Dennis is one of the backbones of the shelter. He has the crappy job of busting dog abusers and bringing their oft-damaged dogs into already crowded kennels. It must suck to be Dennis some days. But his shelter has made a commitment to put a handful of breed ambassadors in the Available ward. It's a brave new focus and it helps heal hurting hearts on days when so many good dogs run out of options.
So, Bravo to Hillsborough for selecting Brock (photographed) and for getting him into a home. Dennis' smile says it all, "Good luck little buddy. You beat the odds. Get out there and have yourself a life."
HCAS vet Dr. Roese wrote me this week with a plea for bully-tough toys for their custody dogs (Think: Vick-like dogs in longterm confinement with nothing to do. All. Day. Long). She says,
The budgets in Florida governments are put to the test and finding money for special projects is getting harder and harder...
Kelly works very hard with our Pit Bulls and we all want to improve the life of our long-term stay dogs (mostly Pit!!!). I appreciate your support ! - Dr. Roese
Hillsborough County Animal Services
440 N. Falkenburg Road
Tampa, Florida 33619
Wanna make a huge difference? Consider starting a Toy Drive for this under-resourced shelter. Or, for your own local shelter. We gotta stay busy helping the good guys help the animals that are counting on us.
In other news... Luisa's wicked smart Lassie, Get Help Blog ponders the emotional state of infamous naysayers this week. It must be embarrassing to see scary fighting dogs get nibbled on by adoring foster parents.
The media's interest in the dogs hasn't waned. Some juicy opps for the dogs are coming up, including an interview with Kimberly Guilfoyle on FOX News this Saturday at 7pm PST.
Please remind your skeptical brother-in-law to watch for that pit bull guy (Tim, left) and his funny little fightin' dog on the telly.
21 comments:
Oh my. I am so happy to see such wonderful goings on. I have been watching these stories intently and have wanted to comment but I can not seem to put into words the way my heart feels when I read these stories.
Thank you.
I know they are just two small words but until I can find the right ones to say they will have to do.
Great picture...I just hope that the 'funny little fightin' guy' in the pic with Tim, is not in the same, shall we say, 'male' excitable state when Fox comes....the news won't be 'fair and balanced' then...lol!
Dina
Donating toys is a great idea. We like to give the Camden County, NJ animal shelter (www.ccasnj.org) dog toys when we can. They get a lot of pit bulls there and work very hard to find them good homes - even dogs with fight scars, no ears, and so on that I know some other shelters wouldn't even put up for adoption at all. That kind of thing is nice because you know it's actually going to make an animal better off in a direct way.
Thumbs up to Dennis and Hillsborough
from Ontario,Canada.
Good for you!
You ARE making a difference for Brock and believe me we`re taking note.
Go home and snuggle with your family Brock.Have a happy life.
I love your name by the way!
Uba, the rather embarassed "'funny little fightin' guy' in the pic with Tim," wants everyone to know that since he has been neutered he no longer gets quite so excited about things. Tim is still his most favorite person on earth, but Uba has learned to control his "'male' excitable state" a little better now.
Donna,
Could you please post the address
to ship kongs/toys.
I would like to ship em' a box full.
Thanks.
I never noticed Uba`s state until it was pointed out.
That`s hilarious.
Is BadRap now X rated.;)
I just sent Hillsborough an email,telling them Thanks for giving Brock a chance and Canada has noticed!
Absolutely. I just posted the addy in Dr. Roese's quote box and here it is again.
I can't say this enough, you're literally changing the way people look at pit bulls when you extend this kind of compassion. People - shelter people especially - need support and in some cases, *permission* to care about this breed.
THANK YOU!
Hillsborough County Animal Services
440 N. Falkenburg Road
Tampa, Florida 33619
I`ve asked them if they have a paypal account?
Any Shelter that is willing to give these dogs a chance deserves our help.
I say buy 1 Kong for Hillsborough,more if you can afford it.
