Author: Debra

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“Pit Bull” Awareness Month

Yep, I’m sliding into the wan

ing days of the month with this post but bear with me, I have my reasons.  Every October for the past several years I’ve embraced the concept of Pit Bull Awareness Month and celebrated all things Ray and Julius while working towards broad acceptance of seeing my boys and all other Pit Bull types of dogs as individuals, not as lumped sums of their breed, or breeds as the case may be.  My boys are both Pit Bulls in the broadest sense of the word and yet they share absolutely no similar breed DNA.  They are individuals.

 

Sugar, Julius, and Ray

 
In light of all of the ballyhoo with PeTa joining forces with the vitriolic group that I won’t link to here I was planning to sit out this round.  I was asked by a friend and fellow Pit Bull Coalition member to help find an avenue to help spread awareness to the right people.  Here’s the thing: in person I’m pretty confrontational and blunt.  If you threaten or malign my dogs (or anyone I care about) I could very easily try to pull your eyeballs out with my fingernails while trying to figure out ways to really hurt you but when it comes to mudslinging and manufactured “statistics” from zealots, I try not to give credence in the form of attention.  Much like when you are training a dog in a positive manner, you ignore the unwanted behavior and reward the desired behavior.

  
PeTa contends that it would be best to kill all Pit Bull types for their own good to save them from the criminal element who want to adopt them. There aren’t many words in that sentence that I don’t take issue with but many people more reasonable and more informed than I have addressed such lunacy, so I won’t bother other than to point out that of course, I don’t want to see Pit Bulls abused, but I don’t want to see any animal abused.  I just don’t think that killing them all will solve the issue.

  
In the vein of positive reinforcement, I also want to take this moment to write a bit more about what you might and might not see here.  Get it?  Same message but different delivery.  I have a pretty dry and sarcastic sense of humor but you won’t see me engaging in the tongue in cheek “pit bull attack” pictures of dogs licking babies.  Here at Peaceabull we don’t “do” the words vicious, monster, attack, or aggressive even if we are describing how heartily we show love and affection and we don’t assume (well maybe we do, but we don’t verbalize it) that you are working from a point of prejudice about our dogs.  You don’t like my dog?  I’m not going to assume it is because they are pit bulls, and by that assumption I am giving you the benefit of a doubt that you are not an asshole.  (Oops!  There’s the eyeball pluckers coming out!)

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Did Hell Freeze Over?

On a day that seemed like a day from Bizarro World two very strange things happened and I learned something that I already knew.

First, Ray who doesn’t really get to interact much with other dogs got to take a very nice walk with Sugar.


Of course they know each other from when she was our foster, but well, we’re talking about Ray and his social skills are a bit slow. It took a couple of weeks of just looking at her before an intro and then once they met, we kept the interactions short and sweet.

The other thing? I didn’t want to write about it:  The stigma! The embarrassment! but I think it’s important in the lesson that can be taught. Julius just finished a 10 day bite quarantine (in-home).

Oh my dawg, it pains me hurts me embarrasses me to say that. My Julius, my ambassador of welcome, my little black pit bull, now has a record. While I would blissfully love nothing more than to sweep this under a rug and move on, I believe  that in the long run it will be better to share this reminder and possibly even better that it was Julius, which makes it that much more unexpected and that much more impactful.

Proud to be a Pit Bull

Ambassador

I picked Julius up at Day Play as usual, only it wasn’t a usual day.  Because of some scheduling conflicts, I sent him on a day that he doesn’t typically attend, thus with many dogs he doesn’t know well.  When Ray was a younger asshole pup I remember hoping that the magical age of two would bring a bit of maturity and settle him some.  It actually happed for him right around 15 months, which was a relief but that 2 year mark always seems to be the standard by which personalities are more settled.  Julius, who is still open and friendly is now just over two and a half and slightly less tolerant of the youngins shenanigans.  This is possibly from his stint as Foster Step Father to the Sugar Babies, or just from his natural maturing but on that day, he was napping contentedly when a dog stepped on him and startled him awake and he lashed out at the nearest dog, who unfortunately for her was an innocent bystander.  There was no “fight” and no one had to be “pulled off” of anyone else but Julius did administer a puncture to a muzzle and that was enough to result in the necessary notifications to Animal Care.

