How to fail at fostering, part 2

Our next installment begins with our Director of Puppies, Chrissy, who explains why one special puppy stayed put.

I foster failed because of this face.  I fostered Pebbles and BamBam when they were 10 weeks old. They were adopted together, both returned, adopted out separately, and Pebbles was returned again. Everything I love about her; her shyness, the fact that she's scared to death of trash cans, bicycles, cars, & her own shadow, her weird hairless skin is why everyone else returned her. After her coming back to us a 2nd time, I just couldn't let her go again.  (Chrissy Trivette)

We'd been talking about keeping Rosey because she was amazing with our kids and the ultimate "nanny dog" (super protective and always needed to have eyes on them) then we took her to her first adoption event a few days later and she panicked when we left her to run to Publix and I knew we couldn't let her go unless that perfect family found her, a few days shy of Halloween 2013 we decided that was us and she's been howling and wiggling at home ever since. Clover (right) was born in our house, he's the son of Honey and when he was born she didn't clean him enough (he was 9 of 10, so she was very occupied) and he wasn't breathing so I saved him thanks Roger from 101 Dalmatians and we fell in love with that cute face and wanted to keep a pup from the first litter that was born in our home. Both of these dogs are my "tester" dogs because they are absolutely amazing and I could not imagine our family without them. I cannot thank POPB enough, without them I wouldn't have either!

To be honest, my first dog Chance was the one that adopted Cricket. She was with us for a total of 7 months with minimal interest from the public (SHOCKING, she's friggin' adorable!). Chance is extremely selective about other dogs, and with Cricket it was almost instantaneous adoration. It was not both ways, she tried to bite him twice in the first week. Eventually, he broke her down and they've been inseparable since. They've never fought. They share toys. Every morning Chance walks over to her bed and licks her in the face until she wakes up (and then nibbles her legs until she gets up and wrestles with him  ). They've become so attached to each other that when they board at work (I'm a vet), they have to be kenneled together or they destroy their runs! The instant love wasn't the same with me. To be honest, I wished every single day that the perfect person would come along and snatch Cricket up and OUT of my apartment, but week after week passed and no one came along. She was obnoxious, needy, disobedient, refused to pee outside some days, and absolutely DESTROYED some very sentimental items of mine. Then, the day came that I had been waiting for right after Thanksgiving of 2013. Someone was really interested in meeting Cricket and wanted to set up a time to meet. I was in the middle of typing out my schedule into an email, and became suddenly very sad. I looked at her, looked at Chance, and just couldn't bring myself to finish the email. Not only could I not bear the thought of separating the gruesome twosome, but I couldn't imagine my life without my naughty little blue devil. Instead of sending Anna my schedule, I sent her my official notice of failure. She's been a permanent fixture since. (And she's still a little blue devil)  (Rachel Norris)

I was fostering every other 2 weeks for ACHS. Then I walked little Buster Brown to the park and stumbled upon a POPB training session. Anna called to ask if I could help the pup coming from Green Cove Springs. Sure bring him to me. HE NEVER LEFT. Apollo, with in minutes of meeting my dad displayed therapy behavior. When dad said "I think he's a keeper" then it had to be & we needed him. Everyday he shows his love and loyalty to the safety of my dad. Then along came the Christmas pups and yep little diva Sophia. Oh how she needs us. Oh how she makes us laugh everyday, and we need that. One happy family over here.  (Teri Aguiar)

Where to start? One of the greatest decisions of my life was an utter failure. I failed at fostering Teddy (aka Sir Theodore, Tedman) when I realized he provided perfect balance to my chaotic life. Since Teddy became a permanent member of my small family he has brought nothing but joy, comfort and love to not only my life but all those that are lucky enough to come in contact with him. His abusive and neglected past does not cloud his beautiful attitude toward life. Aside from being my personal therapist after a long day, Teddy happily volunteers to help me practice acupuncture so I can aid animals who are in need of this specialized therapy (including a fellow POPB foster who has a seizure disorder). Teddy also is a blood donor where he happy donates blood every two months to save lives. However, Teddy's most pivotal role is unconditionally loving each and every person and animal he meets. Teddy is in training to earn his therapy dog certification so he can continue to instill joy, hope, and self-confidence in the hearts of many.  (Jen Kunisch)

When Matt and I moved to Gainesville, we were enthusiastic about volunteering with Plenty of Pit Bulls. However, having previously fostered in Tallahassee for several years and having already fostered failed once, we had decided it was probably unwise to continue fostering. That well-reasoned decision all but vanished when we were shown a picture of Marlowe, an emaciated cruelty confiscation who was in need of a foster while he underwent medical care. Over the next six months-- with significant contributions from POPB and the UF Shelter Med Program--Marlowe was transformed from a limping, malnourished, heart worm positive pup to a healthy, rambunctious dog. When Marlowe become available for adoption, it was already pretty evident that he had become an established member of our family. We're so grateful that POPB, the ACAS, and the UF vet school rallied around this goofball and provided him with a much-deserved opportunity to have a quality life.  (Erin Carr)

