Donald Lumsley sits on a foldout chair on porch of his shotgun house in Gentilly. He's a former high school and college football player and looks it — he's wearing a purple T-shirt from his alma mater, St. Augustine High School. Two pit bulls stand at the top of the porch steps and watch cars and people pass by. They circle around him when someone approaches.

  "I would go to bat for them. They could be dead wrong, they're right," Lumsley says. "Where I go, they go — everywhere except church and work."

  The dogs, a small white pit bull mix named Buddy and a brindle three-year-old pit bull named Puppy (or sometimes, Persia), vie for Lumsley's attention. Puppy growls at newcomers and keeps her eyes locked on them until she's decided they're OK. Buddy accepts attention from anyone and gets it. Lumsley rescued both dogs, a decision he made in 2009 that changed his life.

Original Article at Gambit: http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/the-pits-and-the-pendulum/Content?oid=1940426

  Lumsley found Buddy wandering eastern New Orleans at the end of Hayne Boulevard in July 2009. She was a starving stray in a neighborhood where she was likely to be hit by a car or picked up as fighting bait. "Something told me to call out to that dog," Lumsley says. He put his hand up to her, and she licked him.

  He brought the dog to the house of a neighbor who owned a pit bull, but the neighbor's dog attacked Buddy and sunk its teeth into her head. Lumsley cleaned her wounds — and she stayed with him. "She didn't seem to be no complaining, whining dog even though she had a bad hand," he says. "She was laying under the carport with her paws crossed like, 'Where have you been?' That's when I knew I was stuck with her. I don't mean stuck like it's a burden. That's when I knew God wanted me, and I had to do whatever it takes ... to make this work."

  Lumsley couldn't keep Buddy at his mother's house where he lived. After two days of asking friends to help house the dog, he called Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) and asked the shelter to take her. ARNO director Charlotte Bass-Lily picked up Buddy two days later.

  "I was kind of hoping she wouldn't come. I didn't want [Buddy] to go away from me," Lumsley says. "I knew I couldn't keep her. I wanted the best for her. ... I cried like a baby outside. I didn't care if the neighbors saw me. Everybody knows I'm a manly man. I'm a crazy dude. Ain't nobody gonna bother me unless they're stupid. ... I sat out there and cried like a baby."
click to enlarge Donald Lumsley runs with his two pit bulls, Buddy and Puppy. Lumsley rescued Buddy from eastern New Orleans in 2009 and adopted Puppy when his neighbors abandonded her. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    Donald Lumsley runs with his two pit bulls, Buddy and Puppy. Lumsley rescued Buddy from eastern New Orleans in 2009 and adopted Puppy when his neighbors abandonded her.

  For several months, Lumsley visited Buddy at ARNO, a volunteer-run, no-kill shelter in Harahan. He moved to a new home in Gentilly in November 2009, and the next month, on Dec. 23, Lumsley brought Buddy home. ARNO waived the adoption fees.

  "When (Buddy) got out the car and walked through this door, she jumped straight in the bed," he says. "She knew she was home. I didn't tell her no different. ... I've never had a better Christmas present to this day."

According to the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LASPCA), the shelter accepted 7,201 animals in 2011, and 1,667 of those were pit bulls. Of those animals, it found adoptive homes for 1,889 animals — including 123 pit bulls. It also euthanized 1,257 pit bulls. All figures for the shelters' 2011 pit bull intake (including adoption, but excluding owner surrender) were greater than those of 2010, when the shelter euthanized 1,166 pit bulls and adopted out only 81. On the adoption floor, many of the dogs are pit bulls. Most are new arrivals, including two puppies: two-month-old Amara and Bourbon, who were found in an abandoned house on Josephine Street.

  "We need more people to adopt — bottom line," says LASPCA communications director Katherine LeBlanc.

  Grimm, a young, slim white and brown pit bull, was a prize in a poker game. The winner gave her to the shelter, where staff discovered she was pregnant. She birthed a litter, and over the next few days, the shelter received more puppies, some with their umbilical cords still attached, who still needed to be nursed. Grimm accepted them into her litter, and the puppies huddled next to her to nurse.

