Fifty the two-legged pitbull

"On a Wednesday this past June my friend Sue, proud mother of a tripod pittie named Trio and founder of the Trio Animal Foundation, told me about a handsome boy named Fifty. He has two and a half legs she says and you have got to read his story. I looked him up, watched his video, and by the end of that week he was mine. In 2007 Fifty and his sister Bella (a shepherd/pit mix) were happily living in Berwyn with their family when a horrible accident occured and Fifty was shot by a police officer. In both legs. For no real reason other than being a pitbull. After two amputations he is now healed but his family lost their home and Fifty and Bella went into a shelter. Illinois Doberman Rescue (plus!) took him in November 2009 and a lovely woman named Julie fostered him until the day he came into my life. (Bella found a home through my dog rescue!) I could not be more thankful to be the proud mama of this little nugget. He has no idea whatsoever that he is "differently-abled" and lives his life like any other dog. All he ever wants to do is run around with his brother Red and chase his little sister Izzy. Despite what you may have heard about pitties, this one is not so tough - he is a total mama's boy who does not leave my side. 

 And he is famous! Everyone knows Fifty, whether they are here by us in Chicago or out in California. The dog rescue I am with, One Tail at a Time, recently started a fundraising campaign to help me raise the money to pay for his prosthetic limb (yes, he will be a three-legged, bionic tripod in the near future!) and people from all over have been chipping in. He really brings people together and shows the good side of the human spirit. Things sure have changed since this boy came into my life - we gets a lot of stares, and questions, and even sympathy - but trust me, he's doing more than fine!  

Fifty keeps a blog about the fun things he gets to do, his physical therapy, and now the process of him getting a new leg. Check it out @ http://fitythepitty.blogspot.com/ " He was also chosen for this year's Gutter Dog Project by artist Margie Glass-Sula, so check out her blog too to see how amazing she is helping these dogs - http://thegutterdogsproject.blogspot.com/"

-Kelly Nichole Michael, One Tail at a Time

Lily-A hazel eyed fawn colored wonderful best friend! from New Jersey

We were living in Brooklyn at the time, on a gorgeous tree lined brownstone block. As we did everyday at 5 PM when I got home from work, Lily and I went on our usual walk around they neighborhood so she could greet all of her friends. Lee, the green grocer who would save bacon from the morning breakfast crowd and give it to Lily on our afternoon stroll and the Pizza guy Marty who would run out and greet her everyday as we walked by. Nothing really out of the ordinary. As we started walking back down our block, we passed our neighbors Laurie & Lynn and their adopted 3-year-old son, Jack. We stopped and chatted, Jack patted Lily on the head, she in return licked his face. Jack had been diagnosed with Autism and Laurie and Lynn had been working with him on his motor skills lately and were having a difficult time with him walking. As we were chatting, Jack grabbed Lily's leash and began to pull at her leash like you would a horse. I held Lily by the collar as Jack continued to laugh and talk to Lily and I talked with Lynn and Laurie. At that moment Jack began to pat my hand and sound the words "Go Go" to me, so I asked him if he wanted to walk Lily. He smiled and bounced up and down, so I thought I would walk him with him holding her leash with me still holding her collar. Not sure if she would run or pull, being she was 4 years old and over 70 pounds. So I petted Lily and said, "Gentle Easy" and off we went. We took about two steps and then Lily did the most amazing thing, she looked back and saw that it was Jack holding her leash and begin to walk one Paw at a time! I could not believe it! It was almost as she was going in slow motion. Lynn, Laurie and I begin to stare and gasp in amazement. Not sure if what we were seeing was true I let Lily's collar go and off they went down the block! Needless to say we all broke down crying.  It was the first time Jack had been able to take steps on his own. Suffice to say Jack just needed the right teacher and found it in Lily and from that day on until the end of summer Jack, Laurie, Lynn and I took Lily on her "usual" daily walks. We have now moved to New Jersey but every once in awhile Lily will receive a picture or treats in the mail from her friend Jack. And on occasion when we are in Brooklyn, we stop and see Jack and he greets her with a big hug and a kiss every time and she in return.

Nichole 

Friendship

After losing his parents, this 3 year-old orangutan was so depressed he wouldn't eat and didn't respond to any medical treatments.  The veterinarians thought he would surely die from sadness. The zoo keepers found an old sick dog on the grounds in the park at the zoo where the orangutan lived and took the dog to the animal treatment center.  The dog arrived at the same time the orangutan was there being treated.  The two lost souls met and have been inseparable ever since. The orangutan found a new reason to live and each always tries his best to be a good companion to his new-found friend.  They are together 24 hours a day in all their activities.

They live in Northern California where swimming is their favorite past time, although Roscoe (the orangutan) is a little afraid of the water and needs his friend's help to swim.

Together, they have discovered the joy in life and the value of friendship.

 

They have found more than a friendly shoulder to lean on.

Long Live Friendship! 

Some say life is too short, others say it is too long, but I know that nothing that we do makes sense if we don't touch the hearts of others ...while it lasts.

