No more pit bull threads...

[Spicoli]

My outweighs you.

[TheSanityAnnex]

The bad outweighs the good.

Breed-specific laws target even heroic pit bulls

Thursday, November 11, 1999

By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

When the deadly cottonmouth snake struck out at "her" children, Dixie never hesitated. The dog pushed the children aside, putting her 50-pound body between them and the snake. Dixie saved Frank Humphries, 9, and his 7-year-old twin siblings, Katie and Codi. But the venomous snake inflicted two bites on the face of the 16-month-old dog.

Valerie Humphries of Fayetteville, Ga., -- the children's mother and Dixie's co-owner -- killed the snake with an ax and rushed the dog to veterinarian Francoise Tyler. "Seeing Dixie's unconscious body in the arms of that doctor was one of the worst things I've ever been through," Humphries said. "Dr. Tyler had to keep her for several days, hooked up to intravenous antibiotics."

Then the vet nominated Dixie for the Hero Dog category in a contest sponsored by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. Dixie won over 300 nominated dogs and this month is being inducted into the Georgia Animal Hall of Fame.

Now here comes one of the cheapest writing tricks in the book -- the "O'Henry ending":

Dixie is a pit bull.

The breed of a hero-dog shouldn't matter, really. But it does matter because this is a breed of dog that is feared, hated and reviled by so many people, including many who call themselves animal lovers.

Many individuals and organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are trying to outlaw this breed. They can't stop at merely despising pit bulls and related breeds, including American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers. They want to outlaw pit bulls, even those owned by loving, responsible dog owners. Even child-loving life-savers like Dixie.

Dixie is reason enough to rail against breed-specific legislation -- laws that target an entire breed. Other breeds are under siege all over the country, especially rottweilers. Proposed legislation in other parts of the country target an ever-growing list of breeds, including boxers, Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, Akitas, chow chows, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers.

Call me pro-choice on dog ownership. I think people who love dogs should be free to own as many dogs as we can take care of -- as long as we are loving, responsible owners and the dogs create no problems and pose no threat to people, property and other animals. We have the right to buy a pure-bred from a responsible breeder or to rescue a homeless mixed-breed from a shelter. And we should certainly be able to love the breed of our choice.

I put the 55-pound child that I love more than life itself in the company of a 75-pound sharp-toothed carnivore. I trust them together implicitly, for Mickey the Labrador retriever gazes upon my son, Dante, with looks that can only be love. It's what I love best about my dog and I would fight to keep him.

I will continue to fight for the right of people like the Humphries to keep dogs like Dixie. There are laws to "punish" people who let their dogs attack and bite. Use those laws. Don't target entire breeds.

In Toledo, Ohio, pit bulls who broke no law have been forcibly removed from their homes. Seized pit bulls have been killed before owners, lawyers and dog groups could save them. Right now in Washington, D.C., officials are trying to outlaw pit bulls. Dog lovers around the country are protesting by telephone, e-mail and "snail" mail. Others are traveling great distances to protest in person.

Breed-specific legislation is being enacted around the country. Think it couldn't happen to your dog or your breed? In Reading, Pa., a new law says all pit bulls are dangerous and owners will face special restrictions, including insurance mandates, that most people will not be able to meet.

Other dogs will join the Reading list when a breed is responsible for 40 percent of dog bites in that town. This puts popular breeds like Labs and golden retrievers at high risk.

[TheSanityAnnex]

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.

"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.

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."

From Dogs at Risk USA web site

[TheSanityAnnex]

From Puppies to Pioneers - The story of search & Rescue Pits

From Kristine Crawford For PitSake




I got Cheyenne when she was 4 months old. A friend of mine worked at the local animal shelter and felt sorry for this emaciated, hairless puppy that had just been brought in. Due to the fact that she was a pit bull, she was going to be put down the next day. My friend brought her home. She couldn't keep her because she already had 5 dogs so she gave her to me.

Even after all the puppy had been through, Cheyenne was a little bundle of joy. I worked in retail at the time so I was able to bring her to work with me. Everyone fell in love with her. We went through obedience, did some agility, and even started doing some schutzhund. But when it came time to do the bite work, she just didn't want to do it.