We moved to Gainesville in 2013 and wanted to start fostering to help socialize our first dog Arya and to become a part of our new ommunity. Wifi was our first foster dog, and he completely stole our hearts from day one. I knew I had to keep him. He's such a playful, handsome, and funny dog who never fails to bring a smile to everyone's faces. He's become a part of our family. It's like he knows when we need a laugh or a hug, or when we need a snuggle because it's been a rough day. He's such a lovebug and we couldn't imagine life any other way now!  (Iris Strzyzewski)

I promised Brady that I would not foster for while, after Shortcake the demon dachshund. I met some POPB dogs courtesy of my friend, Michala Schaye, and thought they were wonderful. I wasn't quite ready to volunteer, but Petfinder stalked Olivia for months. I felt compelled to meet her, just from her sweet little description, and her relaxed, smiling face. When I emailed to volunteer as an adoption ambassador, I asked specifically for Olivia - and she was in boarding and needed to get out and about for more exposure. I knew as soon as I met her that she was my girl. We brought her home and never looked back!  (Caroline Dimmer)

"I don't even like puppies, they are too much work."! I said on a Friday evening to POPB board member Erin Carr. Then that night, a plea for puppies that were at risk of being put down broke my heart. I showed JT the pic and he said yes. "Such a cute puppy, he'll get adopted quick", I thought. The next afternoon Caroline put him in my arms and it felt different than any of my other fosters. The minute I handed him to JT I knew he was in love. Still I vowed to be strong. The timing is awful, finances are tight, etc. It was how sad we felt when he had real interest that told us we could not let our Charlie go. He was meant to be part of our family.  (Kim Taylor)

I have always rescued small dogs. But the Vet's office I work at had several people fostering (and failing) for POPB. All the time Pit Bull this, Pit Bull that. Somehow, I was on my way to pick up a dog from the #367 fight bust. Her name was Anita, but I changed it to Athena before I ever saw her. Saying she was terrified of everything except other dogs doesn't begin to describe her. But she was so gentle and sweet. I had to teach her how to play and act goofy. We went to class just for her to be around other people. I'll never forget the day Anna Peterson told me she was ready to go to an adoption event. Of course, I agreed with her while crying my eyes out. Made the she lives here phone call that night. I love all my dogs, all the ones I've ever had or ever will have. But this brave girl has a special place in my soul.  (Dorothy Hague)

This picture speaks for itself. Mutual admiration. Sterling never left my Mom's side after she got home following a 5 hr neurosurgery and 4 day ICU visit in Dec. 2012. She told him he wasn't going anywhere and she told me thanks for her Christmas present. Case closed.  (Tina Bassi)

When I picked up Ronny from the shelter as my foster, I had no idea how much of an impact that big pit bull would have on me. Due to his history of neglect, he was very fearful and timid around people. After fostering him for 2 months, he finally came out of his shell and I saw his true, sweet personality. I put so much time and love into behaviorally rehabilitating Ronny that when the time came for him to go to adoption events, I just couldn't let him go. I believe that we were meant to find each other and that we are both the luckiest pair smile emoticon He has sparked a passion for veterinary behavior in me and I love to talk about how a dog who comes from a terrible background can overcome so much. He helps teach our foster puppies how to be normal dogs and they all love him! I thank POPB every day for bringing us together!  (Hagar Hauser)

Northward Bound

A couple of the dog books I’ve read lately have addressed the transport of shelter dogs (mostly puppies) from mostly rural shelters in the south to private shelters in the northeast.  Both the authors are journalists living in the New York area who adopted puppies relocated from the south.  One, Kim Kavin’s Little Boy Blue, is focused entirely on the story of how her dog Blue got from North Carolina to New Jersey.

The other, John Homans’s What’s a Dog For?, discusses the background of his dog Stella (from Tennessee) as one piece of a larger discussion on contemporary humans’ relationships with dogs.  In their discussions of the transport movement, both authors raise some important and difficult issues about dog rescue, breed identity, and more.

 Homans calls the transport movement “The Great Migration.” a catchy but inaccurate term.  The movement of dogs from south to north (or as Homans puts it, from red states to blue states) is not really migration as much as a redistribution of resources.  Some authors use the term “underground railroad,” again catchy but inaccurate, since the transport network is not illegal, as was the movement of slaves from south to north.  Nor is moving dogs around an act of civil disobedience, although it can certainly be seen, at least from some perspectives, as an act of protest against shelter conditions, the methods used to kill dogs in some counties, and the scale on which the killing occurs.