 

Felonius Julius

  

We’re fortunate that since it didn’t happen here at home, at least it happened in a place that he is known, loved and cared for and he wasn’t regarded as some rampaging black pit bull who suddenly snapped and got out of control (as they all eventually do, of course.)  He hasn’t been banned but we are now going to limit his days to those in which there aren’t too many hyper puppies and keep him with his established group of friends.  I must admit, that it took quite a while to not feel like my kid was the school bully and that I must have done something wrong for this to have happened, but it reminded me of something that in my proud-dog-mom-smugness have let slip from my mind. As I’m so often out in public with not only my own dogs but with various adoptable dogs from the Pit Bull Coalition as well as Allen County SPCA, people ask, “does it bite?” and my response is nearly always “every dog with a mouth can bite” but it is up to us to not put them in a situation where they might.

Not making excuses here, but Juli’s incident may be the most difficult one to predict or guard against.  What can I do to help?  Well, I can be thoughtful in the decision making process as to whether or not he should go to Day play on a certain day.  Reports from that day were that he was being “off” and clingy with the girls, wanting lots of attention so maybe being more mindful of his mood at home.  With Ray’s TTA rehab walks I might need to remember that a few minutes of clicker training or walking (both of which Julius enjoys) would go a long way toward stimulating his mind and tiring him.  Remembering that even the happiest of dogs have off days just like humans is so important to maintaining that good balance and finally, remembering that all dogs could bite.

So, that’s our story.

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Yay! Yellow Brick Home!

There were a huge number of things influencing my decision to order or not order my very own Yellow Brick Home Pet Shop Portrait. One thing is that I can be super picky and super critical, especially if I order a custom piece. I mean, I’m still upset about a special order cake from three and a half years ago and chances are I will come unglued if I have to tell that story again. The other reason I hesitated is that I knew that Kim asks questions about the pets she is about to paint. What if I didn’t do justice to the boys? How could I begin to put into words the communication that bounces between me and Ray with just a look? How do I describe Julius’s earnestness and sweetness? What if the portrait looks like two dogs that kind of look like Ray and Julius but without the soul that reflects in their eyes? What if I fail them by the limitations of my vocabulary and expression?

Well, to address the first issue, after being such a stalker an avid reader of the YBH blog I know that if there’s anyone who is freakishly attentive to the details (in the best possible way!) it is Kim, so the only roadblock would be me. Because the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition was selected to be the YBH rescue partner for the quarter I would be pretty ungrateful to not place an order. I’ve been debating on what size to order do I order singles? Do I order a joint portrait? Do I order two singles and a double? Ack! Finally I figured out what to do, so I took a deep breath, clicked, and just like the description of what happens, I soon received an email from Kim asking all kinds of questions. While I gathered up pictures and stewed over what to write about the boys, I realized that probably most YBH Pet Shop customers are just as obsessed with their pets as I am, so she could take my intensity with a grain of salt, right? I also tried not to flood her inbox with pictures-oh just one more, because this one is just so cuuuute!

Nearly Every blog I’ve ever read about the YBH experience talks about how great Kim is to work with and I don’t think I can find the right superlative to describe how great Kim is to work with. I mean, the process is so clearly defined and the communication is so good and crisp. (Have I mentioned how picky I am?) Once we decided on the “pose” she got to work on a mock up to email me so there were really no surprises and no chance for any regrets (oh, I wish we would have done this rather than that) because once I saw the mock up, I was in anticipation heaven! I wanted to shout from the rooftops how cool this was going to be and yet I wanted to keep it as a huge reveal-y surprise too.