Then I decided that I didn't want to excel at something where people would see my pit bull biting someone. Cheyenne did really well in the tracking part of her schutzhund training so I decided to train her to be a search dog. Soon after that, Cheyenne went through a false pregnancy. She would take all my stuffed animals and put them in her bed and lay on them. She never went anywhere without her "puppies". She carried them all around the house. Then it came time for her false pregnancy to end . . . and she had no real puppies. She went into a severe depression. She didn't want to get up. Not even to eat.

A neighbor who lived on the ranch down the street told me that they had some friends who were selling pit bull puppies and that I should buy one for Cheyenne. We decided to take Cheyenne over to their house to see how she got along with the puppies. She loved them! However, they were out of my price range. I let her play with them for a little while and then called her so we could leave. I turned around to see where she was and there she was, with a puppy by the neck, getting into the car! I told her no she couldn't have the puppy and I took it back and "buried" it underneath it's 7 brothers and sisters.

Cheyenne ran over to the pile of puppies and batted them all aside until she found that same puppy. She found her and off she went to the car with "her" puppy. I was in tears, the breeder was in tears. The breeder was so moved by what he saw that he let us have the puppy. Cheyenne was delighted with her new puppy, Dakota. Dakota started coming to work with us also and she absolutely adored people. Cheyenne and Dakota became inseparable. I decided to train Dakota to be a search dog as well.


Dakota liked to run so I trained her to be an Air Scent Dog while Cheyenne is a little more methodical, so I trained her to be a Trailing Dog. After months of training, we were ready to join an organization. We went to our first meeting. The building didn't allow dogs, so Cheyenne and Dakota had to stay in the car. Then came my turn to introduce us. "My name is Kris and I have an American Staffordshire Terrier and an American Pit Bull Terrier."
Everyone gasped. One woman yelled, "We don't allow pit bulls!" Everyone in the room started talking. I told them that I was honestly surprised to get this type of reaction from an organization that is run by "dog people" who should know that a dog's behavior is based on how it is raised, not by what type of breed it is.

The board called the session to order and they would vote on whether we should be allowed to join. We got in by one vote. The following week we went to our first workout, nobody would hide for us. "The pit bull might attack me when she finds me!" Very few people would even talk to me. After a couple weeks of this, I realized I would have to do it on my own. I also realized that we would have to be 10 times better than everyone else to be considered an equal.


I found some people who would work with us. We trained every day. Cheyenne and Dakota loved the work. They would go get me their vests every chance they could. In the meantime, we kept showing up to the workouts. After about 10 months, I found someone at one of the workouts to hide for us. Everyone wanted to watch. I deployed Dakota. They stood there silently as they watched Dakota search for the scent, locate the subject, come back and tell me she had found the subject, and then take me to the subject. "Dang, she's good!" I heard someone say.

One of the evaluators even let Cheyenne and Dakota play with her dog! From that point on we were accepted.

That year was a slow season for search call outs. I tried to think of what else I could do with Cheyenne and Dakota in the meantime. Then I heard about Animal-Assisted Therapy. Cheyenne and Dakota absolutely loved people so this would be perfect for them. I called the informational number on the brochure. The woman who answered told me all about their organization. She was very pleasant.

Then she asked what kind of dogs I had. I told her Pit Bulls. She said, "I'm sorry, but our discussion is over." She hung up. Now I was even more determined to get in! I waited a couple weeks and called again. Once again she started out telling me all about the organization. Then she asked what kind of dogs I had. "Terriers that do search and rescue." She was delighted. She invited me to the handler orientation and the classes that teach you how to deal with different types of patients. Dogs were not allowed at these classes so she still hadn't seen my girls.

A couple of months later she said to go ahead and bring my dogs to the rehab center at 9:00am to be evaluated with the patients. We arrived early and at 9:00, we proudly walked in the front door of the rehab center. She was waiting for us in the lobby. She looked at us and screamed, "You're that pit bull lady! Get those dogs out of here!" Just then a child that was sitting in the lobby ran up to Cheyenne and started petting her.