Both books (published in fall 2012) sold well and were generally well reviewed, and Little Boy Blue has won several awards.  I found both smart, interesting, and ultimately unsatisfactory.  Part of my dissatisfaction came from the fact that neither author dug deeply enough, or thought hard enough, about the larger questions raised by their own dogs’ histories and the larger transport movement.  The biggest issue, perhaps, is raised by a Pennsylvania activist quoted by Kavin.  After pointing out that over 70,000 dogs entered Pennsylvania shelters in 2009 alone, she asks “Why the hell are these rescue groups bringing more into the state?”  In other words, is it ethical to transport puppies hundreds of miles to places where thousands of other adoptable dogs are already waiting for homes?

Behind this big question lurk a host of more specific issues, including the fact that transport spreads disease and the fact that the whole movement is largely unregulated, decentralized, and thus ripe for abuse.  All of these issues deserve attention (and to her credit, Kavin does address the last issue in some detail).  I want to focus here on two questions: one about geography and another about breed.

Regarding geography, both Homans and Kavin take for granted that there is a clear-cut and dramatic clash between northern and southern culture regarding the treatment of dogs, as most other issues.  As Homans puts it, “Most fundamentally the dog market is an ongoing transaction between the red states and the blue states, and it’s based on the same basic differences in core values that make our presidential elections so dramatic.  The flow of dogs, in general, is from south to north, and from flyover country to the coasts.”  Homans’s New York-centric view of the world, including a casual contempt for people who live anywhere but the coasts, is hard to stomach.  Both he and Kavin find southerners to be a foreign species, radically different from those in the civilized north in every respect, including their attitudes toward dogs. As Homans summarizes, “In many places in the south and west, a dog’s life just isn’t worth as much as it is on the coasts.”

Homans’s view of the south (based on his visit to Tennessee to see the shelter where his dog Stella came from) is a combination of Mayberry and Southern Gothic.  Most importantly, he believes all southerners live on small farms, which is the root of southern attitudes toward dogs: “The dog belongs on the farmyard, and the farm belongs to the farmer, and that’s the way it’s always been.”  Homans apparently does not know that a large and growing proportion of southerners live in cities.

 

Homans’s perceptions of the South, which Kavin echoes (albeit with less disdain), only harms dogs by making it harder to build bridges, to educate people, and even to identify the real problems.  Animals are abused and neglected in every part of the country, including New York  and Boston as well as Tennessee, California as well as the Carolinas.  The world does not (thank goodness) divide neatly into callous farmers and responsible Manhattanites.  There are callous New Yorkers and dog-loving farmers – and the vast majority of Americans are neither farmers nor New Yorkers. Most important, the large majority love dogs and want to do right by them.

Homans's unquestioning embrace of stock images of southerners is a result of a larger sloppiness about sources, data, and the generalizations to be drawn from them. This is evident as well in his attitude about breed.  He and Kavin both accept without question the (apparently) common wisdom that first, the vast majority of available dogs in northeastern shelters are pit bulls – or as Homans puts it, in New York, “mutts that aren’t part pit bull are from red states.”  Second, both Homans and Kavin assume that these “pit bulls” are not going to be adopted by ordinary people looking for family pets – including themselves.

Here is Homans’s discussion (or dismissal) of the New York Animal Care and Control website of adoptable dogs (or, as he puts it “the condemned animals”): they “are mostly alert, young, healthy-looking pit bulls (at least they look healthy in the pictures), either strays or dogs surrendered by their owners.  Most of them peer at the camera with the pit’s distinctive look of confident inquisitiveness – adorable.  The pictures were, of course, hard to look at, one reason I didn’t look at them."

Homans never explains why his family did not bother even to visit NYACC but instead chose a puppy imported from Tennessee. His Stella arrives as a young pupy and grows into a large, short-haired, high-energy adult.  Charming as Stella appears, nowhere is it clear how she differs radically from the New York-born “condemned animals” he could not bear to view, let alone visit or consider adopting.

(On a side note, the notion that Stella is mostly Labrador Retriever is oddly important to him, although he never mentions having had her DNA tested.  He spends a whole chapter on the breed origins of Labradors, even though his faith that Stella is a Labrador appears based only on visual identification – and in terms of behavior, he points out that she does not, in fact, like to retrieve.)

Kavin offers a slightly longer, though no more satisfying, discussion of breed.  Pit bulls, she says, “are so difficult to place with families because of stereotypes about the breed.”  (This comment comes up in her discussion of the Northeast Animal Shelter in Boston, which she describes as a “utopia,” other than the fact that they refuse to accept dogs they label as “pit bulls.”)   Pit bulls, she points out, are often wonderful dogs, victims of unfair stereotypes.  Surely this plight is not too different from the earlier plight of mutts and shelter dogs, as she describes it:  “Shelter dogs have been unfairly maligned for years as less valuable or less worthy than purebreds, when in fact they are often wonderful dogs like Blue who have simply found themselves in a tragic situation."

