Wednesday, February 18, 2009

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

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go Hector!!!!
Changing minds, warming hearts and bringing that special kind of pittie joy...thata boy!!!!

Kirsten said...

oh, happies... :)

Sam said...

That is beautiful. The background, the scars, the breed, does NOT and SHOULD NOT imply aggressive, broken, too far gone. If only others can see that and there'd be no battle left for us to fight.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Marcia Fritzmeier for writing this.
And of course a huge thanks to BadRap and the Yoris.
Congrats Hector.

Actions always speak louder than words.

Anonymous said...

I think John Goodwin needs some therapy.. can Hector go visit him?

Walter said...

Very nice. And he's a beautiful dog.

Joshua Grenell said...

Indeed!!

Leila said...

Congratulations Hector! And Thank You Ms. Friztmeier for your kind words and support.

The world can be changed, one act at a time. We will change the world for the dogs who have been lost.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!!! Thank you Marcia for taking the time to send a wonderful letter on such a beautiful animal. Hector, you are a true wonder and blessing. I know you will do wonderful in your new job. Take that Michael Vick, your legacy will forever be tarnished with you being considered a "Monster" while Hector's supposed "Monster Breed" will forever be praised with "Hero". Thank you Bad Rap for letting the world know what wonderful creatures our beloved Pits truely are.

Abby said...

Go Hector, Go Hector! (doing a little dance thing)

Abby, Olvia and Taz

Princess said...

Way to go Hector!! Thanks Marcia for taking the time to write a letter and praise Bad Rap and their wonderful employees!! Thanks for the work you do too!

Happy smiles coming from this girl and her pittie!! :o)

Pip said...

Oh, Hector! Thank you for giving me a reason to smile. Cross your paws for me and my pittie girl - we're in training with CGC and Therapy Cert as our ultimate goals...

Anonymous said...

Wow Hector, not just handsome, but smart and loving too! Too bad there aren't more humans like you. I know that you will bring happiness to the people that need it the most just by being you. Your human family must be very proud of you, and we are all proud of them for sticking with the training and having the never give up attitude. Perhaps they are part Pit?

We love you Hector!!!!!!!!!!!!
And damn, you have the cutest, sweetest face!

Much love,
Natalie and Osa

Anonymous said...

I love you Hector....will you marry me?

Anonymous said...

Congrats Hector. I'm glad to hear you will be spreading the love!

Anonymous said...

What a great ambassador for pitties!! Go Hector.

TeamGrady

Home2K9 Pack Leader said...

Yep, this totally had me in a puddle of tears. How awesome... nice work Hector and family, THIS is the stuff we can be joyful about in the midst of such a let down as the Wilkes County bit. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

This may lift the cloud a bit more.
This little fella isn`t going to get the Press Coverage another dog would get but he deserves to be remembered by people who would like to shake his paw and say thanks.

The headline was "adjusted" by a friend
(The headline below might have been picked up by google alerts and we wouldn`t want that now would we)

CHAOS THE PIT BULL HERO SAVES 11 FROM BURNING BUILDING

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/02/19/Hero-dog-saves-11-from-burning/1235087866.html

Thank you Chaos
You will be remembered

Anonymous said...

A small section of a VERY long letter received from HSUS re the Wilkes Slaughter.

[quote]These fighting dogs do not compare with the dogs from amateur “street fighters,” who typically take any, random pit bull and try and force them to fight. If pit bulls have not been bred for generations to have a “fight crazy” instinct, even if they have been exposed to dogfighting, they have a chance of being rehabilitated. This is why a substantial number of Michael Vick’s dogs were candidates for rehabilitation, after the court ordered Vick to pay $1 million as a set-aside to provide care and retraining for the dogs.[/quote]

They need to keep better records of what they previously said about Hector and his buddies.

Do they really believe we`re this stupid?

Anonymous said...

I guess I`m not so special.
I just read MY letter over at Yes Biscuit.
Apparently they`re sending out form letters.
Oh well.
I did send them a personalized response.
I asked them if they wanted one of these for their site.

http://bullmarketfrogs.com/blog/?p=1228