Then a man in a wheelchair came by and asked if he could pet the dogs. The therapist who just arrived, didn't hear that the Evaluator had just kicked us out of the building. She said, "Oh, you guys must be the new therapy dogs . . . let's get started." The Evaluator looked at me and sternly said, "You've got one floor."

Everyone was so happy to see my girls. We were having so much fun we ended up doing all three floors! As we walked out the door, the Evaluator looked at me and said, "You know, I learned something today. I guess pit bulls aren't all bad. Here is a list of hospitals, rehab centers and convalescent homes that could sure use your help. Good job."

A lot of people ask me why I do Animal-Assisted Therapy and Search and Rescue with my dogs. I tell them that I used to do all sorts of things with my dogs; i.e. obedience, agility, etc. When they did a good job, they got a blue ribbon. Now when my dogs do a good job, they save someone's life.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Pit bull a hero in
Holly Hill home fire
By SUSAN WRIGHT ([email protected])

HOLLY HILL - Barbara Tollison's pit bull Buddy has become her hero.

Happy returns
ZOOM PHOTO
Barbara Tollison of Ormond Beach gives a hug to her 3-year-old pit bull, Buddy, as the pair were reunited at the Ormond Kennel and Pet Center in Ormond Beach on Tuesday.

The dog, who's lived with her more than two years, helped save both Tollison and her sister from a fire that erupted early last Wednesday in her Pine Ridge Road home.

Tollison says she calls Buddy her "56-pound Chihuahua" because he acts more like timid lap dog than a dog that's known as a fighting breed. The morning of the fire, Tollison says, she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to see off Pete Blount, who shares the house with her, as he headed for work. Then she went back to bed.

Barely half an hour later, she says, she awoke and smelled smoke. She quickly explored the house and discovered the fire already ablaze in Blount's bedroom. She ran to wake up her sister, Jane Ellol, who was visiting from Connecticut, and ran outside.

Buddy followed her. Then, Buddy ran back inside and straight to Ellol's bedroom, where she was still struggling to get out. Tollison says Ellol has arthritis and can't move very quickly when she first gets up. Then, she became disoriented in the unfamiliar house, in the smoke.

"He was whining real loud in her room for her. He was with her the whole time. I ran back in and when I got a hold of her, I pulled her out the door. She said she felt like a wet noodle. He came out right behind her," Tollison says.

While she says she doesn't remember exactly what woke her up and saved their lives that morning, she's convinced it was Buddy because there was no other noise in the house.

"He kind of aroused me, that's the only thing I can think of that got me up," she says.

Once he'd gotten the family out, Tollison said, Buddy ran down the road, clearly terrified, and disappeared.

She called Blount, who returned from work as the firemen were dousing the fire in the house and they both frantically looked for Buddy, but they couldn't find him.

About five hours later, she recalls, a sheriff's car approached and she somehow knew Buddy was inside before she could even see the dog.

Volusia County sheriff's deputy Richard Hansard had searched for the dog in the neighborhood and then driven to the Halifax Humane Society to look for the animal. As it happens, someone in the area had picked up Buddy and taken him to the shelter. Because Buddy had the required license and tags, the shelter was able to identify the dog they had in custody and turn him over to Hansard, who took Buddy back home to his very grateful family, Tollison said.

Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said Hansard has been recommended for a citation for going beyond the call of duty in finding and returning Buddy.

Tollison said it will take 10 weeks to make the house livable again. Meanwhile, she's living in an apartment and Buddy is living in an Ormond Beach boarding kennel. And, she says, when they do get back home, Buddy will be treated like the hero she's sure he is.

"I'm going to get him a jeweled collar and just treat him like royalty," she said.

[TheSanityAnnex]

RCA, Alaska's First Certified Hearing Dog


By Donna Lindsay
Puttin' on the Dog

RCA is 15 years old and in quite good health, considering her advanced years. She came to Alaska from Alabama. Because the housing market was tight and there was pitbull-hysteria in the air, her owners couldn't find a place to rent that would allow pitbulls and she was eventually sent to the Alaska SPCA in Anchorage.