  But Grimm bit a kennel worker, and Orleans Parish requires shelters to quarantine dogs involved in bite cases for 10 days. Space at the shelter is rare, and that bite sealed her and her puppies' fate. Grimm and the litter were euthanized within days.

  Grimm's story is not unique. Mother dogs at the shelter often are tasked with feeding more than their own — and many are euthanized.

  The LASPCA accepts animals three ways: animal control officers pick up animals and bring them in (this is the most common — more than 1,000 pit bulls were brought in by animal control officers last year), owners surrender their pets (243 pit bulls), or people bring them to the shelter's front desk (378 pit bulls).
click to enlarge Animal Rescue New Orleans volunteer April Aileen rescued Martine, a pit bull mix now waiting for adoption at the ARNO shelter. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    Animal Rescue New Orleans volunteer April Aileen rescued Martine, a pit bull mix now waiting for adoption at the ARNO shelter.

  Lexie, a brown pit bull mix with a white chest and paws, likely has lived on the street for all or most of her six months. Someone found her in eastern New Orleans and brought her to the shelter last month. Her back left paw is underdeveloped, almost as if one was never there. Within seconds of releasing her from her leash, Lexie fell into my lap and lay across my chest, paws in the air.

  Lexie's kennel neighbors are Ike and Tina, a pit bull "couple" found roaming last month in the 7th District, where animal control officers picked them up. They both have short "crop" jobs on their ears. Last week, Ike and Tina were adopted.

  Princess, however, has been at the shelter since October 2010. She lowers her head and eyes as someone approaches her kennel. She's going for a walk.

  Princess spent the first three years of her life tied up in a junkyard, and her owner was ordered to relinquish her and never own an animal again. The three-year-old pit bull is all white, save for a brindle patch around her right eye and a pink-and-black nose. She struts past several cages of dogs inside the shelter and, once outside with her potential new owners, she immediately flops over in their laps for a belly rub.

  After a few minutes, shelter volunteer Lydia Friedman leads the dog back into her cage on the adoption floor and Princess waits, again.

According to local animal rescue groups, New Orleans' pit bull population is one of the country's largest, per capita. The breed, which includes American Pit Bull terriers, Staffordshire terriers and countless mixes, is overbred and raised as aggressive guard dogs, typically as protection in neighborhoods with little police protection. They also are raised and used to fight — illegally and often to the death — in yards, backrooms, vans or car trunks. Some, mostly smaller breeds or runts, are used as "bait" to train other dogs to fight. Thousands of other pit bulls wander the streets.

  The city has even attracted national attention: The starring organization Villalobos Rescue Center from the Animal Planet reality program Pit Bulls & Parolees has set up shop in New Orleans after relocating from its massive California ranch. The New Orleans rescue and adoption center will open this year.
click to enlarge Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) director Charlotte Bass-Lily plays with Sam. ARNO has found homes for more than 8,000 animals since 2005. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) director Charlotte Bass-Lily plays with Sam. ARNO has found homes for more than 8,000 animals since 2005.

  Meanwhile, pit bulls in national headlines are usually linked with disaster: an 11-year-old girl's "arms are shredded" after a pit bull attack. Or induce nightmares: a "tot's pit bull mauling death."

  LASPCA's five animal control officers and two dispatchers respond to more than 20,000 calls each year, including 400 calls from people reporting dog bite cases. (Last year, of the 72 dogs impounded from bite cases, 47 were pit bulls — and in 2010, 23 were pit bulls among the 55 dogs impounded.)

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports more than 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, and 800,000 cases require medical attention. Most fatal cases are from intact male dogs, and 70 percent of fatalities are children under age 10. But the Humane Society and CDC believe no particular breed is more likely to attack than another, including pit bulls — though between 1979 and 1998 (dates from the CDC's most recent available report), pit bulls were responsible for the most deaths, followed closely by Rottweilers, then German shepherds.

  Julia Breaux Melancon, Louisiana director of the Humane Society of the United States, says shelters statewide are inundated with pit bulls and pit bull mixes. Some Louisiana parishes have enacted breed-specific legislation (BSL) targeting pit bulls, whether labeling them "dangerous" or banning the breed outright. Other states have similar municipal ordinances, including Mississippi, where more than a dozen counties restrict pit bull ownership. St. John the Baptist Animal Shelter, for instance, prevents pit bull adoptions — but allows animal welfare groups to rescue the dogs. And there are several local groups doing just that.