Bella, the blue/red spoiled pit from Lawrenceville, GA

One day, my mom and I decided we wanted a dog. We talked about it for several weeks and finally decided one weekend to go look for a new pup. We went to the SPCA and went straight to their dog room. When we opened the door, all of the dogs went crazy... they were barking and jumping in their crates in hopes of being picked. The first dog we looked at was just too hyper for us so we went back inside looking for another. In one crate, there was a puppy just lying down looking at us. She was the only one out of all the dogs to just lay there while people were in the room. As soon as I saw her I decided that she was the one I wanted.




We were told she had been rescued from a fighting ring in GA and had been held in isolation for a few months with her sister because they had ringworm. When I realized she was a Pit I was a little skeptical but decided to give her a chance. I am SO glad I gave her that chance! She is my baby and I couldn't imagine her not being with me. She loves everyone and everything. I swear she thinks she's a human. At the park, she'd rather walk amongst the people than play with the dogs. When she goes to the vet she just jumps right onto the table. She is just so friendly!





 We love her and the breed so much my boyfriend decided to rescue a Pit from a kill shelter. (This is funny because he told me I was crazy for getting a Pit and that she would bite my face off!) They both have become ambassadors for the breed. They are changing the minds of ignorant people against the breed one day at a time...

Allison 

Ace of Spades

Ace is a now an 8wk old pit pull puppy with a gene all dogs carry that made him have one blue eye and one brown. You would never know this, but a week ago someone threw him out of a vehicle traveling  65+mph down a 4 lane high way. God was watching, because he suffered no harm from his fall. When he was turned in to the the animal shelter he was underweight, infested with worms and scared. His full history is still unknown, but I believe he was abused from the very start of his life. Now that he is with me, all of that is behind him. Ever day is new to him. He is very calm and smart and is striving. Ace (Ace of Spades) is the name I gave him, because it is the luckiest card in the deck. He is learning to be loved and has even learned his name. Even being so young he gets up in the middle of the night when he hears a sound and goes to check on it. He makes sure all is okay before he returns to my side of the bed to fall asleep. Ace has become the protector from day one and is an amazing puppy.

LR

Urgent!

This girl is wonderful.  She is my foster baby.

Sweet Riley came into the pound as a stray on 10/7.  On 10/8, a For the Dogs rescue volunteer took her out of her cage to be walked and it was discovered she had a dislocated hip.  This poor girl was in a lot of pain and had been that way for an unknown amount of time.  For the Dogs Rescue took her immediately to the vet.  The vet attempted to put the hip back into place, but was unsuccessful so she was referred to another vet.  After a long weekend of being medicated for pain Riley got her chance at a better life.  She was evaluated for surgery and scheduled the same day.  She is now in my care and this girl is full of kisses and snuggles in spite of how she feels.   For the Dogs rescue is desperately in need of donations help to cover her surgery.  As with most rescue organizations, the money that comes in is far less than goes out.  If you can help her please go to her chip in site and donate.  Once Riley is all healed she will be available for adoption.

Amber Blackburn

Kitty – The Neighborhood Pup

On Saturday May 30th, 2009 sometime around 10 pm, someone decided that they no longer wanted their dog. So, they dumped her over a 6 foot fence into the backyard of an apartment building at the corner of Davis and California Avenue in Brighton Heights. Luckily for this nameless dog, she couldn’t have landed in a better place.

This apartment building (a beautiful old home with turrets that we refer to as “the castle”) belongs to my friend Jeff. Among the castle’s tenants are my friends Matt and Traci (along with their daughter Annan), who noticed a dog in the backyard on Saturday night and called Jeff. That night was a long one – the dog was howling, so Matt and Jeff threw some food over the fence and tried to give her words of encouragement from a safe distance.

The next day, Jeff came to investigate the dog (a black pit-bull), carrying an air horn in one hand, and a can of pepper spray in the other. In the daylight, it was discovered that neither were needed to fend off this dog. The pit-bull was a female who had just had pups, and was an extremely submissive and docile dog who adored people, especially when they rubbed her belly.

More neighbors came to help – Shayne and Lisa, who lived next door to the castle, came armed with dog food, and volunteered to take the dog to Animal Friends to see if she was chipped. (They did, and she was not – there’s no way of ever finding out who dumped her or why.) By the time my husband Brad and I got caught wind of this dog on Monday, the small team of neighbors had already made her a shelter out of an old futon mattress and tarp, and she had unofficially been dubbed the new neighborhood mascot.

Brad and I decided to bring “Kitty” home with us (she seemed like a classy lady so we named after Ms. Kitty Wells, queen of country music). She has a clean bill of health from the vet and has fully recovered from her spaying surgery thanks to the wonderful folks at Hello Bully. She dines on food and plays with toys donated by Shayne and Lisa, is walked regularly by Jeff (who refers to her as his “step-dog”), and is doted upon by the whole gang of neighbors who found her.

Whenever I walk her, I’m usually stopped by someone and asks something like, “Hey…is that the dog that was abandoned in Jeff’s yard?” (Word travels fast!) When I reply that she is, it’s always followed up with something like, “What a great dog! Wonder why her owner got rid of her?” Good question. I have no idea why Kitty was dumped, but as I said before, she couldn’t have been abandoned in a better place. I have a feeling that the love she has been given by our small gang of neighbors is more than she had ever received in her life. Way to go, Brighton Heights!

-Carrie Richards