Two months ago, my wife and I adopted an American Pit-bull Terrier from the SPCA. Brody (aka Burner, the name given to him by the SPCA) was about 16 months old and had a broken ear and was missing one of his back legs! Apparently his owner had refused to get him medical treatment, and the leg had already healed incorrectly by the time someone called the SPCA for help. The SPCA tried to fix his leg but Brody refused to walk on it so they had to amputate.
Already having a Boxer/Lab mix at home we were worried about a couple things.... how they would interact, that our Boxer would be to crazy for a little crippled dog with only one hind leg and all of the stereotypes put on pitbulls from the media. Over the next couple weeks we quickly realized that there wasn't a single thing that Brody couldn't do because of his impairment. He keeps up stride for stride with our Boxer when they are playing, has no problem getting up or down steps and can jump in the bed without any hesitation. I don't think Brody knows he is different from most dogs!
As wrong as we were about his missing leg, we were even more wrong about the pitbull breed. Having been around Krissy's pitbull, I knew pitbulls werent the vicious, mean, fighting dogs you here the media make them out to be. But I guess I wasnt fully convinced since that was the only pitbull Ive ever been around. Brody quickly convinced us that pitbulls are nothing to look down upon. Brody is the most gentle, relaxed, loving dog that I have ever met in my life. He does not have a mean bone in his body, and just wants to be loved and have a warm bed to sleep in. Which by the way, as I'm typing this I can hear my "mean, ferocious pit-bull" snoring from his favorite place in the world.... my bed.
Im writing this blog to inform people of a couple things. Number one.... if you see an animal suffering, do not hesitate to call someone and get help! The cases that come across the news make me sick sometimes. These dogs can't provide for themselves, or walk into the hospital to get treated for a broken bone. They rely on us humans to take care of them. If you know someone who isn't feeding their dogs, or abusing them or simple refusing to get them the help they need, GET HELP before it is to late! Number 2.... Do not be convinced by the media frenzy surrounding pitbulls that the entire breed wants to do nothing but destroy anyone and anything they come in contact with. It isnt the breed that is at fault, it is the people who are training them to be this way. Pitbulls are not proven to be more vicious than any other breed. They are however, the most commonly used breed for dog fighting, and get a bad reputation because of the criminals that force them to be that way. Number three and most important.... please adopt from the SPCA or any other shelter. There are way too many dogs looking for a good loving family in these places. They don't receive state or local funding and rely on us to help support them and their over abundance of animals that need rescuing every year. Help save a life by adopting from a shelter. We were very impressed by the SPCA and their willingness to help us find the perfect dog that would work well with our existing dog. Even if you can't adopt an animal, please donate or volunteer your time! It is up to us to help save these animals!
Go to http://www.delspca.org/ now to donate or find more info!
4 comments:
I love your photos and blog. I too have a mean, people eating pit bull that is the biggest baby and sweet heart in the world. We took him in as a "semi" rescue. People my brother knew were going to sell him to a junk yard for $150.00 bcause they couldn't take him where they were moving. There is no way I could let this baby be tied to a light pole outside for the rest of his life. We als have a hot dog dog, and the two play great. By the way folks, my 2 year old son was bit inthe face by a Puggle- I will take a pit bull anyday over many other dogs!
what a great story!! and he is adorable!!
Thank you for sharing your story. The breed captured my heart over 15 years ago when my brother got a pitbull named Ruckus. Ruckus died about two years ago from cancer but he forever changed my heart. Currently, I have a two year old pitbull named Asia. She is the funniest most loving dog anyone can ever meet. Over the summer I was walking her and a yorkie escaped for its house barking and growling towards us. My girl who is 60 lbs just stood there while this 5 lb yorkie jumped on her and continued to try and bite her ears before the owner gained control. That was a good day for me and for the breed since I still get looks in my neighborhood. Yes, irresponsible owners have trained them to fight because of their strong muscular disposition, tolerance to pain, and willingness to please their master however that is not the norm. So people please don't lable the whole breed because of what some irresponsible owners do.
I volunteer at the SPCA, and (then) Burner was definitely my favorite dog to excercise. Many dogs there need help, and they show it in the desperation of their looks and actions, and many of them have horrible manners as a product of their environment. Burner was always just so full of joy, even if my time with him was the only 15 minutes he'd had outside of his kennel all day. He was also so happy to just be outside, or to have a toy, or to get petted. I was so so SO happy to hear he had a home, and your story just makes it even better. Thank you for what you're doing here, both for Burner, the SPCA, and Pit Bulls! Tell him that his friends at the Stanton shelter say "hello!"
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