From commentor Summer:
Today, I came home and my neighbors’ kids were holding this girl with a piece of string. They said another neighbor had turned her loose when her puppies died (maybe a couple of weeks ago), and they were really worried that she was going to die. She seemed very submissive, so I brought her in, she only glanced at my cat and let him sniff her legs while she ate. Then we went on a walk along the river, this girl and my two older dogs.
All was fabulous and then my collie mix Layla came up right after I’d been eating something and little miss bit her. Deep puncture on the face. So I can’t keep her, and am actually afraid to have her in the house with a cat.
I am paying to board her right now in addition to shots (and antibiotics and rabies booster for my dog) and am really hoping that someone who doesn’t have pets might be interested. I’ll take her to people in the Carolinas/Virginia area.
She is great with me. Very submissive, sweet, bonded in about twelve hours. Calm. She let me grab food from her, bathe her, and order her around. She’s a really good girl and would make a great pet. The kids knew her; she’d always been good with them.
Would you post and see if anyone in the area of Durham, NC, would be interested in a pit bull that might be a little bit problematic? It’s hard to tell what she’d really be like when she’s not malnourished, flea-ridden, with raw skin and who knows what else. I will get her shots and spay. She has been awesome with me. I really like her. I think I taught her to sit.
I really don’t want to let the kids down either. They got super happy to think they’d saved her.
If you have any leads — even to a rescue group that might be able to give this poor girl a chance — leave a comment. Or send me an email (click on my name in the right-hand column, or annelaurie at verizon dot net) and I’ll forward your message to Summer.
Anybody remember the name of Cole’s sister’s group? Most rescue groups are networked, they might have contacts in the NC area…
CONGRATULATIONS!
Pits. Great until they aren’t.
Awful but true personal opinion: I think the kindest thing you could do for a poorly socialized pit in poor physical shape like this is to have the poor critter put down.
I wish you luck, Summer and Mrs. Pit.
notorious JRT
Have you contacted Noah’s Ark rescue to see if they can help? They are in S Carolina, I think.
http://www.noahs-arks.net
geg6
Fur Kids is who Devin Cole works with. That’s who had Lovey, Thurston and Ginger.
kc
Thank goodness she didn’t bite one or both of the kids.
Tommy
Feed that darn dog. I know you are Anne. 24/7. I’ve never had a dog but if somebody here asked for help in Southern Illinois for a dog on this site I’d get it tomorrow. Yesterday really. I’d spend the wheels of time to try to make it better for her/him. Pains me to my core looking at these pics.
John Cole
Fur kids. I will contact her.
Princess
Very submissive, until she isn’t.
How did her pups die?
seaboogie
@Princess: Given how scrawny she is, maybe she didn’t have milk for them.
Summer
Hey all and THANK YOU Anne Laurie for posting. Thanks for the tips. I have written to two organizations here and will try the others and thanks JC for contacting Fur Kids.
I don’t know how the pups died. Evidently she was with a family and lived inside and they moved and left her with a guy who lives a few houses from me and he just chained her up or maybe crated her outside while waiting for the pups, which were supposedly purebred. All I know is what the kids said: “they didn’t get enough oxygen.” They also said it was three weeks ago that he unchained her and stopped feeding her. When I asked him “don’t you want her, she’s really nice?” he said “She’s not my dog.”
I KNOW this guy, but not well, which makes it difficult to deal with.
Vet says she’s a year, maybe two. She heard a heart murmur so may have heartworms.
I’ve always had dogs and picked up quite a few strays and have never had one be aggressive and submissive at the same time like this.Yet Prince Harry was attacking her tail right before I took her to the vet and she just turned her head and saw what it was and ignored him.
I live in a poor neighborhood right now. There are lots of feral cats and I’ve already tried to get a stray dog that also got left behind and then disappeared. I found two dead pit bulls dumped in the woods. I would like to see this girl be ok, but as I watched Prince Harry lying on the dog bed with Layla licking her face I do realize that I can’t bring her into the mix here.
