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!

Landlord Lover

Nope, it's a little late for an April Fool's joke - this really IS BooBoo's new landlord. Somebody pinch me, maybe all the new positive pit bull PR is really paying off. Perhaps it's contagious and landlords everywhere will notice that they too have been duped by the sensation-hungry media and begin interviewing all dogs as individuals.

For more on how to build a good relationship with a potential new landlord read our PDF on renting with pit bulls: RENTING

Tim

Newsy

Contra Costa Times did a nice video report + pix on the Shots Fair. Thanks to John Simerman, who dug right in and got a good story. Print ARTICLE. (Please remember to swing him a thank you for the positives!)

"The free isn't the best part of it. It's the offering." - Arikha Jay of Oakland

More Honey

Oakland pet owners poured into the parking lot of the Eastmont Mall yesterday with every kind of dog you can imagine for our first Free Shots Fair of 2008. It was packed. The chihuahuas have been multiplying in a scary way and were out in full force. Thank goodness, we had enough tiny collars for them (and no one was bit by the tiny staple-guns this time. A first!). Lots of American Bulldogs, too. But of course, we were all eyes for the pit bulls.

BEEF.
This big girl was so suave and handled the chaos like an old pro. Her handler followed suit. Oh - and she was already spayed.

One of the main goals of the quarterly Shots Fairs has been to get word out about the East Bay SPCA's free spay/neuter program for pit bulls (Pit Fix) and the low-cost surgeries for Non-Pits. When we started doing these fairs 3+ years ago, you rarely saw a fixed dog in the crowd. Now, they're a regular thing.

Already neutered and soon to be joining the Pit Ed classes. Very nice dog. This sweet family adores him beyond belief. We know the feeling.

What a cute kid. His dog was as bubbly as he was.

Revolution Anyone?

Voluntary Spay/Neuter Efforts are alive and well in the SF bay area ... Well, in the east bay, anyway.

Special thanks to Pet Food Express for the wonderful leash and collar donations for this season's fair.

Friday mentions

What's Life like for investigation dogs in your shelter? It's a good thing to know because in most, custody dogs fall to bottom-drawer priority and suffer long months of maddening isolation and kennel stress before their fates are determined by the courts. In many cases, the dogs are pit bulls and their jail time is a direct result of bad decisions on some human's part...Victims of idiocy. There's a lot of that going around, unfortunately.




The staff at the busy Tampa-area shelter that I keep blabbing about (Hillsborough County Animal Services) have been losing sleep over their custody dogs for awhile. They traveled to the bay area last year to attend Pit Ed Camp and to learn new ways to keep kenneled dogs happy. The trip included a visit to see Corinne Dowling's Give A Dog A Bone project for fresh inspiration. Less than a year later, they pulled together enough funds and community interest to create a big happy playground just for the dogs waiting out long-term jail sentences.

This may seem pretty basic, but it's actually revolutionary - especially when you consider how dogs like Spyder might've grown up right in the head had her shelter had similar resources. Photos courtesy of Hillsborough County Animal Services

This 30lb sweetie was awarded to the HCAS by the courts and will be going up for adoption. They look for the same qualities that we look for in our BR dogs, so if you're shopping for a new pit bull in the Tampa area, high tail it over to see this munchkin, a female named 'Pheebee.'

Ding Dong the Bill is Dead! Florida's HB101 - the bill that would've permitted BSL in the State of Florida - is dead! Congrats to everyone who worked so hard to bring it down.

High fives to BR volunteer Roxanne Alden and her pit bull Jackson, who were recognized by a local paper (Sonoma Index-Tribune ) for earning their AKC Canine Good Citizen certificate. Roxanne's winning quote in the article, "Jackson is not an exception to the breed norm, he's an example of it." ...Word!

