Twelve new CGC stars close out the month

A big day for bay area pit bulls: Twelve dogs earned their Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificates today thanks to the steady dedication of coach Linda Chwistek, AKC certified evaluator Jennie Keifer and some very dedicated dog families. We're starting to lose track of the overall number of Vick dogs that've earned their CGC, but you can go ahead and add Amazing Grace to that growing list (thank you Cris Cohen!).

These certificates don't come easy. Not only is Judge Jennie very tough on the handlers, most of the participating dogs first had to survive some crappy lives way before getting the chance to prove themselves today.

But it was Stella Polari's perfect score (above) that choked me up the most. Talk about a turn-around - She was born into the wrong house (drug house) in the wrong city (Detroit) with the wrong owner who failed her in every possible way. The only thing that worked in her favor was the dumb luck of our chance meeting, and then, scoring the friendships that set her on course. I wish we could fly to Detroit every month and grab us up another Stella or three....But maybe that's not necessary. We were doing somersaults when we learned that Stella's former shelter has quietly started adopting out pit bull "mixes" - a brave new policy for an org that used to shun their best blockheads. Michigan Humane Society Pit bull Adoptions! If you live in the area and have been considering a new pet, please support them when you do your search, and share the news of their dogs with other pet owners. If you're shopping, maybe you'll even run into one of Stella's kinfolk, now in need of a home. Congrats to Team Pibble diva Elizabeth Kennedy and your best girl, Stella. We heart you both.

Shy Guy Frodo braved the exam today and although he's still too skeered to pass all ten tests, we're so proud of him for showing up with a big smile on his face, ready to give it a go. His big sista Jhumpa has some words of support for the little guy. She just passed the exam herself on the east coast! Congrats to her ever-optimistic human, Kathleen, and rescue sponsors Richmond Animal League.

We'll be uploading all 12 bay area heroes to our CGC Hall of Fame page soon. Below, Judge Jennie tests a dog's response to being examined and groomed. (This was Elvez, who passed his exam last August.)

Vick off leash in May.

The AP tells us that Vick may be going home in May and he's looking for love from the NFL. We're not big on panicking over whether a team will pick him up - Instead, we're prepared to be painfully amused if someone does. After all, the plague of PeTA will descend on any takers and the spectacle will draw news crews like honeybees to the dogs once again. We recognized the other day that Frodo is not only getting more comfortable with cameras, but he's starting to vibrate in full tilt happy mode when they come around. Practice makes perfect, Frodo!

Bah. We really are over the Vick sagas. But this cartoon still hits home:

Needed: Wire Crates for Shots Fairs

Edit: We are set for crates now, thanks to wonderful donors!

This Sunday March 1, we'll be back out in Oakland neighborhoods offering resources to low-income pit bull owners at one of our quarterly Celebrate Your Pit Bull Shots Fairs.

We're a little short on wire crates, used to help clients keep rowdier dogs safe while they fill out forms and stand in line.

Do you have a medium or (especially) large wire crate that you're willing to donate? 

If you live in the SF bay area, we'd be happy to come pick it up. Or, we invite you to drop it by our Pit Ed Class this Saturday so our dogs can give you a proper slurp of thanks. Contact Frodo's mom Kim to arrange: bullymomma@gmail.com

Thank you! Please check back next week for news & pix from the fair!

HSUS announces interim policy; Meeting planned

Score one for sanity, guys.  Best Friends called this bigger news out today: HSUS calls for a summit to discuss dogs from fighting busts.

February 23, 2009 : 8:44 PM ET

The Humane Society of the United States on February 23 issued an interim policy recommending all dogs be evaluated as individuals, and is calling a meeting of leading animal welfare organizations concerning dogs victimized by dog fighting.

Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer and president of the Humane Society of the United States, suggested the meeting of major stakeholders in Las Vegas to work through the associated issues. This meeting is in response to concerns expressed by Best Friends Animal Society in December 2008 regarding HSUS policies related to animals confiscated in dog-fighting busts.

Pacelle said the meeting, scheduled for April, will include the participation of national stakeholder organizations that deal with pit bulls. The meeting was in the planning stages before Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson Jr. ruled that 145 pit bulls, including approximately 70 puppies, confiscated from Wildside Kennels in Wilkes County, North Carolina, would be euthanized without evaluation to determine suitability for placement.

The new interim policy announced by the HSUS, pending the outcome of the meeting, recommends that local law enforcement and animal control evaluate such dogs as individuals rather than as a category before any decision is made regarding their future.

“We expect government, corporations, and individuals to constantly re-evaluate how they deal with animal issues,” Pacelle said. “Likewise, we regularly review our own policies and procedures here at HSUS, and we think it is important to talk with professional colleagues in the movement to examine issues related to the disposition of fighting dogs.

“I am pleased to discuss these issues with personnel from Best Friends and other organizations interested in the welfare of pit bulls.”

Julie Castle, director of Community Programs and Services for Best Friends said, “There had been more than enough airing of feelings and outrage that the dogs were not evaluated prior to being summarily euthanized. It was time to hit the reset button on this in order to move things forward in a constructive way. Mr. Pacelle was open and receptive to what we had to say and we are looking forward to our meetings in April.”

Best Friends, through its campaign, “Pit Bulls: Saving America’s Dogs,” is looking forward working cooperatively with HSUS, according to Castle.

The campaign is aimed in part at educating the public and the media about pit bulls in order to help save the breed’s reputation. “Our goal is to bring positive change to lives and image of pit bulls,” she said.

Written by Best Friends staff

Tim and myself will be participating in this April meeting. We look forward to representing the rescue community's views based on our ten years of experience with placing "fight bust dogs" into family homes and, believe me, we don't take this responsibility lightly. Bless every one of you for pushing this issue so hard right alongside the rest of us. 

a nip and a tuck - Lolo, Nelly news

Bionic Lolo is living in a fog of sedatives while her foster family works to keep the Wallaby girl still ... Not easy for a dog so full of life. We'll update as she's allowed to try out those new knees. We really appreciate everyone who's donated towards her fund. Bless you! That dog must've been born with lucky rabbit's feet.

