PIT Positive- Protect, Promote, Place Pit Bulls

BY MARY WICOFF
DANVILLE — They came with painted toenails, colorful bandannas — and a friendly attitude.

These pit bulls, along with a few other breeds, paraded up North Vermilion Street with their owners Saturday morning to show that most pits don’t deserve their bad reputation.

“I have a new respect for pit bulls,” said Bob Durbin, who was on duty with the Danville Auxiliary Police and provided traffic control.

Before the walk started, a couple of skirmishes broke out — one between two pit bulls and one between two boxers. But order was soon restored, and once the walk got under way, everyone was well-behaved.

As for the pre-walk scuffles, Durbin noted that even people can’t always get together without having a spat.

Many of the participants wore shirts with the message on back: “If my dog likes you and you want him banned, how does that make him the mean one? Ban ignorant owners, not loyal breeds.”

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LARGO, FL – SPCA Tampa Bay is getting dozens of new residents Monday.

The group is welcoming 28 purebred cats and 100 puppies and pregnant dogs that were rescued from a puppy mill in Lyles, Tennessee.

The SPCA says the animals will need to be evaluated before they are available for adoption.

The animals were rescued along with hundreds of others last Wednesday during a raid at what officials are calling the largest puppy mill in Tennessee history.

The Humane Society of the United States led the raid.

Rescuers say the animals were living in filth in small cages, which they sometimes had to share with animals that had already died. Officials say some of the animals had never been out of their cages. Crews also found rotten food among the cages.

The Humane Society is now working with its partners across the country, including SPCA Tampa Bay, to find homes for the animals.

I was at Animal Services yesterday and while walking through the kennels noticed that there are more than 40 to 50 different pit bulls in the shelter. If anyone knows of someone looking for a pit, please have them go to Animal Service this week and pick one. We’ve identified a few for inclusion in the Pit Bull Ambassador Program and they will be tested this week, so hopefully we’ll be able to save a few.

On a related note, with the economy in a slide, more and more people are bringing the pets to Animal Services - the line yesterday went on all day; dogs, cats, you name it. And not just big ones, I saw at least one Yorkie and a bunch of other small dogs.

With the increase in owner surrenders, the kennels will be filled to capacity, that means more euthanizations and more sadness all around. Please do what you can to remind people that pet ownership is a 10-15 year commitment, for good times and bad, and you can’t just turn them in when time are tough. They should be part of the family, not just a disposable toy that the rest of us will have to be responsible for, if you are not.

Remember, when you surrender them to Animal Services, there’s a 90% chance they will be killed within a few days. After all they have done for you, and relied on you for their life, do your really have the insensitivity to drop them off to be euthed?

Big Daddy is a real lover boy as long as you don’t have cats or other dogs. He’s strong male personality who wants to run the house - and with 3 other dogs, he just wasn’t working out. He loves people (especially his owner) and would be a loving loyal companion for someone who needs a watchdog - a single woman or man. He would be very protective! If you like more information on Big Daddy (he has since been renamed Mikey) drop me an email.

Meet Big Daddy, the latest addition to our home. He’s been here just 2 days and is still getting acclimated to the environment and the other dog chaos that happens around here on a regular basis. BigD is sweet man with a loving disposition that was to be euthanized on Friday, so we took him out Thursday night and brought him home.

I had been playing with him at Animal Services for a few weeks and knew he was just a lover boy, and was hoping he’d find a great home - but in general people aren’t looking for a dog that “looks” mean - and he does, but he’s just a happy little goofball.

We are rotating him in and out of his kennel for some free time - time to run and play and be a dog. On our walk yesterday he just laid down and rolled in the grass kicking his feet in the air - a typical pit bull trait.

This morning he got a chance to meet the neighbors and a few dogs and he did just great - not aggressive, just wiggle butt - and if you own a pit, you know what wiggle butt is - I was very proud of him - We haven’t put our dogs together with him yet- we’ll give it another week until they don’t care and he knows his way around. More to come.