So in the first few emails Kim was brainstorming how she might do the painting of the boys. They’re both larger in person than they seem on a screen and she had an idea of using the blog heading or perhaps just their heads, but I know these knuckleheads and I know my own quirky self so here’s what I proposed. My Ray-Ray is such a good poser. If he knows it’s picture time, he usually sits or lies on his mat and gives me his picture face while waiting for his reward.

See that blob in the lower left corner? Juli-bomb.

Julius (who isn’t that treat motivated) acts like if he doesn’t get the posing treat he will absolutely shrivel up and die! He jumps, he grabs and he budges his big head into everyone’s space.

Big, ginormous Juli-head.

He’s a notorious photo-bomber, whether he tries to or not, so that’s what we did. I asked Kim to paint a picture of Ray in his normal pose and have Julius “photo-bomb the portrait.”

Once everything was set, I was given a target date and when it was complete, I received an email with a zip file (my choice as to whether I wanted to peek at it early) and I waited a whole 14 seconds before I unzipped that sucker and SWOONED! OH. MY. GAWD!

Check. It. Out.

Check. It. Out.

As awesome as the scan is, it still just doesn’t do justice to seeing this in real life. When I received my box (stamped YAY!) in the mail, I was happy dancing all over the house. You all should seriously just take a second and look at how freaking awesome this is. When I look at this-I don’t think I’m going to describe it correctly- I feel like Kim knows what it feels like when I wrap my arm around Ray’s neck and pet his chest. She painted what it feels like to hug Ray! Let me say it again: She. Painted. What it feels like. To hug Ray. It makes me cry to think about that. Her take on Julius? Spot on. He isn’t a huge dog and he doesn’t have one of those big American Bully heads but he just has such a big buffalo head that always seems to be in the way. She got his sweet simplicity and the open earnestness that is Julius. I ran all over the house placing it and finally decided on the dining room buffet for now.

 It’s a very central room where I can see it all the time.  And let me just say, most of the guests we’ve had over have initially thought this was a photograph rather than a painting.  Yeah.

As I mentioned, The Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition is the rescue partner of Yellow Brick Home so for the remainder of this quarter, 10% of the proceeds from all orders will go to the Coalition. If you have been absolutely dying to have a portrait done of your fur kid(s) I would highly recommend you place your order with Kim as soon as possible but if you could do it  by September 30th the pit bulls of Fort Wayne would send you big, sloppy, wet, grateful kisses.

What are you waiting for?

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Pits in the Park (as told by Julius)

Hi Peoples, it’s Julius here!  It isn’t often that my mom lets me post on the blog.  She says it has something to do with having to type for me and some nonsense about supposable thumbs but she said I could write all about the Julius Jamboree Pits in the Park that was last Saturday. My mom had been busy getting lots of things ready for this big Pittie Party and she even had people over to give me love and attention fold programs and load things in the van.  On that morning I was busy following her around the house and sticking very close to her legs so that she would remember that I was supposed to go with her, and yet she left the house without me!  I was sure that was a huge mistake and I was sad until my human sister, Asia, came to pick me up and she took me and Chance to the big celebration.  When we got to the park, there were so many dogs and people that I got really excited and happy to see everyone.  I saw some of my foster babies there like Diva, who used to be Godiva and Mishi who used to be Kit Kat.  They were both very cute and happy to be at the park.  I saw my buddy Bentley and his new sister Bitsy and my friend Rhino and his sister Boo.  We all walk together on the Sunday day too so we are good friends.  It was like a big party just for me and my friends, except there were so many more.

Photo by Lisa Reyes

The big surprise was I got to be in the kissing booth with my best buddy, Clyde.  We are both very romantical guys and we love to kiss the ladies (and even the gentlemen and kids and other dogs…).  Heck, we would have just given out a lot of free kisses (and we did) but our moms said we were raising money so that other Pit Bulls could be helped.