Next is Nelly, who's getting herself healthy enough for surgery. We're waiting for her white blood cell count to improve just a bit more ... maybe one more week before we go. Our vet puzzled over best ways to create new nostrils and keep them from re-sealing like an unused piercing once they heal, but with a few well placed sutures tucked up high, she's optimistic that she'll be able to breathe again for the first time. Imagine - no more gasping, rasping, chortling like a little dragon. We have to wonder - Will she still be Nelly or will we sorta miss her 'special' noises? 

Below, Nelly and cohort TugTug make the most of their first untethered zoomie party in our house together, compliments of the rainy season. The best bits come from our wide-eyed, gray muzzled Lola, who just can't seem to believe her eyes: "Wha? The underlings get to run loose now? Oh crrraaaap. What's the world coming to?" Don't worry Lola. Your job's still safe.

Bionic Blue

We didn't have time to mention Lolo this week with all the Wilkesboro news going around. This blue beauty just got two new knees! - a first for our organization. The double TPLO - Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy - was the most we've spent on a homeless dog, but it was just too hard to say 'No' and put this girl to sleep. Lolo is a "foreclosure orphan" who got bumped out onto the street right along with her owner and his worldly possessions. The older African American gentleman cried when they took her away to the shelter; a volunteer who happened on the scene watched him crumble under the realization that his home was gone and his dog was probably going to die. She was already limping when we met her - a really bad thing for a dog in a shelter full of homeless blue pit bulls. Ugh. But, lookit this dog....


Her second knee blew out not too long after. It was destined to; she was born with a limited warrantee on those shaky joints and it ran out while she was trying to keep herself entertained in her kennel. These are the times when I really kick myself for getting into this work. What the hec was I thinking? This is insane. The seed money from her Christmas donor and from Paco's friends was a great start, but not nearly enough to fix two wobbly, throbbing knees, and Lolo's pain was getting worse.

Turns out Jonny Justice's adopters have racked up quite a few good karma points (not surprising) and used some of it to help out the blue princess. Their vet heard their plea and offered to give Lolo some new knees at a greatly reduced price. Dr. Richard Schwach has a strong handshake and he loves talking about this particular surgery. You can tell it still fascinates him; a good sign. He worked on her for almost 3 hours on Tuesday as part of a fast-moving team of four. Three hours to open, assess, measure, saw bone at just the right angle, fasten a plate & screws, sew her up and repeat on the second knee. She walked out the clinic door that evening. Yes - she walked outta there!

For the next 6-8 weeks, her foster parents Jamel and Letti (more Vick dog karma) and helpers Peter and Danae will be trying to keep Lolo from moving too fast or doing zoomies and all those other things our breed loves to do to celebrate a good day. Not easy!

I have the idea that, even if her former owner never sees her again, the fact that she's still alive will somehow broadcast good fortune to him - wherever he is. We take on very few of these heroic type cases because we hate to tap out our donors and we have a relatively tight budget, but this one really cost us, so if you can afford to help us out with this one we would be forever grateful. Thank you. And monster thanks to Avenues Pet Hospital and Dr. Schwach for being one of the good guys.

To donate to BR's medical fund:

Or, send a check to BAD RAP- Lolo Fund
P.O. Box 320776
San Francisco, CA 94132-0776

Thank you!!

Get up, Dust off, Stand tall

Somewhere in Minnesota, a kind woman decided to write a lovely letter about her meeting with Hector, and a dark gray cloud lifted right off a grumpy group in Oakland. Thank you Marcia - your timing was perfect.
And yes, loads of credit goes to the adopters of this impossibly awesome dog.

"I am a certified evaluator for Therapy Dogs International. I just wanted to share with you that I tested and certified Hector as a therapy dog this past Tuesday evening. Our tests are very stringent, both with obedience and temperament, but Hector enjoyed every minute of it and passed with flying colors.

I considered it an honor to meet him and be the evaluator to certify him. What an awesome creature with such a gentle, loving and happy soul. His family, Clara and Andrew Yori, are a perfect fit for him in his fur-ever home.

I rarely test a dog that passes with the excellence that Hector did. I consider that a reflection of what your group did for Hector to rehab* him and what his family has done for him with their continued training program. Hector has a bright future as a therapy dog and I know he will bring an enormous amount of comfort and joy to the people he will serve as a therapy dog. Pretty awesome for a dog that came from his background."

Marcia Fritzmeier
Therapy Dogs International
Certified Evaluator #144

* Pssst: We can't take any credit for 'rehabbing' Hector. He came to us almost whole. But we appreciate the kind compliment!

Photo Credit: Joshua Grenell

the aftermath of a massacre

Whoa. The internet is on fire today.

No one can capture what everyone's thinking, feeling, wanting to graffiti on every wall in sight quite like Luisa can in her Lassie Get Help blog. Worse than Vick

And don't miss YesBiscuit's entry today that outlines HSUS' reaction to those who are grieving the decision to destroy 145 Wilkesboro dogs without evaluation. Shame on us for caring about bust dogs rather than shelter dogs, btw. We need to leave the caring about bust victims up to the experts.

And who else saw this one coming? From HSUS statement:

"Those particular fighting dogs in Wilkes County, NC were very, very different than the Vick dogs.....Vick was not a good breeder, and he lost most of his fights. His dogs were a poor representation of true fighting dogs."

So clearly the Wilkesboro dogs were even LESS deserving of evaluation than the Vick dogs, who (we're told) did not deserve evaluations AT ALL. Yes, John Goodwin. Your actions and words are indeed doing irreparable damage to the soul of your organization, and to the good people who still work within it.

Thank you to everyone including Luisa for reminding us that without any fanfare, sissy-dog-fighting-wannabe-should-neva-have-been-evaluated-by -those-bleeding-heart-rescuers Hector officially became a therapy dog yesterday, reminding us once again that all this grief and head banging and stomachs turned in twisted knots is really (truly) worth it.

