Best Thing About Coming to Work in the Morning.....

Getting a picture like this, in the all-staff inbox, with a simple email that reads, "Hi good folks at WARL. I adopted Montana, now named MOOSE, last year. Can't imagine life without her. Thank you!"   If Moose could write, her email might say, I was adopted into a wonderful home last year.   Can't imagine like without my person!   Thanks!

Left & Lonely!

It was nearly 90 degrees Sunday afternoon.   I decided to seek refuge from the heat in an air-conditioned movie theatre in downtown Silver Spring.  This poor pup, dressed in his best black-terrier coat,  was not getting a reprieve from the beating sun.  He was tied to a lamp-post while his person, presumably,  as reported by a bystander,  went to have lunch at the corner Panera.  The dog tugged and whimpered.  One passerby brought him a bowl of water, another stroked him for a bit and tried to calm his anxiousness with soothing words. Several people knelt down and gave him a quick pat before continuing on.   I watched as  a small crowd of people asked each other what should they do, and wondered, What if the dog wasn't a cute little Toto-look-alike?  What if he was a big, strapping pit bull lunging to get free? I also questioned why would the dog's person think that, being tied to a lamp-post in summer-like heat, on a busy road, would be an enjoyable outing for a dog?  Regardless, a cute terrier or a stocky pit bull, a tied up dog should not be approached, better still a dog should not be tied up, and especially never left tied up and unattended.



Happy Home Dispels Pit Bull Myth

If, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then this photo needs no narration.  However, I can't pass up the opportunity to include the touching email that accompanied this, and other photos, of Gryffiin, formerly Cherrios.

Gryffin (formerly Cheerios) is a phenomenal addition to our family! She is adjusting better than we could have ever expected and is the star of the neighborhood. She loves all dogs and all people, rolling around in the grass and sleeping in her beloved bean bag chair (especially on her person's lap). Her calm and gentle demeanor makes her a fantastic ambassador for her breed and has even inspired a few neighbors and friends to think about adopting a pit bull in the future. Thank you to WARL for blessing us with such an amazing dog!

How's that for terrific advertising!?

A Busy Monday -- Pit Bull Spay/Neuter Day



Shawn and his buddy, Cocoa,

wait to check into the

free spay/neuter pit bull day

hosted on the second Monday

of every month.  Look at the smile

on that dog!







King, a kissy-face 8-month-old pit bull pup, plants a wet one on Sean's face as they wait to check into the clinic.  King is a lucky dog.  His guardian really cares!



Today is Albert Einstein's birthday.  It's also the League's monthly FREE pit bull spay-neuter day.  What does the League's pit bull spay-neuter day have in common with Albert Einstein?  They are both really, really smart -- Albert Einstein was a smart man with great ideas and spaying or neutering your animal companion is a smart idea.   Spaying or neutering your dog or cat is not only the right thing to do, but it shows that you know how much healthier your cat or dog will be post surgery.  That makes you really smart -- just like Einstein.  Spaying or neutering reduces or eliminates the possibility of reproductive system diseases.  It also reduces an animal's urge to roam, making him less likely to get lost, injured or become a victim of abuse.  And, it shows that your Einstein-like action is helping to end animal suffering.    It is estimated that there are 6-8 million homeless animals entering animal shelters every year.  That exorbitant number doesn't even begin to reflect all of the stray, feral and cast-off animals who never make it to a shelter.  Twenty-one pit bulls were spayed or neutered today at the League's FREE spay/neuter day.   None of those dogs will be contributing to the animal overpopulation crisis.  I'm sure that Albert Einstein would agree that those are some pretty smart people who took advantage of a pretty smart idea.  The next FREE spay/neuter day is set for Monday, April 11th. 

Pit Bulls -- Heroes and Friends

Despite a bad rap in the media, pit bulls are typically loyal, loving, intelligent family dogs who are often known to take heroic action to protect those they love. Jasmine, a pit bull living in Alexandria, Virginia, recently saved her family from disaster. When a fire erupted in the dryer vent of the family's home in the middle of the night, Jasmine barked nonstop waking her family so they, and Jasmine, could escape unharmed.

The Washington Animal Rescue League adopts many wonderful pit bull dogs into loving, caring forever homes. Two staff members adopted pit bulls in recent month. One lives with a baby and other animals; the other lives with another dog and comes to work with her guardian every day. Trixie is another successful League pit bull adoption. Her new family, including two boys and another dog, reports that Trixie has lots of energy but knows how and when to chill, too. That's her in the picture above, snoozing with her buddy Jack.

For a wonderful fiction story highlighting the hard luck life of a pit bull named Cash, check out Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee discussed in the March 5th Post

Dog Lost -- One Sad Story Worth a Read

Dog Lost, by Ingrid Lee is one of those books that you read and say, "Wow, glad this is just a story!". Truth be told, many of the horrors that befall that Cash, the beloved pitbull puppy belonging to 11-year-old MacKenzie, happen to animals every day. Cash is kicked by MacKenzie's alcoholic father, then thrown in the trunk of the car and then dumped and that's just beginning. The rest of the book focuses on MacKenzie's search for his dog and Cash's will to survive. Boy and dog are eventually reunited, but not after both suffer terribly. In real life, many abused and abandoned animals' stories do not end happily.

Read Lost Dog and think about how you feel about breed bans. Should any one particular breed of dog be outlawed? If all pitbulls are euthanized, then will another dog be labeled a menace to the community? What about Doberman Pinchers? How about Rottweilers or German Shepherds? It's not the breed that's bad, it's the people who treat the animals horribly, terrifying them so, their only recourse is to react like a dog.