After we kissed a bunch of people, my buddy Chance and the pretty gal Eden were in the booth.  Chance didn’t really like the booth much.  He just wanted to sit in the grass with Asia and beg for pizza so Eden did a lot of kissing and whenever mom said I was getting obnoxious she put me back in the booth, because I didn’t bark when I was in there.  Then we got to walk around in a parade and show off all of our handsomes!

Clyde and I got to lead the parade because we are more handsome than everyone else The Bully Collective was given the honor and his mom is what they call a founder.

After the parade, Asia took me and Chance home while mom got to have more fun pick up trash and tear down booths. She says this is the first year that Ray didn’t get to go but that she was very proud of me and all of my good ambassador skills.

Do you have a Julius Pit Bull Celebration in your community?

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Ray’s Wheels

Well we had a super full weekend and I know Julius has lots to talk about but today I have an update on Ray’s leg.  The short version is that he is mending well and the surgery looks to have been quite successful. What that really means for Ray is that since we don’t really have stairs in the house he was cleared by Dr. Harry to not be in his little area all day but he will need to remain leashed when outside for the next eight weeks or so.

  
Ray’s visit to the vet went well, but took an awful lot out of him with the amped up nervous energy and all.  This was the first time he’s been in a vehicle since the surgery so even the jumping in and out of the Pittie Van is more than he’s used to.  When we returned home, he walked in the door like usual and went right to his ex-pen like usual. I went ahead and let him stay in there but with the gate open and walked away.  Just a few minutes later as Kevin and I were chatting in the dining room, Ray slinked by…I swear he was tip toeing…as if he was trying to get away with something.  He studiously didn’t look at us, because you know, if he doesn’t see us he obviously can’t hear us as he walked from room to room lying on all of the various mats while Julius began lying on all of Ray’s (obviously special) mats.

  
After the afternoon he had, he seemed to be favoring the leg we worked so hard to get better so we opted to return him to his rest area for the evening.  Although he was cleared, we will be working him back into the swing of things slowly.  Full house privileges will be doled out slowly and in moderation and in the meantime we will be searching for a suitable set of stairs for him to use to get into bed, when he’s ready.

I guess I was thinking that today would be the magical day when all of his rehab shackles would be shed and he could romp puppy-like to his heart’s content but this plan, while not as much fun will be better in the long run.

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Labor (of Love) Day

I sooo welcomed this three day weekend, especially since I didn’t have tons of pressing plans. Saturday a hair appointment was followed by an adoption event and a little bit of dog sitting for Chance and Sugar while Sunday was Pack walk, some down time, a play date for Julius and Clyde then sleepover with my granddaughter. 

  

On Monday I had the honor and pleasure to serve out community of pet owners with my friend, Lisa. We have a program in the Allen County SPCA which was our Pets For Life initiative and based on the program used by HSUS. The HSUS program focuses on keeping pets in the homes and serving underserved portions of the community. We are doing the same and were using the Pets For Life name, but recently we received a very generous grant from PetSmart and have now adopted the name Pet Promises for what we are doing. 

In our community there are two motels  in which people who are trying to “get on their feet” can stay- with their pets. The Pet Promises group visits these motels biweekly with supplies. Today we loaded the van with dog and cat food, treats, toys and flea preventative. 

  
Our van was loaded and our hearts were full. Our “clients” we’re so appreciative of just this small effort. The thanks we received were genuine and heartfelt. We never know who will show up and need some assistance so we weren’t sure about what all to bring and we are also limited by what donations we receive on any given week. Not every request could be filled, but fortunately only one person requested a nail trim and even provided the clippers. 

  
Between driving to the shelter, loading the van, drive time, and volunteer time, we spent maybe 2.5 hours out of our day. What we got back? Immeasurable. 

As Lisa says, “it’s what we do.”  

