adopt

by

Foster Fanny

The moment I saw your picture, my heart skipped a beat and I gasped at your wonderful, thick bulldog-ness.

fan1

I knew I had to meet you and just as certainly I knew that upon meeting you I’d be compelled to foster you, which is exactly what happened.  What I didn’t expect was that you were small and scared.  Someone somewhere had crushed your trust, had made you spare your sweetness from being too present.  The click of a collar, the snap of a leash, both had you cowering, and trembling.  What monster in your past made  you afraid of these simple tools?

A Room of Your Own

We prepared your room and with a painting of the happiest dog in the world to watch over you, we eagerly anticipated the moment when I could bring you home.  We walked out of the shelter together (which never gets old) and I picked your 55 pounds of piggy-ness up and secured you in the car.  At home in your room you sniffed around to every corner, ever so slowly but yet giving me a glimmer of the nosey little girl inside.

27332099_10215147547379187_7718735884423446956_n

Settling In

The first few days you were still so scared and shy but eager to walk with Big Julius and slowly open to be given treats.

27788335_10215162769279725_7284576206343518038_o

We cuddled each night and I whispered to you that I would find you a family to love and care for you.  A place where you’d be safe and happy.  While I think you believed me, you and I both knew deep down how much I loved you.  I know you loved me too and we figured we’d be together for a long, long time.

After all, my fosters usually stay a couple of months and you, my dear, were still so afraid of people. People came to visit you and give you treats, but even still with your budding bravery, I was the only one permitted to let you outside. Slow and steady, we continued to work but as we did, the bond grew deeper.  I was hopelessly in love and wondered how much could you grow if I gave you wings with which to fly?  Would my love and protection keep you from growing into the sweet and affectionate little bulldog with whom I snuggled so closely?  What could you do in a home of your own?

Your Family Found You

They applied for a different dog, in fact they applied for two other dogs who weren’t you but after speaking with them I began to suspect that they were to be yours.  We talked about the others and cautiously I then mentioned you.  Perhaps your sweet, gentle, loving soul would capture their hearts and in their home you would blossom.  Perhaps they would sit and look into your expressive gray eyes and you’d paw at them and draw them to you for a Fanny hug.

Well, they wanted to meet you and with no expectations we drove you to meet them.  You were shy, scared, and you trembled, but still your sweet nature still glowed quietly and they saw it.  You took treats from them almost immediately and you approached your new dad.  I’ve never seen you approach a man so quickly.  Before I realized I was ready we were saying our goodbyes, but I don’t do that.  I must stay strong so that you don’t see me cry.  Adoption day is not to be sad and I refuse to let you see my sadness, only see the love.  Never think I left you but always know that I let you go so that I could let you grow.

How did only 18 days become so precious? How did they go so fast? How did you fill a spot in my heart that I didn’t even know existed?

This, my dear Fanny, is not goodbye, but farewell.  It is with a heart filled with love, and with eyes filling with emotion that I say to you that I’m honored to have been chosen to help you heal and I am glad to have been the one to partner with you on this journey.  You, my dear Fanny will have a wonderful life filled with love.

by

Foster Flip-Flop

As the person who approves the adoption applications for our rescue, sets up and often does the meet and greets, I have a confession to make.  I get annoyed with fosters who get so attached that they make it harder for a dog to transition.  Granted, it doesn’t happen every time  but often enough that I’ve rolled my eyes a time or two.  Other than Margeaux, my longest foster(s) were the Sugar family; Sugar Marie and her litter of seven puppies. As much as I loved the puppies, by the time they were ready for adoption I was ready for them to go.  They lived in our finished basement which meant each time they needed to go outside we were transporting baskets of puppies up stairs, through the house and out to the back.  And then back to the basement.  Other than that, we’ve had guests for a night or two, but not much more.

