The Pitbull Who Changed My Mind

  
I'm an animal lover. Well, I should say I love all animals except hippos and until 2 years ago, Pit Bulls. The hippo thing won't ever change. Ever. But that's a different story.

In May of 2010, my daughter woke me in distress, shoving a cold, wet and whiny puppy in my face. "Mom, you have to help this puppy, he's really sick."

I opened one eye and replied "uh, yea, it's too young to be away from its mother". By the size of the pup, the ear openings, and the eyes of the pup, I aged it at about three weeks. She then told me the mother had died and the "breeder" had sold the puppies because "they couldn't take care of them". I will refrain from my rant about irresponsible"breeding".

As I sat up in bed to take a closer look at the tiny little pup that fit in my hand, I sighed...a stinkin' Pit Bull! The one and only breed I despise and I'm supposed to help it? Why? So it can eat my leg off? Terrorize the world?

In that moment, as I silently cursed the situation and cradled that cold, listless little "beast" in my hands, I never imagined how this dog was going to affect my life.

After a night of slowly warming the pup and forcing liquids into him, I took him to my vet for an exam. Tom checked him over thoroughly, noting the paleness of his gums and his ridiculously bloated belly coupled with extreme listlessness.

About 30 minutes later, the blood and fecal results were ready. "Amy, you do know he's probably not going to make it, right?” I nodded in agreement, but the challenge was now on. All of God's creatures deserve a chance, even the dreaded Pit Bull.

I could write for days the list of wonderful, devoted people who pulled together to help this pathetic little pup. Tom the vet, took him home for two days. The pup came to Richmond Animal League’s Loving Spay and Neuter Clinic with me almost daily, where, in typical RAL fashion, my friends, staff and fellow volunteers I didn't even know, eagerly held him, fed him, and kept a constant vigil over this little guy. It took about a week of force feeding before his appetite kicked in. Constant dewormings (18 total...the normal is one to two), supplemental nutritional drops, special puppy foods and many loving hands finally pulled him through. Sadly, over the next four to five days, we would hear one by one, how each of his 11 litter mates died, as they did not receive even a chance at proper care.

The boy who had originally purchased the pup didn't realize the special care this dog was going to need for the long haul. Not only because of his health issues, but the behavioral issues often found in dogs that are separated from their mothers at such an early age. With the help of both Tom and my daughter, the boy finally relinquished ownership to me. I had every intention of getting the puppy stable enough to find him a good home with someone crazy enough to adopt a Pit Bull.

One day my husband said "we ought to call him something besides "him". As fellow dog lovers will agree, naming a dog is dangerous territory...it often leads to "adoption" by said fosters and there was no way this Pit Bull was staying on a permanent basis in MY home. Hesitantly I asked what he was thinking, Pit Bull Baby...P.B.B ...Pibbs? This was a strange name, let's keep it formal, you know, to keep the distance from him I thought. "I like MR. Pibbs better". Non committal, not too cute. Yep, it would do.

By this point, Mr. Pibbs was about three and a half months old. Finally he was declared worm free and my own two female dogs were eager to "mother" him. Libby, my own personal RAL "foster failure" quickly became his surrogate mom and Angel, his annoying big sister, was eager to correct him on EVERYTHING. He ate the attention up!

I started to do research on Pit Bulls. How much time do I have before he "turns"? I just knew this sweet cuddle bug of a puppy who loved to go out front and sniff flowers would become a menace to society soon.

Training. Everything I read about Pit Bulls went back to training, consistency, being a good leader, etc. I wanted this pup to have the best chance at life so my husband and I agreed we would take him to obedience class so his new owners might have a prayer.

In comes Rich, the dog trainer. He patiently listens to my questions and concerns. Rich loves Pit Bulls. As a matter of fact, Rich, on his own time, is a legal advocate for the breed. He has owned two Pit Bulls, both of them rescue dogs. As he talks about his beloved Sammy, who has passed on, I hear a slight catch in his voice. I silently think, well, that amazing dog must have been a fluke. That doesn't sound like any Pit Bull I've ever heard of in the news.

We start beginner’s class. Graduate. On to Intermediate. Piece of cake. Advanced? Breezed through it. Mr. Pibbs is invited to the Canine Good Citizen class. Always eager to please us, he graduates with honors and receives his certificate from the American Kennel Club.

We have done our job. Time to find him a home. I take him back to see Tom one last time to ensure he is healthy.

During the exam, Tom steps back and says "Amy, he has bonded with your family so much, I'm kind of worried that you might be setting him up for failure if you place him somewhere else." I look at Tom and again at Mr. Pibbs. My eyes well up with tears and I whisper "thank you".

When I went home and shared the news with Don, he smiles and immediately says to Mr. Pibbs "welcome home little buddy!” He doesn't admit it right away, but you can see he's as happy as I am that this goofy, happy dog is destined to be with us.

Today, Mr. Pibbs and my one year old grandson are best buds. We were cautious and slow with the introductions and using common sense, the baby is never alone with any of our dogs. Mr. Pibbs and Maddox play ball, Maddox sneaks him treats and kisses. Mr. Pibbs takes great pride in watching over Maddox and will dutifully listen to our resident "mini Caesar Milan".

He still loves to go to Petco and visit "Uncle Rich", jumps at the chance to visit all of his many friends at RAL and loves kids and kittens. He adores Frisbee, following commands (show off!) and will still stop and sniff the flowers. Mr. Pibbs thinks everyone is his friend but watch out for his tail...aka the "happy whip". Just ask anyone who loves Pibbs…that tail hurts!

Since I took the time to educate myself, I have come to know countless fabulous Pit Bulls. They tend to be loving, devoted dogs that are eager to please humans. Their love and loyalty are beyond measure. Sadly, they are also the most misunderstood and discriminated against breed. I'm ashamed at the fact I was once one of those people. Entire counties have outlawed and euthanized countless dogs that are even "suspected" to have any type of Pit Bull DNA. Many of these dogs were actually ripped from their homes for absolutely no reason and destroyed. These were loving pets whose responsible owners were left in complete dismay and shock as their dogs were taken.

The decision to keep Mr. Pibbs has impacted my life so much, even outside of the home. My hatred of the breed is now replaced with compassion and admiration. I am also an advocate for the breed. I feel privileged to occasionally help with the wonderful Gracie's Guardians, RAL's Pit Bull division. This group came into existense in part due to the Michael Vick dog fighting atrocities, with Gracie being one of the actual dogs rescued from this ring of horrors. This small group of wonderful, devoted people quietly spend countless hours rescuing, advocating and educating for this breed. They do fundraisers to help raise awareness and gather funds to sponsor spay and neuter programs. They are kind, humble people who truly love the breed.

Pit Bulls are awesome dogs, but they are not for everybody. They need a strong, consistent leader who understands their behavior. Responsible ownership, as with any dog, is key. Their love of people is unbelievable if you understand them.

October is Pit Bull Awareness Month. Gracie's Guardian's will be hosting an encore screening of the informative documentary, "Beyond the Myth" on Sunday, October 14, 2012 at the Byrd Theater, 2908 W. Cary St. Richmond VA, 23221.

I have seen this documentary and highly recommend it. It is informative and realistic about the breed. It also shows the shocking extreme measures some cities have taken to eradicate the breed, based on nothing but hatred and myths.

Mr. Pibbs is not perfect. His one downfall has been his dislike of certain other dogs. We work with him and make sure he is never in a situation he shouldn't be in.

Who am I to judge? I don't like hippos.

***For further information regarding Gracie's Guardian's or tickets for "Beyond the Myth", please visit RAL's website @ www.ral.org. You can also find Gracie's on Facebook.