Meet Holly!

Name: Holland, aka Holly

Age: 1 year, 2 months (2/1, was her “Adopt-a-versary”!)

City: New York City

Favorite things: 1. FOOD! 2. Chewing on things (see #1). 3. Howling in her sleep. 4. Being a “snuggle-pup-agus” on the couch. 5. Playing with her friends at the dog park. 6. Getting her way. 7. Bounding gleefully through the snow. 8. Cheating at tug-of-war. 9. Chest rubs. 10. Sneaking into the bedroom (where she is NOT supposed to be) and then looking so cute that I can’t kick her out (see #6).

Holly’s story, as told by her person Skye:

No one knows exactly where Holland (named after the Tunnel) originally came from. She was found alone, on the street, with worms and a displaced hip– at just 4 weeks old! I wasn’t doing so well at that time either. I had gone through a very bad experience at my job. I ended up basically having a nervous breakdown and quitting. I felt like a failure and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Then I saw Holly’s picture on the website of our local no-kill shelter (www.animalhavenshelter.org). Although he was very hesitant (he’d never had a pet before), my husband Rob supported me in my quest to add this tiny “beagle mix” to our family. Bringing Holly home brought me back to life. Her joy became my joy and her unconditional love helped me begin to love myself again. She definitely rescued me as much as I rescued her.

It quickly became clear that Holly was neither tiny nor a “beagle mix.” Turns out she is 1/4 Jack Russell, 1/4 American Staffordshire Terrier, 1/4 Groenendahler and 1/4 Unknown. However, I tend to identify her as a pit mix because that is how others see her, for better or for worse. She has a beautiful Staffy “smile” and those wide, Egyptian-looking Staffy eyes. She was barred from a local doggie daycare simply because she “looks substantially like a pit bull…and we are not insured for those kind of aggressive dogs.” I certainly wouldn’t take her anywhere near Denver. Fortunately, we live in Lower Manhattan, where rescued pit mixes are fairly common and relatively accepted. Relatively. There are still parents in the neighborhood who pull their kids away (“NO! Don’t pet that doggie. That’s a mean doggie.”) and owners of TDDs (Tiny Designer Dogs) tend to glare and cross the street.

However, no amount of education from me could do as much to change minds as Holly herself. She loves everyone and every dog– effusively and persistently. She has won over my entire family (including my 94-year-old great-aunt) and everyone who works in my building. Just today, a couple of TDD owners came into the dog run, saw Holly, and quickly marched their Maltese straight into the small-dog area. I shrugged, but Holly wouldn’t let it go. She ran to the fence, wagged her tail, brought over a ball, and jumped up and down until the woman finally bent down to acknowledge her. “Look, honey,” she said with wonder, “the dog is nice.” Eventually, they came back into the main run, but declared that their TDD was “too scared” to play with Holly…until Holly walked over, bowed down, and gave the Maltese her favorite green ball. The couple left 20min later, gushing about what an amazing dog I had.

I have two wonderful pit bull memories so far. The first was taking Holly to the Mets’ Bark in the Park event last April. Unfortunately, even in municipalities without BSL, many events like this bar certain breeds due to insurance concerns. The Mets, however, do not (GO METS!!). There were several hundred dogs at the game, including a couple dozen pitties and pit mixes. We were all in close proximity, in an unfamiliar setting, among unfamiliar dogs…and there was not a single altercation, not even a growl, from ANY of the dogs. Just a bunch of pups and their owners wearing Mets jerseys, enjoying biscuits and beers and a ballgame. When Sports New York broadcast excerpts later that night, I almost cried. I wish the media would show those kind of images more often. (PS- The proceeds from Bark in the Park go to North Shore Animal League– so that’s YAY too!)

My second great memory is one I shared on your blog previously. I took Holly with me to the tiny Upstate town of Clayton, NY, where I was coaching at a lacrosse camp for a week. I was deeply nervous that far from the city, and a stone’s throw from Ontario (where there is BSL), Holly would encounter a lot of prejudice. I prayed that the girls and their parents wouldn’t freak out when they saw Holly on the field. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. The girls had no preconceived notions. They accepted and adored Holly for exactly what she is— a really cute, really friendly puppy. Their parents followed suit. By the end of the week, she had become the camp mascot. “If we eventually form a real team,” one of the dads said, “we’re going to call them the ‘Clayton Pit Bulls.'” They wanted to be pit bulls! Not because pit bulls are “ferocious” or “dangerous,” but because pit bulls are “cute” and “smart” and little girls like to hug them. I can’t think of a better breed image than that.

Meet Cici!

Name: Cici

Age: 4

City: Seaside, CA

Favorite things: people, treats, bones, food, cookies, hot dogs and other doggies

Cici’s story, as written by her person CeliaSue of Have dog blog will travel.

I was strolling through the park one day, not really, I was back in Vegas, God knows why. It was awfully depressing, but there I was in January 2007. I was living in a house of a former landlord there, and he asked me to take care of this dog. She was a pain, constantly showing off her belly and seeking my attention. The last pets I had had were cats and cats are not demanding attention all the time, so it was annoying. But then after a very short time, she grew on me. She was so sweet, loving and funny. She made me laugh a lot. And was just plain adorable and cuddly. So when I found out that he had gotten this dog for a gal with a homicidal maniac boyfriend, who had put the gal in the hospital numerous times and had put her in jail and that she was getting out soon, I knew I had to do something. Because this sweet dog was going to be put in harm’s way. The gal kept calling up the boyfriend and no dog can protect a woman from her own destructiveness. They were going to keep this dog tied up in a yard with other dogs and the maniac boyfriend would have access. No way! Since there is a known well-documented correlation between abusers of animals and people, I had to do something quickly so I rescued her!