I pulled Margeaux on a Wednesday knowing we had an adoption event on Saturday so I assumed she would be a three-day foster. Here we are now seven weeks later and with no open applications on her accompanied by lots of pressure from her Facebook fans for us to adopt her. Believe me, we’ve talked non-stop about the pros and cons of officially adopting Miss Piggy and while she is welcome to stay here as long as it takes for her to find a home and we haven’t completely ruled out being that home, we truly believe there is a better situation out there for her.

17159316_1222483477869241_3035902771680423255_o

So the Great Debate regarding Margeaux first and foremost begins with Ray.  Nearly two years ago Ray underwent a TTA surgery on his rear left leg and he will likely need a double surgery on his rear right leg this year.  Not only might he need a TTA surgery, but we’ve always known he may need to have a luxating patella repaired as well.  Margeaux requires very little time and attention but to decrease the availability of that wouldn’t be fair to her.  Furthermore, Ray is not a good patient.  His extreme anxiety dictates so much of how we live our lives that if Margeaux wasn’t completely integrated by then I fear she would suffer the lack of companionship and while she and Ray have parallel walked, they have not physically met yet.

17499584_10212336743230840_12418318688837221_n

Then there is Julius.  Because Julius and Margeaux had such a successful meeting I became convinced that Margeaux was super dog friendly which has proven to not be the case.  Julius and Margeaux walked then proceeded to the back yard for pictures.  After the pictures were done, Julius in his Joe-cool-chicks-dig-me way, walked away from Margeaux and she has spent the following six and a half weeks trying to gain Juli’s attention. To say he’s fairly noncommittal about her would be an understatement.  He likes being in the yard with her as long as she doesn’t actually try to interact with him. When I was in my teens, my sister who is six years younger than I, used to sit outside my closed bedroom door hoping to hang out with me.  Sometimes I’d magnanimously allow her to enter as long as she followed the rules.  The rules were that she could sit in one small designated spot with her hands folded in her lap, not touch anything and not speak.  I see a lot of these rules in play as they apply to Julius and his little adoring foster sister.

17309386_1230623763721879_5294104955606565068_n

As much as we love her and as the debate rages on, we steadfastly tell ourselves that we are her foster family and as such we are doing our best to prepare her to transition her forever home.

by

Meet Margeaux

A couple of weeks ago, I did something I rarely do, but when I do it, it’s for someone special.  Often while working in a different town, I try to visit the local shelter and on this particular instance, I knew that there was a special dog in house.  I had seen Margeaux when the Executive Director of this shelter had posted her on the page of a private group.  She was special and the hope was that a friend or someone “in the biz” would adopt her. While I wasn’t in the market for a third dog, nor am I the intake person of our rescue, I couldn’t leave without her.  We had an adoption event just a few days following and I figured she would be gone by the end of the weekend.

DSC_0005

Here we are two and a half weeks later enjoying the company of a very special and happy house guest.  While she could probably walk right under Julius, she only weighs about 10 pounds less than he and Ray. She is quite the little piggy and snorts like one as well. She’s never met a stranger and truly believes all humans are set on Earth just to adore her, with our family being no exception.

If you follow either me personally or the boys on Facebook, you’ll have seen my Margeaux in the morning posts and undoubtedly seen the numerous declarations that we should keep her.  While it isn’t completely outside the realm of possibility it isn’t a done deal either.  After two and a half weeks, she and Ray have still not met.  They have seen each other but haven’t yet even taken a parallel walk.  While this separation is happening, we have learned to gate and rotate like pros.  Margeaux lives in the office behind a baby gate.  At the end of that hallway is a folding divider gate.  There is another wooden gate that we move to suit our needs and basically is just propped against whatever wall we need.  Ray is usually behind that gate and in his x-pen which he uses as his crate or safe zone and he is becoming more and more curious to meet the little foster gal.  I believe her family is out there waiting for her and I will definitely make sure she goes to the best home possible, so stay tuned to see more about Margeaux.