A friend of mine, John Ledum, was trying to start a hearing-dog program in Alaska. He and a local veterinarian, Dr. Joyce Murphy, temperament-tested 170 dogs and RCA scored the highest, so she was chosen to be the first hearing dog in Alaska. At the time she completed her training and was certified, there was talk of banning pitbulls in the city of Anchorage and the SPCA was concerned about placing her with someone who might have to give her up. So they decided to make RCA their demonstration dog because it would also promote the idea that pitbulls are smart, loving animals with good temperaments.

As a demonstration dog, she made numerous trips all over to Alaska and the lower 48 states. Her demonstrations helped raise funds to finance the training of more hearing dogs. But her favorite demonstrations were at elementary schools because after working, she would get to go down a long line of children and kiss them all. Then John would take her through the drive-up at the nearest McDonald's and reward her with a hamburger of her very own. She's got scrapbooks with letters from about 700 schoolchildren and once had a full-page feature story written about her in the Anchorage Times newspaper.

I first met RCA when she was first in training and living with her trainer, John. I was captivated by her charm and obedience. Later, when I got my first Sheltie and I would bring him over to John's to visit, she was incredibly tolerant to this rambunctious puppy and would bring him toys to play with. Of course, her favorite toy was a tug toy and she always won.

If anyone had told me I'd ever own one of these dogs I would've told them they were crazy, but about that time I let it be known that if she ever retired, I'd love to take her. And that's just what happened. After about five years of working, she was getting a little burned out and when her trainer left the SPCA, he decided to let her retire and come to live with us. He couldn't keep her because he had been living in the training facility and he couldn't find a place that would rent to him with a certified-hearing dog that happened to be a pitbull. That was before they enacted legislation giving hearing dogs the same privileges as seeing-eye dogs. She started her life with us eight years ago when she was seven years old.

Over the years, she has tolerated many puppies and atiel chicks. She'll lie down so the puppies can play with her more easily and lets the chicks chew on her ears. She's the one dog I always trust to tolerate human babies and small children, not to go ballistic when someone walks too close to the car and she loves everyone. We joke that if a burglar ever came in, she'd show him around and let him take her for a ride in the getaway car.

RCA's greatest joys in life are to go for rides in the car and to rescue logs out of our favorite lake. Her main pastime is sleeping, of course--she's very good at that. She's selectively deaf now, particularly when we want her to move over on the bed to make room for us, and her sight is going (but currently stable), and she's a bit arthritic, but the vet says she's healthy enough to give us a few more years of her splendid company.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Dave and e

e is my service dog and significant other of 12 years. I have been a quadriplegic for 12 years and e was given to me right after my accident. Actually e was the property of a, not very reputable, breeder and was going the be raised and trained for a, not legal, activity. Then e became a trading commodity in an illegal substance transaction and when all was said and done e inherited me and I inherited e.

e learned basic obedience through a couple of years of Shutzhund training and he picked up most of his service training by just growing up with me.

We are still living in a nursing facility and e has become a part of the facility. Over the past year he has gained about 8 pounds. Residents and staff keep dog cookies in their rooms and as we go down the hall he has to visit everybody. The Pit is sure a mean and vicious animal :-)

[TheSanityAnnex]

Pit bull saves other dogs with its blood

Published Monday, October 18, 1999
From The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

By Kevin Smith
Staff Writer

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Sunni loves to catch Frisbees and chase tennis balls.
But the 4-year-old American pit bull terrier also participates in something far more important - donating blood. "She's what they call a universal blood donor," said Toni Klemstein, the dog's owner. "She's missing the antigens that cause other dogs to react to a donation. She's already donated blood three or four times."


Klemstein, a receptionist at Baseline Animal Hospital in Alta Loma, said blood is frequently needed for dogs that have been injured or have autoimmune problems.

Once, I had a little, old couple who had a tiny poodle," the 43-year-old Rancho Cucamonga resident said. "They got a kick out of the fact that a pit bull's blood was used for the transfusion."