When New Orleans writer Ken Foster sent his memoir The Dogs Who Found Me to his publisher, an editorial assistant wrote back. "Is this supposed to be a book about pit bulls?"

  "I said no, but that's kind of how it turned out," Foster says. The 2006 book explores the stray dogs Foster encountered and rescued, and how they helped him heal, whether through Hurricane Katrina or a heart condition that later required a pacemaker. He told his publicist, "If all we do is get on the radio to talk about either New Orleans after Katrina or pit bulls, I won't care if it doesn't sell any books," he says. "But it turned out it did sell. So many people love pit bulls but hadn't seen a book that presented them in a positive way."

  In 2008, Foster started the nonprofit Sula Foundation, named after his pit bull Sula, who died in 2010. The organization has rescued, fostered and adopted out dozens of pit bulls and has hosted events to offer dog owners low-cost veterinary care like vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and other services, including dog training. (The next clinic is noon to 3 p.m. February 4 at Bonart Playground in the Lower 9th Ward.) The foundation survives on donations and merchandise sales, including its popular "Pit Bulls of New Orleans" wall calendar.

  "As [the foundation] grew, the population of pit bulls has seemed to grow as well, which has made it more of a challenge to find potential homes," he says. "Everybody has three pit bulls already."
click to enlarge Ken Foster plays with his pit bulls Douglas (left) and Bananas. Foster founded the Sula Foundation in 2008 to promote responsible pit bull ownership, and its members help foster rescued dogs. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    Ken Foster plays with his pit bulls Douglas (left) and Bananas. Foster founded the Sula Foundation in 2008 to promote responsible pit bull ownership, and its members help foster rescued dogs.

  This month Sula and other rescue groups assisted Biloxi, Miss., law enforcement in rescuing 25 pit bulls found chained to stakes behind two mobile homes. Half the dogs were euthanized. Last week, the dogs' owner, Thang Anh Lee, turned himself in and faces animal cruelty charges and more than 50 other violations, from owning too many dogs to improper chaining.

  "I'm probably going to take one home," Foster says. "She was a little bit of a borderline case. I don't know if she's adoptable, but she likes being kissed. I'll at least give her a couple weeks of kissing and see where it goes."

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, David Munroe walked to the corner of St. Philip Street and North Claiborne Avenue at 6:40 a.m. Two unleashed pit bulls lay in a grassy lot 30 feet away. One of them lunged at him, grabbing his ankle and shredding his sock but not breaking his skin. Munroe yelled, and the dog backed off.

  "I was fortunate, but someone may not have been," he says, noting that Joseph A. Craig Elementary School is within walking distance of the area. "Kids would be out walking, and these dogs are out there. They might do real harm to a kid."

  Munroe reported the attack to both the New Orleans Police Department and the LASPCA, but the dogs, he says, were still there six weeks later. He thinks the pit bull population needs stricter enforcement. "Until there's not a problem with this, society needs to take steps to protect itself," he says.

  Animal welfare organizations agree — aggressive spay and neuter campaigns are meant to curb the pet population that poses a risk to people as well as the health and lives of other dogs. Pit bulls are terriers — they're active, territorial, and playful. They're also large dogs with powerful jaws. A small terrier jumping up and resting its paws on your leg is one thing. When a pit bull does it, it's another.

  Before dogs enter the LASPCA's adoption floor, they must pass a SAFER (Safety of Assessing for Evaluation for Rehoming) test following a mandatory five-day holding period. (Owners have five days to claim their pets before they become property of the shelter.) LeBlanc says pit bulls need an "A" to move to the adoption floor.

   Animal behaviorist Jordan Buccola explains the five-part test that determines a dog's sensitivity, temperament and personality. "(Pit bulls) have to do really, really well," she says. "You can't put any up that are 'OK.' They already have a bad name. We're trying to steer clear of that."