Good GOD! lookit that dog.

numb

The 145(?) Wilkesboro dogs are gone, dead, deceased, destroyed, euthanized, killed, put to rest, murdered, at peace, slaughtered, put to sleep ... Choose your description.

A few days ago I made a special trip to the shelter as I was asked to help put down a couple of code 597 (cruelty case) American Bulldogs that had spent their lives on chains and concrete. They looked like they were ten years old, but in reality were more like three. Their ears and tails cut off, sores abound, and starving. They were used as guard dogs and had displayed such characteristics in the kennels, so weren’t really right for this world anymore, but I was able to get them out separately for play sessions to make their last minutes as happy as possible before their end.

We knew it was the right thing to do, but nonetheless, it sucks. It’s that funny feeling that just sticks with ya for awhile until you aren’t sure why you have that odd feeling. You wake up feeling strange, then memory serves ... you killed a couple of dogs yesterday. Not something I have gotten completely used to, don’t know if I ever will, and don’t know that I ever want to.

So with today’s awful news, my mind went right back to the euthanasia room. The Wilkesboro shelter workers must have gone into overtime with this enormous task. Seventy some beautiful adult dogs, and sixty some beautiful puppies (all deemed dangerous without evaluation due to their address, as they lived with a felony dogfighter). I can’t help but wonder how those people are doing who were basically forced to kill all these innocent dogs.

Who gets to do the awful deed; the dirty work? The low-wage shelter workers who have no say in the matter; usually the same people who have cared for these dogs, who've gotten to know the dogs and have seen for themselves how truly wonderful most of them are. How are they feeling right now? I think I know.

Updates: News Release

We aren't sure if the dogs have been destroyed yet, but have joined Best Friends and other rescue agencies in a News Alert to protest the court-order to destroy the victims of Wildside Kennels. Please keep those phone calls coming.

ALERT - Wilkes County dogs ordered destroyed

Two HSUS reps gave testimony today declaring the dogs from the Wilkes County fight bust dangerous. These dogs have not been evaluated, and no rescue voices were heard in this hearing. The dogs had NO advocates speaking on their behalf.

As a result, the judge has ordered all the dogs, including approximately 60 puppies, to be destroyed. It may be too late, but please phone the numbers in the post below and pray for a miracle.

News Update

the high cost of being a victim

Here we go again. A scumbag breeder/dog fighter in Wilkes County, North Carolina is busted, convicted and, predictably, his dogs shoulder the blame. Bad, evil dogs to be born into this operation. Authorities - ignoring Best Friend's offer to organize evaluations and a rescue - are getting ready to blue juice, bag and fill their local landfill with 127 bodies, including several litters of puppies. Because surely the rescues of the Vick dogs, the Patrick dogs, the Missouri dogs and even the Oklahoma dogs were a fluke.

"Goodwin (dog fighting 'expert' HSUS) said that the dogs have been bred for fighting and it would very difficult and expensive to re-train the dogs, even the puppies, so that they could be adopted.

Expensive ... to save lives? Since when do we decide what rescues should spend on a dog? Sorry, TugTug. That nice dog bed you tore up is clearly a waste of funds. And the vet costs to clear up your infected ear? Unforgivable. (Current cost to rescue TugTug from the abuser who kept him chained: not including the airfare spent to select him: Vet costs: $118, dogbed, crate, chewies and treats: donated, food and supplemental vitamins: $60).

From the website of the Wilkes County Landfill...
It costs 50 cents to dump a bag of trash at the landfill. However, dumping by the bag is free if a bag of recyclable goods are brought for every bag of trash.

In all fairness to Goodwin, it clearly IS much cheaper to landfill a litter of pups from a bust case (assuming a litter will fill one bag) than to ask Best Friends to shoulder the cost of the plane tickets needed to evaluate and transport these same dogs to breed experienced organizations...Nevermind the dog beds and vet costs that would mount up post-rescue. And even cheaper if authorities bring in a bag of recyclable goods along with every dead dog.

"Goodwin said that the dogs have been bred for fighting and it would very difficult and expensive to re-train the dogs, even the puppies, so that they could be adopted.

Banging my head on brick wall. Re-train them to do what exactly?...run to the fridge and grab us a beer?

Dear John, How many times do we have to say this? Rescuers don't re-train dogs from any situation, shelter or otherwise. After cherry picking the best dogs for our programs, we simply give them what they didn't have before they came to us: clear direction, basic obedience, opportunities to play with well matched play buddies. In short, we help them to become whole dogs again. A hand-picked dog from a fight bust is no different than a chained, backyard dog that's been surrendered to the shelter by a family in East Oakland - although bust dogs tend to have better genetics and we prefer their temperaments over the mixed breed pit bulls that come in from so many shelters.

I am pained by the lack of knowledge a "dog fighting expert" has for the breed. Shouldn't someone with this lofty title support the orgs that embrace these dogs? Unfortunately, people that believe bust dogs are devil's spawn - "bred for fighting" - spend so much time reading gamedog message boards that they've become as invested in dog fighting mythology as the guys who write this macho crap. Boys with low self esteem and big pick-up trucks encourage their dogs to spark up and act dog aggressive for a reason. Yuppy rescuers in densely populated urban areas with mortgages and multi-pets have no use for badly behaved dogs. Choose your reality, preferably the one that saves the lives of vicitimized pets.

From the news article: County officials have said that the dogs would be euthanized. Officials did not return a phone message yesterday. "I think there's a county ordinance that requires it," Goodwin said. "It's not a matter of would, could or should. It's the law."

WRONG. Article 1A of Chapter 67 of North Carolina's General Statutes allows for the adoption of dogs from fighting pasts provided "the animal shelter shall notify any persons adopting the dog of the liability provisions "

So now what? If Goodwin and others have their way, Best Friends' offer will be ignored and the dogs will be killed and land filled. Below: one of the many puppies born since the bust. To ask for a different outcome, write, write, write...