Baseline veterinarian Bruce Armstrong said the practice of blood typing for dogs has only been in use for the past 10 years. Most vets don't provide the service, because the process is costly and time consuming, he said. "It costs about $70 to $80 to do a blood type and another $100 to $200 to do the transfusion," Armstrong said. "We don't do it here. I only get about one or two dogs a month that need blood."

Emergency veterinarian hospitals often need blood, and Hemopet in Irvine is one of the places where they can get it.

Hemopet is one of four canine blood banks in the United States. The nonprofit facility provides about 120 units of blood per week, said Jason Barnhart, operations manager.

"We deliver blood throughout the U.S., Canada and sometimes Hong Kong," he said. "We have about 130 donor dogs. They're all greyhounds. We rescue them out of the racing industry. They are excellent donors."

[E20]

Just give up bro, who cares what other people think. It's like me and Bear Grylls I don't care people think he's a fake.

[TheSanityAnnex]

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.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Weela, Ken-L Ration's Dog Hero of the Year (1993)


This story is from the Ultimate American Pit Bull Terrier by Jacqueline O'Neil. Weela was also featured in the October, 1996 Outside magazine as an example of the kind of dog one would like to have in a life-threatening situation.

Gary Watkins, eleven years old, was absorbed in chasing lizards when Weela, the family Pit Bull, plowed into him with a body slam that sent him sprawling. Gary's mother, Lori, saw the whole incident and remembers being surprised at first, because Weela always played kindly with children. But her surprise quickly turned to horror when she saw a rattlesnake sink its fangs into Weela's face. Somehow Weela had sensed the snake's presence from across the yard and rushed to push Gary out of strinking range.

Luckily for thirty people, twenty-nine dogs, thirteen horses and a cat, Weela recovered from the snake's venom. Luckily, because that's how many lives she saved a few years later. For her heroism, Weela was named Ken-L Ration's Dog Hero of the Year in 1993. The press release read in part:

In January 1993, heavy rains caused a dam to break miles upstream on the Tijuana River, normally a narrow, three-foot wide river. Weela's rescue efforts began at a ranch that belonged to a friend of her owners, Lori and Daniel Watkins. Weela and the Watkinses worked for six hours battling heavy rains, strong currents and floating debris to reach the ranch and rescue their friend's twelve dogs.

From that experience, the Watkinses recognized Weela's extraordinary ability to sense quicksand, dangerous drop-offs and mud bogs. "She was constantly willing to put herself in dangerous situations," says Lori Watkins. "She alsays took the lead except to circle back if someone needed help."

Periodically, over a month's time, sixty-five pound Weela crossed the flooded river to bring food to seventeen dogs and puppies and one cat, all stranded on an island. Each trip she pulled thirty to fifty pounds of dog food that had been loaded into a harnessed backpack. The animals were finally evacuated on Valentine's Day.

On another occasion, Weela led a rescue team to thirteen horses stranded on a large manure pile completely surrounded by floodwaters. The rescue team successfully brought the horses to safe ground.

Finally, during one of Weela's trips back from delivering food to stranded animals, she came upon a group of thirty people who were attempting to cross the floodwaters. Weela, by barking and running back and forth, refused to allow them to cross at that point where the waters ran deep and fast. She then led the group to a shallower crossing upstream, where they safely crossed to the other side.

Stong, gentle intelligent and brave, Weela,CGC,TT, is the ultimate American Pit Bull terrier, epitomizing the best that the breed has to offer. But her story also highlights an important yet often misunderstood fact about the breed. The Pit Bull is a dog that loves to please its owner and tries to become whatever kind of dog its owner desires. Weela has had two owners.

The first owner dumped her in an alley to die when she was less than four weeks old. Her present owner, Lori Watkins, found five starving Pit Bull puppies whimpering in an alley, took them home and raised them. later, the Watkins family placed four of the puppies in loving homes and kept the little female they named Weela. They believed Weela was special, and she proved them right. Most Pit Bull puppies grow up to become a reflection of both their owners' personality and the care and training they receive. One can only imagine what a different dog Weela would have become if her original owner had raised her, and she had done her best to please him.