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Wordless Wednesday 

Last night Chance and Eden were reunited as they had a Pittiepalooza play date also involving Julius and Clyde. 

 

Julius is mistrustful of treats.

 
It was a beautiful reunion full of happy tails with the promise of many more dates to come. 

On the ride home Asia was reaching from the front seat holding her daughter’s hand and Chance rested his head on her arm. 

He is home.

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#TakeAChance

Well, that was quite the cliffhanger, wasn’t it? I meant to finish out the Tale of the Blues and talke about “Iron’s” hashtag on Friday, but not only did scheduling not permit, but Fate intervened as well. Chance’s story was going to be about how Asia regretfully decided to let him go. She had told him during her visits that he would be coming home to live with her and ultimately with all of the newness, as well as a foster pup, she agreed to see if his true family would show up. She gave them 30 days.

August 15

On Saturday August 15th I had an urge to visit “Iron” at the shelter and as I was driving down there, I received a text that a wonderful couple were in and going to adopt Iron. As luck would have it, I was able to meet this couple and they were, in fact wonderful. 

  

In the back of my mind, I felt a little sad for “Iron.” He would be an “only dog” which may make him a little sad, but it might work out in the end. That is the story we would have published on Friday.

August 22

A beautiful day dawned full of promise and anticipation. Today our little Pets for Life team would finally be hitting the streets and knocking on doors to begin our mission of helping our neighbors retain their pets. We were going to be able to offer spay/neuter, vaccines, preventatives and food among other things all for free to this specific area. What nearly marred this glorious day was the message I received that “Iron” was coming back to the shelter. The funny thing about this, though, is that it didn’t upset me or even make me sad. It felt right somehow. 

  

The adopters were distraught to return him (along with the mountain of belongings he had amassed in just 7 days) but due to some neighboring dogs trying to fence-fight, he returned as they say “through no fault of his own” and with the feedback that he is, in fact, perfect in a home. I’m not sure why, but I just couldn’t feel upset about this return. I hugged the big wiggly lug when I saw him and I let him know that it was ok and I would always be around to look after him.

August 23

Another Sunday and another Pack Walk with The Bully Collective. As has been her custom, Lisa had arranged for a couple of volunteers to come and walk adoptable dogs. One of those dogs was meant to be Bitsy, Asia’s foster dog but as fate would have it, Bitsy had been on a two-night trial and on Saturday night we received the message that Bitsy had found her forever home. That allowed for her walking partner to be available for Iron/Chance.

  

Julius and I picked him from the shelter and left with the message that while I’d try to have him back by noon, I wasn’t going to promise. (Side note, Julius is the only dog I know who gets excited to roll up to the shelter as if we’re going to Disney.)

A nice long pack walk was followed by some impromptu Bro time as Clyde came over and the three boys had some quality play time in the yard. 

 

 

I loved seeing Chance waddle-trundle along after the sleeker Clyde and Julius. It was so much like a little brother trying to keep up with the big guys. As Lisa and I watched the adora-bulls play in the yard we agreed that someone in our large family of friends needed to adopt Chance. We couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing him regularly. I considered it over and over again. He and Julius got on well and Ray would be given all the time and space he needed and even the name could work. My boys are named after football players, so Chance might not work but Iron? Iron Mike, of course would be perfect!

After Clyde went home, I loaded Chance in the car and decided to make a pit stop at Asia’s house. Since she had company over everyone was in the back yard I text her to make sure Ms. Cranky (Sugar) was on a leash. 95% of the time Sugar is great with other dogs but there have been a couple that she wouldn’t tolerate so I wanted to be sure there would be no incidents. There weren’t. Asia didn’t receive my text on time and as Chance and I walked in the far gate, Sugar greeted him as if he were a long lost brother.

  

Chance played with Sugar, romped around the yard, followed the little (human) girls around and drank his fill from the water spurting out of the Slip ‘n Slide.

