Ora the Pit Bull

Im leary to even bring up the name Michael Vick and its hard to articulate my feelings for the man and what he has done. All of that aside he was one of the worst and best things to happen to the pit bull breed. His involvement in the activity of dog fighting single handedly brought the plight of the bit pull to the forefront of media and with the help of some very dedicated people many of his dogs got a chance at a real life. This really helped to show the loving side of the pit bull and their resilience. Dogs like Hector who have every right to be angry at the world show the world that in light of the horrors they have been through they still have an amazing capacity to forgive human and animal alike. Before the Vick case pit bulls where usually euthanized without a second thought, even pups who didnt have their teeth yet, simply because their parents where made to fight. Their fate was decided because of their breed and not because of anything they have done.

Today, we are seeing more and more government agencies that are allowing these dogs to be individually evaluated and judged solely on their own individual merits. After all, isnt that how we would all like to be treated? Proponents of pit bulls and other condemned breeds arent asking for any favoritism, we just want the same freedoms and penalties to apply to all dogs and all dog owners. In early July there was a nationwide bust and once again some heroes stepped up and fought for the dogs involved to be treated as individuals and judged individually. After 3 months in a shelter many are finally starting to trickle out to rescues and homes around the country.

On Sunday we were able to step up and do our part by driving down to IA to pick up a few of the dogs from the July bust. The dogs were being held at Animal Rescue League of Iowa and they couldnt have asked for a more caring and dedicated group to help them. I highly recommend that anyone in the Des Moines area visit their web site and see what they can do to help. To see the news coverage you can visit the KCCI channel 8 web site.

Today marks the first day of the rest of Haleys life. Shes a spunky little girl but clearly a little out of place. She likely has never known a loving home and has a little catching up to do when it comes to learning what most dogs her age already know but we are committed to making her transition a positive one so she can go on to make someone a wonderful pet and show the world what wonderful pets pit bulls can be.