 

by

My Happy Place

Two years ago this month, I had an epiphany and I found my happy place and while I’m not ready to make the move yet, I have no doubt that we will try really to “end up” there.  In the meantime, I’ve had a not so secret obsession with not only the V dogs but with some dogs related to them as well and I’ve been squirreling away online auction winnings and such in the hopes that I’d one day get around to displaying my growing collection.  With the cold winter and the empty office walls, we’ve finally made some headway.

First, on the side wall is a shot I took from the sanctuary.  If I was more talented, this shot would be better, but for now I can look at it and be transported.

img_0962

The glare is from my phone.

On the wall above the desk, I gave a sneak peek on Facebook as to what was in the works and now that both Kevin and I had the time to devote to it, I’d love to share our still-in-process-but-kind-of-finished wall.  I say it’s a work in process because there are a couple of other dogs I’d like to add.

img_0961

My Wall of Fame

Here’s the overview above from left to right Handsome Dan pawtographed print, Oscar’s paw print, Little Red’s pawtographed print in her “I’m with Handsome” shirt, Jonny Justice Gund plush, below him is a selfie(!) of me and Ray, next is a pawtographed print of Cherry and to the right of him is a pawtographed print of  Halle.  Above Cherry I have my pawtographed print of Wallace who wasn’t a V* dog but who did overcome some great obstacles to shine on his own as well as the brother of Hector.

I love my prints and hope to add to my collection but in the back of my mind I feel there will be a time where I will be able to “give back” by re-donating my collection to help other Pit Bull type dogs in need.  It just won’t be any time soon, as I’m enjoying these too much.

wall

*True geeks know that only the 22 dogs who went to Best Friends are referred to as the “Vicktory Dogs.”

by

Twist of Fate

The sad truth about rescue-any rescue- is that as of now, try as we might, we still can’t “save them all.” The number of requests we receive on any given day far exceed the number of spaces we have available because we generally have zero availability. Generally the moment we have an adoption, we have some soul who is waiting to fill that foster spot. But fosters take breaks (as they should) and our intake might require a specific type of foster for the arriving dog or being a breed/type specific rescue we may not be able to take your Chihuahua or any other numerous reasons may prohibit us from a specific intake.  

That type of situation recently presented itself in that our feeds and messages began blowing up over a pair of dogs-(the owner says they are 100% full pit bull) who had been abandoned in a trailer due to an incarceration. Family members were aware so had been entering to feed the dogs but realized this couldn’t go on interminably.

 In such a small group as ours, we all help each other with our rolls but for the most part have our own “boxes” that we stay in and mine isn’t intake so when the “what can we do” messages began rolling in to my personal inbox, I gave the best advice I could. We first of all can’t break into the trailer to get them, so local law or animal enforcement would be a good start. Failing that, if someone could go to the jail and get the owner to sign over the dogs that would be helpful and even then a foster must be secured and then the dogs would need to be assessed behaviorally. Armed with that advice, things began rolling and the dogs were on their way to safety through another group and I all but forgot about them for a few hours as I went about my business.

Their living conditions


 

One of my “boxes” is that I facilitate the adoptions. I review and check applications, call applicants and set up meetings, so imagine my surprise when I called to let an applicant know she was approved and was told that she unexpectedly gained two foster dogs the previous evening. The trailer dogs had secured a foster with a potential adopter. She shared her worry about how to raise funds for the vetting that would be needed and how best to network these boys. In light of the new curve ball, the Pit Bull Coalition Board voted to help cover the cost of vetting and neutering, evaluate the dogs and if possible place them in our program. The only new snag is that these dogs are far from being very pit bull at all. They are sweet and friendly, good with kids and other dogs, but definitely your average mixed breed pit mutt.  


 Tanner is almost a year old, neutered, up to date on shots and housebroken. He’s sweet, gaining confidence and would thrive in a home with another dog. 
 

Rufus is approximately 3 years old, neutered, up to date on shots and housebroken but for an occasional oops. He too is sweet and seems to be the caretaker. His foster mom says he makes sure that her beagle and Tanner have food and are eating before he eats. 