In South Carolina three of eight dogs taken from a fight bust were moved into foster care and have been receiving training in preparation for adoption We just love when shelters buck the system in favor of helping the animals. In Pima AZ, the authorities finally charged the six pit bull owners with dog fighting. Their dogs will be available for qualified rescue groups soon, although with over 100 dogs-in-need, it's certain that only a small number will find help.

Four Ways to V-dog Nirvana

The V-dogs tend to be a little bit - ahem - energetic. We figure they're making up for lost time. These are some of the ways that their foster parents help them stay in shape and have a good time.



1. (Stuffed) Kong Balls
Big Bulldog Thanks to Teacher Lisa Jackson's 6th grade class from Sablatura Middle School (Pearland, TX) for your AWESOME donation to the Vick dogs. You guys are the best ....The dogs love their kongs!

2. First Dates
Teddles and Dutch. "Nice to meet you." Play sessions = Da best fun eva.

3. Study Time
Jonny Justice hits the books in Pit Ed class. He's an Honor Student, of course.

4. Run Baby, Run
No, he's not running from Ingrid ... Uba here is blissing out on the treadmill. It's his brand new favorite toy. Sleep well tonite, sweet Uba!

Tyson MacTyson

Who knew that this senior staffy bull orphan would be so instrumental in helping to acclimate one of "the most violent dogs in America" (hardly) to life in CA? This alien baby has been earning his kibble bigtime since leaving Oakland Animal Services by playing both mentor and playground buddy to a newly transplanted V-dog.

Life in Pit Bull Land is full of smiles and happy surprises. ...Updates on the way...

Thanks from Team Noonie

On behalf of Team Noonie I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of the donors who made our participation in the St. Baldrick’s event on March 15, 2008 so successful. Our team fundraising goal was $10,000 and due to the very generous contributions from so many kind hearted people, that amount was well exceeded. The event raised a total of more than $40,000. St Baldrick’s grants funds to over 230 institutions for laboratory research and to help make clinical trials available to more children than ever, giving those children treatment that offers the best chance for a cure. Fellowships are also funded to encourage the best and brightest new doctors to pursue careers in childhood cancer research. Your support truly makes a difference! As promised...here we are bald! And that's Charlie, my nephew sleeping in the stroller.

Home Sweet Home for V-Dog Ten

This is Spyder - affectionately known as Maya by her foster mom, Kim. She's got quite a story, altho' you might've noticed that she didn't get air time during the V-dog celebrations.

I'll just get to the meat of things: Spyder is a little bit screwed up.

Not from fighting, but from her early life in the shelter that took her in after the Vick bust. Her home for six months was in-no-way-ready to have 17 fighting dogs dumped on them. And being understaffed and ridiculously under-resourced, they were ill-prepared to help puppies grow up right in a gawd-awful-crazy kennel environment. While some animal welfare orgs solicited buttloads of money on the backs of Vick's victims, this little place saw penny-zero and couldn't afford an office chair, much less extra kennel help (Literally, they didn't have an office chair!) The two (count: 2) guys that worked there were in over their heads from Day One. They were, essentially, as screwed as the dogs they were supposed to be caring for.

Six Virginia animal shelters took in Vick dogs after the bust. Some were fantastic and the dogs shined in their care. And some shelters, not so good. We're not placing blame...We're just sayin.' When housing abused animals, resources matter.

So, six month old puppy Spyder and her littermate Frodo grew up in a loud, dirty echo chamber with no comforts and no one to take them outside. And yes, it caused permanent damage. Dogs like our Ernie came from this same shelter, but because he was already a stable (and well socialized) adult when he entered, he was better wired to endure the intense stress of confinement.

Suckers-R-Us, our hearts hurt for these funny little yearlings when we met them back in September. We wanted to give them our best, even if that meant they wouldn't be able to be famous or 'normal' like Jonny Justice, Hector, Ernie, Teddles and the rest. So when the courts granted us the opportunity to take dogs home for interim foster care weeks early (designed to prevent stressed-out dogs from deteriorating further) we weighed our options and put the pups on the bus along with the Rock Stars. It was only right; hogging all the Stars when other groups were stepping up would be wrong, and we had room for the siblings, so why not.

