Introducing, Joker

Blessed brindle beast. Gangsta of Love (aka Thug Dog).

Confess: Are YOU a THUG?

If you got your pit bull from a shelter, you might be one of those - you know - Thug Types. So says PETA.



Pit bull owner Charles Brettell wrote recently to challenge PETA on their position which calls for the death of all sheltered pit bulls. (Compassionate much?) A PETA spokesman explained:

But we must consider that nice families rarely come to a shelter to adopt pit bulls; almost without exception, those who want pit bulls are attracted to the "macho" image of the breed as a living weapon and seek to play up this image by putting the animals in heavy chains, taunting them into aggression, and leaving them outside in all weather extremes in order to "toughen" them. There is no denying that pit bulls are at a higher risk of suffering a horrible fate. - Jeff Haines PETA Spokesman

If you think you might be a thug, please confess. Send us a web-link to your family photo or video...with said pit bull please...and we'll post it here on days when we're too busy home-checking thug adopters to blog.

Also, tell us a little bit about yourself: Are you a thug with a mortgage? a college educated thug? a soccer-mom thug?...any fashion or music preferences?...And we'd love to know what kind of suffering your pet is enduring at home.

Thug Mail

Thanks. We'll have to figure out a way to gather up the pix and share them with our friend Jeff.

Thug Alert!

True Thug Confessions are rolling in. Dangerous Sarah of Baton Rouge LA with dog Wicked Riley writes:

"Over the years we've enjoyed numerous thug-centric activities with Riley, including obedience classes, long walks around our middle-class suburban neighborhood, intense fetch sessions in our backyard, and hours of snuggling on the couch.

A lot of my time is spent caring for our four dogs (we also claim a chocolate lab, a husky and a shar-pei/possible pit bull mix as members of our family), but I also enjoy reading, jogging, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering with my local animal rescue organization. I currently work in an administrative position for a large veterinary hospital, but this summer I will be entering a full-time graduate program in Education at Louisiana State University. Next year I hope to start teaching English classes to middle-school students, where the first order of business will be learning the definition of "stereotype."

Watch out Louisiana. That lady is packin' some real Cajun pit bull heat!

Signs, Signs - Everywhere a Sign!

We just came out of Dog Bite Prevention Week, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the news. Kids are getting bit up all over the place. Clearly, families are ignoring the signs. Or maybe the signs read as jibberish?

Family dog with bite history mauls kids in Fremont
Family dog bites again Great quotes from Karen Delise, btw.

Marcie has good bite prevention info on www.Understand-a-bull.com

In the meantime, Let's hear it for Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign...

Hearts never lie.

We did our first official adoption of a Vick dog last Saturday. Little Dutch was grabbed up by none other than BR's ace trainer, Linda Chwistek and her husband Bill. Linda's been looking for an agility dog for ages and when she met Dutch and recognized his courage, drive and natural talent, she told us "I haven't been this excited since I tasted my first candy bar!"



Unfortunately, a specialist noted that Dutch's joints would not be able to endure the stress of the sport, so Linda sadly resigned to let him go so she can continue her search. Until she phoned us that is, to report that she wants him anyway. ha! Dutch made such an impression on these guys - and they meet hundreds of dogs every year - that they couldn't let him go. While Linda is still looking for her agility star, there are plans to give Dutch a different, less strenuous vocation (details to come). The adoption ceremony was captured by a film crew for Animal Planet and will air in August. We'll give a heads up when that happens.

Moral of the Story? Some of the most precious treasures can come from some of the darkest of places. You'll never know unless you look.



On another note, we're all feeling very grateful for a kind donation from the friends of a remarkable San Francisco resident who died last year. Micheal Keenan was a pit bull owner and all around animal lover. He ran into a burning building to save the life of his friend's jack russell terrier and later died from the burns that resulted. A Hero's Story

We were able to use the funds to help transport five AZ bust dogs from Tucson to CA. The dogs narrowly escaped a sad fate. (We're still grieving for the ones we couldn't help).

Coincidentally, one of the dogs transported is a brindle, just like this pup shown with Michael. (Movie: Joker) Much gratitude to Michael for inspiring so many to be heroes through your selfless actions. And thank you to his friends, including Leslie Hayne, for donating to the dogs in Michael's name.

WTF?