The image – and thus the life prospects – of shelter dogs has changed dramatically in recent years.  Many dog lovers in the northeast and elsewhere, including affluent professionals like Homans and Kavin, head first to the shelter or a private rescue for their pets.  This preference for rescued, usually mixed-breed dogs, is not an accident.  It is the result of concerted efforts by animal advocates to change perceptions about shelter dogs and also about the "purebred" dog industry.  Most Americans no longer see mixed-breed dogs or shelter dogs as inferior or damaged, and a large percentage of Americans – not just on east and west coasts – head directly to rescue groups or shelters when they are ready to add a dog to their family.  (And they are also increasingly willing to adopt adult and even senior dogs, another change from a couple of generations ago.)

Given the successful transformation of attitudes about shelter dogs, the next obvious step would be to take on the destructive stereotype about pit bulls.  Many groups have done this directly, and there are countless excellent models for successful campaigns, by nationally known groups such as Animal Farm Foundation, Stubby Dog, and BAD RAP.  And perhaps even more effectively, in many places – including southern towns like Gainesville – pit bulls are increasingly seen as ordinary dogs.  This shift has happened without much deliberate effort, simply because there are so many of these dogs that almost everyone knows one (or many) and the frightening stereotypes do not survive the reality.

Why, then, do Kavin and Homans take for granted the notion that “most people” will not even consider adopting a dog labeled a pit bull?  I asked Kavin about this directly in an email, quoting the Pennsylvania activist in her book who criticized the transport network.  In response to my question, Kavin wrote:  “She [the Pennsylvania advocate] believes that if only rescues would stop bringing cute beagles, terriers, and Labradors from the shelters in the South, that more people would adopt the pit bulls in the shelters in the North. I just don’t believe that’s true. I don’t think that people want 'any' shelter dog. I think that people want the kind of dog that they want, and that if they can get it from a shelter, fine. If not, then they’ll go to a breeder.  Do I think that’s fair to pit bulls? Of course not.  But I do think that it’s the present reality.”

Even if it is true that “people” just don’t want pit bulls, the moral response to injustice is not simply to throw up one’s hands in resignation.  (Imagine if advocates from other movements, ranging from women’s suffrage to civil rights, had been this sanguine about their "present reality.")  However, I don’t believe it’s true that people “want the kind of dog they want.”  Or rather, the kind of dog they want can change, when they have accurate information, positive experiences with both dogs and rescue organizations, and plenty of support before, during, and after their adoption. Kavin gives in way too quickly – fortunately for the dogs, many other people don’t.

So what's a dog lover to do?  Our shelter behavior group recently discussed this issue, and we all agreed that, first, it is never a bad thing for a dog (or any animal) to have a chance.  The transport movement has given a future to thousands of dogs who would otherwise have died before their lives had even begun.  And many of us in the group had in fact "transported" ourselves -- helping dogs from Gainesville get to rescue groups elsewhere, for example, or pulling dogs from rural shelters in surrounding counties, where the euthanasia rates are much higher than in Alachua County.  These transports, however, area almost always of adult dogs who are already on euthanasia lists, due either to overcrowding or to health conditions such as heartworm or demodex.

All of us had trouble embracing the transport movement in any unambivalent way.  While we talked about a number of problems (including the spread of disease), in the end what bothered us most about the transport movement was the fact that it creates a de facto caste system, with life or death as the result. Well-intentioned people dedicate truly enormous resources to save certain dogs without even a passing thought at other "condemned animals" much closer to home.

As Kavin points out, her little brindle puppy Blue was certainly not any less deserving than purebred dogs sold by breeders -- or even than other puppies fortunate enough to be born in the northeast ... and to be fortunate enough to look "the right way," to be "the kind of dogs people want." In the end, it's the willing acquiescence to injustice that makes both books so disturbing.

And on the other hand, it's the willingness to challenge injustice that makes many other dog advocates so inspiring.

Crossposter Confusion

Recently someone posed a poignant question regarding “urgent dog” postings:  “If we can't help them, then maybe these posts should stop...it's just too upsetting.” 

We all sympathize with that feeling, but the general consensus was that it was still worth asking for help, since sometimes it works out and we can help a dog.  Our group page has, in fact, proved a fertile recruiting ground for foster homes for dogs in need.  This is a good thing, in many ways, but there are some problems that are hidden to some of the folks involved.  These issues arise mainly as a result of the immediacy of the medium (Facebook) and the emotion of the content (cute dog will die!).  This combination can lead to a lot of difficult and confusing situations, all due to good intentions.

If we agree that we want to continue using our group page (and other social networks) to seek foster homes, donations, and other help for individual dogs, I’d like to offer some guidelines to make the process as constructive, clear, and effective as possible.  (Please:  This is not a criticism of anyone or a complaint – please, no one take this personally.  However, as we grow, we need some explicit guidelines and information for everyone involved.)

Here are some rules for those who post dogs on the Plenty of Pit Bulls group page:

1.  Post only local dogs, not those that are too far away to be rescued or fostered locally. If you want to donate to rescue groups in New York or Miami, that’s great – but go to their pages to do it.

