Jess Galvin
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I am a homemaker with three children, one son and two daughters. I also have 5 fur kids, 2 feline and 3 canine. I grew up on a little farm in NH. We always had anywhere from two to four dogs as well as cats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, sheep, a cow and a goat. I have always loved animals but realized at a young age that people do not always treat them well. My father was one of those people. I’ve done my best to treat them the opposite of what he did. Even as a kid I brought home every injured animal I could find including bats and squirrels.
As an adult I’ve always had cats and dogs around me. I just love the companionship they offer. A little over three years ago in August of 2008 we adopted our first pit bull from Worcester Animal Rescue League. Initially we were looking for a bulldog but after seeing just how many pit bulls were in shelters I did some breed research. We adopted Angel within ½ hour of meeting her. We couldn’t have chosen a better breed to go with our family. Angel has changed the views of so many people including family and friends as to the true nature of their wonderful breed. About a year after we adopted Angel we began looking for a friend for her. That is when we came across PittieLove. Initially we were going to foster but after meeting Mojo I realized there was no way I could have ever given him up. They have made our family complete and we could not imagine our lives without them. After we adopted Mojo is when I started volunteering for PittieLove in 2009. Initially it was just to do home checks but I realized that I wanted to be much more involved than that and help as many pitbulls as I could. We began fostering in early 2010 and love it. Both of my daughters pitch in a great deal with all of the dogs helping to feed, groom and train. Our third pibble child, Ava, was our foster pooch for 6 months from September 2010 through mid March 2011. Ava had some separation anxiety issues and some fear issues as her prior home was less than ideal. We worked hard with her on these and she improved leaps and bounds. When she was adopted, we thought her new adoptive Mom would be patient and work with her as well, but that was not how it worked out for Ava and she was returned to us not long after. We took this as a sign that Ava was meant to stay with us forever and so we adopted her. She gets along so well with my dogs and kids and we couldn’t imagine her going away again as we missed her so much while she was gone for that short time.
Volunteering for PittieLove has given me a wonderful group of people to share the joys of owning a pit bull but also someone to share the difficulties that come with owning a pit bull in the way people look at you and avoid you and your dog. It’s a constant battle to change ignorance but we are all dedicated to that cause. This has also been a wonderful learning experience for my two daughters, Katelyn and Lexy, whom spend almost as much time as I do with the rescue. They help in taking in new dogs, training fosters, socializing them with kids, running events and educating the public. They are definitely pit bull advocates for life.