Far greater than bite cases and aggressive strays are pit bulls that have been victims of fighting and neglect. Even more frequent, because of the sheer number of pit bulls in the New Orleans area, are dogs whose owners turn them into area shelters because they can't afford to take care of them.
click to enlarge LASPCA director Ana Zorrilla holds Amara, a pit bull mix puppy. The organization adopted out more than 200 pitbulls in 2010 and 2011, but took in nearly 3,000 over the same period. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    LASPCA director Ana Zorrilla holds Amara, a pit bull mix puppy. The organization adopted out more than 200 pitbulls in 2010 and 2011, but took in nearly 3,000 over the same period.

  Gina Sabine adopted a Staffordshire-pit bull mix named Grace from the LASPCA in July 2011. Animal control officers picked up the dog on North Rampart Street, where she was tied to a post with another dog that had died. Grace's ears were tied with rubber bands — a cheap "crop" job — and were falling off.

  Sabine's daughter renamed the dog Aspen, and she's "40 pounds of snuggle," Sabine says.

  Last year, Kelly Cottrell adopted her pit bull Kiana through Sula when the foundation helped rescue some of the more than 200 dogs from a hoarding case in Ohio. A few months later, Cottrell adopted Villere, a three-year-old "blue" pit bull she found in a Dumpster on North Villere Street.

  "I passed (him) up and thought, 'There's no way I just saw a dog in a Dumpster,'" she says. "I turned around to make sure, and there he was. He was perched on top of a wood platform, just sitting there. ... I knew right when I looked at him that he was a sweetie."

  Cottrell helps foster dogs through Sula, and the organization currently is fostering nine dogs in different homes and at Canine Connection. One is Andy, an active, friendly white pit bull mix whose owner threatened to put him on the street.

  ARNO cares for surrendered pets and abandoned animals and is one of a few shelters in the country that accepts feral animals. The organization has 40 dogs in foster care, and its kennels are hardly ever empty. It also rarely says "no."

  "But that's our niche, really — taking in animals that are too old, too young, injured," says Bass-Lily, the shelter's director since 2006. "We have a hospice program, too. A dog may not be expected to live long, but if whatever they have is manageable and they're not in pain, we have a foster and cover the medical costs. That way the dog lives its life living with a family that loves it. At least it gives that animal a chance to be loved."

  Before it was a shelter, ARNO was founded as a pet rescue group in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Since 2005, it has helped find homes for and reunite families with more than 8,800 animals. Many of the stray animals it receives are pit bulls. The shelter is a mix of kennel cages, aisles of dog food and bedding and donated equipment like patio heaters for winter weather. A flurry of barks and whimpers erupts when anyone walks by.
click to enlarge Princess has been at the LASPCA shelter since October 2011. - Photo by Cheryl Gerber

    Photo by Cheryl Gerber
    Princess has been at the LASPCA shelter since October 2011.

  But Diamond, a white-and-brown pit mix with a bright pink nose, remains quiet and sits up in her kennel, pressing her head gently against its side. Diamond's owners surrendered her to the shelter when they found they couldn't afford medical care costs to heal sores on her paw pads and remove a cancerous tumor on her chest. She's now receiving chemotherapy.

  Mosca is a white pit bull mix with brown patches who was found outside her namesake restaurant, Mosca's. When she was found, Mosca was thin and covered in scars and wounds, showing a history as a bait dog for fights. Mosca also is available for adoption, as are most of the animals at ARNO.

  It's cleaning time — crates and kennel spaces and floors are being washed, and big black plastic bags sit outside to be picked up by a volunteer laundry crew that washes the mounds of bedding and towels.

  Shelter volunteer April Aileen points to Martine, a caramel-colored pit bull mix she rescued. "She came to me while I was unloading groceries," she says. "Because this is a no-kill shelter, these are our dogs. They're our babies. Nothing's going to happen to them. They'll live with us forever if nobody adopts them. We try our best to get them the best home they can get."

Beau was born with a neurological disorder veterinarians couldn't identify, though they said it resembles a sort of canine cerebral palsy. Beau couldn't keep his head, or much of his body, up. He was the pick of the litter until his symptoms appeared and his owners needed to get rid of him. Sula volunteer coordinator Jamie Patterson took him in. Beau received a hernia operation and now he's an energetic two-year-old.