 He and Tanner both take treats very gently though Tanner eats them Rufus generally drops them. In a perfect world, they would be adopted together but ultimately they need good homes and could be separated. 

 
If you think they may be a good fit for your home, please fill out an application at http://www.fwpbc.com or if not, please share their story.

by

I Love Lucy. (and YOU)

As I arrived here on my little stats page, I realized that this entry constitutes my 500th post on The Peace-a-Bull Assembly.  When I originally began blogging I intended for this space (which was actually started on the Blogger platform) to be a place to document my journey with my boy Ray.  Oh, I had such grandiose ideas about the direction this blog would take and the tone it would set.  Then life interfered and I believe I may write more about other dogs and other experiences than those of Ray and Julius. And I think that’s ok.

  
While I love, love, love my two characters, I feel that they understand what I’m doing.  Every time I come home smelling like another dog, they give me a thorough sniffing and I explain who it is they are smelling and how they are so sweet to give up time with their Mommy so that I can help other dogs like them find families.  And so it’s fitting that my intention to write today was yet again not about my Peaceabull boys but about Miss Lucille Ball-Ball-Ball!

  

Apart from Marley who has been in foster since December, Lucille is not only the longest current adoptable dog in the Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition, she has had very little interest.  Actually, that’s not fair because I’ve had lengthy conversations by phone, messenger, email and text about her but the result is that several people have shared that they love her…but none of them have applied for her.  Help me figure this out here.  The “black dog syndrome” really doesn’t apply around here as we’ve had plenty black dogs adopted within a very short period of time.  She’s not an elderbelle by any means, having just turned two earlier this year (by our estimates) and she’s quite attractive and very smart.

  
Maybe that’s it:  She is a strong, smart, motivated, independent woman and that can be daunting.  Lucille is a quick learner and although she lives in a home with three other dogs, she may want too much to be the Queen of All Things Ball Related.  She can play fetch with a ball until your arm falls off so a Chuck-It may be in order for her adopter and although we don’t require a fence, she may be better suited to a home with a tall privacy fence. She behaves quite well on Pack Walks and is really a very good girl who deserves a loving home of her own (who doesn’t deserve that?) so I’m going to implore you to share her story and network this beautiful girl.  Talk her up at the gym and in your running club as well as at the Fly Ball Arena (is there such a thing?)  and even your local camping group.  This girl needs a home and an active family or person would be just the ticket.

Thanks for sharing and thanks for hanging with us through Five. Hundred. Posts.

by

Feeling Fonder?

Wow, I knew it had been awhile since we posted, but two months?  We hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder because we do miss being here but we have to say, the activities that have kept us away have been worth it.  Our little rescue, The Fort Wayne Pit Bull Coalition, has been so busy and with all hands on deck have placed 52 dogs in homes year to date!  In addition to knowing that these great dogs have found wonderful families with which to share their love, it’s been great receiving messages and images reaffirming the bond that has been forged through adoption.

DSC_0083

Caesar was adopted by an awesome family!

Seeing these dogs go to good homes is great, but not without some frustrations along the way but luckily so far, the good has outweighed the bad tenfold.

by

Ray’s Story Revisited

On so many of the blogs I read, I’m such a stalker that I forget that some folks here don’t actually know the story of how Ray came to be ours.  As I alluded to previously, I have told the story before, but I left some parts out but I think that enough time has elapsed that I can tell it without hurting anyone.

  

 
So yes, this woman had contacted me about finding help to place her male pit bull, Kane, and his pregnant sister, Sparkles. I hadn’t actually met this woman but knew of her. You see, she and her mother and her children had been renting a house until the landlord moved himself in and them out. They were forced to move into an apartment and leave their two dogs with a friend who kept them chained up outside and this is how Sparkles ended up in “a family way.”

 

Mama Sparkles

 
So before we knew it, and before we were prepared, the puppies started coming. Outside in the 32 degree weather, the puppies started coming and some of them died from the exposure. I don’t know how long Sparkles was in labor but by the time I was called, left work and arrived on site there was Sparkles and her three live pups with more small, cold bodies nearby in a trash bag. 