Wilkes County Board of Commissioners
110 North Street
Wilksboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-651-7346
Fax: 336) 651-7568

Wilkes County Attorney Tony Triplett
Vannoy, Colvard, Triplett & Vannoy
922 C Street
P.O. Box 1388
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
Phone: 336-667-7201
Fax: 336-838-7250
E-mail: ttriplett@vannoylaw.com

District Attorney Tom Horner
500 Courthouse Drive Suite 2022
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-667-6361 or 667-2994
Fax: 336 667-7999

the Now of Frida

One thing pit bulls are really good at is asking their people to shake off their brain-fuzz and engage whole heartedly in the present moment. Depressed? Get over it. Daydreamer? Get with it.

Frida's been all about getting us hu-mans up to speed. We've puzzled quite a bit over her, all the while she bats her big browns as if to say, "Okay. Silly people, just what are you going to do with me?"

Not the most likely adoption candidate, this owner surrendered shelter resident is a little too old, a little too weathered, a little too mischievious for most homes.

We brought her into our Ambassadog program after noting how goddam rock solid she was: crooked toothed grin, wagging widely from her kennel which just so happened to be located in a ward full of admittedly insane custody dogs at the time. Insane, as in, barking, spinning, slamming at the bars in the way really freaky dogs will do when they've been poisoned by the dark side of humanity. She wasn't part of that mess; didn't seem to notice the loud funk of the other dogs one bit. Her world was all about US: "Beloved humans, blessed two-legged soul mates. Let's go have us some fun together." That's exactly the kind of pit bull we covet. So we grabbed her up and declared her safe. For now.

Problem is, she's not the classic squishy seal faced darling that most homes flock to, and she can't romp happy in a household of well-matched dogs like so many of our crew. And no cats...No, no. This one's a grizzled old girl with an impressive seen-it-all sense of self and she can push a sparky dog's buttons from a hundred yards away - just for fun. She'll also size up a novice handler in a quick sniff and make like she doesn't know a stitch of manners. Heh. The master manipulator. BUT she's warm, wise, and wonderful and on top of all that, she's been remarkably good-natured about being kenneled all this time (Since September).

Rescuing salty dogs like Frida feels like an act defiance. "No, you are not easy-perfect. But letting you go without giving you a chance would go against everything we know and love about the rock solid soul of pit bulls." This one's so brave that I'm convinced she'd have no problem passing over to the next world in order to gift her kennel to an easier dog (believe me, we've thought about it). But to hell with that. She's here for now and we're too stubborn to let her go.

In order to help Frida become a better ambassador, her entire team of handlers has had to become better at what they do. This is the part where pit bulls excel at turning us all into better people. After discussions, we all agreed to handle Frida with the same seen-it-all attitude that she was shining on us. No freebie treats, no half-sits, no stink eye allowed at other dogs ... No, no, no. We'll only accept 100% compliance on commands, smooth, zen-like focus and relaxed body language in even the most difficult of situations. Spot a naughty dog barking wildly in Pit Ed class? - "Ignore it Frida. I mean it." And so she is, bless her heart (although methinks-that-shethinks it would be MUCH more fun to rear up and spit back a few choice obscenities.)

I heart Frida in a big way. She reminds me of my late grandma Alma - social and flirtatious but with a wicked sense of humor.

So here we are with a strong-willed sweetheart, wondering if we'll ever find her a home and trying our best to out-stubborn death. We might not, and Frida might end up telling us that kennel life is wearing her down, and if so, we hope and pray we'll be clear minded and selfless enough to hear her and let her go. But for now, we're moving forward as if she has a home out there, and she's happily teaching all of us to be so much better at what we do.

It seems that one of Frida's best lessons is reminding us all to Live. In. The. Present.

Thank you, Frida. You're absolutely right.

Go Goji, Go Goji!

Another Okie dog heard from. This is Goji, one of the females we brought back to CA from the Kay County, OK cruelty case. 

Almost two months after they're home, and all dogs are finally caught up on their sleep, gaining back their strength, and enjoying play dates with the other dogs in their foster homes.

Goji here won our hearts by grinning like a love struck hyena when we first met the dogs. .... Ohhh ... and those eyes ....

The Huckabee Show

You know – Mike Huckabee – the Arkansas governor who ran for president. I didn’t know he had a show either, until we received a call about being a guest. We looked it up, even watched an episode. FOX News, but it was a chance to show off a couple of X-Vick dogs and how well they are doing. Roo Yori (think World Disc Dog Champ Wallace) was to bring Hector and I was to bring Jonny Justice. And I would surely take a ribbing from our gay friends.

Last minute apologies came from the segment producer yesterday when she revealed that PETA was to suddenly join us. No problem there I assured her, I relished the idea of a face-to-face; to let America know that PETA isn’t just interested in destroying all dogs from a fight bust (without evaluation), but recommends that all shelters across America destroy all of their pit bulls. Though I did let her know that we had just stumbled upon a real problem...

While material searching for a blog promoting the show this weekend, we discovered that Mike Huckabee’s son David had been involved in, of all things, hanging and killing a dog – something that Michael Vick had admitted to also doing himself. So how could we go on the show now?

We wrestled with ethics. It was a great opportunity for the dogs and it was the governor’s son, not the governor himself, and it was ten years ago - his son almost eighteen. Ahh! Had Huckabee ever spoken out about his son’s transgression? If so, we can do this. After a search, the best we could find was his response on Larry King Live: “There was a dog that came in. It was mangy. It looked like it was going to attack. He was a staffer at the camp. They put the dog down. They didn’t do a good job of talking to the leaders. The way it was handled was not ideal, but there was no criminal activity.” Depends who you talk to. Animal cruelty, though still a misdemeanor in Arkansas, is a crime nonetheless. Other allegations were made that the dog’s throat was slit and that it was stoned to death while hanging, but this is just rumor. Nobody can say for sure.