There's just no way to present this with any semblance of professional courtesy: PETA's euthanasia rates are out of control. Follow this link to a telling graphic that illustrates just how many pets Ingrid's shelter destroyed last year, compared to their save rate. Slaughter.
These numbers are nuts. How can America be so blind?
Thanks for the heads up, Terrierman via Caveat

Speaking of nuts. An Ohio Senator is looking to go the way of Denver, and is calling for the automatic death of any and ALL dogs that appear to be pit bull. Ohio House Bill 568. We're getting frantic emails from all over the country.

Please holler loudly from your corners. These atrocities are no different from the horrible pet massacres in China, but right here in our so-called heartland.

We came, We saw, We collapsed

Disney World is an odd place to gather round with shelter workers to talk about pit bulls, but it's a Small World after all, so what the hec? - Bring it on. This year's HSUS Expo in Orlando FL was as otherworldly as one can expect. The convention center conveniently blocked any cell phone reception and Internet access, so you're essentially forced to give in to the scene and make nice with the pet stain remover lady who really really really wants you to try her product. Yay trade shows!

Our 'product' hung on banners on our booth walls and I don't mind saying how proud we were to have our dogs flashing their big-fat smiles at everyone who walked by. We shared a 'double wide' with Animal Farm Foundation and never stopped talking with the endless parade of people. I think we dreamt about talking once the lights went out. EVERYone wants to talk about pit bulls -- or, I should say, everyone who actually works with pit bulls wants to talk about pit bulls. The suits tend to steer clear, but it's only a matter of time. You know what they say.

Big thanks to all the people who piled in to hear our presentation. I didn't expect you to cheer when the slide came up showing the Vick dogs in their foster people's arms and I nearly choked up into an ugly-cry when you did. Caught myself tho' - Whew.



Combined with AFF, we gave away pounds and pounds of stuff. Some 200 magnets, 2000 Vick Dog trading cards (thank you Nicole), 500 Pit Bull Placebo books, hundreds of hand-outs, stacks of CDs with our materials, and finally, 500 posters ... Many were signed by Cooper, who drew fans like pit bulls rush to weed wackers.

SHELTERS!

Some stuff for you: Our new posters are online in case you need some positive imagery and healthy messaging for your cinder block walls. If you aren't a shelter, buy one or two anyway and have them delivered to your favorite ACO. We aren't marking these up, so hopefully they'll be affordable enough to get some mileage out there. ---> Getyer POSTERS

And finally, this little post-expo article was a good reminder why Mickey's madness is worth enduring. We look forward to next year (in Vegas - Woot!) and some more of that crazy non-stop talk.

It's Working

Something VERY exciting has been going on in Berkeley in recent months. It's so exciting that we've been afraid to talk for fear of jinxing it. That is, empty kennels ... lots and lots of empty kennels in the city shelter.

Ten years ago, the 60 runs at open-admission Berkeley Animal Care Services were depressingly full, sometimes doubled up, and staff was forced to euthanize for space...up to 600 dogs a year. But in 2007, the number of dog euthanasias was down 90%, with only 50 dogs put to sleep. Check it: BACS Stats

Our girl Sally was set to be euthanized in BACS due to lack of space, way back when. You-know-who actually inspired us to start BAD RAP.

Since last summer, the number of dogs coming in to BACS has dropped so much that almost one half of the runs are now consistently EMPTY. Last week, an all time low with 34 empty runs. It's almost too quiet in there! What's going on? We have to credit a combination of efforts: Successful Marketing of Shelter Dogs, Owner Education including Free Training, Volunteerism, Rescue and Voluntary Spay/Neuter Programs.

In short: The shelter staff and the local community kicked ass to make some changes.

We're really proud to be part of the these changes. Every week, dog owners pour into our Berkeley classes to learn how to be good stewards for their dogs and volunteers train unowned shelter dogs (pit bulls and their mixes are the most over-represented breed in BACS). It's extremely gratifying to see dogs that were once ill-mannered and a wee bit out of control turn into well behaved canine good citizens thanks to the help of the diehards who keep trucking in every week, some from over an hour away. It gets even better when the shelter dogs' new adopters show up to learn the drill.

This month, 25 new dog owners started BR's Beginning Class, and our Drop In class is at an all time high with up to 25 volunteer handlers and new adopters working the dogs together. (Over 400 people are on our waiting list trying to get in - EEK!) To keep up with the demand, we've called in reinforcements, and now the talented Linda Chwistek and Donyale Hoye (Photo) are giving up even more of their Saturdays to help train the new influx of people. It's going to be a busy summer!