[TheSanityAnnex]

The Pit Bull who Fights Drugs

Summary of the December, 1997 Dog Fancy magazine: "$30 Million Sniffer Nabs Smugglers"

"Taylor, a 4-year old pit bull mix, shows a real knack for his job. In his first two years on the job, he has sniffed out more than $30 million worth of narcotics...Out of more than 100 dogs in the San Diego [CA, USA] district K-9 unit, Taylor ranks as a top performer."

The article went on to say that Taylor, a muscular, 86-pound light brown brindle, was rescued from a city shelter by a canine enforcement officer only two days before he was due to be euthanized. He was selected largely because of his intense focus on a tennis ball the officer, Robert Root, bounced in front of the dog to test, in his words, how strong his intent is.

With intensity being a integral characteristic of American Pit Bull Terriers, it is surprising that they are not used more often in this work. However, the article stated that "Although Taylor's eagerness was unmistakable, he was not the kind of dog Customs usually looks for. Part of the drug enforcement job entails going to airports where close contact with civilians is inevitable.

'The Customs Service wants a dog that presents a good image,' [said Root]. If you're working in an airport with a pit bull, it would probably scare a lot of people.'"

Taylor also was described as working strictly on verbal commands with his handler, Barbara Trice, and being "intense in his affection for Trice."

Although Taylor may not be your typical customs dog, he certainly demonstrates the heart of a typical American Pit Bull Terrier.

Thanks to the San Diego branch of the US Customs Service for having enough courage to give Taylor a chance, and to Dog Fancy for giving the breed some needed positive press. Taylor shows what the breed is capable of, if given the opportunity.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Doggie devotion makes life easier

By Peggy Hager
Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Lancaster resident Pat Morrison is a fervent believer in the benefit that dogs have for the disabled.

Put in a wheelchair by a 1996 horseback riding accident, Morrison is now assisted in her daily activities by Panda, a pit bull mix she found wandering the streets and trained to switch on lights, retrieve dropped objects and pull her wheelchair.

"I needed a dog and she needed a person," said Morrison.

Morrison found Panda as a puppy starving on a Lancaster street in August. When no one answered her newspaper ads seeking the dog's owner, she had the pooch spayed and vaccinated. Facing a two-year wait for a companion dog from a company in Santa Rosa, Morrison decided to keep the pup and train her.

Panda's first training was to paw at the light switch when Morrison said "light." It took the dog five minutes to learn.

"She was amazingly quick," said Morrison, who before her accident had trained dogs and horses.

Then Panda learned to pull Morrison's wheelchair in public, to carry objects for Morrison and to retrieve items she has dropped.

Black and white and now 11 months old, Panda wears a green vest bearing patches that read "Service" and "Ask to Pet Me, I'm Friendly."

"She does amazingly well with minimal experience. When we go to the library, she falls asleep," said Morrison. "She's so good."

Morrison was injured when the horse she was riding reared up and fell on her. The accident crushed the fourth and fifth thoracic vertebrae in her spine, leaving her without the ability to stand, weak arm muscles, loss of speech and the loss of 10 years from her memory.

A former college instructor and teacher of the developmentally disabled, Morrison went to work to rehabilitate herself.

"I had to learn to live with the fact that I wasn't going to be the noble survivor," said Morrison.

During her stay in the hospital, a friend brought in her dog to visit with Morrison, and she saw how the faces of the other patients lit up when they saw the animal.

"It made a total impression on me that this was something that could help people," said Morrison.

Morrison said she recovered her speech by practicing Shakespearean monologues to strengthen her facial muscles. Most of her memory has returned, but she still can't remember one year of her life. She also regained much of her ability to walk, but weak upper leg muscles leave her unable to stand for long.

Because of increasing scar tissue, Morrison says she will eventually be confined to the wheelchair.

Morrison has one more recent problem. Last week, someone stole from in front of her home a wheelchair she had received from A.V. Sickroom Supply through the CAN DO organization.

She has another wheelchair, but it is too wide for her and she has difficulty getting it into her car. She is asking that whoever took her other chair bring it back, with no questions asked.

