On Christmas day, my husband and I were headed home from visiting family in western Kansas.We stopped by our house momentarily to feed our pets before heading to family Christmas number two. Our bloodhound, Stella, came out of the barn with a little blue male pit bull. We put Stella in the house and went on our way, hoping when we got home again, the pit would be gone. He wasn't.
We brought him in out of the cold and fed him, and called the neighbors to make sure he wasn't accounted for, even though he'd obviously been mistreated. The neighbors told us they'd seen two pits running around together this one, and a white one. This little guy had scars all over his front legs, chest and head. His ears were badly cropped and he was extrememly thin.
The following Tuesday, I got a call from my friend Scott just before dark saying he'd seen the white pit laying beside the road about 2 miles from my house. I set out with food and water thinking that even if this dog wouldn't get in my car and come to my house, maybe he would at least eat some food and be able to survive the freezing temperatures a little longer. I drove around the area where Scott had seen the dog, but didn't find him. I turned off my engine, got out, yelled and listened for any noise that might indicate an animal was in the area, but heard nothing. After about a half hour of looking and listening, I drove home. Two hours later, there was a white pit bull on our back step. I will continue to wonder if my looking for him had anything to do with him showing up, or if he was already on his way to our house. Anyhow, I brought him in, fed him and watered him and gave him a warm bed for the night.
Both dogs were extremely gentle, cuddly, and wanted lots of attention. The little blue decided he was a lap dog and took naps on both my husband and I in the time that he was with us. The white dog was a little more timid, but still very people friendly. Stella took kindly to both dogs even though she had to tell the white dog that it was not okay for him to hump her, but she only had to tell him once.
I put pictures and info about the dogs on my facebook and had a couple gals lined up that wanted to meet the dogs. I was very hopeful that I would be able to find good homes for the dogs despite the fact that they were both skinny and scarred.
The following Friday was New Year's Eve. I was out of town, but my husband was working and got home just after midnight. He let all 3 dogs out to do their business and all hell broke loose. Something triggered the two pits to attack eachother. My husband is over 6ft tall and is a lot of man, but couldn't even begin to separate the dogs. He ran in the house, grabbed and loaded his pistol, went out and shot it into the ground and successfully spooked the dogs enough to get them to release their death grip on eachother's faces.
I called to tell him happy New Year, but his wasn't happy. He described it as the most vicious animal attack he'd ever seen. The next day, I had to contact the gals and tell them that I couldn't give them these dogs. They both have kids and other dogs and I couldn't, in good conscience, give them dog-aggressive dogs.
I contacted every dog rescue organazation that google could find, but they were all full, many full of pit bulls. The best I could do was to take the dogs to the Kansas Humane Society shelter in Wichita. They accept bully breeds because there is no breed ban in Wichita (if only more major cities would get educated). Unfortunately they do euthanize animals that aren't elligibile for adoption. Elligibility depends on a behavioral asssessment where the dogs are tested in situations with humans and other dogs to determine temperment.
The shelter is a beatiful facility and was buzzing with people looking at adoptable pets. The girl that took the dogs told us she had pits of her own and loves the breed, but told us honestly that these guys probably didn't have a chance. If pits don't act perfect and look perfect, they aren't elligible for adoption.
I still feel like a failure even though I did the best I could. The only thing that I find solace in is the fact that I gave them food and shelter for what was probably the last week of their life. Also, I gave them love, which they'd probably never had before.
Having gone through that situation makes me want to castrate and torture the people that raised these, or any dogs to fight. I am not an animal rights activist. I am not a vegetarian. I think PETA is ridiculous. I think some of the human race is pathetic. Use your englarged frontal lobes and opposable thumbs to do good. We CREATED these animals. Their well-being is out responsibility. Stop intentionally breeding dogs. There are millions of animals in this country that need homes.
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