So, there. It's out: Voluntary spay/neuter works, and Community Partnerships will save the world. At least, that's the plan. Here's more info: Cooperation & Compassion, Not Compulsion.

Congrats to Kate O'Connor and the staff at Berkeley Animal Care Services. With unwavering tenacity - not to mention a lot of class - you've shown everyone how to make it work. Well done.

What's Tuffer than Love?

We're slamming away behind the scenes to get things ready for our presentation at the HSUS expo next week (Next week? Ack!), meanwhile all but one of the dogs from the AZ raid have arrived and are getting settled in. So blogging goes back burner for now.

But this video just stopped me in my tracks. Thanks to Jane for sending it ... True grit people like Craig and his dog are the best inspiration.

The Trouble with Hector

It shouldn't be that hard: Bring former Vick dog to shelter yard for quick photo session with dog loving, NFL player and Oakland shelter volunteer, Jarrod Cooper. Nice park-like setting, few dogs milling around. No biggie. Perfect lighting. Quick snap - we should be out of there.

Except it's Hector, who - we forgot - turns into a moosh-ball whenever he's held. Like, rag-doll-limp-noodle-ain't-got-no-bones-in-me kinda thing. Jellyfish. We love you Hector, but, please. We're on a time table here, baby...Work with me. Cooper was more than patient with shot after shot after shot after shot. Here are just some of the way too many ridiculous out takes.

Hellooooooo Hector?...Are you awake?



What loose dogs?

Zen Game Dog.

Yeah. You're a working dog. Right.

And finally! -- He opened his eyes. Here's the FINAL PRODUCT.

Cooper will be at our booth at the HSUS Animal Care Expo next week and promised to autograph a few posters. The connection? A new collaborative project to bring positive change to pets in Oakland. We were hoping to get Hector busy with paw print signatures for this run, but we wouldn't want to keep him awake.

Heads up: Caveat has a good opinion piece on an opinion piece from a Utah shelter. My favorite new term for media praddle: "Camp fire tales for the weak of mind" Thanks Caveat, I may have to steal that. Ticking Time Bomb or Trusted Friend

Too much information. Let's laff.

Brain. Too. Tired. To. Blog.

Monkey Dogman to the rescue. I love this. Thank you Marc!

Happy Alive Day

A group of disabled Iraq war veterans is calling the date of their brush with death their Alive Day. It's a compelling way to reclaim a tragedy and use it as a point of power.

Today is the Alive Day of the Vick dogs, who were taken away by police and animal control just 12 months ago. It's worth a smile in our corners. Major kudos to our volunteer crew (not all shown here, unfortunately) for sticking it out and dealing with the chewed shoes, caveman-like dog manners (at first, anyway), Saturdays lost to training class, vet appointments, poop clean up, endless emails, prying reporters and a hundred other little surprises that come along with adventures such as these.

This photo is from People Magazine's photographer Tim Archibald. (Thanks again, Tim). I should prolly address his other photo that's on our home page now, because I know it's going to get me some grief. I've heard that some are concerned that images of our bust dogs in close proximity are going to incite trouble by giving Joe Public the green light to build up his own sofa-full of __fill-in-the-blank__ (fight bust dogs/game bred dogs/pit bulls). Is that true? I dunno.

If it is, please Joe Public, understand that our V-dogs are often shown together because 1) we cherry-picked them during our evals, in part, for their dog tolerance, 2) like good dog owners, we know their individual limits and 3) we manage and direct them well when they play so they give us their best manners. It just goes to show what's possible, given a little common sense. We're practicing what we're preaching, in other words.

Here's the sermon: Monitoring Play ...Socializing ...Multi-Dog Homes

Back to the Alive Day news, we look forward to reporting on a big rescue case in another state that isn't getting nearly the attention it deserves. Please check back soon. We're sorting through photos and news and organizing it nicely.

Minnesota Happy

Horns blow! Congrats to Vicki Davis and the MN Tri-County Humane Society on your first adoption of an ambassadog. We met the most wonderful 'Brown Sugar' during an all-day conference last month, organized to help local shelters & rescues learn some of BR's best tricks and practices for selecting greats dogs for qualified homes. She tested so beautifully, in front of so many people (!) that Vicki transferred her right into their program.

We hear tell that the Board of Directors is still a little nervous about the whole pit bull thing, but maybe folks here can send them a note of congratulations to help them realize what a good thing they did by allowing this little monkey a chance. *Contact*

And how much do we love that this home has a Viking name? Congrats to Eileen Iverson on your new baby.