An hour before the shelter was to close, I called and got assurances that no one had come in to visit with him so I let them know he wouldn’t be back for “curfew” and since the shelter is closed to the public on Mondays, he wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.

There’s no mistaking the joy on Chance’s face when enjoying all of the activities of the day. Going from Pack Walk to a play date with the Big Boys, to a play date with Sugar, Slip ‘n Slide fun with three girls ranging from 1 – 5 years of age to all of the different locations in just one day back from another home would make anyone exhausted or even over-stimulated. Chance aced the day as if it was just business as usual.

Are you a believer in fate? Karma? Everything happens for a reason? The very evening that Chance was returned to the shelter Bitsy was adopted 

 

Bitsy and Bentley

 

and on Monday morning Asia emailed me, “I think he is meant to be with us. It’s been one month since I met him, I tried to let someone else adopt him, and it didn’t work. It’s a sign.” My response?

  

Okay.

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Cujo’s Chance

Technically, Lucky/Ion/Eden never made it to the adoption floor. Cassie and Melissa had adopted her immediately after her spay, so her name was listed without any picture other than “available soon” to mark her presence. Chance had a different story.

On the day they were both transported for their surgeries, Chance was found to have a cold and could not be operated on and thus not yet ready for adoption so he would remain a guest of the Allen County SPCA for a bit longer but was already creating a small buzz.

  

The Blues had arrived at the SPCA on Friday and on Saturday and Sunday I did something that could have impacted his future. Saturday morning Asia and I went to the shelter to visit the Blues and she immediately fell in love became obsessed with Chance. He was, after all pretty spectacular in so many ways.

  

 He was calm and affectionate and while Eden bounced all over him and jumped on his head and his back, he remained steadfast and happy, giving more credence to the theory that he was her father. Though he was sweet and affectionate with us, it was clear that Chance was a dog’s dog-he loved being near other dogs, especially little Eden. His tender, gentle acceptance of her was inspiring to see.

  

The following day, the hubby and I had to run an errand that took us to the shelter and I used that opportunity to introduce him to the Blues. I rarely do that but when I do, it’s to plant a seed, because there’s always that just in case case that comes up. Little did I realize that little seeds had been planted in Asia’s heart as well and on that Monday she informed me that not only did she submit an application for Chance, she had called to ensure that her faxed application had been received and already scheduled a meet and greet for him and Sugar. As much as I already loved Chance, and thought that he would make an excellent addition to the family, I wasn’t convinced that it was the right time or circumstances.

  

For as much as I pressured gently encouraged Cassie and Melissa, I wanted to be sure that Asia was separating Chance’s back story with her urge to adopt him. As far as the circumstances in Asia’s household, she had just purchased her new home, adopted Sugar and began fostering Bitsy all before even the first utility bills began rolling in. Luckily since his neuter was delayed, so would be his meet and greet which would allow me to really work on if not changing Asia’s mind, at least to get her to think the decision through more carefully.

In the meantime, I pulled out all the stops. The time commitment, the financial commitment, the loss of a crucial foster at a time when good foster homes for pit bulls were scarce were all arguments I cited while trying to get her to reevaluate her decision and ultimately I asked that she at least wait to see if another family would come along that would be in a position to give Chance all that he needed. Not that Asia wouldn’t, but instead of being the second or third in a home, he should have an opportunity to find a family who needed to love him. He deserved that chance. If after 30 days he was still available for adoption we could reevaluate.

Nearly every day I went to visit Chance and while sitting with him or walking him I fell for him again and again but knew that if the hubby and I were to add a dog to our household, it would be someone spry and active enough to play with Julius but calm enough to keep Ray feeling secure. While Chance would definitely not be threatening to Ray, he would not in any way be able to keep up with Julius so while I loved him dearly and if I needed to I would provide him a home, I knew that a better one was out there somewhere for him…

  

To be continued…