We were ready to call it off when the producer suggested we talk to Huckabee himself. I suggested to Mike that the campers were safe once his son had the rope around the dogs neck and that the adults should have then been alerted to make humane decions. He reminded me that his son was seventeen at the time. Fair enough – about the not alerting part – but what about the rest? The dog was then hung over a tree branch as David’s friend recalls. Still, besides rumor, no one has officially talked about how the dog was finally done in. Surely *you* know Mike, he’s your son. “He didn’t tell me” was his reply.

This was the deciding factor for me. His son had lost his job over this, and the dog his life - what father would not want to know such an extremely important detail?

We are all very disappointed over this today, I would have loved the opportunity to show off the dogs and to beat up on PETA for their Unethical stance on our breed, eye-to-eye. But instead, I will simply try to stop imagining that lone, unknown dog, hanging from a tree.

Tim

Tough Lessons from Katrina

Oh Noooooooooo! 

Best Friends let itself get shuckered by a snake oil salesman who claimed to be someone who could train and re-home Katrina pit bull victims, and most of the 28 dogs they sent his way have turned up missing or dead. 

Sad for the dogs; sad for the good people who trusted that they were safe. Sad for everyone who worked so hard to pull them out of harm's way and who kept them going. And tragic for the families who will never know if their pets survived (most likely, not).

Good for Best Friends for going after this scumbag though and for getting his ass hauled into jail. Good for the judge who is demanding restitution. This whole thing must have been turning insiders in-side-out all this time.

Katrina's lessons were beyond harsh. This raving bitch was bigger than all of us and she squashed good intentions like a Louisiana bug. But one thing she couldn't steal away was the impression the gulf coast pit bulls made on their rescuers. As a group, these dogs were exceptional. No matter how tattered and scarred, they were so true to their old world roots that they made each of us fall deeper for the breed. The fact that so many were destroyed post-storm is enough to twist our stomachs for years to come.

Next time, we must all be a little wiser, better connected, better resourced to make better decisions for the victims of these bigger disasters. There's no room for snake oil salesmen.

I posted pix of some of the storm dogs we brought back here. They represent just a tip of the iceberg of what was lost. If you own a pit bull from Katrina or have one in your circles, please share your story and let's turn this depressing blog entry around. (And yes, the pretty girl above made it. She was absorbed by Humane Society of Calumet and adopted to a young couple.)

one year ago

One year ago, this fine young dog went to live with his fine young adopters and pretty soon everyone forgot all about what it was like before they were a family. Happy one year anniversary, beautiful Winston.

Photo: Proud adopter, Suzanne Joncoaltz

Chicago Good Guy

Thank this man.

Sheriff Thomas Dart of the Cook County Sheriff's Department was good enough to champion for the cause of getting a pit bull onto the force to help his officers do their job. This week, he helped introduce 'Elliot' to the country as Chicagoland's first ever dog trained to locate cadeavers. Many saw this wonderful news piece, but here it is again: Canine cops help police.

“So many people have misconceptions about pit bulls and similar dogs and because of that, many never get adopted from shelters,” Dart said. “Many of these dogs, like Elliott, can be saved and worked with to lead happy, healthy, productive lives.” - Sheriff Dart

Elliot's human partner Deb Thedos is smitten and calls herself "Elliot's driver." We met Deb when she came to visit us back in the spring, during a wide search for a fitting police dog. As luck would have it, their Best Boy was back home in Illinois (natch!) We're woofing happy 'HUZZAHs!' and sending virtual high fives to Chicago's sheriffs today. Good on you!

Send thanks:
Sheriff Thomas Dart, Cook County Sheriff’s Office
50 W. Washington, Chicago, Illinois 60602 sheriff@cookcountysheriff.org

Legs, noses and a book deal for Jim Gorant

The Vick dog saga sure has itself some legs. Uba's adopter Letti pointed out a news blurb today that surprised us all....



Sports Illustrated writer Jim Gorant just signed a BOOK DEAL to write a book about the Vick dogs, entitled "The Lost Dogs." According to CNBC, "The book is being billed as an inspirational account of the rescue and "adoption" of Michael Vick's abused pit bulls." Holy crap!

Based on Jim's even-keeled approach to the recent magazine story, we expect this is going to be a very good thing for the dogs. The release date is expected to coincide with Vick's release from prison. Above: Jim Gorant, in yellow, ponders the crazy dog people during Pit Ed class.

EDIT: It seems someone jumped the gun on this. Gorant told us by phone that he has not signed a deal yet, but is working out terms. Looks like it will go thru, but he was a little upset that news leaked before he'd made contact with his contacts. Oh well. We'll take the good news just the same.


Whoa Nelly.

This is Sweet Nelly, from the Oklahoma case. I love that she's so happy in this photo. She's been battling pneumonia - not easy to do when you're born without nostrils. But things are looking up for her now. 

She's on the mend, and our vet believes she can slice brand new nostrils for the girl in the same way that brachycephalic pugs get help for their breathing problems. Nelly delights in life and seems utterly blissed out about EVERYthing, even when she's gulping air. I can't begin to imagine how happy she'll be when she can breathe. Stay tuned for more word on that.

We look forward to matching Nelly with a new home when the time is right. And yes, she can happily live with other dogs.

Daddy?

Is this one of TugTug's close relatives? (Photo of stud dog 'Sensational Intrepid Floyd' from pupcity.com.)

...Staffy bull people are wondering.

They're especially interested to learn why their breed has shown up in two of the most recent bad-boy busts. Is this a new trend or have staffy bulls been showing up in lots of  busts, but lumped together with (and destroyed alongside) American Pit Bull Terriers all this time?

What the Hector?

Roo (of Wallace Fame) put together a little video of his trip to SF and first date with Hector. Dontja just love a sentimental dogman?



If you don't already visit the Vick Dog Blog, take a look. It's a great place to grab a big fat smile.