Booty Haiku

O your fine booty ..
.. a junk-n-the-trunk beauty.
Genetics, fer sure.

Mom Nature is a
show off: "Lookie what I made!"
Frodo the art piece.

Part II: The Power of Language

For years, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has declared that dogs seized from fight busts are too dangerous to be helped and should all be destroyed. This extreme view snowballed in horrific ways: exaggerated claims of fight drive are shamelessly served up to support genocidal policies like Denver's unforgivable ban. Senior Assistant City Attorney Kory Nelson, who fist banged up fear & loathing using fighting analogies in articles such as this piece for Municipal Lawyer, even went so far as to contact SFACC director Carl Freidman to encourage a full-on ban when SF was deciding to bring breed specific legislation (BSL) to CA.

So needless to say, it was encouraging to hear that the HSUS is softening its policy on the evaluation and rescue of dogs from fight busts. ...LISTEN

Audiotape of Eric Sakach, HSUS, from a press conference at State Capitol on 4/8/08 to promote Bill 1775. Provided by KPCC Radio. The bill died in committee, btw, but some of the messaging that came out of the process was worth celebrating.

"Some of the dogs do seem to indicate that they can be rehabilitated, and we support efforts to do that."

- Eric Sakach, HSUS Regional Director West Coast and Dog Fight Investigations

After the news surfaced, we received word that V-dog Hector and dogs just like him had their best night of sleep in a very long time. Thank you, Eric.

HDNet: The Odyssey

The range of reactions we got from watching this HDNet piece made most of us feel schizophrenic: Proud of our wonderful dogs and their volunteer families, horrified at the language used by the reporter to suggest danger lurking, then a collective swing back to happiness when he admits to feeling fuzzy about the dogs, THEN right back to let-down with his carefully worded warnings planted 'just in case' those happy gut reactions betray and cause calamity further on down the line. Ohhh the pain of being so undecided.

"My eyes say dem dogs are fine...but my brain sez I'm in danger of being lured into a fuzzy stupor and murderous rampage by those sneaky, big headed sirens."

Photo from 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou'

Video PART 1.

Video PART 2.

Okay, we get it that reporters aren't supposed to buy into the sales pitch of their subjects, so we'd forgive Greg for keeping a professional distance from the dogs ....EXCEPT that he's so fearful that his objectivity is blown from minute one. You can't be afraid and objective at the same time - it doesn't work. And if I didn't like the guy so much (I do. He reminds me of a favorite uncle), I'd accuse him of wanking out Media Fear Tactics just to get an adrenalin buzz from bored viewers.

But - IMO anyway - I think he truly did try his best to give us a positive story from the lens of his old world, addicted-to-bad-news journalism style. He said so much in an email exchange today, and actually seemed hurt that we were slapping our foreheads over this piece.

On a happier note, we noticed that the Greg clearly wasn't afraid of the Non-Vick pit bulls in our circles. THEY were A-Okay. So - who knows - maybe there's hope yet.

Pssst: Here's the HDNet Feedback Page. Go easy on them. The world looks awful scary from their shoes.

Girls Rule

Play time! No self-respecting beeyotch is gonna let a little hopping varmit like Jonny get the best of her.


Gooooo Penny.



This red diva is one of our best-kept secret weapons. Penny's helped school dozens of BR foster dogs in the fine art of Respect-the-Queen play manners. She works hard for her kibble!



*OOMPH!*

Part I: The Power of Language

Interesting happenings in Sacramento: A new bill is asking lawmakers to grant authorities the right to seize & sell property used for dog fighting. SB 1775

The ACLU has come out against the bill in a big way. We aren't sure what to think of it ourselves. How will this affect property owners who unknowingly rent to dog fighters? Does this mean landlords will be even less likely to rent to dog owners?

Photo: Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) announcing bill. Brian Baer, Sacbee.com

One upshot: The bill allows monies collected from seized properties to be used to reimburse law enforcement and humane investigators AND to care for the animals in the shelters and rescue groups. Hey, thanks guys.

(3) To local nonprofit organizations exempt under Section 501(c)
(3) of the Internal Revenue Code whose primary activities include
ongoing rescue, foster, or other care of animals that are the victims
of dogfighting...