Positve Press

[atxrocker]

the previous poster was right... tsa owns this debate every time.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Pit Bull Saves Child From House Fire

A three-year-old pit bull named Marley is credited with saving a little girl in Alaska from a house fire in early December.

By Animal News Center (ANC), 1/10/2004


by Sherry Morse

A three-year-old pit bull named Marley is credited with saving a little girl in Alaska from a house fire in early December.

Marley, a black and white dog who looks like Pete from the Little Rascals television show, grabbed the back of six-year-old Autumn Marley's jacket to drag her out of the burning house.

Autumn alerted her mother who was cooking dinner that the entryway to the house was on fire. Julie Marley then forced open a seldom used back door so she and her two daughters could escape the fire.

As Ms. Marley left the house she turned to see Marley the dog pulling Autumn through the door to safety.

Jennifer Ingram, Marley's guardian, said that, "She's always been an awesome dog, but I didn't know she was capable of doing this." Ingram has raised Marley from a puppy.

Ms. Ingram was out shopping for Christmas presents when the fire broke out and arrived home to find Marley running loose in the midst of all the firefighters and bystanders.

She planned to take Marley to the vet to treat frostbite on her feet from being out in the snow.

Thanks to Autumn and Marley no one was injured in the fire, although the house was a total loss.

The Red Cross set up a place for the Marley family to stay, while Ms. Ingram and Marley the dog are staying with a friend.

2003 Animal News Center, Inc.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Pit bull leaps to rescue



Posted on Sat, Nov. 08, 2003
CORAL SPRINGS

A pit bull may have saved a 7-year-old Coral Springs boy from serious injury after two other dogs attacked the boy.

BY HECTOR FLORIN
[email protected]

Anthony Romaro got the scare of his life Wednesday night when two Akita dogs, each weighing about 100 pounds, attacked him near his best friend's home in Coral Springs.

But another kind of dog -- a type also known for vicious attacks -- may have saved the boy from more serious injuries.

Witnesses said a 2-year-old pit bull named Missy played the part of hero during the attack.

Missy, witnesses say, pulled the two Akitas -- Cella and Baci -- off Anthony after several struggles during a 15-minute span.

Anthony, a 7-year-old Hunt Elementary School second-grader, is recovering after surgery at Coral Springs Medical Center. The dogs ripped much of Anthony's left ear and bit his skull before Missy fought them off of him, said Anthony's mother, Stephanie McGuire.

''He's doing better today,'' McGuire said on Friday.

Missy suffered scrapes and cuts on the shoulders and buttocks, received a few s ches, and is back home.

''Missy saved the day,'' said her owner, Scott , who asked that The Herald not publish his last name. ``She just went out there and broke the fight up.''

Coral Springs police cited Sandra Ashley, the owner of the Akitas, for not putting a leash on the dogs, not attaching dog tags, not having proper rabies vaccinations and for biting Anthony. The fines are more than $800.

McGuire, who is friends with Ashley, hasn't decided whether to press charges.

The two Akitas are at the Broward County Animal Care and Regulation Division as Coral Springs police complete a dangerous-dog investigation, said animal care spokesman Allan Siegel.

Whether or not Anthony antagonized the dogs, and how the dogs got loose, are among the issues police are investigating.

If the Akitas are found to be dangerous, one of three things could happen, Siegel said. The owner may keep the dogs if she meets certain requirements, such as muzzling them when she leaves the home, and putting a dangerous-dog sign on the property. She may also appeal the decision, or surrender the dogs and have them euthanized.

Police and witnesses said Anthony and some friends were outside Ashley's home when the dogs escaped just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.

''The dogs got out of the house,'' said Sgt. Rich Nicorvo of the Coral Springs Police Department. ``They bit him pretty bad.''

Scott, the pit bull's owner who lives next door, was drinking coffee outside his house when the attack started. He handed another witness a metal pipe to get the Akitas off Anthony.

The unidentified person used the pipe to hit the dogs, but they continued attacking.

''They were really mauling him,'' said Scott, whose son, James, is Anthony's best friend.

Scott then let Missy out of the house to break up the fight. Police did not do ent any information about the pit bull.

