Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Grateful

Out of suffering comes the serious mind; out of salvation, the grateful heart; out of endurance, fortitude; out of deliverance, faith. - John Ruskin



This toothless, broken jawed old timer wears the definition of grateful on her sleeve. She's from the big summer bust and she came into the Oklahoma shelter without a whole lotta options. Can you just imagine how happy she is to be in real home right now?  She's meeting her new person in this photo.

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? It's been a big year for pit bull advocates and seems hard to settle on one thing to bow heads about. We'd love to hear yours.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us in BADRAP.

26 comments:

who wouda thunk it?? said...

I wish her love, dignity,and joy in her last years. I can see in her eyes that she is not quite sure of things yet. The joy you bring me is in the follow-up shots of the smiling eyes and wagging tails, like the transformation of Nellie's
happy face

Susan Cava Ruimy said...

I am grateful to 14 years with my old timer Juno (a Lab/Pit mix) - she will cross the rainbow bridge tomorrow...this old girl from death row at the pound changed my whole world...I am grateful for one last Thanksgiving.

pibble said...

I'm forever grateful for organizations like BADRAP who fight for animals like this. For this girl to know love and comfort after all the hatred and pain she's been subjected to... It's what it's all about. THANK YOU, Badrap!

Dianne said...

This Thanksgiving I will be thankful to be starting my third year after my breast cancer DX. I'm very grateful to the Kaiser radiologist who saw something "suspicious" on my mammo (bunched calcifications). I'm grateful to my surgeon who did a great job and left me with clean margins. I'm grateful to Dr. P my radiation oncologist who offered to write a note to my work when I told him I was being laid off ("she's going to live!"). To the Kaiser nurse who called me often to make sure I was doing ok. Now you know why I love Hector, we both have fight scars on our chest.
And I give thanks for all the people who are trying to make this a better place for all who are living on the margins.

Donna said...

Thank YOU Pibble for your steady love for the dogs that need it.

All warm thoughts to you NYCKitten as you say good-bye to Juno *sniff* What a selfless act it is to give an old friend a gentle farewell after a life well lived. Viva Juno!

Donna said...

Wow! Incredible Dianne. You and Hector are two in the same. True warriors of the heart!

jess said...

I am grateful for the huge hearted folks out there who will give this old gal the peace and love she deserves to know in her final years. I am grateful for the families that have the courage to open their homes to compassion holds. I am beyond grateful to the shelter workers who show up for work every day, despite all the heartache and frustration, and fight for these dogs to go home where they belong.
And for Bad Rap, of course! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

ingrid said...

As always - I'm thankful for my Indiana, my amazing pit bull, and the years we had together. In her loss, I'm thankful I had BADRAP's work to comfort me, thankful for other organizations and people I've found fighting this good fight, and thankful to have this community in of amazing people in the world.

It has all been a rather large part of bringing me through the darkness.

thank you.

Amanda said...

I'm thankful for the inspiration constantly at our disposal from you folks at BAD RAP, as well as many of other pit bull advocacy groups around the country. =) You help steady my resolve to keep doing what we're doing, especially on our worst days.

And I'm thankful for the 4 pitties that currently grace our family--1 "permanent" and 3 "temporary." ;) Anymore, I remember holidays and periods of time by which dogs were living with us. HA!

CaitlinsDad said...

Donna, I'm thankful for my healthy & happy family, including our two knucklehead pits. I'm thankful for the day, years ago, that I discovered BADRAP and was inspired to learn more about this breed. Thanks go out to you, Tim and all of the other folks who do such much to save dogs all over the Country. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Bob Waugh

Boris said...

Happy Thanksgiving to Donna, Tim and the all BadRap, E.Bay rescue crew,

We are so thankful for the little things that keep us from reaching that 'stress-hold' and gives us a deep-breath break, which allows us to keep on task.

Our Thanks to the week that Angela and her sanctuary pack kept 1 yr. old JR (Joseph Renato) while he was in initial recovery. This Am-Bull-mix showed up a month ago at Harris County with a stab-wound slit in his side. Thank Dog for settling down the weather with dry-warm times in the recent days so the sanctuary can dig out from the mud.

Thanks for the sun shine through the windows that has put us Bullies (JR and me) to sleep so folks can finish Thanksgiving cooking. Mornings can get a little hectic with post breakfast play. I so want folks to realize JR could be a foster/forever.

Thanks for the call from Harley's mom to Angela. The 8 year old Blue Staffy-Bull showed-up at the sanctuary when his mom's forecloser. Here is hoping that she'll find an apartment that allows her to take back her spoiled, animal-selective bully. He's loosing it trying to keep the horses and all the dogs in watchful eye.

Thanks for all the readers extra donation push that lets my GodParents take a sigh of relief that the Barn is near funded.

Oh yes, thank for the folks being home all the long weekend, cooking yams and dressing in our bowls today. Did I mention thanks for my new playmate Joey-Reno?

Thank God and Bless all Bullies everywhere!
I'm a thankful check-back, Boris

Mike Sweeney said...