2.  Be selective: Please do not post every single dog at risk at a given shelter and please post only pit bull type dogs.  People can visit the general pages for each shelter if they want to see more.

3.  Post each dog only once.

4.  Post only dogs that have a rescue group interested, and please be clear about that in the post.  For example, I could say about Valentyn, the black dog pictured at the top: “Valentyn is a 10 month old unneutered male at Alachua County Animal Services.  He is heartworm positive and on the euthanasia list for Tuesday morning (Feb. 5).  Plenty of Pit Bulls will pull him if we have a committed foster home.”  This is more work than simply sharing the original post from the shelter’s page, but it will add to clarity.  If there is no rescue group interested in a dog you want to save, please contact them privately until you find someone who will pull with a foster commitment.  This may add to the work of crossposters and reduce the number of dogs posted on our page, but it will make life much easier and less frustrating for many others.  (And remember, there are lots of other pages where you can also post dogs in need.)

5.  Please follow-up on the dogs for whom you advocate.  If you beg a group to pull a particular dog and it turns out that the dog needs expensive medical treatment, transport, or a new foster home, step up to help with just as much dedication as you put into getting that dog out of the shelter in the first place.  Remember, “rescue doesn’t end with the pull.”  If groups are left stranded with expensive or difficult dogs, they will be understandably gun-shy and may end up not wanting to take in more.

Here are some rules for potential fosters:

1.  Do not offer to foster unless you are 100% certain that you will keep the dog until she or he is adopted, regardless of what happens.  This may mean sticking with a dog who chases your cat, pees on your carpet, or howls in his crate.  It is completely understandable i you are not willing to make that commitment, but do not ask a group to pull a dog without a solid commitment.  (If it is not working out, you should certainly talk to the rescue and ask for help finding a new foster, but understand that it may not happen quickly and be prepared to hang in there for as long as it takes.)  There is no backup.  If rescue groups only pulled dogs when they had a second backup home available, they would never pull any.

2.  If you are fostering for a particular group (or have offered to do so), please do not take in a foster dog for another group without checking with the first group.  Don’t make a commitment to foster for one group and then offer to foster a dog whose picture you just saw posted.  This is just a request for clear communication.  Even if you have not explicitly committed, if you are fostering for one group and want to switch to a different group after the current dog is adopted, tell everyone about it (and make sure you know which group is pulling which dog).  Since there is no pool of backup fosters, your spur-of-the-moment offer to take in one dog may well mean that another dog cannot be taken from the euthanasia list elsewhere.

3.  Make sure you know what is involved in fostering before you commit.  For example, you will need to be able to get your foster dog to vet appointments and adoption events, follow instructions about vet care, feeding, and training, and more.

4.  We know you’re a volunteer, but so are we.  We have jobs, families, and other commitments.  We do this for love, and it is only possible to keep doing it if everyone communicates clearly and respectfully and shares the necessary cost and work.

Looking back, looking ahead.

In 2012, Plenty of Pit Bulls helped more than three dozen dogs, mostly as a result of collaborations between that loose collection of volunteers called POPB and a variety of different organizations.  We worked with private rescue groups including the Alachua County Humane Society, Helping Hands Pet Rescue, Marion County Humane Society, Phoenix Animal Rescue, Pit Sisters, Puppy Hill Farm, and Second Chance Farms.  Our initial  -- and continuing -- goal was not to replace these organizations but rather to help them expand their resources so that they could save more dogs.  To this end, we contribute pull fees and veterinary costs as well as connecting rescues with foster homes, transporters, and other volunteers.

Opie went from a cruelty case straight to the arms of his loving foster mom.

We continue to have a close relationship with Alachua County Animal Services, where most of our dogs come from.  The dedication of the shelter staff, especially Dwinnie Slade and Susan Clontz, saves countless animals every month.  They go above and beyond the call of duty to get animals to safety.  We also rely on shelter staff for recommendations about animals’ temperaments – they have never steered us wrong.  Noah (called Berrin at the shelter) received several reprieves from the euthanasia list because Dwinnie knew he was special.  He is an absolutely wonderful dog and we are thrilled that he is alive and enjoying life because we could put together the resources to help him.

Noah was all smiles as he left the shelter.

We also helped dogs from Gilchrist and Levy counties, in collaboration with volunteers and  veterinary professionals who have asked for our help.  And in turn, we were able to send a heartworm positive dog from Gainesville to be treated at the Marion County Humane Society in Ocala.  (That was Lilly, a perfect little dog who was adopted before she could come back to Gainesville!)

Lilly took to the creature comforts immediately.

Of the dozen dogs we took in directly as Plenty of Pit Bulls, eight were heartworm positive and most of the rest had other medical issues, ranging from Ella’s puncture wounds to Satchel’s eye condition.  Several of these dogs have finished treatment and been adopted, while others will continue to need treatment in the new year.