  "People have a preconceived idea that it's a killer dog, but if you just take away the breed name and just look at it as a dog, I don't think people would be so judgmental," Patterson says. "They're (the dogs are) just thrilled someone loves them."

  And they need a lot of it, she says. Organizations like Sula, ARNO and LASPCA thrive on volunteers to walk and feed dogs, clean kennels or help dispel breed "myths" by interacting with people on the street. Cottrell says pit bull owners and their dogs need to act as "ambassadors of the dog."

  Foster's next book: I'm a Good Dog (due out Oct. 16) is a "sort of history and celebration of pit bulls, where it has come from and whether it matters where it comes from," he says.
click to enlarge Kelly Cottrell rescued Villere (left and on the cover) from a Dumpster on North Villere Street. - Photo courtesy Kelly Cottrell

   Dean Howard, development director of the LASPCA, says one of the shelter's responsibilities is to "change the concept that all pits and pit mixes are bad dogs. ... It really goes back to the owner." The LASPCA does outreach in areas where there are a larger number of strays or pit bull concerns, like dogs chained in yards, or breeding. A "Chips for Chains" campaign offered free microchipping to owners who get rid of their pet's chains. Howard says the organization tries to convince owners to spay and neuter their animals to help curb the population — but that means changing the minds of owners who often see the dogs as revenue streams or weapons.

  "It's an ongoing challenge," Howard says.

Donald Lumsley walks to his backyard and points to a patched hole in the fence, where his brindle pit bull Puppy would escape to play with Buddy. Lumsley adopted Puppy when his former neighbors on the other side of the fence abandoned her. "They would breed puppies, selling them, making money," he says. "They actually called the dog Cash."

  The neighbors' other dog, a small white pit bull, froze to death in their backyard. Lumsley chokes up thinking about it. "A person like you shouldn't even have a dog," he says, referring to the neighbors. "What do you want a dog for?"

  Puppy sits beside Lumsley on his porch. He growls playfully at her, and she wags her tail and perches her front paws on his lap.

  "Come here, Puppy! That's my Puppy! That's my baby!" he calls to her. "How can you not love that? How can you not love coming home to that?"

Heroic Pit Bull: Dog Finds Help For Injured Neighbor
By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

Move over Lassie. A pit bull terrier has shown Auburn's Jim Roach that heroic dog deeds don't just happen in the movies or on TV.

Roach fell from a 12-foot-high ladder while picking peaches last month on his rural Mount Vernon Road property. Dazed and unable to move because of his injuries, he soon found renter Jeanne Davis' two-year-old pit bull Gabby hovering over him and
barking.

About 100 yards away and not able to see or hear Roach, Davis heard Gabby furiously barking and thought perhaps someone had entered the property. But Roach's dog, also nearby, wasn't barking.

Soon after she first noticed the barking, Gabby emerged.

"She's barking and then she looks at me and runs back," Davis said. "It's kind of like something Lassie would do."

So Davis followed Gabby. She found her landlord injured and moaning in pain near the pruning ladder.

"I walked over to where he was and Gabby stopped barking," Davis said.

With Roach immobilized on the ground, a California Highway Patrol helicopter was dispatched to transport the seriously injured college instructor to Roseville Medical Center's trauma unit for emergency treatment.

Roach, a College of San Mateo instructor, said doctors diagnosed multiple injuries from the fall, including a fractured clavicle, four broken ribs, two cracked vertebrae, and bleeding on the brain.

A towel wrapped around his head, Jason Williams-style, probably saved his life when his head hit the ground, Roach said.

Roach said he spent a week in hospital. One of the first visitors after discharge was Gabby. He said the two now seem to have formed a strong bond as a result of the rescue.

A psychology instructor, Roach said that the incident is a good example of the more endearing side of pit bulls that doesn't receive media attention.

"I've never felt they've been given a fair shake," he said. "They're just a terrier."

Davis said Gabby was abused before she adopted her. She's been training the dog to become less apprehensive around people.

"A lot of people said to put her down, that she's going to do something bad," Davis said. "I'm so proud of my dog."

