Still think "Pit Bulls" are dangerous?
Watch out, it’s a “Pit Bull”. I hear this so many times it makes me insane. This blog is for all the people out there that continue to say this breed is dangerous.
I received an email from our friends up in Waco Shelter, regarding a dog that they had come in to their care yesterday. The email was a call for help as he is labeled a “pit bull” and has horrendous wound to his front paw. Of course we are not a rescue group and as much as I state I will not take any more in, how can I let this guy be killed because he is injured and a certain breed? I can’t. So out goes the call to say we will take him and get him back on his feet-pun not intended.
The employee that contacted us is one of the bully friendliest people you could hope for in a shelter environment. She fights to help them just as we do, against all obstacles thrown at her due to breed prejudice and policies. Make no mistake; her job is a tougher one because we know she cannot help them all; as much as she fights, more will come in- same old story for all shelter systems. The difference here, she stands up for the breeds that immediately are set to be killed. My hat is off to her and I am very thankful our bullies have someone like her in the shelter. She even went the extra mile-many miles- to transport half way to us and stop at her vet on the way. The picture to the right tells how badly injured he is, and how gentle he is regardless of the pain. (Fallon, you are a true hero.)
The transport pulled up at 11:30 on the dot- they are good that way J– and greeted me full of tears. They are clients of mine and two very big hearted people always looking to help our four legged friends just as much as we are. They had been crying because of the injuries this dog had endured and they were touched by how affectionate and happy he was to be around humans even after suffering like this. Yes, this sounds familiar; this case immediately touches me because only a few months ago I had the same feeling when I met Papa. (But these are “pit bulls”! Aren’t we supposed to be afraid they will “rip our faces off without warning?)
After a very teary goodbye, the transporters left us with the reminder that not all humans are as cruel as the person responsible for Captain’s wounds. They even went out and bought him his first toy and –even though the economy has been tough on them, like so many others- they donated a gift card towards his vet care. Yes there are true compassionate people still out there, thank you Brandi and Mike.
Yes, he has a name. The shelter dubbed him Captain Hook. I can’t call him Captain Hook, just because Hook was mean, so we are shortening his name to Captain J– I am weird like that.
So after getting a real time look at his wounds – and feeling sick to my stomach that someone could be so cruel- I realize this boy’s story may be more similar to Papa than I thought originally. No I do not think he was a bait dog, but I do think he was a fighting dog. He has the telltale scars all over his face and front legs, a deep puncture over his eye, as well as in his mouth, and he had an abscess puncture wound on his “good” leg. Yet walking into the Center he showed no signs of aggression towards the dogs. No signs of aggression towards every human that touched him.But isn’t this the breed so many in the media and politics say are born killers? Have we been lied to? You decide.
This is what this poor guy is dealing with; the pain this must be causing, I cannot imagine.
This is what we will have to do multiple times a day until we can find a vet open to possibly take off his leg. Sorry the pictures are so graphic, but as you can see he is missing half his paw and throughout the soaking and cleaning he remained sweet and tolerant
Fast forward 3 hours. My awesome best friend – and a fabulous canine acupressure/massage practicioner, Christina from Skillful Paws, took time on her much needed day off, to come down and do a session with him.
He obviously appreciated it.
So what is the point of this story? I mean we see and hear about abuse all the time in the media, on TV. What makes this any different? This is a dog that suffered because of a human- for enjoyment, status or money, could have been killed because of human fear and prejudice; but was saved because there are still humans out there that have enough love and compassion to stand up and say, “Enough”. If this story makes one person realize anyone can make a difference, then that is enough to save one more dog. Maybe it will become contagious, maybe more people will look and see that this breed is not the monsters they are said to be, but true masters of forgiveness. Maybe.
Please hug your fur babies often, there are so many dogs that never get a chance to experience true compassion and love.