Some shelters don't adopt out dogs who appear to be part pit bull, but we're so glad that the Idaho Humane Society does. Penny is the sweetest dog we had ever known. For more information about pit bulls, see lucydog.com.
We enjoyed Penny so much that we decided to adopt another "pibble." We found Angie through Petfinder.com, a wonderful Web site that helps people to search for pets that need homes. We adopted Angie from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona on October 6, 2001.
One thing that we did not know about pit bulls is that their genetic tendency towards dog aggression is not something that can be trained or socialized out of them. Same-sex aggression is very common, and dogs who get along as youngsters may start to have problems when they reach maturity, at around 18 months to 3 years. Sadly, that's what happened with Penny and Angie. Fortunately, Angie went to live with her beloved Jesse and Virginia at our house in town.
Some good samaritans brought a three-month old puppy into an emergency vet clinic in Tucson, Arizona, on the night of Friday, May 30, 2003. The pup had some open wounds, but the vet clinic was not in the business of treating strays, and had plans to send him to the pound. The pup was so sweet, none of the techs could bear to send him to the pound. They convinced one of the vets to repair his wounds, and convinced me to take him as a foster.
Bubba has two speeds: full and stop. He is enthusiastic about everything, and loves everybody. He is quickly learning basic commands. We discovered that he can swim and even dive for toys! So now I am a "foster failure" and Bubba has found a forever home with me.
At about the same time that Bubba came into our lives, I began fostering for the Foundation for Animals In Risk (FAIR). I was one of the few fosters who would take pit bulls. Because our local pound, the Pima Animal Care Center, does not adopt out or allow rescues to take pit bulls over 4 months of age, I fostered a lot of pit bull puppies.
On August 18, 2004, I received what remained of a litter of 5-week-old pit bull puppies. They had been at the pound since they were two weeks old. Their petite, sweet-natured mother had been killed at the pound that night. At least one of their sisters had been stolen from the pound. One of the puppies, Damien, was a living skeleton. A second puppy, Diablo, was also emaciated and dehydrated, but not so badly as Damien. The third puppy, Demon, was in relatively good shape.
After a few days, it became obvious that Damien was not going to recover. He began having siezures, and we suspected distemper. Desipte our best efforts, he crossed the rainbow bridge on August 23, 2004. Demon and Diablo were neutered, microchipped, and received their shots and were put up for adoption. Demon went to a wonderful home. Diablo was adopted by a young couple, and we were heartbroken to lose him. The next day, his new mom returned him, saying that she didn't realize what it was like to have another being in the house. We decided not to put him up for adoption again. So Diablo, now named Booger, is our second foster failure.
