the doggie day care and boarding facility I work at. She plays with dozens of other dogs there. This dog, as it turns out, is a Pit Bull. Her name is Aiden.

About two weeks after adopting Aiden, my first Pit Bull puppy, I got a call about a dog who needed help. I was told nothing about him except that he’s a Black Lab. I agreed to help and we got him home. Turns out, he was just a puppy, about a week younger than Aiden, and he is a Black Lab MIX. As he grew, we discovered he is a Black Lab/Pit Bull mix. He too, is an amazing dog, friendly and welcoming to other dogs, cats and children. He too, has been a wonderful example to all of our foster dogs. His name is Daegan.

When Aiden and Daegan were about nine months old, we rescued a very special little puppy. She was a tiny, eight week-old, Blue Heeler puppy. She had been abandoned in a box on a 105 degree day. She had serious neurological problems and was severely disabled. She was so anemic that she needed a blood transfusion or she would have died that day she was abandoned. Just as people can donate blood, so can dogs. That donation saved this puppy’s life. That blood donation, which saved Neela’s life, was made by a Pit Bull.

Neela, despite being so severely disabled, was a very happy, loving puppy. Her balance and coordination were so affected that walking, holding her head steady to eat and drink, and using the bathroom outside were all struggles for Neela. Yet, she was a determined little girl. She never gave up. She taught me so much about determination. Whenever I get discouraged or feel like something is impossible, I just think of little Neela and I press on. She was such an inspiration to me and everyone else she met. She survived for an additional four weeks after that blood transfusion. Although I dearly miss her, I am so thankful for the lessons she taught me.

She was sent to me for a purpose. Because of Neela, I got to meet that Pit Bull who saved her life. I also got to meet his other two Pit Bull brothers. So, all in all, my personal Pit Bull experiences had been with Aiden – best dog ever, Daegan – awesome dog too, and three more well-balanced, loving, life-saving Pit Bulls. I was beginning to learn that all those horror stories, rumors, and myths about Pit Bulls weren’t at all a good representation of these dogs. Neela was sent to me for a reason. Because of her, I am now dedicated to saving Pit Bulls.

Since Neela’s passing, almost one year ago, I have fostered over a dozen Pit Bulls. I’ve never had a bad experience with a Pit Bull. What I’ve experienced is that Pit Bulls are extremely loving, friendly, eager to please, adaptable dogs. Some of my foster dogs have come from abusive situations, or been used as "bait" dogs. Yet, to meet them, you'd never know the terrible things people have done to them. That is the spirit of a Pit Bull. They are amazing dogs. I actually go out of my way to meet other people’s Pit Bulls when I see them out in public now. Still, I’ve never had a bad experience with a Pit Bull. I’ve even gone to an abandoned house, which had a chain-link fence around the yard, with a Pit Bull in the yard. I actually hopped over the fence, in to HER yard, to check on her. She came right up to me, in HER territory, wagged her entire body, and then flipped over on her back for me to rub her belly. I, of course, obliged, and she proceeded to give me kisses on my face.

What I’ve learned, not from the media, not from rumors, and not from myths, but from my own experiences, is that Pit Bulls are awesome dogs! I actually love Pit Bulls now, and honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever own another breed of dog again. I still love all dogs, but Pit Bulls, they are just something extra special.

The Great Crate Debate

To crate or not to crate, that is the question. When I get a new dog, whether it’s a new member of my family, or a foster dog, the first thing I do is to crate train them. Dogs are naturally “den” animals. They typically enjoy the safety and security of a crate. It is similar to a child’s room. Just as kids like to have their own room – a space to call their own, dogs are just the same. The crate is where they sleep and eat. Providing a dog this luxury solves a myriad of problems too. For younger dogs and puppies, the crate is an essential tool for house training. A dog will not soil their eating and sleeping space.

We have started crate training puppies as young as four weeks old. At that age, I will simply place a crate, with the door open at all times, in the pen with the mama dog and the litter. It’s amazing to watch the puppies naturally gravitate to the crate. They will actually pile up in the crate, stuffing as many of themselves in as will fit in there, all on their own. Crate training puppies is just that simple. It’s in their nature. We recently crate trained a litter of four puppies, placing two in one crate, and two in another. At eight weeks of age, from the very first night, those puppies slept through the night without having an accident in the crates. They were also able to spend my entire work day in their crates without having an accident. Providing a crate also keeps the house safe from teething little puppies chewing up everything in sight. 

