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I am a Program Manager for Lenovo by day and an artist, photographer, animal advocate, mom to 3 pups (one is a foster), 2 kitties, and 4 humans by night (well, the mom part is pretty much all encompassing day and night).
We knew nothing at all about bully breeds, and I will admit that I was sadly one of the ignorant in the world that felt strongly that a "pitbull" type dog was a dog that we would never want to own. Then, by the luck of the draw, a miscommunication on breed type, and a DNA test, we found ourselves the guardians of (and totally in love with) a "mostly" pit mix. After that, I took the time to research as much as I could, trying to figure out how to raise this "special" dog. Well, instead of finding any real specific do's and dont's for "raising a pitbull" other than those that made perfect sense for any well raised dog (setting boundaries, socialization early and often, training and commands, etc...), I found reams and reams of information on how these dogs had come to be unfairly classified as "killers" and "baby maulers". The evidence all pointed to a media driven on sensationalism, and the ignorant people who chose to believe it blindly, as the reason these dogs were branded as so ugly. The more I read, the more frustrated I became, and I knew I had to do more than just own one dog. Thankfully, Harley was/is a model puppy, and we began taking her everywhere not only to socialize her, but to also introduce people to her that would never have interacted with a pitty otherwise. We also chose to adopt another pit mix, and on the day we signed her adoption papers, we also turned in our foster papers for that same rescue.
I don't know what specifically I love about my pibble mixes, but the whiney wiggles, the frog legs, the big smiles, and the pure joy in life that they show are top of my list.
We are just so thankful that they have come into our lives, and that we have the means on opportunity to give them the lives they deserve.
Oh yeah, as for jeeps... been driving one as a daily driver since 1996. It's bikini top on/doors off from May to October come rain or shine for me. Just strap the pups in and go. BTW - if you see the crazy lady with three pitbulls strapped into a yellow jeep, please give me the wave. If you don't know what that means, then look in your owner's manual or, better yet, look up the history of the jeep.
My PITTIES!
We had been owners and fosters of Beagles for years, but had lost all but one of our pack to old age when Miss Harley came into our lives. My sister was fostering her, and she sent me a picture of this 10wk old fluff ball. It was instant love for me, but my husband was less than convinced. As it turned out, my sister needed us to puppy sit her for a weekend while she went out of town, and within 12 hours my husband was in love, and we had filled out the adoption papers. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, someone else had already filled out papers for her, and decided to adopt her sight un-seen. We were heart-broken; it was the hardest thing we had done in a long time to take her back to my sister knowing that we would never see her again. That was on a Sunday. We went about our week, and now that we knew that we were ready for a puppy, even started looking at other pups. On Thursday, my sister texted me to tell me that the previous adopter for Harley was going to return her to the rescue (his older Lab did not appreciate her company). She asked us if we still wanted her, and the answer was a resounding, "Yes!". Needless to say, she was back with us and part of our family the very next day.
As a side note: we were originally told that she was a Lab/Mastiff mix, but at 12 weeks, she only weighed 22 lbs, and we were pretty sure that there was no Mastiff in her. At the same time, she started to get more adult features, and loose her round puppy face, and then the light bulb went off! One DNA test later, and our suspicions were confirmed. Not one ounce of Mastiff, but a whole lot of Amstaff/Pitbull with a touch of lab and a tad of chow. She is freakin' adorable!
I first saw Chili when she was on the website for the Wake County Animal shelter. She and her sister and brother had been brought in at 12 weeks, all with advanced cases of demodectic mange. I immediately knew that I need to adopt at least one of them, because they would not get the care they needed in the shelter and they were un-adoptable in the condition they were in. I called the shelter and they told me that due to their condition, they would only release them to a rescue agency, and not to an individual adopter. Knowing that the all the rescues in the area were chock full, I was fearful that they would see the end of their lives in there. Determined to convince them that I could take care of at least one of the pups, I even had my vet's recommendation in hand, I called over to the shelter the next day to persuade them to release at least one pup to my care only to find out that a new pitbull rescue agency in the area had picked them up. I searched and searched for them online to just see how they were doing (I was especially fond of Chili since she was the "runt" and the sickest of the bunch), and finally found them. I tracked Chili's progress through the rescue, and as soon as she was cleared to be adopted, we went to a meet and greet and signed the adoption papers. She is our gazelle. If it were not for the wide forehead and brindle coloring with the white blaze, one would never think that she is 3/4 pittie (with a touch of Boxer and a little bit of Australian Shepherd - go figure).
My jEEPS!
Seriously? She's my daily driver... I don't go anywhere without her 🙂