The answer was
[quote]Animals Services does not have an account with Pay Pal. Not sure we would be allowed to have one.[/quote]
That`s unfortunate.
I wish they would try to set one up.
I`ll send them a cheque.
This is a wonderful site! I fostered a rescued bully mix that was abused. Once she arrived at my home, we fell in love with her! Needless to say, we adopted her. I think it is great that people are starting to hear good press about our misunderstood breeds!
Reading about the Vick dogs (and I don't even like typing his name) makes my heart smile. I am a huge dog lover and knowing these dogs are finding loving homes and people makes me extremely happy! I am so thankful there are still wonderful people in this world who want to protect and love all things big and small. I will be collecting and sending as many Kong toys as possible. Keep up the good work...and let us know how we can continue to help.
I adore BAD RAP! You guys are simply amazing and I love checking in with your blog and reading up on the current good news (and sometimes the bad that we have to be aware of too).
The picture of Uba *enjoying* Tim's cuddles is classic. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw just how much Uba was in fact enjoying it. ;)
I wonder if there is any wholesale-type option for buying kongs and other supplies, specifically for shelters, etc.? In that case, would a monetory donation be better?
More on the media coverage---the New York Times redeemed themselves yesterday in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/sports/football/02vickdogs.html?ei=5087&em=&en=3efe6c1a5e5c7781&ex=1202101200&pagewanted=all
Check it out and if you get the chance, thank them! During the coverage of the Vick bust, they published a particularly ridiculous article condemning the dogs based on the testimony of one kennel worker.
I posted prematurely: the New York Times also made an awesome slide show of the dogs at Best Friends.
Check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/20080202_VICK_FEATURE/index.html
I really enjoy your blog, having found it from Ken Foster's blog. I wanted to share a link with you to build inexpensive dog beds that I think you might be interested in or want to share with others: http://www.columbusdogconnection.com/elevated_dog_beds.htm
Connie, Orlando, FL
They`re not giving up on the idea of a paypal account yet.
I told them that people all over the world notice when shelters give these dogs a chance and there are NO borders!
[quote]Thanks so much for all of your thoughts on this,we're trying to
tackle a number of huge issues here in Tampa (and this is certainly one
of great importance to all)! We should be close to getting the
paperwork completed for a non-profit section to benefit our animals,
maybe that would be the place to put this account (if our government
status won't allow). I'll keep you in the loop - thanks again![/quote]
I hope they don`t mind the cut and paste with the email but I wanted to share the news.
Once again
Thumbs up to Hillsborough.
Do you have more clips/pics of Uba? He is sweetest little guy ever!!
My rescue pittie & I stayed up late to watch you on Fox, GREAT JOB!!!!
Uba lover in Maryland
Hi there BAD RAP. I'm a long-time supporter, but just found out you had a blog. I just wanted to let you know I blogged about you today. Thanks for your amazing work.
Hi, I don't whether this is any help, but I contacted the Kong Co. asking if they'd be interested in donating Kongs themselves. They sent me 2 order forms for shelters to fill out to receive damaged/seconds. I guess it depends what condition they're in. Sometimes seconds are almost perfect, sometimes they're not! But if anyone is interested, email me at kirstenreed@gmail.com, and I'll forward the order forms on.
Bless the peeps at HCAS!! I donated 10 kongs - my great pleasure which required no thanks at all. However, to my great surprise, I received a sweet hand written card in the mail today from Kelly Bigsby of HCAS. Kelly wrote a wonderful thank-you note and included the photo of one of the most beautiful pups I've seen -a fawn colored beauty whom I'd guess to be 6-9 months old, playing with what appears to be a red leash. Kelly - thanks so much for taking the time to make me feel special - I send my blessings to all of you at HCAS for your dedication and devotion to pitties of Hillsborough County! Much Love! Marie P.S. I'd love to know the name of the sweetie featured in the photo you sent to me :). Thanks again!
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