As a good friend Melody once said, Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
I have many things to be grateful for but some of my most inspiring is the two Pitbulls I now have making my home a home. I would like to thank Tim and Donna with BadRap, and A Rotta Love in their assistance in that!!

Kembree said...

I'm thankful for people like you that link together great times for this wonderful breed that I have come to love in the past 5 years. I am thankful for my boys that unfortunately are in the kennel this year in Memphis and I am in Atlanta, but thankful for this wonderful breed and what I learn from them! Thank you!!

Anonymous said...

I'm thankful for a life worth living thanks to knowing the joy a dog can bring. Each day is brighter and full of fun because there's a smiling wiggly butt every morning, ready to get the day started (even if we're just heading to work that day....).

I'm thankful for being part of a family/community of like-minded people who want to do right by the dogs we love. Through education and action, the world changes a little every day and things get a little better.

Thank you for being part of my life. Your website is inspirational and educational, heart-warming and tear-jerking.

And thank you for the photo of today's pittie princess...she's precious and has great dignity and wisdom in those eyes....

s&b/mty

Scout and Freyja said...

Wishing you and yours the most blessed of days as we break bread with friends and family or spend our time as a volunteer with any one of the numerous charities in need of our time and talents.

Peace, plenty, prosperity - my wish for the United States of America.

kissa-bull said...

i am thankful for organizations like yours who give these wonderful souls a second chance, who bring me smiles everytime i read one of your posts. to the many adopters who take in these angels even for a little while. because there are times that i feel so helpless not being able to take in more pitties . am thankful to see that other people are like me and have the same love for this breed as i do . thankful that pitties exist to show us what true, devoted, unconditional love really is.and last but not least , my own angels. guero , coco, brinks and bella for just being my goofballs.

Susan Cava Ruimy said...

Thank you Donna...also thankful for the Bad Rap blog...it is my daily place for strength and hope as I work with the pit bulls here in NYC.

As Juno's special day tomorrow looms I have learned one more thing about owning a dog - it is just never, ever, ever enough time with them here on earth.

Because of Juno I have rescued/rehabbed and rehomed about 30 pit bulls...in her honor I will continue until there are none in need.

Awake in hopes of avoiding tomorrow,
Juno's Mom

Tim said...

Earlier this morning I wondered how many people really give thought to what we are thankful for on this holiday - myself included. It is so easy to take things for granted and not take at least a minute to meditate on that thought. Even after ten years now I find myself being surprised to see that people are still supporting this group to the extent that we are being supported -what we need comes our way, sometimes as if by magic. I feel gratitude and thankfulness on a regular basis for the ongoing generosity offered to this group. Thanksgiving is just a day when I feel an extra large helping of it.

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. Warmth and peace to Juno.

Anonymous said...

I am grateful for so much but really want to express my sincere gratitude for Bad Rap's shining example of "responsible" dog rescue and ownership. They lead the path for so many of us and walk-the-walk even in the face of diversity and criticism. My sincere thanks to you and for being able to continue to focus on our bully breeds' best interests.
Thank you!

Lynn in N. Sac

One voice counts said...

I'm grateful for learning family is more than blood. For knowing - finally - that Edna may be dead but she is here with me every hour of every day inside every heartbeat. Grateful for MANFRED. Little guy came into my life when I thought I knew absolutely I could not take in another dog. At 13 years 9 months and pretty much blind he has an indomitable spirit. And is teaching me a lot about things I thought I already knew. More than just about frigging anything I am grateful for the kindness of strangers who are not strangers anymore. For the guys our there helping the Pit Bulls and for the guys out there helping any dog in need and any dog in jeopardy because they can. I'm grateful for that huge faded dusty rose and tattered blankie of love out there in the ether. Grateful to BAD RAP and Donna and Tim. For all they do and all they love and all they encourage and support.

Maureen said...

I am grateful for the angels among us.

Pam said...

I am grateful to have found the Berkeley Shelter, then pit bulls, then BadRap. All three have changed my life in a very fundamental way.

I am grateful for the resilience of dogs who come out of horrible situations, and are able to embrace a life of love and nurturance. And I am grateful for those humans who have the compassion and stength it takes to recognize those who have been too damaged, and do the right thing by them.

One voice counts said...

Dear four leggeds out there who wish I could meet but not yet,
Please tell your humans they hop beeeeg time. Just FB and Twit'd
Time article and photo gallery re Missouri 500. Boy Howdy. Edna is smiling down on me - and is so proud of you guys. She was a seriously get things done lady.
Honored to know you. Sigh. Sob. Giggle. Life is good today.

Diane; The Dog Diva said...

I am thankful for happy endings.

Susan Cava Ruimy said...

I thought I'd share the link to a video I did of Juno for anyone interested. It's a celebration of a life well-lived.

Thanks again for all the luv on this board.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Co1Et1SZ6vUEMr0RrAFdBA?feat=directlink

Adam said...

OK I'm coming in late on this but this is my girl! I am so happy to see this posting. Thanks so much Donna and Tim and to the person who took her in until she found her place! What a great joy for this girl who must have suffered so much at times but whose tail never stopped wagging.