New about Pits

A brief google news search yields many unfortunate stories about "Pit bull attacks." But many of them are misleading, and many of the dogs alleged to have "attacked" are mis-labled.

Take these two stories:
A lost American Bulldog wandered into a school in Fairbanks Alaska- where the staff reacted by locking the animal in a bathroom for "fear it was a pit bull." The family dog (identified later by microchip) was not threatening anyone, was retrieved easily and called "friendly" by animal control. Because the staff thought it was a pit bull- they locked it in a bathroom. (read more here.)

In 2003 one of the Queen's many welsh corgis was bitten by Princess Anne's bull terrier- the bites to its legs were severe and the dog had to be put to sleep. Not surprisingly- this article reports the corgi was "killed by a pitbull." Firstly, the bull terrier only injured the dog- and the dog had to be put to sleep later that evening by the vets- the bull terrier did not kill it. Secondly, the dog was a bull terrier!! a completely different breed than a pit bull. Thirdly, it was later disclosed that the bull terrier wasn't even responsible!! The media jumped to the conclusion, but it was one of Princess Anne's other terriers that bit the corgi.

Louis V. (burn victim) glad to see his abuser still in jail...

In 2009, an Alabama man doused his mother's pit bull with lighter fluid and lit him on fire because she wouldn't let him use the car.
That man received nine and a half years in jail- but now wants parole. Luckily, the dog- since rescued and recovering- came to the court room to remind everyone of the cruelty inflicted on him.

Read the full story here.

  before:

 

after:

Unfortunately, more than 20% of animal abuse is inflicted on pit bulls.

Like this horrific crime four days ago, this dog fighting bust two days ago in Philly, and of course everyone remembers Patrick- the dog that was found in a trash bag. Luckily these horrible stories can encourage people to adopt pit bulls and also encourage law makers to improve the laws on animal abuse.

Here we see Patrick recuperating:

Animal Cruelty at its worst: Patrick's Story

Warning: The photos in the post are graphic:

The day before Saint Patrick's day- a man emptying the trash at a Newark apartment building discovered a bag moving slightly. Fortunately, he opened the bag and found a crippled figure inside. A dog had been thrown down the trash chute- still clinging to life. The dog had a body temperature of 96 (6 degrees too low), had bones sticking through his skin, and was an imae of death. He was rushed to the Garden State Veterinary Specialists where he somehow made it through the night.

This is Patrick:

With donations, gifts, letters, food, treatment, and care- Patrick is improving. He has gained 2 1/4 pounds, can walk a bit, and his tail is wagging. You can follow his progress here.

According the NY-SPCA officials, Kisha Curtis (28) of Newark (who allegedly threw Patrick 19 stories down that chute) has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty and could serve up to 6 months in jail and pay a $1000 fine. This was later upgraded to 18 months and a $3000 fine. To many animal advocates- this is hardly enough- follow the attempts to implement Patrick's Law here.
Read the full story here.

Here are some pictures of Patrick as he has been improving- hopefully he will continue to get better and I can write updates about his health and his new home in the future.

Donate to the ResQ fund

Upcoming Lecture

If you are in New York City and interested in Pit Bulls, I suggest attending this lecture which I heard about through the excellent Animal Farm Foundation website.

JANUARY 26, 2011

4PM

Fordham University School of Law

Join the National Canine Research Council for their presentation, The Pit Bull Placebo: Media, Myth and Politics of Canine Aggression at Fordham University.

Fordham University School of Law

140 West 62nd Street

New York, NY 10023

Budget Cuts for AC&C- It got worse.

If you already though that Animal Care and Control was a joke--get ready for a shocker- It just got worse!The city cut funding for AC&C from 7 million to 5.5 million. Night and weekend hours are being eliminated for animal control officers who look for strays (maybe this will give them a better chance of avoiding being caught and put to death in a week, but it also means more dogs coming in looking like this---).



With $ 7 million in funding, the ACC still didn't do well enough to stop using Bullsh*t rating systems to claim that dogs have "Moderate Behavior" (what they use to excuse euthanasia if the dog is not yet ill from the shelter). What gets you slapped with "moderate" you ask?

Well, eating to quickly, not paying enough attention, paying too much attention, being lethargic, being hyper, enjoying toys too much, not enjoying toys enough, making no eye contact, making too much eye contact, being territorial over the crate... Sadly, I'm sure my amazing puppy Winnie would fail these behavior test if she was scared and alone for even a day.

Here is an example behavior test for an 8 year old dog (Lexus)  that was put to sleep. She was "geriatric" and her behavior memo was "moderate." Are you as shocked as I am by this? This old girl is just scared because she was abandoned by her family of 8 years!