Bully for You

The American Bully fad is alive and well in CA. American Bullies are a new mixed breed invention that sprang from mixing English Bulldogs and sometimes Neos - and lord knows what else (!) - with pit bulls to get a low-rider style brand of dog.

People either love'em or they hate the fact that they're sooo not a pit bull anymore.


We went to check out the scene at the Come Wit It Fun Show in Dixon this weekend. Hundreds of AmBully owners were there, comparing dogs' head sizes and browsing the wares of the kennels and dog suppliers, including mega-spike collars and some of the roundest puppies known to Planet Earth. The short squishy babies are obscenely cute and grow into Jabba the Hut look-alikes ... like this guy here --->

Want one? As expected, the overflow is already landing in shelters. Check Here

Some SHOW PIX

Vaya con Dios, Paco

Badrappers are grieving the untimely death of a special homeboy this weekend. Ana Poe's best friend Paco died in a freak accident, and there's some big tears and a whole lotta hurt going around tonite. 

Paco inspired Ana in so many ways and is most famous for his role as the ever-patient mascot for Paco Collars. 

Godspeed, little guy. You will be sorely missed.

the Blame Game

Oakland Animal Shelter's numbers for 2008 are in. They tell us that we're intaking more dogs (a 30% increase since 2005), adopting more out (dog adoptions are up 63% from 2007) and euthanizing, well... a LOT of adoptable and treatable dogs are still dying.

In short, there were more dogs-in-crisis in 2008, so keeping euthanasia numbers from skyrocketing right along with the intake increase meant running faster/harder on the daily treadmill.

We'd all like to take a little credit for the good stuff: the bulk of BAD RAP's celebrated shelter dogs came from OAS in '07-8, and the staff worked ball-busters to advertise pets, recruit volunteers and generally kick ass in the adoption department.

But certain realities keep dogging us. Despite best efforts, adoptable larger breeds including pit bulls and scared, undersocialized small dogs are the most likely to be walked down to the e-room in our fair city. No sooner are two dogs placed when 10 more come in the door. Ditto for most other urban areas. It's hard to know who to 'blame' for this trend, although it's not too far off to point to the ever-busy fad train for feeding impulse purchases to uncommitted homes. This, at a time when the housing crisis is giving even the most committed homes the tightest squeeze seen in many years.

Below. Once upon a time, adopters & rescue groups literally fought over hard-to-find small dogs in Oakland, but in '08 they came spilling out of the rafters, forcing staff to invent new ways to house and promote the growing numbers....



Some say blaming breeding trends is misdirected. The popular Pet Connection blog ran an interesting entry this week entitled - ironically - "Finding a nice puppy should not be this hard."

In discussing VP Biden's decision to buy a puppy, Christie Keith sympathizes with breeders who've apparently been shamed into secrecy due to popular catch-phrases such as "don't buy while shelter animals die." She argues that, according to 'No-Kill' philosophy, "dogs die in shelters not because of “irresponsible pet owners” or “greedy breeders” but because of the shelters’ own policies and actions."  She tells us that pet overpopulation talk is "big huge heap of propaganda" meant to push "home-based" breeders underground.

Huh.

Above: Tight belly. They're a rare sight in shelter populations. The majority of mature females that came into OAS in '08 had previously whelped at least one litter for their home-based breeders.

So, do we suck? Are we to blame for dying dogs? ... Er. Is assigning blame even helpful?

Or. Maybe pit bulls don't get to be counted in this discussion (and if not, WHY not?)

Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. - Wikipedia

Clearly, we live in a different reality from dog shoppers like VP Biden. Woe are the fad breeds who spill outside of a community's capacity to embrace them for their full natural lives. Urban breeders - especially those who cooly reject shelter realities and/or who surrender their unlicensed pets to be destroyed rather than reclaim them altered - are a mysterious bunch. Are they exploiting their brood stock for purely selfish purposes, or simply trying to pay the rent & feed the kids? Are they faithfully following cultural norms? Working to improve the breed? (A surprising number of OAS dogs are surrendered with their pedigree. Owners presume the papers will improve their adoption potential.) Maybe they're people who simply can't afford to fix their pet? Or fanciers who want to ensure that their breed survives into infinity, offering up individual dogs as war time collateral to the purpose of spreading their favorite dogs' genetics far and wide. Most likely, they're all the above, and then some. Above: We tried, but the breeder of these pups wanted to keep them intact to increase their street value.

Whatever your theory on the whys of the incoming, it's comforting to see a new trend in the shelter world that embraces pit bulls and works to find them homes. The dogs may be overpopulated, but they also have good soldiers on their side who are working hard despite the sadness and pressures and - more recently - divisive blame tactics that condemn them for not doing enough.

I won't give OAS's exact "kill" numbers here because, like many shelters today, they're understandably sensitive about being blamed for having to PTS for space. Besides, numbers tend to mire us down and lock us inside our busy little heads. The dogs deserve more action; less talk.

We shouldn't judge shelters based on numbers, but rather, their attitudes towards the dogs that depend on them. For example, readers know that we're less-than-impressed with No-Kill Model SF's approach that stereotypes pit bulls, but overjoyed by 'high-kill' shelters' work to debunk the tired myths that condemn the breed and discourage adoptions. When Hillsborough County Tampa agreed to offer two kennels for pit bull ambassadors, we cheered. Ambassadors! These few dogs didn't raise their live release stats in any significant way, but they signaled a wonderful shift in consciousness in that shelter, and ultimately, that community. Suddenly, pit bulls can be embraced rather than labeled and blamed. And now, the public can enjoy a shelter's pride rather than a society's shame. 

Even private shelters are getting caught up in the spirit of positive promotion: Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society deserves kudos for cooperating with Chicago Animal Care and Control to select and promote great dogs.

"This adoption program is designed to find some very special dogs new homes." - Bully Buddies page, Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society

"Special dogs" - not "high risk" dogs. And instead of "additional requirements," they receive "additional benefits." Rock on, Chicago. 

