Sarah – Vice President

My first real experience with pit bulls was one that I did not plan on. I met my dog Spike when he was someone else’s dog. Someone I knew bought  him from a backyard breeder. I met Spike while visiting friends and knew there was something special about him. Still at this time, I knew very little about pit bulls, the good or the bad. I saw Spike here and there in the next year and grew to love him. When Spike was just about a year old, the person who had bought him, decided to move to a place that did not allow pit bulls (of course the typical incidence when young people take in pit bulls without a stable home to provide for them). I knew nothing about the reality of pit bull adoption at the time, but still could not see him go to a shelter. But what to do? I was still trying to put myself through college and living at home with my parents. Spike was only just over a year, so still a baby who had a long life of care ahead of him. My parents had dogs of their own and would not allow me to have him. But I had to do something. I moved Spike into my grandmothers (as a temp situation). Unfortunately, soon after this realized Spike was extremely sick. I found out he had Parvovirus and the vet gave him little to no chance of survival. Spike had become like a child to me in a very short amount of time and I realized he had no one on his side but me. I was NOT letting this dog die. I did everything I had to including taking time off school and work, staying day and night at my grandmothers and managing the HUGE vet bills that were racking up. Some how, we got through it. Spike will always have some issues because of the extent of how sick he was, as well as some additional health issues I found out about at the time, but good news is, he is here to stay and he couldn’t be happier

Of course after making it through that with him, I was determined to keep him, no matter what it took. I started doing online classes instead of day classes and got a full time job during the day. Found an apartment I could have Spike in and moved. This brings me to the BIGGEST thing about pit bull rescues that aggravates me- it IS possible to keep your dog, despite what many “owners” tend to claim when they decide they “need” to surrender their dog. And these are people who CHOSE to get the dog in the first place. Beyond me!

Anyway, after all this I became interested in the breed, did lots of research and down the line, contacted PittieLove about possibly adopting a second dog. I did not adopt at this time but decided to help out where needed. The more involved I became, the more my heart bled for these poor dogs. I had not known ANY of the sadness and heartache involved  upon first meeting Spike. This only made me more determined to help this truly amazing breed. I started fostering right away… a little girl named Roxy- it wasn’t long before I realized Roxy wasn’t going anywhere and I became an official “foster failure” my first time around. She was just wonderful beyond words… and I could not have asked for a better match for Spike. They are the perfect duo and I could not have been (or still today) be happier.

I have fostered many times since then and although it definitely has its hardships, it all becomes worth it the day you start receiving updates on how well your former fosters are doing in their new forever homes. Many of those dog would never have had a chance. Rescuing is hard. The day to day stuff is hard to see and hear. But everyone involved in this IS helping. Every dog we save is one that would have likely  been euthanized.. or worse. All worth it and I am so happy to be involved, all thanks to Spike

 

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