There are those who feel that putting a dog in a “cage” is cruel. I can’t count the number of people who have expressed this to me at various adoption events. I’ve met folks of all types at these events, including a lot of inexperienced dog owners. I do my best to educate them, but it always seems that the dogs who get returned to the rescue are usually the ones who weren’t crated in their new home. People have returned them due to chewing, soiling in the house, or incessant barking when the new owner is away. These are all symptoms of boredom and separation anxiety. Simply providing a crate would solve this. Dogs need a “job”, or to know what they are supposed to be doing at a given time. If left home alone with nothing to do, and free reign of the house, a dog will find something to do and it’s usually something destructive. Dogs learn that “crate time” is sleeping time, or chewing time, if provided with something to chew on.

I have three dogs and a revolving door of foster dogs. Of my three dogs, two of them are a little over a year old. The other one, Brenna, is six years old. Brenna is a Black Lab/Great Dane mix and the most well-balanced dog I know. She is a perfect example for every new foster dog we bring into our home. She is always the first dog we introduce the new dogs to, since she is neither dominant nor submissive. She brings a sense of calm to each new rescued dog and welcomes them into her space. She’s the perfect dog.

Brenna has not had any issues with chewing or barking. She is perfectly housetrained. For these reasons, Brenna has been the only dog in the house that has never had a crate. When we’re away, Brenna has always been free to roam the house and usually spends her days lying on the couch. That was until last November when we had to put Kirby, our fourteen year-old Dachshund, to sleep. After that, Brenna started being destructive when left home alone. She also began to use the bathroom in the house while we were away.

Five months later, Brenna is still bothered by the absence of Kirby. What she’s done about it has absolutely amazed me. Usually at feeding time, when we let the dogs inside, after some playtime in the backyard, each dog goes into their crate, while Brenna is supposed to go the couch. Once everyone is calm, they get their meal. Lately, Brenna has decided that she is going to get in a crate. She will actually jump in whichever crate a dog doesn’t beat her to. She doesn’t go in the same one every time – just whichever one happens to be available. If they are all full, she will get in one WITH the other dog! She’ll hop in it and wait for her meal. She’s actually shown me that she wants a crate of her own.

So, we had to get her one. Automatically, from day one, at mealtime, Brenna hops right in her crate and waits patiently for her meal. When she is loose in the house, Brenna actually wanders into her crate and lies down. She has her very own couch in our family room, but she prefers to lie in her crate instead. For the first time ever, a dog has crate-trained US!

The guilt I feel is indescribable. For six years, I have never seen a need to provide Brenna with a crate. I knew all the benefits of a crate. I’ve educated many people on this issue. Yet my own, well-balanced, perfect dog was missing all those benefits. To all those people who feel that a crate is punishment, just ask my Brenna how she feels about it. NOT providing a crate is actually punishment. My Brenna is a happy girl now with her very own crate.  

A Happy Pit Bull Story

Here is a story about one of my friends, Savannah, and her caregiver, Barbara. I loved it so much it made me cry, so I thought I'd share it with my readers...enjoy!

 

Savannah, a happy American pit bull

Photo: Barbara Blackman

And now for something completely different..a happy pit bull story

• By Cindy Marabito, American Pit Bull Examiner
• April 6th, 2011 3:56 pm ET

Barbara Blackman is a board member of “The Freckles Freedom Fund,” a group dedicated to saving shelter pit bulls across the country.

Together with her people friends, Toni Vale of Pennsylvania, Vicki Weales in Louisiana, Tiffany Russell in Oklahoma and Wendy Schugar in Florida, these gals are saving the lives of forgotten and cast aside American pit bulls.

Barbara has been active in trying to get the word out about the recent surge in pit bull abuse by circulating petitions for awareness and justice in the recent cases of Patrick, Snoop and Daniel.

Fellow board member, Toni Vale suggested Barbara write up the story of her rescued princess, Savannah and submit it. Savannah sounds like a southern girl and she is….South Philly, that is.
Here is Savannah’s story in Barbara’s own words:

“Savannah is a 2 year old, petite, female, black and white 'pocket pitbull' rescued from Philadelphia. I live in South Jersey and had just lost my beloved pit-weiler Dozer to cancer after 8.5 years on June 3, 2010.
I was very depressed and my family thought I should get another dog fast. I knew that I wanted a pit bull, but needed a cat friendly pit because I also have a cat, Bianca, that I rescued from a shelter. I agreed to go with my dad to a few of the local shelters in our area just to LOOK. None were in immediate danger and I did not feel that “connection” to any of them. So I went home.