Next month, we'll be hosting a whole new crew of shelter workers from far away lands in our Pit Ed Camp. Indianapolis, New Orleans, Chicago and New York will all be sending some of their best to Oakland to study, discuss, practice and celebrate the breed we love -- Praise be!

  

Above: Chicago breed ambassador 'Mocha' needs a home. He's waiting at the Anti-Cruelty Society.

Wus Oklerhoma? I neber hoid of it.

TugTug is enjoying his 70 degrees of sunny skies in Oakland CA today. Wethinks this tiny guy (who's most likely a staffordshire bull terrier) is starting to forget about his bad days in Kay County, Oklahoma....as he should.

favorite people

Little Kinzie went to her new home this weekend, and a special friend received a bottle of red wine to help celebrate. Every foster family deserves a good neighbor like Carolyn, and good neighbors like Carolyn deserve so many thanks for their good deeds. She lives in the cottage behind our home and has become an integral part of introducing brand new BR dogs to the Good Life.

Carolyn greets the first morning sun on her front stoop each day with coffee in one hand and arms draped around the resident dogs, fosters included. As you can imagine, they all adore this quiet daily ritual. She keeps her cool when newbies sneak their way in and pee on her carpet, and she laughs out loud when they explode around the yard, kicking up debris in every direction. She patiently shepherds pit-bull-shy visitors past the menagerie and doles out treats in exchange for new manners. She always cheers when they finally leave for their forever homes; No tears, because their leaving means the cycle is about to start all over again with a brand new dog. (Oh no!)

Kinzie was from a cruelty case and hadn't been handled much in her past life, so it was a happy day around here when she finally climbed into Carolyn's bed for a morning snuggle and - siiiigh - relaxed like a real dog for the first time.

But the wine was meant more as thanks for putting up with the not-so-fun part of this project: Tip-toeing over the "gifts" they leave on her front walk. And with Kinzie, the ungodly wake-up calls that came when she finally earned open-door privileges to the yard. It took us a few days to realize that she was up with the dawn, dashing out the doggy door before anyone was awake and demanding that Carolyn get up out of bed and start the morning ritual NOW! That, and her overly-enthusiastic greetings at the back gate - armload of groceries be damned. It's not always fun to navigate that kind of attention and energy.

Dozens of dogs have graduated from Carolyn's little cottage charm school. Her home has become a virtual revolving door for homeless pit bulls on their way to new lives and dozens of lucky dogs are better for it.

Ledy Makes a Change: Best Friends Scores!

Legal dynamo Ledy VanKavage is an attorney and pit bull owner who's big on defending the breed and keeping people honest about dog owner rights & responsibilities. She's got a can-do attitude, loud infectious laugh and she's usually got her fingers in a thousand different projects; everything from teaching cops to chill out on breed profiling to helping cities develop dangerous dog laws that keep the focus on the right end of the leash. Busy Ledy. In short, she's a great person to have on our team, AND she's just moved away from the ASPCA to accept a position with Best Friends. We expect this means pit bulls will be getting even more help in the near future. Congrats Ledy.

Below. We ran into her getting her shoes polished up at Chicago O'Hare. She howled when I took this photo (Sorry Ledy - it's just too good not to share) She was on her way to a police training and explained that cop culture smiles on shiney shoes. Whatever works, girl.

Fifteen years old

Wait. This is admittedly a very depressing post. It's meant as a vent and a way to share a reality that we don't always talk about. Please don't don't don't read it if you don't do well with sadness. I'll post something better in a day or two.

Monday, January 12 2:30 pm. The thing that really kills us is that you didn't want to say good-bye to your dog...

... Your overweight senior who took a bullet because you thought it was just fine that she run loose in the neighborhood. The fat toothless dog who you allowed to run free: charging the garbage man, scaring the kids, evading animal control again and again. This once beautiful, cropped blue fawn who was lying in her kennel, grimacing in pain, her wrist pulverized by a bullet. Just steps away from you.

You said you'd had her her whole life; bought her "with papers" some fifteen years ago. A family pet. Whelped you many litters. Her wrist exploded when the bullet smashed through it. The cop had no choice, and we don't blame him. Twenty officers responded to the call. She was good at scaring people away from your home ... You wanted her to do that. They'd always turn and run away. Not today.

She bled like crazy in the animal control truck. Tim carried her inside: she was rattling with pain. He told her he was sorry, that she was a good girl, that she would be okay. Megan rushed to fill her with the drug that would dull the pain. Her eyes were wide with fear. She leaned back and stared Tim in the eye; she kissed him. We thought about her all night; knowing she wouldn't be able to get herself up and pee (she held it - all night, all day). We got there as you were at the counter, arguing your fines. You turned on your heels and stormed off.

She was still grimacing in pain when we saw her again; the corners of her mouth pulled back like she wanted to vomit. We coo-ed to her, tranquilized her. I held her head, rubbed the inside of her left ear while Tim held her vein. Megan slipped the needle in and her blood shot back into the blue juice as it moved into her vein, bringing an end to her fifteen years. We didn't know her name. She left this world hearing us tell her that she was a good girl.

Good news from UK: RSPCA calls for end to BSL

Calling for the end of a bad law is the first step: The RSPCA, UK's largest animal welfare org, has gone public to demand the immediate end of BSL in the UK

Many experts, law makers and dog lovers from around the UK and globally have seen the devastation caused by breed specific legislation - which outlaws dogs by ‘type’, meaning a dog is deemed ‘dangerous’ and illegal simply based on what it looks like and not because of any offence caused by the dog. As a result of breed specific legislation (BSL) in the UK, many innocent dogs have lost their lives since the law was brought in by Ken Baker in 1991. - DogMagazine.net

Gives the words 'Happy New Year' a whole new meaning. Keep your paws crossed that other UK animal welfare orgs will be inspired to join the RSPCA in this statement.