I also want this soft-hearted girl and her little brother to feel like when they take something on and try to do the right thing that the adults don’t disappoint. They are upset by what our neighbor did.
Thanks all for reading.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@CONGRATULATIONS!: I feel sad saying I agree, but I agree. Poor pup, and yet I’d be terribly worried about anyone who took her in. Frankly, someone who is willing to take “a pit bull that might be a little bit problematic” needs to live alone with a guarantee that no other humans/pets will ever approach, and that’s impossible.
My brother and his family took in a dog that someone else was “worried about having in the house with a baby and a cat,” and she was lovely until she bit 3 kids without any warning or provocation (my niece, my son, and a visitor – who was so badly hurt he needed plastic surgery).
Also, Tunch. :-(
ETA: Summer, I really feel for your kids and empathize with your desire to have them feel like they did the right thing. The right thing is sometimes really hard and sad, and I could understand if they or you aren’t ready for that terrible lesson yet.
ETAx2: I’m sorry your neighbor is such an unredeemed jackass and a cruel excuse for a human.
Freemark
Good luck Summer. I have a friend who has done pit rescue and they are some of the most awesome dogs I have ever met. I do see their are numerous people on here who have no understanding of basic dog behavior please ignore them. Hopefully you can find someone who can take the time to figure her out and give her a good home.
Betty Cracker
@Summer: You’re a good person.
A.
For what it’s worth, my vet told me that it was “not unexpected, not unusual” for an unfixed adult dog who was newly rescued from a breeding op and put together right away with two other dogs, to have jumped at and bitten the other male dog in the house (who was just lying there). The rescued dog was a male, 7 years old, not a pit bull, and it was the 2nd-3rd day after he’d left his former home. (The vet is the “behavior specialist” at a fancy well-regarded practice.) She called it misplaced aggression, the aggressor perhaps feeling the need to act defensively. The dog was neutered and went into a calmer house and is a gentle guy. He was not a pit bull, but he did draw blood.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Am I the only one wondering if the current and/or past neighbor could be involved in dogfighting? There’s something weird about the whole I’ll sell you my pregnant dog and then suddenly move thing. It might also explain why she’s okay with humans (so far) but a problem with other dogs.
satby
@Summer: pits can be very protective of humans when other dogs are around. She may have misinterpreted your dog’s intent. But if she ignored the cat repeatedly she’s not likely to be actually aggressive. I hope fur kids can help.
satby
@A.: yeah, in the old days before everyone became an expert on dog behavior the default was to expect adult dogs just thrown together to have some dominance fights to sort out the pecking order. Now people freak out at stuff like that.
satby
And the only dogs that have bit members of my family have been border collies and Chihuahuas. The border collie took half my youngest son’s lower lip off, it was a neighbors dog who never before acted aggressive and woke up from a sound sleep to bite my kid watching tv at their house.
All dogs can potentially bite, it’s their way of defending themselves. When people forget that trouble can happen.
Summer
@A.: Thanks for this information. I wish I knew more dog psychologists.@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I don’t think it’s dog fighting. I think people think they can make some money selling pit bull puppies so they breed their dog to another friend’s dog who is ‘purebred,’ but then life intervenes and the money making scheme becomes less important than an immediate crisis. Two or three weeks ago another neighbor called me over to ask if I had a feeding syringe. He showed me 10 newborns that the mother (who was his girlfriend’s dog) had refused to nurse. He needed a syringe to feed them, had gotten formula from PetSmart to feed them and told me the whole feeding schedule. I gave him a syringe and emphasized how often they needed to be fed and maybe petted with a finger, and gave him my vet’s name and asked him to call her. Two days later I asked him how they were doing and he said they had all been smothered by the mom when he tried again to get her to nurse. I don’t know if they had already died when she rolled on them or if she smothered them, but I do totally believe he thought she killed them.