 Roxy came from the same cruelty case as Opie

Both were treated for heartworm at Shelter Medicine.

We ran up a huge debt to the amazing veterinary team at UF’s shelter medicine program.  The debt is psychological, not financial – we paid all the bills, thanks to generous donations and pledges from people in Gainesville and beyond.  Rescue groups put hundreds of dollars into every dog even without additional costs for conditions like heartworm or demodex.  There are pull fees, monthly flea and heartworm treatments, food, microchipping, and supplies like crates, collars and leashes, and unexpected veterinary costs that often arise during the time a dog is in foster care.  (Ella, for example, had a very expensive secondary bacterial infection after her original wounds were treated.)

Lucky Ella had a professional photographer for her foster mom.

We are amazed at how much we can accomplish when we connect people who want to help dogs.  When two young male pit bull mix dogs (Mr Big and Mr Little) at ACAS tested positive for demodex mange, we helped arrange a collaboration with Phoenix Animal Rescue in Gainesville, who took them into their adoption program, and Pit Sisters in Jacksonville, who provided the medicine to treat the demodex.  (Pit Sisters later did the same for another dog who went to the Alachua County Humane Society.)

Mr Big and Mr Little, later Champ and Chase, heading out.

We built relationships with several local dog trainers, who helped teach some of our volunteers and dogs.  Training and behavior work is crucial to making dogs more adoptable and increasing retention in their adopted homes – and it also makes them easier to place and keep in foster homes.  Training is also fun for dogs and handlers alike, adding to the bond and the enjoyment that make it all worthwhile.

Relationships -- between people and between people and dogs -- make everything we do possible.  Building trust and communication helps a lot of dogs, including Bonnie, who was found by a Levy County volunteer and adopted to friends of a Gainesville volunteer, after being vetted thanks to Phoenix Animal Rescue.

Bonnie got a family of her own for Christmas!

Relationships of mutual trust also make it possible for us to help and be helped by groups out of town -- as in the case of Bandit, whom we pulled from ACAS and then transferred to an out-of-town rescue organization.  In other cases, we have received similar favors from groups that pull from other shelters, such as Levy County.  Working together and being flexible enables us to help more dogs.

A shelter volunteer fell in love with Bandit and made it possible

for him to be rescued out of town when local groups were full.

We worked with Stubby Dog, a national pit bull advocacy organization, to feature both Ella and Sadie as rescue dogs of the week.  (Both were adopted, Ella through POPB and Sadie through Helping Hands.)

Harper sports his tutu with pride.

For 2013?  It’ll start off with a bang, as Harper, a heartworm positive dog rescued from Levy County Animal Services. appears as the new year’s first Stubby Dog rescue dog of the week.

We have applied to pull dogs from Putnam County Animal Services, a neighboring shelter which, like other rural southern counties, has a high kill rate, low adoption rate, and few private or public resources.  The dogs at Putnam are especially needy because the shelter refuses to let any dog labeled a pit bull or bulldog mix to be adopted out directly.  They can leave the shelter alive only if they are pulled by a rescue organization.  We look forward to being able to help a few of these dogs in the new year. 

Like so many of the dogs we helped rescue,

Copper left his difficult past behind.

We have a few other plans we need your help with – all in collaboration with other organizations in Gainesville and beyond.

First, we would like to recruit more committed volunteers.  We need people who can help train foster dogs and also take them on outings to socialize them and expose them to potential adopters.   We also, of course, always need foster homes – both for the dogs we pull as POPB and must keep in foster homes during their treatment and for the dogs who are transferred to rescue partners for adoption.

Sadie was scared and depressed at the shelter.

A loving foster home put a smile on her face,
and Helping Hands Rescue found her a family of her own.

Second, we would like to have some successful fundraising projects, so we are not relying so heavily on individual donations.

Sterling (formerly Jesse) had nearly starved to death by the time he was rescued.

Today he is happy, healthy, and ready for adoption from Phoenix Animal Rescue.

Third, we would like to have some community events that are fun and educational for everyone involved.  In addition to events like Pit Walks, picnics, and dog hikes we’d like to try something a bit more ambitious, like free or low-cost vaccinations in low-income areas.

To us, a "pit bull" is any dog who needs a little extra help,

including our gorgeous hound mix, gentle Jack.

For all of these projects, we need people with all sorts of skills as well as patience, a sense of humor, and persistence.  Please email gainesvillepitbulls@gmail.com if you would like to get more involved!  With your help, we can continue our mission – bringing people together to help the dogs we love.

One-eyed, heartworm positive Asha was dumped from a truck with her puppy.

The puppy was killed by a car, but Asha was rescued and is now safe, happy, and loved.

The Story of Ella

In the first installment, she was a street waif, scruffy and scared and bleeding from deep puncture wounds.  Cue music from any story of a hard-luck orphan who encounters a good Samaritan at the crucial moment.  