As soon as Katie arrived we whisked the dogs and pups away to warmth. Although I’d been reading about and had met a few Pit Bulls recently, I still knew very little about them and Kevin was worried sick that something would go horribly wrong. It didn’t.

Not only did we find two loving and sweet adult dogs, but after bringing this little family to safety I got to witness the birth of my little boy and I’ve been in love with him since the moment I first saw him. 

  

And the part I’ve never written about? Our house was on the market  at the time and we had accepted an offer-from, it turns out,the woman who had originally owned these dogs. When she asked me for help I asked her if it was for a temporary foster and did she eventually want the dogs back once she closed on the house? No, she said. The house was too nice to have dogs in it. It always gave me a special, ironic pleasure to have Ray living there. 

Ultimately that sale fell through and we remained in that home for a couple more years. Earlier this month we celebrated Ray’s fourth birthday and I feel that enough time has elapsed to tell the rest of the story. Volunteering with Pet Promises has helped me see all of the layers involved in this story for what they are. Renting, eviction, a bit of ignorance and poor choices combined to create the layers upon which this tale rests. The bitter tears the woman shed when we took the dogs were as real as her love for them. She wasn’t evil or unfeeling, but rather a person with few options and the one she ultimately chose led to a very good life for those she gave up.

by

Say My Name

I came in to the loud place with my Brother when our mama left us for too long in the house all by ourselves. Some neighbors were feeding us but finally we got “picked up” and were off to a better place. I waggled my tail and was happy to see new people who would love me  but soon I realized this was my new home and I was going to be sharing it with a lot of other dogs.  The longer I stayed here, the more upset and sad I felt. Mama came back for my Bro but she didn’t want me anymore. No one wants me. People come looking for a dog to take home and I want to go but no one looks at me. Am I a bad boy?  Maybe they aren’t talking to me because they keep saying Tiny at me.  I’m not Tiny.  Maybe they think I am Tiny the bad boy?  Can’t you see me? 

  

I’m sad and I feel angry too. The other dogs here shout at me and I shout back. I don’t like them anymore and I don’t want to be friends anymore. I want to go home. I want to be happy again but instead I’m sad and I’m here and I’m lonely in the middle of all of the mayhem. As time stretches on I feel like I’m nearing the end of my rope.

The Lady is nice and she is kind to me and she gives me cookies but I don’t feel like eating. I’m getting boney so maybe I really am Tiny. I don’t want to be here and I’m getting tired of waiting so I might as well act like a bad boy, if that’s what they think I am.  They move me and I see even fewer people than before and I just want to lie here and …No!  I don’t want to die!  I want to give up but a small part of me wants to keep hoping. I want to go home!

The people are nice here but very busy and they don’t have a lot of time to just sit with me so I can feel their heartbeat next to mine.  I want to rest my head in their hands but they are busy and don’t have time for me. 

But what is this?  I’m getting a bath today.  That’s strange. 

It’s not too cold outside and I’m nearly dry in this kennel and I see my friend The Lady and she has two people with her.  The Man has a kind face and he points at me but then he took a cookie over to the loud blue boy that I don’t like.  The Other Lady, oh the other lady!  She looks at me and smiles.  I can’t stop looking at her because she seems kind and she is carrying a collar, a leash and a harness and from inside her big bag she brings out another big cookie just for me!  It makes me very happy to see her and I dance with my front feet but I’m being very careful to not be scary.  I don’t jump on the fence and even though my heart is pounding and filling with hope, I don’t shout at her to PICK ME! TAKE ME HOME!  I dance and prance but when they open the gate I stand very straight and still so I can get my new collar and harness on.  My friend tells the new lady something.  She looks at me and says the magical words, “Marley.  Do you want to go bye-bye in the car?” 

Marley!  She knows my name!