Akitas have been known to attack humans. Last month, doctors euthanized an Akita owned by Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor after the dog bit 15-year-old Jonathon Raof on the arms and legs.

The Akita Club of America Web site states the dogs have ''complex'' personalities and, while intelligent and loyal, can ''exhibit aggressive tendencies,'' though not necessarily toward people.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I'm just amazed there are all these positive stories from a biased media.

But forgetting that for a second, there are dog bite problems from all breeds. It comes down to responsible ownership, but that's easier said than done.

[TheSanityAnnex]

America's first war dog was a Pit Bull named Stubby who earned several medals and the rank of sergeant for his service in W.W.I. He received a hero's welcome and was even honored at the White House. He inspired the U.S. Military K-9 Corps.

[TheSanityAnnex]

I'm just amazed there are all these positive stories from a biased media.

These stories never make the headlines or the news.

[TheSanityAnnex]

PITBULL SAVES FAMILY FROM FIRE
author: Susan Wright
source: News-Journal Online












































HOLLY HILL, FLORIDA -- The dog, who has lived with her more than two years, helped save both Barbara Tollison and her sister from a fire that erupted early last Wednesday in her Pine Ridge Road home. Tollison says she calls Buddy her "56-pound Chihuahua" because he acts more like timid lap dog than a dog that's known as a fighting breed.

The morning of the fire, Tollison says, she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to see off Pete Blount, who shares the house with her, as he headed for work. Then she went back to bed. Barely half an hour later, she says, she awoke and smelled smoke. She quickly explored the house and discovered the fire already ablaze in Blount's bedroom. She ran to wake up her sister, Jane Ellol, who was visiting from Connecticut, and ran outside. Buddy followed her.

Then, Buddy ran back inside and straight to Ellol's bedroom, where she was still struggling to get out. Tollison says Ellol has arthritis and can't move very quickly when she first gets up. Then, she became disoriented in the unfamiliar house, in the smoke.

"He was whining real loud in her room for her. He was with her the whole time. I ran back in and when I got a hold of her, I pulled her out the door. She said she felt like a wet noodle. He came out right behind her," Tollison says. While she says she doesn't remember exactly what woke her up and saved their lives that morning, she's convinced it was Buddy because there was no other noise in the house. "He kind of roused me, that's the only thing I can think of that got me up," she says.

Once he'd gotten the family out, Tollison said, Buddy ran down the road, clearly terrified, and disappeared. She called Blount, who returned from work as the firemen were dousing the fire in the house and they both frantically looked for Buddy, but they couldn't find him.

About five hours later, she recalls, a sheriff's car approached and she somehow knew Buddy was inside before she could even see the dog. Volusia County sheriff's deputy Richard Hansard had searched for the dog in the neighborhood and then driven to the Halifax Humane Society to look for the animal.

As it happens, someone in the area had picked up Buddy and taken him to the shelter. Because Buddy had the required license and tags, the shelter was able to identify the dog they had in custody and turn him over to Hansard, who took Buddy back home to his very grateful family, Tollison said.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

These stories never make the headlines or the news.

Your story by Hector Florin in 2003 was on 1B of the Miami Herald.

[TheSanityAnnex]

Your story by Hector Florin in 2003 was on 1B of the Miami Herald.

But 1A had the story of the Pitbull who killed 56 children.















(Five days later it was found out the dog was actually a Boxer and was incorrectly identified, no one bothered to release another story correcting it)

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

But 1A had the story of the Pitbull who killed 56 children.

(Five days later it was found out the dog was actually a Boxer and was incorrectly identified, no one bothered to release another story correcting it)

Which story?

I'm not saying the stories aren't out there, but should these stories not be reported if there are legitimate attacks?

[TheSanityAnnex]

Which story?

I'm not saying the stories aren't out there, but should these stories not be reported if there are legitimate attacks?

/end sarcasm

[2Blonde]

TSA got owned.

the previous poster was right... tsa owns this debate every time.

Dude,
put down the pipe and breathe in some reality. TSA's 15 stories from the last decade hardly own anything when you put them up next to lebomb's 100+ from July 2007.

I <3 lebomb.