News from Home
The Oklahoma dogs are settling in. Tiny TugTug (right) is battling an ear infection and the tips of his ears are starting to scar over from the frostbite he endured, while Nelly is being tended to for a case of pneumonia. Life in the cold was hard on these guys! We're getting ready to post photos of 'Goji' one of the females that came to live in CA.

The Berkeley Animal Care Services made room for two dogs from Oklahoma ... a brave move for an open-admission shelter whose dog population is generally over-represented by local pit bulls. But Berkeley has been working steadily on their overpopulation issues and with adoptions at an all time high and kennels at an all time EMPTY, they were moved to help these out-of-state dogs in crisis.

Effie here is one of the two females now being cooed and adored by staff and volunteers. We knew they liked her when ACO Johnny dragged an office chair into her kennel to make her feel more at home. Thanks Johnny. Senior girl Effie is all about the love. She's dog tolerant (may even be dog social), adores people and flashes her toothy "Love me, Love me" grin to anyone who smiles in her general direction.

BACS is one of our favorite shelter partners and a must-do destination for Pit Ed Campers. We love showing out of town shelter workers that it really IS possible to increase your pit bull adoption numbers, support their owners and enjoy empty kennels.

Address for Dr. Yunker
As promised, the address to the unflappable Dr. Yunker who did fast and fantastic surgeries in unimaginable conditions in Oklahoma. He really deserves pit bull lovers' thanks for going waaay out of his way to help these dogs....

Dr. Terry Yunker, DMV
Animal Welfare, PO Box 20061,
Oklahoma City, OK 73156

Below, 'Turtle' from the Oklahoma case is reunited with her puppy in Oakland. Turtle is waiting for a home at BACS and her pup will be on our Available Page shortly.

2008: Stubborn Hope!

If the new year is half as good as 2008 was to us, we aren't allowed to be cranky in '09 -- too much, anyway. Here are some of the good news surprises that laid a foundation for better days for our dogs.

January, 2008. The Associated Press was the first news media org to introduce the recently rescued Vick dogs to the world, displaying 20 photos of the dogs being trained, cradled and enjoyed. The AP article ran in over 200 publications around the world (we stopped counting after 200). Other news agencies faithfully filed their own stories including the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Fox News, SFgate, and numerous local papers and 'zines. CNN devoted nine minutes to the story with this interview with Tim, who explained that foster care status dogs did not need to be "rehabilitated."

February 2008. The Humane Society Missouri, following the federal government's lead, made the decision to evaluate their own 22 fight bust dogs - A first. One third of the dogs found new lives in pet homes. May 2008. One of the Missouri bust dogs made her video debut at the HSUS Expo, as part of BR's presentation on identifying breed ambassadors. Other law enforcement agencies join in aiding their own bust victims, including Los Angeles and South Holland, IL

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.” - Anne Lamott

Photo Above: Oklahoma dog about to released from his chain.

BSL WINS in 2008. The wins are ever sweet, despite the constant work of battling BSL threats. Thank you Marcy Setter for faithfully recording each and every win and loss, and to everyone who busted your balls in this fight. A biggie: In June 2008, the Netherlands announced a total removal of their 15 year breed ban.

July 2008. Photos of the Vick dogs captured by Pulitzer prize winning photographer Carol Guzy appeared in the the Washington Post with a nearly full front page photo of Our Pack's Leo, a therapy dog.

September 2008. Inspired by the groundbreaking victim advocacy work of Special Master Guardian Rebecca Huss, the American Bar Association promoted the lessons learned from the Vick case as a legal precedent. In October 2008 the precedent is promoted in Lewis and Clark Law School's annual conference. The ASPCA included 'happy endings' photos of the dogs in their training manual Investigating Animal Abuse for Law Enforcement and the USDA Office of Inspector General has plans to highlight the same Vick dog successes in a federal law enforcement conference in April 2009.

STUBBORN ACTIVISM: CA group Roverlution organized the Second Annual Pit Bull Awareness Day in October, shining positive media attention to pit bulls through 78 organized events in 33 states...Monthly Pit Bulls Pounding the Pavement parades took hold in central Florida. A Rotta Love in MN perfected the art of educating kids about dog safety. ...BR partnered with several agencies in Vallejo to bring resources, including training and owner support to over a hundred grateful pit bull owners. The City of Vallejo awarded BR for the "Celebrate Your Pit Bull" event in a presentation at a city council meeting. BR's Pit Ed Classes tripled in size, and over 25 pit bulls earedn their Canine Good Citizen certification and therapy dog titles.... Wallace the Disk Champ got a new housemate when Roo & Clara Yori gave a home to Vick dog Hector, creating exciting new opportunities for pit bull PR in 2009.

MEDIA DARLINGS: The Vick dog successes appeared all over the airwaves including specials on Nat'l Geo Special "Dogtown" with Best Friends, on the Animal Planet Witness show with BR dogs, on the Rachael Ray Show and the Ellen Degeneres Show.  They're highlighted in People Magazine, Bark Magazine and at the end of the year, the much celebrated cover story in Sports Illustrated.

Photo Right: Teddles on his Adoption Day.

PROGRESSIVE SHELTERS around the country began new or strengthened existing Breed Ambassador Adoption Programs in 2008, including the Humane Society for Inland Mendocino County, Hillsborough County AS Tampa, Anti-Cruelty Society Chicago, MN Tri-County Humane, Corning Animal Shelter, Oakland Animal Services, and many many more. The ASPCA celebrates pit bull adoption matches with the Adopt-A-Bull Contest. In December 2008, still enjoying a reduced shelter population after eight years of hard work, Berkeley Animal Care Services offered to fill two of its empty kennels with dogs from an abuse case in Kay County, Oklahoma. The case represents the first time multiple agencies came together to rescue abused pit bulls from a large scale bust in Oklahoma.

Hallejulah!

I'm sure readers have more to add to this list of Good News. Please, bring it on. We still have so much work to do together, but for today, we're wishing Happy Tipping Points to everyone who cares enough to insist on better days for all creatures, including and especially the pit bulls!