"I was unconscious pretty much," Roach said Tuesday. "I remember a dog licking the side of my face and standing by me and barking and barking and barking."

But nobody came. That's when Gabby did the heroically unexpected and went for help.

From Dogs at Risk USA web site
Submitted by Luvmypit

An abused, dying pup becomes a drug-sniffing superdog

From People Weekly Magazine Edition April 26, 1999 The "Animal" chronicle, Page 117

"He's a little ball of fire" says U.S. Customs officer J.J. Trevino of Popsicle (Receiving a significant Seizure medal in March)

During an arrest two years ago, Buffalo policeman Ron Clark, Jr. opened an abandoned freezer on a known drug dealer's back porch and found a bulging black garbage bag. "I poked my flashlight at it," he recalls, "and it started moving. My worst fear was that it was a baby."

In fact, it was a puppy, a pit bull who would be known as Popsicle and -- in a lovely ironic twist-- would gain fame for sniffing out the kind of bad guy that nearly killed him.

One year ago, Popsicle helped the feds seize 3,075 pounds of cocaine from a pineapple-laden truck at the Mexican border-the biggest drug bust ever at the Hidalgo, Texas, port of entry. "It's astounding the obstacles this dog has overcome," says US Customs Service Commissioner Raymond W. Kelley.


The Pitbull Puppy was skin and bones when he arrived at the Animal Hospital. When Officer Clark found the wounded, blood-caked animal who had apparently been used in pit bull fights, he was undernourished, hypothermic and near death.

"He was in bad shape, but I was drawn to him," says SPCA adoption counselor Shannon Willie, who name the pup Popsicle. Alas, people who visited the shelter looking to adopt a puppy were put off by his breed's reputation. They would take one look at the pit bull and walk away.


When Popsicle regained his strength, the shelter contacted US Customs canine-enforcement officer Sally Barr. It was a long shot, but maybe he would qualify for the dog training school in Front Royal, VA.

Of 500 dogs Barr has tested in the last three years, only 4 have made the cut. "You want a dog that plays a terrific tug-of-war," says Barr. Popsicle did, and in February 1998 he graduated at the top of his class and became a celebrated alumnus two months later by detecting the record contraband cache under a tractor-trailer.

"You have to imagine him," says US Customs canine handler J.J. Trevino ,"on his hind legs, barking, trying to reach up to the bottom of the truck."

Back in Buffalo, where the bad guy eventually got off with probation for animal cruelty, Ron Clark remains awed by Popsicle's comeback. "I still don't know why I opened that refrigerator," says Clark. "But it feel like it was meant to be."