10/26/2010 BEHAVIOR EVALUATION - MODERATE
Exam Type BEHAVIOR
Look 2 :Eyes averted with stiff body ,tucked tail and ears backSensitivity 2 :Dog stands still while stiff in body with tucked tail,closed mouth and ears back
Squeeze 1 :Gently pulls paw away
Squeeze 2 1 :Gently pulls paw away
Food 1 :No interest

Toy 1 :No interest
Rawhide 1 :No interest
Dog to dog 2 :Does not approach the helper dog ,body is stiff with low
tail,then turns to side in relation to the other dog

Also, if a house pet who is abandoned in perfect healthy shape can be put down 5 days later for developing kennel cough. Surprised?

I'm only surprised that they can't do any better than this and are going to get even worse. Signs are already showing of the Budget cuts that took effect Nov. 1st. The phone lines are officially down 99% of the time, making it nearly impossible to rescue an animal on death row.

For more infomation, read this article.

Lex!

Lex was finally posted on AC&C's website since my visit on Monday. I'd love to see this teeny tiny bundle of joy and kisses go to a good home. :)  Click here.

The glass IS half full

When I started this blog, I thought about all the ways I could show what is happening to Pit bulls in the US-- how we bring them in to this world, abuse them, and take them out of it. The pain that many dogs face at the hands of their owners is not something I could turn my back to.

But so many organizations have made it their goal to educate and reach people about this injustice. I decided to focus more on a "glass -half- full" approach.

Over the next few months I will be learning as much as I can about the New York City shelter system and posting these adoptable beauties in hopes that they will melt some hearts.

I'll start by sharing a few dogs with you who desperately need their forever homes. All the dogs I have posted are dogs that have been said to have good temperments and sweet dispositions.

This is Spot, she is just a baby who had babies of her own. She was found emaciated in the Bronx. To learn more about this darling, click here.

 

This darling girl, Alexia, was found as a stray on the West side- Click here to learn more.

This is Sarah, who has been at Animal Haven (a no kill shelter) for a while, which is confusing considering how adorable this little girl is. Click here for more.

Stop Puppy-Mills!

Tell them to stop breeding!

100,000 Pitbulls die in shelters every year, but puppymills in Missouri and elsewhere continue to breed these animals and sell them to pet stores for a profit. Puppy mill pups often are bred and grow up in cramped cages. Many develop neurological disorders or have genetic diseases or other problems.

Missouri is home to 23% of the Puppy mills in the U.S., many dogs from Missouri are shipped out via the internet to unknowing buyers in other states. Many shelters resue pups from Missouri and bring them to other states for veterinary care and better homes (which is our my own precious Winnie came to find me through Animal Haven in Soho, NYC). However, there is finally a proposed bill to stop the cruel practice in Missouri, called Proposition 8 (the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act) which sets restrictions on the size of these commerical breeding facilities and provides the animals with more basic care.
See the add for Prop 8 below:

Background Info on Puppy mills

Please see the ASPCA's list of ways to help stop the puppy mills:

ASPCA- 10 ways to help

Good Resources for Pit-Lovers!

Pit Bull Rescue Central - An amazing resource for more information

American Humane Association - Myths and Facts about APBT



Understand-A-Bull - A good website to learn about BSL (Breed Specific Legislation)

Pit Bull Awareness Day - October 23

Find a Pit-Bull near you that needs a Home!

The Vick Dogs - Jim Gorant's Book about what happened to the tortured Vick dogs

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to my blog to help save American Pitt Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and mixes from Euthanasia in the New York Metropolitan area.

Estimates are that 59% of dogs euthanized in the United States each year are Pitbulls or pit mixes. That comes to about 100,000 dogs killed every year.

Bias about this breeds agressiveness and BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) have kept these loyal and loving dogs from finding homes.

A study by the Center for Interaction of Animals and Society in 2008 found that certain breeds did score highly for agressiveness towards other animals and humans, speciaically Chihuahuas and Daschunds, and that Pit Bulls were only found to be slightly more agreesive than other breeds towards other dogs.

Any breed can be dog-agressive. Agressiveness towards other dogs should not preclude adoption, and doesn't. Only human-agressive dogs are euthanized, and as long as owners are responsible with their animals, dogs that show bad behaviors around other dogs can and should find loving one-pet homes.

There are hundreds of Pitt-specific resue groups, awareness groups, and even tv-shows to prove that this breed has won its way into the hearts of many humans and animals alike. Pit -mix owners know that the bias is unfounded and that the gentleness and loyalty of this enthusiastic breed is often used against it to encourage it to fight.

The pain and punishment this breed endures through the over-breeding, dog fighting, and euthanization is through no fault of its own. American society should reflect love and care for all people and animals that come into this world, especially if their plight is our own fault.

Please join me in my adventue to learn more about this breed and what can be done to save the lives of pitt-mixes in New York City shelters. Even if you are wary about this breed, it is an adventure worth taking. Who knows? Like me, you might find yourself waking up to kisses and tail wags from an adoring creature that cuddles up to you each night.