She ended up at Alachua County Animal Services (ACAS).   Since the shelter was very full, there was no room for her to stay there while she was recovering from her wounds.  She was placed on the euthanasia list the day her three-day stray hold was up.   Shelter staff sent out an email to rescue groups, which said  “Sweet, sweet pit mix on Friday’s euth list. Gives kisses!!! Needs TLC before and after wounds heal. Interested? Let us know before 8:30 a.m. Friday.”  Her ridiculously cute underbite sealed the deal.

Ella is the only dog we have pulled without a confirmed foster home.  Something about her was special enough to make us take the risk.  We took her to Sun Kiva, an amazing rescue-friendly boarding kennel (thank you, Louise Kuttler) and came up with a plan that was not much of a plan:  we’d get her a Facebook page, call her “Cinderella,” recruit a bunch of fairy godmothers, and hope that her lost slipper would show up one day in the form of a great permanent home.

Maybe we should have named her “Blanche,” because if anyone ever relied on the kindness of strangers, it was this little dog.  Every step of the way, someone came through to get her to the next stage.

After a week at Sun Kiva, we moved her from the kennel to a temporary foster home, where we learned that she is house-trained and that she is a very picky eater.  After a few weeks there, she moved to another temporary foster family, where we learned that she adores children. 

Fortunately for us, everyone who spent time with Ella fell in love and both her temporary fosters kept her long past their initial commitments.  Ella is typical of many of the pit bulls we have pulled from the shelter – affectionate, athletic, full of energy and enthusiasm for people and life in general, which she demonstrated with a constantly wagging back end and energetic kisses.  But Ella also had a certain je ne sais quois, manifested in her characteristic head tilt. 

The story of Ella is a tale of two rescues – the good and the bad.   The bad part was that we had no plan, and this is a crazy-making and expensive way of doing rescue.  The good part was, well, Ella.  Not once did anyone involved with her rescue regret going out on a limb for this little bundle of charm.

After about a month and a half of antibiotics and temporary foster care, Ella was ready to go to a longer-term foster home and to get ready for adoption.  Once again luck was with us, and Ella became Hillary’s very first foster dog.  Hillary fosters like she’s been doing it all her life.  She took Ella to obedience class, where she learned about being with other dogs, among other things. Because of the attack she had suffered, we were afraid she would be scared of other dogs, but it turned out her barking was friendly excitement.  With a lot of work on Hillary’s part, Ella learned to sit quietly (more or less) when she met new dogs. 

Thanks to generosity of Phoenix Animal Rescue, she spent every Saturday at Petsmart, and every time she was better and better behaved.  Still, no one seemed interested in adopting her.  Ella was black, she was a pit bull, and she tended to express her enthusiasm a bit too forcefully when she came out of her crate at adoption events.  She had some interest, but nothing came through.  Still, we held out hope that our little gremlin princess would have a fairy-tale ending.

Then one day we got a message.  Could it be THE message?  It came from someone who sounded like the adopter ever rescuer dreams of.  Nanci described her life with her pit bull, Bella, who was the love of her life and had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer.  Nanci’s first response was “I can never go through this again with another dog,” but then she realized that the joy Bella had brought into her life made her never want to be without a pit bull.  Fearing that Bella did not have long, she was starting to look at Petfinder, and had been struck by the pictures and descriptions of two of our available dogs – Lilly and Ella.  As luck would have it, Lilly had just been adopted (through her foster in Ocala), but Ella was still waiting.  We talked, Nanci thought, and she decided to meet Ella even though Bella was still very much with her and loving life.  Could she possibly handle two dogs?  Could Bella, who was sometimes dog-selective, adjust to life with another dog?  Would Ella create stress for Bella or perhaps add to her quality of life?

Nanci met Bella at an adoption event, liked what she saw, and we moved to the next stage: a meeting between Ella and Bella on neutral ground, a park.  That worked out pretty well, so we tried a longer walk together.  So far, so good.  Nanci decided on a trial week at her house.

Nanci did everything right.  Because Bella was fragile due to her illness, and because Bella was sometimes selective about which dogs she liked, she and Ella did not meet face to face immediately but instead got to know each other through baby gates and crates.  The fact that they had already met on neutral ground helped a lot, as well.  Soon Ella and Bella were lying nose to nose on either side of the baby gate, and Nanci let them meet face to face, leashed to make sure that play did not get too rambunctious for Bella.  It was a brilliant success – the girls had a great time play-biting, chewing, and head-wrestling.  Both dogs were extremely gentle with each other and followed all the rules. 

This was a great lesson for everyone involved: two female pit bulls, one young and goofy (that would be Ella) and one older, sick, and dog-selective, showed us that they can live together just fine, thank you very much, as long as the humans don’t do anything stupid.

So it’s official.  Ella’s ship has come in and everyone is riding off into the sunset.  The story of Ella is now the story of Ella, Bella, and Nanci.  The end.

Fault lines.

