http://www.ringdogrescue.org/
Be sure to check out the story of the injured tornado survivor "Tornado aka Tomato"
Encouraging examples of compassion...
Re: Encouraging examples of compassion...
Poor Tomato, he must have been so scared, losing his master, displaced, etc.
I'm glad there are breed rescuers like this out there. Most pits are fine dogs, it's the &*$%^ owners who are irresponsible (most of the time).
I'm glad there are breed rescuers like this out there. Most pits are fine dogs, it's the &*$%^ owners who are irresponsible (most of the time).
..........Traci
I feel the same way Traci. I've known some of the sweetest pitbulls. A neighbor of mine (years ago) had 6 of them - all house dogs. They would come to the fence and "talk" to Leah. IF they saw me, they would whine and bark until I went over and petted them (all 6 usually, although one was a little shier than the others and sometimes held back). One time 4 of them were out in the front yard (under supervision, but not leashed) and I came out with Leah behind me (she liked to walk with me to the mailbox - also under supervision, but not leashed. The 4 pitties came running and I didn't worry. Their tails were wagging and there was pure happiness in their eyes. Leah (who by then was very old - this happened about a year before she died) walked up to all of them and they had a good sniff fest. The pits then came to me all wanting to be petted at once. Their owners just loved them and had rescued most of them. I never even saw one of those dogs growl (they did bark freely - great watch dogs, sometimes too good when we were trying to sleep).
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Encouraging examples of compassion...
Great story Karen!
And fortunate for you, you knew the owners and the dogs.
That said, I wouldn't trust strangers' dogs (at least at first and if not supervised) and particularly when there are more than one. As you know, dogs have a pack mentality and for breeds like pitbulls, no one ever knows what might set them off enough to be vicious in a split second. I don't want to undermine the importance of breed education and helping to minimize the stigma, but I also don't want to portray that all like breeds are the same based on that stigma.
I think ultimately, it is the owners who choose life and death for many a poor soul. Which also sets the roadblocks up for the rest of us trying to remove the stigma! Not enough is being done to punish the OWNERS, it's not the dogs' fault they were not properly trained and socialized and trained to respect boundaries!
And fortunate for you, you knew the owners and the dogs.
That said, I wouldn't trust strangers' dogs (at least at first and if not supervised) and particularly when there are more than one. As you know, dogs have a pack mentality and for breeds like pitbulls, no one ever knows what might set them off enough to be vicious in a split second. I don't want to undermine the importance of breed education and helping to minimize the stigma, but I also don't want to portray that all like breeds are the same based on that stigma.
I think ultimately, it is the owners who choose life and death for many a poor soul. Which also sets the roadblocks up for the rest of us trying to remove the stigma! Not enough is being done to punish the OWNERS, it's not the dogs' fault they were not properly trained and socialized and trained to respect boundaries!
..........Traci