Positve Press
Submitted by Luvmypit

Norton, Purina's Hero Pit Bull A LITTLE over five years ago, my husband and I heard of this "loser" dog needing a home, loser because he was a pitbull that 'wouldn't fight!' We had two dogs at the time, a Rottie and an Amstaff, so we weren't looking for another dog, but something made us call these people to find out about Norton. The owner said thanks but they'd already found a home for him. Two days later we got a call from this person saying Norton had been returned and would we like to see him. We loaded our dogs into the car and told ourselves that we were just going to look but it would be a good idea to see if there was a chance all the dogs would get along. I won't go into the horror we saw or the condition that Norton was in but we knew immediately that we couldn't leave this 6-month-old pup there. His scars weren't just physical, he suffered from severe separation anxiety as well. Norton could not be left alone, he would eat his way out of any enclosure or room he was left in. He had to be with people or he panicked. We were lucky enough to be able to have my husband take him to work every day but on the rare occasion we had to leave him alone he had to be heavily tranquilized. We tried all sorts of training and meds but nothing worked. We resigned ourselves to the fact that wherever we went, Norton came too, then tragedy struck. Our Amstaff, Hillary, passed away. We were devastated, but it was worse for Norton - he lost a very important member of his pack. The separation anxiety got worse, he followed us everywhere. He took to sleeping in our walk in closet as long as the door was open and he could see us in bed. We knew our Rottie was aging and Norton needed a pal. Well, I'll be honest, I needed another Amstaff, not to replace Hillary in my heart, but to help fill the void her death had created. I found a beautiful Amstaff pup at Barberycoast Kennels in Nova Scotia. I was still reeling from the loss of my precious pup so I knew how Norton must be feeling. Maybe a pup would be good for him and make him feel he had a larger pack to depend on. Little did I know that we would lose our rottie three weeks after our perfect Haley came to live with us. I'm so grateful that we found Haley, she filled my aching heart with love and Norton's life with joy. You could see the love of life in his eyes for the first time. He had a true companion. During all of this our city passed a bylaw restricting pitbulls but allowing pedigreed Amstaffs (go figure!). We would be allowed to keep Norton if he could pass a 'Good Citizenship' test (same as a temperament test). Norton may have his problems but temperament isn't one of them, he passed with flying colours, after all, we were there so he felt safe. He was 'grandfathered' and the only restriction is that he had to wear a large tag saying "restricted" on it. Oh, he also had to be neutered and microchipped but we had already done that when we got him. One night about a month after we got our new pup Haley, I got up to go to the bathroom, making sure the bedroom door was shut behind me so that Haley wouldn't wander out and have an accident on the carpet. While I was in the bathroom I was bitten by a spider. I was on medication at the time and it inhibited my body from producing any antihistamines, so I went into anaphylactic shock. My throat closed and I got very light headed, I felt like I was being put under anesethic. I couldn't make it out of the bathroom and I couldn't make a sound. For some unknown reason, Norton got up from his bed in the closet and went over to my sleeping husband and kept pushing him with him nose until Barrie woke up. When Barrie saw how upset Norton was and that I wasn't there he went looking for me and found me almost unconscious. He called the paramedics and by the time they arrived I had stopped breathing. I spent two days in intensive care and a week at home recovering from a simple non-poisonous bite. To this day I don't know how Norton knew one of his pack was in trouble but I do know that I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him. We had rescued him from a 'bad home' and he took returning the favour very seriously. Norton was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame this year for his heroic act. We received a beautiful oil portrait of Norton from Purina and Norton got a medal and a year's supply of dog food. He had a wonderful time for the three days we were in Toronto with him, he had his own stretch limo to take him to the TV studios and awards banquet and he was allowed into all the restaurants we were taken to. The Toronto Humane Society also honoured him in May, he received another medal and a gift certificate for a month's worth of treats. Of course he shares with Haley, he literally allows her to take food out of his mouth. Boy, for a restricted dog he sure is a good ambassador for his breed. As for his breeding, I don't have a pedigree for him so who knows, all I know is that he's my hero and I owe him my life.Time, love, and Haley have done wonders for his separation anxiety, we can now leave him home with Haley for 4 or 5 hours without causing him stress and it's getting longer all the time. Life without Norton? I don't want to even think about it. When the time comes I'll deal with it the best I can, but until then I spend every day loving him. Everyday is a precious gift he gave me. Positve Press
Submitted by Luvmypit

A Letter from a Shelter Manager I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all…a view from the inside if you will. First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are “owner surrenders” or “strays”, that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; “We are moving and we can’t take our dog (or cat).” Really? Where are you moving too that doesn’t allow pets? Or they say “The dog got bigger than we thought it would”. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? “We don’t have time for her”. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! “She’s tearing up our yard”. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me “We just don’t want to have to stress about finding a place for her. We know she’ll get adopted, she’s a good dog”. Odds are your pet won’t get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn’t full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don’t, your pet won’t get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the “Bully” breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don’t get adopted. It doesn’t matter how ’sweet’ or ‘well behaved’ they are. If your dog doesn’t get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn’t full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don’t have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment. Here’s a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being “put-down”. First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to “The Room”, every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it’s strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the “pink stuff”. Hopefully your pet doesn’t panic from being restrained and jerk. I’ve seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don’t just “go to sleep”, sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You’ll never know and it probably won’t even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right? I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can’t get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes. My point to all of this DON’T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE! Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say “I saw this and it made me want to adopt”. THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT. After you wipe away the tears from reading the letter above, I BEG that you share it with anyone and everyone you know. * Share/Save/Bookmark Location: everywhere it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Submitted by Luvmypit