 I have been reading a lot lately about the supposed divisions between “traditional” shelters and advocates of a “no kill” approach.  The public disagreements and mutual criticisms sometimes obscure the many values that the two groups share, including most basically the belief that companion animals are valuable and people should try to make their lives better.  The conflict is not about whether or not we should help them but rather about the best ways to help them given the limitations imposed by available resources.  Traditional shelters believe that the central issue is that there are not enough homes for all the dogs and cats in the country, which means that the most important goal of animal welfare is to reduce population through spay/neuter programs.  Because, as they say, “There are not enough homes for them all,” the population of dogs and cats must be sharply reduced.  That has begun to happen, but continuing overpopulation still makes it necessary for many animals to die in shelters.  From this perspective, shelters that euthanize animals do society’s “dirty work.”

This “traditional” view sees “no kill” rescue groups and shelters as privileged precisely because of the population reduction done by other shelters.  Craig Brestrup, author of Disposable Pets (1997), quotes the director of a Midwestern shelter which kills almost 80% of its animals:  “These shelters aren’t really ‘no-kill’ shelters.  They are ‘you-kill’ shelters meaning that their clean hands and pure hearts exist at the expense of other shelters like [her shelter] which accept the animals they will not.” 

In response to this criticism, no kill advocates point out that some public shelters have managed to reduce their euthanasia rate dramatically while remaining open access.  The main difference, they say, is that shelters aspiring to kill fewer or no animals work hard to increase adoptions (and reunite strays with owners), usually because they have directors who implement several key programs.  (Low-cost spay/neuter programs remain central in the no kill paradigm as well.) 

In addition, it is important to point out that many private rescue groups take in primarily, and sometimes only, animals who have been slated for euthanasia at traditional shelters.  They do not cherry pick the most adoptable pets but rather wait for the ones who have no other options.  This is not true of every rescue group, but many – including a number of our local private rescues – consistently take in animals who have been slated for euthanasia at one of the local public shelters either because they have run out of time in the adoptable section or because they never made it to adoptables because of health or behavior issues.  In other words, they are taking the “least adoptable” animals – and they are turning around and adopting them out to good families, often very soon after rescue. 

Private rescue groups in our area have higher adoption rates than public shelters for several reasons.  First and foremost, many people prefer to adopt from no-kill groups because it is a more positive experience, both because they know that the animals left behind do not face an uncertain fate and because the adoption venue is usually more pleasant than the cement and steel of most public shelters.  In addition, private groups often advertise adoptable pets more energetically, get them out into the community, and have events on weekends when potential adopters can attend.  Further, the fact that most private rescue groups house adoptable pets in foster homes means that they have much more information about the animals’ behavior, temperament, and other factors that help adopters make good decisions.  Foster homes also socialize and train animals so that they can make the transition to permanent homes more easily. 

 

Using these methods, rescue groups take in countless animals that did not seem “adoptable” at the public shelter and find them loving permanent homes.  This fact counters the accusation that “no kill” is achievable only by preselecting highly desirable animals. 

This season of giving thanks is the right time to acknowledge the amazing work done by many of our local private rescue groups.  Here’s a special thank you to just a few – there are more of you out there, and we love you all. 

 

Second Chance Farms specializes in dogs who do not even make it to the adoptable section because of treatable medical conditions.  Typical of their dogs are these two bulldog mix pups (above), both placed on the euthanasia list because they had demodex mange.

 Many other local rescues also take in dogs who have no other chance.  Helping Hands Rescue gave a future to Lady Penny, who came to the shelter as a young puppy with a broken leg and other medical problems.  (After a long recovery, she was recently adopted!)

Rescued dogs often require enormous investments of time and money before they can move on to permanent homes.  Like other local groups, Phoenix Animal Rescue regularly takes in hard-luck cases, including Homer (above), who was so terrified in a rural shelter that he cowered and urinated every time he was approached.  Homer’s behavior was transformed as soon as he reached a loving foster home, where he enjoys a soft bed and plays with other dogs.

 

The Alachua County Humane Society is the largest rescue no kill group in our area and the only one with its own facility.  ACHS regularly takes in animals who have run out of time in adoptables as well as those with treatable medical conditions, like Chloe (above), a sweet adult pit bull mix who was slated for euthanasia because she is heartworm positive. 

The Humane Society and Gainesville Pet Rescue are the oldest no kill groups in our area.  Both began with the mission of taking animals from the local shelter’s euthanasia list.  In the past decade or two they have been joined by many other groups, including the ones mentioned above. The animals they save are diverse, countering both the claim that no kill groups cherry pick and also the notion that only certain kinds of dog run out of time at the shelter.  Their success at placing these animals in loving permanent homes does not prove that euthanasia is never necessary, but at the least it challenges the conventional wisdom that “there are not enough homes for them all” and that some animals are simply unadoptable.  These groups do not leave the "dirty work" to someone else -- they roll up their sleeves and make miracles happen on a daily basis.

And for this we are thankful.