A week later someone sent me a Petfinder ad but I had no idea who this email was from and to this day I still don’t know who sent her ad to me. I opened it, instantly saw her picture and HAD to meet her. There was something in her eyes; she had the same eyes as Dozer.  I swear that Dozer sent her to me.

I read on and found out that she was bred, had contracted an infection in her vulva and because the only way to clear the massive infection was to spay her, her people had no use for her anymore and abandoned her in South Philly.  Philly ACCT was called out to get her, and she was held for the required period and then when nobody stepped up for her she was put on the euthanasia list.

Her time was JUST ABOUT UP and PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, the ONLY no kill shelter/rescue in Philadelphia) stepped up and saved her life.  I can only assume that PAWS saw what I did later and took her in.

They got her medically treated and then put her in foster care. I contacted her foster mom and set up a meet. We were playing phone tag the day of the meet but I was relentless, I really wanted to meet her. So I drove out to Philly, in the hopes that she was home, and when she answered the door, Savannah ran up, sat down, looked at me and cocked her head to the side as if to say “You’re finally here."

I filled out the application right then, paid the adoption fee and prepared to take her home in 4 days.  I made all the necessary arrangements, got a new crate, new beds, new toys, new food, and made a vet appointment for the day I picked her up to transfer the microchip and make sure she was “good to go”.

From Day One, I knew she would be my savior, and she is. I adopted her officially on June 18, 2010.  There was a cat in the foster home, but Savannah clearly was not cat friendly at first, so after about 6-7 weeks of a lot of patience, love, positive reinforcement, separation and supervised play, the two are now best friends.

In September I brought Savannah to Leashes of Love in Cherry Hill, NJ for her therapy dog evaluation and she passed with flying colors. We just need to complete the orientation to do visits for them but she does go with me to Cinnaminson Center (where my grandmother is) and visits with patients there.

On October 9, 2010 she received her Canine Good Citizen Certification on her first try with no prep at all. This perfect dog was on the euthanasia list!!!!  Can you believe it? We go to every dog park around and Savannah particularly likes small dogs. SO, when we go into the small dog area (she weighs 53 lbs but looks as if she weighs 40), you can instantly see people tense up and get nervous. So I just let her make her own impression because every time without fail, within 5 minutes everyone wants to pet and comes to me asking if she is in fact a pit bull and what a great dog she is. I reply “Thank you, she really is” with such pride in my voice.

She changes people’s minds about pit bulls on a daily basis. My mother, for one, is fearful of all dogs and especially pit bulls, admitting that it is because of the media hype, but she now ADORES Savannah and is my dog walker 3 days a week. Savannah is invited to her home for family dinners and my mom takes her for car rides.

When a co-worker asked my mother what her two young granddaughters (my nieces) were being for Halloween last year, her reply was “I’m not sure, but Savannah is being a skunk!”

I even had a birthday party for her 2nd birthday at Camp Bow Wow in Cherry Hill, NJ and 27 of her furry friends came to celebrate with her. There was a gigantic 4 tier mad hatter style cake for the humans, and doggie bags (party favors) to go home with each dog, along with a pup~cake for them to eat at home.  It was such a fun event. She had a blast!

I entered Savannah in a mascot contest for our local shelter, the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, NJ for their 2011 Paws & Feet Walkathon on May 14th at Cooper River Park. Savannah was the only pitbull entered and she won the contest, which was $1 a vote, by a landslide!  Her picture is on all their printed materials, flyers, brochures, and will be on all the event T Shirts. She is also going to be on a billboard on Route 73 later this month.

Savannah is precious and without her I would be incomplete. This girl went from being bred, to being useless to her people, dumped in South Philly, put on an E List, being saved, being in foster care, being with me and turning the world (our world) upside down with good things and great views.

She is an amazing dog and I am lucky to have found her!  She is my pride and joy. Every day is easier with her in it."

Savannah is an ambassador to the breed and an American pit bull.

To learn more about the great work Barbara and The Freckles Freedom Fund are doing, visit the website:
http://www.thefrecklesfreedomfund.com/
Connect on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Freckles-Freedom-Fund/188810237799808