Fast forward to Now. Amazingly, Brother Frodo seems to be doing 'okay.' He's no lion-heart, but he's participating in the real world and trying his best to be brave. As stunted as he is, he's full of joy and hope and will be protected and loved by his circle of supporters in BR. But his sister?...Not so okay. Spyder enjoys the world in small spurts. Dogs are her biggest happiness and her play manners are wonderful. She loves her crate, her ball and FOOD - Ohmagod. Food is good. But in total, the world outside is a very scary place for Spyder.

After several months of home care and minor victories, it became clear that city life was causing her more fear than joy. And that's just not fair; We didn't get into this project to cause more stress.

So now comes the good news:...As of yesterday, Spyder went to live at Best Friend's Sanctuary in Utah. The world is smaller there; quieter. A 10x20 pen is her new kingdom with toys and sun and no city noises to rattle her nerves. She'll be able to play with other dogs and smell the fresh air and watch the Utah weather and bark at coyotes and go for walks with her new 'family' - a small circle of people who've committed themselves to her care. In our heart of hearts, we believe she'll be truly happy there.

We certainly considered the option of putting Spyder to sleep. We do our share of 'culling' dogs that aren't right for this unforgiving world and we knew no one would blame us for this sad task. But doing this does take a piece of your soul away each time. We've seen it turn seasoned breed people bitter and ill-tempered towards everything and everyone. I imagine demanding perfection in an imperfect world can have the same negative accumulative effect as living in a small cage with no light or fresh air. So maybe in part for selfish reasons, to protect our hearts from hardening to the point of no return, we voted for Life for Spyder. Thank you Best Friends for giving us the opportunity to make that choice for her. Above: John Garcia of Best Friends greets Spyder.

Vid Clip: Frodo and Spyder (in red collar) Saying Good Bye.

Here's a quick clip of Spyder getting loaded up for her trip to Utah. Big day! Plane Ride Home .... Later, I'll tell-all on the Best Friend's V-dog that came to take Spyder's place in CA. The adventure continues.

Pearl

I wanted to post a tribute to Pearl (blog below). She graced our Katrina Survivor Calendar cover last year, running like happy gangbusters on the beach in her new land. I was floored by Nicole's initial interest in rescuing Pearl from a sea of pit bulls in the rescue station of NOLA way back when. When asked why she wanted the black scarred up girlie with swinging teats, protruding vulva and chopped ears, Nicole stated matter of factly, "Because this is the dog that everyone else will leave behind." You so rock, Nicole.

God speed Miss Pearl...The beach is all yours now. Off leash, at that!

Better odds with a hurricane

I’ve been meaning to write about my experience in VA (and I will), but life moves fast and when I returned home, Pearl received a diagnosis of lymphoma. We had been busy making the most of our time together, until Monday at 5 am, when my precious Pearl died from lymphoma. She was a fabulous creature. Some people may say she wouldn’t have won a beauty contest (I, of course, think otherwise), but Pearl had an excess of personality. In the weeks of treatment at a local hospital, the staff treated her like royalty, never kenneling her because “she couldn’t have cared less about the other animals and we liked to sit with her.“

Pearl tried to make a friend of everyone she met.Sometimes people weren’t interested…like the man who yelled at me last week on a public sidewalk for not having a muzzle on her…Pearl continued to wag and smile at him while he berated us. Heartbreaking and so completely infuriating at the same time. Maybe some people have been so conditioned by what they read and see on TV that they fail to think for themselves and are unable to recognize the reality of what is right before their eyes.

And heartbreaking too, to think that there are thousands of other perfectly wonderful dogs just like her who are exterminated each year because they were unlucky enough to be rescued from the property of a dog fighter. Strange to think that Pearl was luckier to be caught up in a hurricane than to be rescued by some animal welfare agencies.

Rest in Peace My Love