Cici and I left Vegas in March and were threatened via email. We landed back in Carson City, Nevada, on a farm, where I had lived before and traveled around California together for two years after that. During our travels and everywhere we go, Cici is an amazing ambassador for her breed. In fact, these people we know have a six-year-old boy who was terrified of dogs. At first, he would not go near Cici. But baby step by step she won him over. He told me, “I used to be afraid of dogs, but now because of Cici, I’m not anymore.”

Cici loves people and is constantly showing them her belly, licking their feet and just being her silly polka dot princess self. Not long ago, we were at a Borders book store and there was a group of people outside the store watching my girl showing off her belly on the carpet. They were laughing and pointing. A crowd gathered there inside and outside the store. I feel like I’m traveling with a celebrity. She brings a lot of joy to people. You can just see them light up when she does her floor show routine. She gets 99.9% positive attention.

But every once in awhile, we get some negative people who don’t know any better say something ignorant. Another time in Border’s, this person was afraid and other people were reacting, too. The fear just spread. Suddenly, this guy brought his gorgeous 5-year-old blonde haired, blue eyed daughter over and let her pet Cici. The whole scene changed instantly. I had tears in my eyes I was so grateful and thankful for this angel. Cici loves kids and is so gentle with them. Everyone could see that immediately.

Note: This is the second Positively Pit Bull story! My inbox was flooded with submissions (yay!!!) after the Blog the Change post. I’ll be posting them on Fridays then archiving them in the Positively Pit Bull tab above. Please share your story! All the Positively Pit Bull details are here.

Meet Sadie!

Name: Sadie

Age:5

City: Portland

Favorite things: Her favorite activity, hands down, is giving and receiving love.  She gives the best kisses.  Next to love, she’s slightly obsessed with swimming.  She’s been known to swim alongside me when I take a long walk on a nearby beach and hates when it’s time to get out of the water.  Her favorite backyard game is “defensive” fetch as I call it.  She has absolutely no interest in retrieving the ball, unlike her ball-obsessed lab sister, but she sure enjoys tackling sister Maggie before Mags has a chance to grab the ball.

Sadie’s story, as told by her person Sarah of marriedwithdawgs.blogspot.com:

We adopted Sadie, our pitbull mix, several years ago.  It all started out when we decided that our black lab, Maggie, needed a big sister.  The search came with a list of restricted breeds – no pitbulls, rottweilers, German shepherds, etc.  I had no experience with any of those breeds, so my exposure to them was limited to what is in the media.  I don’t think at that time I actually thought all dogs of these breeds were aggressive, but I certainly did not think I had the experience and knowledge to deal with aggressive behaviors.  So how on earth did we end up with a pitbull mix with fear aggression issues?

It started with a craigslist ad, one which advertised a lab mix and pictured a dog that was not at all Sadie.  A few days later, we were in a field meeting Sadie for the first time.  It was apparent from the get-go that this was more of a pitbull mix than a lab mix but there was one person there who didn’t care about the type of dog she was:  Maggie.  From the first second they laid eyes on each other, Maggie and Sadie were BFF’s. Maggie chose Sadie; thank god, we were smart enough not to get in the way of her selection.

Sadie’s fear aggression issues presented themselves rather instantly that first day.  She was cautious with us, and we were cautious with her.  When a friend came over and she shook in the corner for hours, snarling at anyone that came close to her and snapping when anyone tried to touch her, our fears and uncertainty grew.  It was obvious that she was terrified; it was not so obvious if we were equipped to deal with how her fear caused aggressive behaviors.

I spent that first week rather fearful of my new dog.  The week capped itself off with a trip to our vet.  I barely had finished my description of the behavior issues we were seeing before my vet insisted upon a muzzle and proceeded to lecture me on my new aggressive, dangerous breed of dog.  She barely observed Sadie, who patiently allowed me to put her muzzle on and mostly hid between my legs shaking.  That visit, besides being the last time I ever set foot in that vet’s office, was the day I decided to change.  I knew that I did not have a dangerous, aggressive breed.  I knew that I had a terrified pooch and that the way she dealt with her fear was the problem.

It has been a long road with our dear Sadie.  And it’s taken a lot of love, encouragement, socialization and training.  She’s not 100% perfect, and many may not consider her an ambassador for her breed.  She still is fearful of anyone new who comes to our home.  After those first few minutes where she barks and is cautious of newbies, not many will continue to deny her ambassadorship.  Once she warms up to you, she. warms. up. to. you. Her favorite activity in the world is giving and receiving love.

True to her breed, she gives the best kisses.  What I think is the best example of how she is an ambassador is that she is like every other dog and breed in the world.  She is an individual and has her own personality.  She is as worthy of the work we put into her to make her a happier dog as any other breed.

Note: This is the FIRST Positively Pit Bull story! My inbox was flooded with submissions (yay!!!) after the Blog the Change post. I’ll be posting them on Fridays then archiving them in the Positively Pit Bull tab above. Please share your story! All the Positively Pit Bull details are here.