There may be organized breeding for dog fighting around here (but not training I think), but that’s what I think is going on. And Jenny had lots of skin rubbed raw, but I think it was the fleas. No bite marks. I’m positive the guy who lives three doors down isn’t dog fighting.
satby
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): she may not be bad with other dogs, she would need to be evaluated. She may have thought that other dog was getting too close to her new savior, Summer.
A rescue group can evaluate her better, though.
Summer
@satby: Yes, and thank you. I might let the dogs sort it out because it’s my sense that she’s not brutal. But I can’t take the chance with little cat Prince Harry whose morning ritual is to leap on Buffy and who thinks I’m his parent and that he is perhaps a dog and certainly the alpha of our pack and our faces his to lick. She’s not been aggressive with him except that she bared her teeth when he was eating in front of her. Which is kind of aggressive, I guess, but she REALLY wants his food.
CTVoter
Hoping you’re able to find her a home. Understand why you’re not interested in keeping her.
Best of luck, and, by the way, she is a lucky dog to have run into the kids. May that luck continue.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Summer:
Yeah, if there’s any chance she may have a high prey drive, you can’t have her around that kitten. Better to turn her over to professionals for evaluation and see if they can find her a suitable home.
MazeDancer
Very kind work you’re doing, Summer.
If you’re having to board her and take her to vet, would you like some contributions?
kc
@Summer:
You are such a good person to do all this.
BlueNC
Local pit bull rescue: http://www.southofthebully.com
WereBear
Ah yes. The grand scheme of making money from the puppies. So they wind up with genetic problems and they didn’t feed properly or vaccinate.
These bargains are no bargains, and are responsible for one third of the cases on Judge Judy.
DanR2
I swear 75% of the dogs in our local animal shelter are half pit. Nothing against the breed (for the most part) but the owners are either stupid as fuck (to not have their ball-hangin’ “stud” fixed) or have some sort of savior complex to keep a fucked up animal. I feel bad for this dog, but the best thing that happened is her litter died. If she’s already attacked another dog, then her being put down would be no great loss either. Sorry.
DanR2
Oh, I would add that I’ve been attacked by a pit while running down a residential street. Got loose somehow for the only time ever.
Freemark
@DanR2: If dogs were put down every time they snapped at another dog shelters would be out of business because dogs would only exist in zoos.
greennotGreen
Malnourished dog in new situation bites another dog, and some of you want to have her put down? Give the dog a break! Let her be properly evaluated by a reputable rescue. Two of my dogs bit me before I adopted them, and I’ve fostered others that started out bitey. They’re scared and confused. Time, nutrition, proper evaluation, and proper placement is what she needs.
greennotGreen
@DanR2: And I was bitten by a collie while riding my bike. A friend was rather viciously attacked by two Jack Russell terriers while running. Any dog with teeth can bite.
DC
You might try Independent Animal Rescue in Durham:
http://www.animalrescue.net/
I got my cat from them. They are a rescue, foster, adoption, no-kill organization.
Freemark
@greennotGreen: I found it rather unnerving how quick people are to want to kill a dog they never met and know little about. Especially considering there are very few dogs who won’t bite another dog under the right circumstances.
Anne Laurie
@DanR2: One of my rescue dogs has bitten people, including me. More than once. She’s a 20lb papillon-probably-border-collie cross, and we get very few visitors (none of them children). So we’ve spent the past three years convincing her that she’ll never again be so starved she needs to ‘resource guard’ anything that might be edible (used kleenex, soap wrappers) and it’s been (knock wood) months since she used her mouth inappropriately.
And she’s not the dog who put me in the hospital for hand surgery. That was the “submissive” rescue, who went to grab a towel and punctured my hand by mistake.
Every dog is different, rescue or not. Blanket decisions about “breeds” will get you into trouble, with dog-owning humans as well as dogs!