We go inside and the nice man holds my leash while people do paperwork.  My friend The Lady hugs the new lady and we get ready to go.  They open the door to the van and I see a huge comfy bed on the floor with a blanket, a big back seat with another blanket and the new lady sits in back with me and hugs me around the neck.  

  I kiss her face and she says to me, “You’re safe now and we will make sure you will always be happy.”  She says she isn’t my mama (yet…) but she will protect me. 

  

We take a long ride and I get lots of treats.  I lie on the comfy mat for a while then I get on the seat and rest.  I love all the options.  We drop the man off eventually and my new lady takes me to what is called my Foster Dad.  He’s a very nice man who lets me sit in his chair and watch TV, we split a milkshake and we sleep in the big bed.  He is so nice to me and says I am probably the best dog ever and  I am very proud to make him happy so I use all of my very good manners.

   

 The lady says they all saved my life but my Foster Daddy says I may have saved his. All I know is that I am Marley and I am a good boy.

by

A Tiny Tale

I’ve sat staring at a blank screen now for hours because I’m not sure where to begin.  This story has many points from which to begin and it’s not yet completed so the opportunity to experience it while it unfolds presents itself. I’m excited to see how this story progresses and to discover the outcome along with you.

I guess the beginning for me started last week as one of our volunteers was at a shelter* and we were talking about some of the dogs they had available to be pulled.  One of the dogs was her “type” but she didn’t bring him back and since I had an occasion to be in that area a few days later, I just had to stop in to satisfy my curiosity about this guy.  The biggest surprise was that when I entered the front door, I was greeted by a Facebook friend who graciously led me on a tour of the facility where we looked at several sweet dogs in house.  At the end of the tour we were looking at a large board which listed all of the residents.  She pointed to a name, Tiny, an American Bulldog mix who was unlikely to leave the building.  He was heart worm positive and as if that wasn’t enough of a strike, he was deteriorating in the shelter and had seemingly lost hope.

Sad case, I thought but I generally advocate more for the highly adoptable dogs. If we can get as many of those as possible in homes it opens up that much more space for those who may need it and for those who may need more time.  Not until I arrived home and began scrolling through pictures of dogs available did I see Tiny’s beautiful mug.

download

My heart skipped a beat and I had to know more so I began messaging with my FB friend but as her replies to my query came through, my heart began to sink.  At intake he was a happy and wiggly big boy who acted like a puppy.  He was gentle and loving and good on leash but as the days stretched to weeks and weeks stretched to months he became “hard to handle” and began “losing it.”  Unfortunately I was already emotionally invested and ready to at least meet him.  Knowing there was a glimmer of hope, the Pit Bull Coalition agreed to pull him and give him some time to decompress before assessing him.  If  he passed assessment he would be treated for the heartworms but if he was too far gone…he would not be treated nor would he be returned.

tiny

Those eyes!

I spent the weekend literally sick to my stomach.  With my daughter egging me on and pushing me out of my comfort zone to rescue a “hard case” the plans formulated and the pieces all began to fall into place, including gaining acceptance from the hubby and other Board members of the Coalition.  Now that the plan was set, what if when we arrived he was deranged and we had to leave him?  What if hs e crapped mountains in the van or what if he ripped up all of the upholstery? Could he be touched? Walked? Will he ride? Oh! all the questions that plagued my brain all night!

After messaging the time frame in which we expected to arrive, we made our way to the shelter full of anticipation and worry.  He was being bathed for us and as we arrived were told he was waiting.  When walking through the kennels, Kevin pointed at a dog and asked, “Is that him?” to which my first thought was that it couldn’t be.  We were meeting a potential monster, not this happy, tail wagging, calm boy but surprise! That was him!  He and I locked eyes and I believe he knew.  I had arrived with a collar, leash and harness in my hands and walked straight to his gate where he stood wagging his tail, ignoring the barking that swirled around him and he waited to be outfitted for his journey.

To be continued…

 

*If you would like to help support this shelter, message me and I’ll share the name/location, otherwise I’ll be keeping it anonymous to protect the sensitive nature of some of the details here.