We're not sure how realistic it would be to move those dollars, but we appreciate the language that identifies the dogs as victims. This signals a change in how legislators see exploited animals like pit bulls. As far as we know, this is only the second time this distinction has been spelled out in official documents. The first was when Judge Hudson ordered Vick to pay restitution for the "care and maintenance of the victim pit bull dogs." Yay, progress.

But Calderon loses ground when he slips some moldy myths into his bill:

(5) Dogfighting not only encourages and furthers antisocial values
and violence but it also results in the antisocialization of dogs
thereby making them a danger to the community at large. Police
officers, firefighters, utility, and other municipal workers are at
increasing risk in the course of their employment on both public and
private property because of the epidemic number of dogs that have
been bred and trained to fight each other as well as other animals,
small children, and adults.

THUD. Fighting dogs..."Trained to fight small children and adults?" Ohhhhh brother.

We're pleased that Sacramento is looking out for fight victims and their caretakers, but the language is painfully damaging to the mission of helping those victims. Two steps forward, three steps back.

A Crime Against Pit bulls

What happens when soft-tempered pups born into a high volume breeding operation miss out on proper socialization? Something like this...



Photo: Dog hiding during evals this week. It's horribly depressing to see our brave breed reduced to this. (And eerily reminiscent of the damage done to many of the dogs in the Vick case)

This is much of what we found when we went to AZ to see the dogs from this raid in February. Many speculated that dog aggression was going to be the biggest challenge with the dogs. We wish. Manageable dog aggression is a cake walk compared to this terrible tragedy.

Thankfully, we did find a few dogs that are brave enough for the real world - and, yes, they're also fine around other dogs. We can't take more than a short handful right now, but you do what you can. Some will be released asap and some are in a holding pattern while the courts have their day. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, we want to thank the folks of Pima County Sheriff's Department, Humane Society of Southern AZ and Pima Animal Care and Control for helping us and for wanting something better for the dogs. There are too few of us (rescuers) and way too many of them (out-of-luck pit bulls) but these agencies have been incredibly supportive despite the very modest rescue efforts. Even the HSUS is getting involved by chipping in $$ so Diane Jessup can get ahold of 3 or so lawdog prospects. The last time they did this, WA got Hemi, so fingers crossed for another keeper.

Prickled

Tim and I are in AZ tonight, putting lots of eye drops in our eyes in between putting our hands on lots of out-of-luck pit bulls. More on the pit bull business later. We need to get some sleep and ready for more of the same tomorrow.

But first, a heads up for those who didn't get our email notice about a current story on HDNet's World News Report. A crew came out and filmed the Vick dogs late February, and the final 20 minute story has run several times this week. There's another airing on Friday April 11 and again on Tuesday April 15.

Unfortunately, you'll need to find a friend who has high definition television in order to view it. We're working on getting a copy downloaded online, tho.' Fingers crossed.

I haven't seen it yet myself, but reports coming in say that the dogs looked great, Teddle's boy Sam looked adorable, and the seasoned wartime correspondent - Greg Dobbs - looked, uh, noticeably frightened. Not a good sign. Altho we all felt that he tried really really hard to get past his fears while he was here. I have a feeling this report is going to say less about the dogs, and more about the lens of the media. Stay tuned.

Pilgrimage

Honestly, we thought the fanfare would be over weeks ago -- and we really do have things we need to discuss besides the Vick dogs. But the impact of this case keeps slamming back on us like Oahu's winter waves to the point where we're regularly soaked in salty wet realizations that maybe maybe this case really did make a difference. These sweet ladies represent a steady stream of visitors who've been trickling in from all corners to see the V-dogs in person. They file in and stare as if they're looking at - for lack of a better word - history. As if to say "Hot damn - you really are alive. You really did make it."




MaryBeth (right) and her daughter knocked us to our knees this weekend with the most sincere expression of love and appreciation and joy we've been exposed to in a long time. They came from new york and they wept when they met the dogs. Risen from the near-dead, these dogs...against all odds. And true to form, Jonny wondered what all the fuss was about (ZZzzzz).

Thank you ladies. You made our week.

Mo Visitors

Recognize this celebrity maniac? ...Put a disk in his mouth and you're good to go.

We had a fun weekend comparing notes on all-things-pit bull with Roo and his accomplished sidekick Wallace during a quick visit to CA. Our local park was blessed by the thunder of Wallace's mojo and we were treated to Roo's fancy footwork. Lucky us. Lookit that man go. Thanks for the fun, Roo!