DanR2
I said I have no problem with the breed (for the most part), just the dumb shit breeders who are fucking it up. At this point, it’s a lost cause until about 20 years from now when responsible breeders get control of it. Go ahead, adopt the precious little treasures and see how that works out.
Esme's Mom
She looks like a precious treasure to me, and also like she’s not had a day’s kindness in her life. Good on you, Anne, for stepping in.
Cermet
Rescued a St. Bernard (had fighting issues with the dog of the people who had first rescued her; they got her back to health (she was skin and bones at 85 lbs) but couldn’t allow the conflict to continue and had to give her up – sad.) Can’t tell you how loving and caring this little, but big girl is – almost like she knows that we are her last chance and she is determined to win our affections – which she did within minutes of seeing her, much less the last two days. She has bonded to my girlfriend’s daughter and just continues to try and please us. So well behaved, gentile, and loving; don’t understand her problem with other dogs but could care less. We live in the country and the nearest dog is half a mile away. Also, she falls all other our nearest neighbors trying to please them. Just a wonderful dog.
Freemark
@DanR2: Those ‘precious little treasures’ have been adopted out a lot. Both dogs and owners have been happy with the arrangement. The problem with ‘pit bulls’ has nothing to do with responsible breeders ‘getting control’ for a couple of reasons. On there is no ‘pit bull’ breed. At least 7 different breeds are consistently called ‘pit bull’ and many more breeds get labeled ‘pit bulls’. Hell I’ve seen people I personally know call a growling chocolate Labrador retriever a ‘pit bull’ because it had a square head and was growling. Two their problem isn’t breeding, especially since most are mutts, it is ‘asshole’ owners. Numerous studies done by the CDC, Canadian authorities, etc. shows that how dangerous a dog is has low correlation with breed. It does correlate very highly with the type of owner. Anti-social owners have anti-social dogs. Consistently dog breeds that are popular with anti-social people become the ‘bad breed’ du jour. That is why rottweilers and german shepherds were once considered the most dangerous dogs . When their popularity dropped among anti-social assholes their danger and bad behavior dropped. Blaming the dog breed for bad behavior lets bad owners, who are the real problem, off the hook. That is why the BVA for example is trying to get ‘deed not breed’ legislation passed in Britain.
Summer
@Anne Laurie: Yes, thanks, and to you too greennotGreen and Freemark! She has been totally thrown by her experiences at this point. I think some dogs are mentally ill, but I don’t think this girl will be a problem if she can have the special special conditions she needs to thrive.
Update: I had already written to the Southern Bully guy, who has written back that they’re overwhelmed. Sent something to Noah’s Ark and they are too. I’ll write to Independent Animal Rescue today, thanks DC. A friend who volunteers said the shelter, which normally tries really hard to adopt, is overwhelmed with puppies.
Esme's Mom
@Summer: Have you heard of Pit Sisters in Florida? They may be full but might be able to help network.
Freemark
@Summer: I don’t know if it will help because room is probably the issue but I’m sure some BJers would donate money to help find her a place to live. I’ve personally felt the generosity of BJers for animals.
Summer
Thanks, Freemark. That’s very kind. Someone else suggested it too and I really appreciate people’s willingness to help out. I’ve been at points where I didn’t have the money available to pay for something like this. I’m certainly not rich, but there is enough money in the bank to cover it so I guess I’d rather we save our collective funds for those who were desperate like I’ve been in the past.
NotoriousJRT
@Summer:
As a donor to Noah’s Ark, I was sorry to hear they could not help, and I told them so.
Summer
Thanks, Notorious. I do appreciate the work they do, but what I’m finding is that everyone is just up to water about a foot above their heads with abandoned dogs. Independent Animal Rescue also doesn’t have any room, but will evaluate her and if room opens up and she passes the evaluation will take her. Maybe I can make a trade with someone and foster a cat and dog friendly dog for them.