Hurts So Good

I am a Craigslist troller.  I scroll up and down, city after city, for free things I don’t need and ‘for sale’ things I do, but still can’t afford to buy.  However, I almost ALWAYS end up in the “lost and found” or pets section.  Not because it’s fun. It’s not.  Not because it makes me feel good. It doesn’t. My boyfriend, Trey, has walked in and caught me countless times, depressed and saddened from something I’m reading or watching, and always says, “Why do you do this to yourself?” My answer is always this - because it reminds me of the atrocities that are out there in Charlotte, Houston, Sacramento, the world.  Because it makes me feel the hurt that is necessary if I want to make it in the animal rescue world.   Folks, keep this in mind: It is necessary for your heart to hurt in this business.  It’s what drives the passion.

Generic picture of a chained pitbull - the sadness and misery
in their face and body language speak volumes.

November 23, 2011 - Greensboro, NC (but could be Anywhere, USA): Female Pit Bull: 14 years old , has had 11 litters , she produces well. most likely has a few more litters in her . a real money maker . she still looks good overall , has one eye and a sagging stomach . you could get her a tummy tuck and she will be good to go .her fee is 500.00 . Thanks

One eye? Tummy tuck? This baby belongs cuddled up in a warm house on a Temperpedic dog bed to alleviate the pressure on her sore and arthritic joints, offered regular warm meals for her deteriorating teeth and even some yummy table scraps from the kids that use her as a pillow for their living room sleepovers.  

 I’m not sadistic, but I force myself to read, look at, and watch things like this frequently.  If I don’t know the things that occur and are happening right here in my backyard, how can I be any help?  No one got anywhere in life by keeping their head in the sand.  Does ignorance lead to change? No.  I am not stupid enough to believe that stricter laws will bring dog fighting or backyard breeding to an end.  Criminals fight dogs. Criminals also break laws. They don’t give a shit about statute 3950042, section 2929405.  No.  Regular, law-abiding citizens like myself will bring change. Maybe not in my lifetime, but dammit, I will be a part of it.  I will help to end this abuse and prejudice.  I will foster, I will advocate, I will stand at rallies at town hall to support the banning of gas chambers in animal shelters, I will call the dog fighting tip line when I see shady activity, I will educate people that I come across that have preconceived notions about the dog on the end of my leash before even meeting them for 2 minutes, I will tell people that I have a PIT BULL, not a lab mix and I will not shy away from the negativity. I will stand up, embrace it and intelligently prove them wrong.  Things won’t change unless the outcry is loud enough to drown out everyone else.  Stand with us.  If you’d like to help in any way, please email me at shana@carebullies.org.  We need each and every one of you.

To quote a fantastic article I read earlier, “In a hundred years, the pit bull has gone from national hero to unpredictable monster, and the dogs are still the same. We’re the ones who have changed.”  There will always be bad people, cruel individuals and terrifying stories of abuse at the hands of humans.  With the tenacity and passion that we dog owners love and embrace, we can turn this thing around.  Good outlasts evil; slow and steady wins the race.

Who Lives In A Pineapple Under the Sea?

When I think of Sponge Bob, I can't help but think of Little Fievel (you know, that 80's cartoon movie with the cute little mouse with the big ears?) singing his song to the moon and stars looking for his family.  

“Somewhere out there,

beneath the pale moonlight,

someone's thinking of me 

and loving me tonight.

Somewhere out there,

someone's saying a prayer,

that we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there.

And even though I know how very far apart we are,

it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star.

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,

it helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky…”

Sponge Bob has been in boarding since May. Let me repeat that – since May. In the last 6+ months, we’ve had a large handful of dogs that have been in need of foster homes, and the public has rose to the challenge for every dog … except Spongey.  Let’s talk for a minute here – Sponge Bob is deaf. But please, don’t let that four letter word turn you away.  Deaf dogs are a rare treat. They have no thunderstorm anxieties. They don’t react to the neighborhood barking dog at 6am in the morning.  They give you awesome eye contact.  They feel your emotions and read you better than any dog or person in your life.  They have a happy go-lucky existence to them, because they live in a blissfully happy world.  Dogs that are deaf since birth, like Spongey, know no different.  They are incredibly adept at picking up visual cues such as body language, light changes, shadows or peripheral vision changes. They feel changes in their environment much more easily than hearing dogs, picking up on different vibrations in the floor when a guest walks in as opposed to a family member, a slight change in the air pressure when a window is cracked in another room or just knowing when a car pulls in the driveway.  

Being deaf is not a downfall.  It is an amazing attribute to an already awesome canine.  The problem with Spongey is not his hearing.  His hearing is just another quirk for an adoptive family to love, much like families love family pets that chew shoes, lick their faces incessantly or give their best "puppy dog" look for just one more treat.  The problem with Spongey isn’t really his problem at all.  It’s every person that has looked at his pictures, read his bio and said, “Oh, I hope somebody falls in love with him” or “I know someone will adopt him soon”.  Well, that someone hasn’t stepped up yet.  Could that someone be you?

Living in boarding can be stressful, consuming and even traumatic for some dogs.  Luckily, Sponge Bob is resilient and is still his happy-go-lucky self, but he needs our help. He deserves a comfy bed at the foot of his Mom and Dad’s bed.  He deserves a house to call his own.  He deserves his own food bowl, his own toys, his own family.

Please don’t let Sponge Bob’s deafness deter you from fostering or adopting him. He would never let your needs deter him from joining your family.  For more resources on how to welcome a deaf dog into your home, check out the sites below.  

**A great FAQ site as well as training tips: http://catatonic.freeservers.com/penny/deafdogs.html

 **A great training site for hearing-impaired dogs: http://www.positivedogtraining.org/article/training-a-deaf-dog/

“Somewhere out there,

if love can see us through,

then we'll be together, somewhere out there,

out where dreams come true.”

If you are interested in fostering or adopting Sponge Bob, have questions, or if you would just like some more information before making a final decision, please email Shana@carebullies.com.  If you can't adopt or foster, please help by posting this on your wall or the wall of an organization you affiliate with.  New eyes mean new homes ... and if Fievel can find his family, I think it's about time Sponge finds his. <3



UPDATE: Sponge Bob was foster-adopted in January 2012 and is excelling in his new home and learning how to live a happy and fulfilled life full of love.  We wish him and his family all the best!! Thanks so much Sheri - you mean the world to CCB and Sponge Bob!

Let us imagine.

Adoptable: Lacey

Let us imagine. 

Let us imagine being a small child in which your home has always been temporary; maybe a neighbor’s house, maybe a car, maybe a shelter.  Whichever way, you have had no permanent home, no consistent rules or boundaries, and certainly no people around long enough to even attempt learning respect of others.  You have been let down by everyone and everything in life, so your outlook is bleak. You know no different though, you just know that such is life.  You learn what you can from your surroundings - you learn how to get food when you’re hungry, even if that means acting immorally, which you may or may not know is wrong. You learn how to manipulate people to get your way, because, let’s face it, chances are you’ll never see them again.  To a stable and responsible person, this is deeply saddening; but for the child who lives it, they just learn to live the only way they know how … surviving each day as they come.

Now imagine: this child walks into your house tomorrow. They don’t know that this is a good home.  They don’t know that their meals will come on a regular basis.  They don’t know that they will feel warmth, love and affection here.  They only know what the world has taught them – to live each day in survival mode.  How long do you think it would take them to relax? To release the tension and anxiety in their muscles? To overcome their struggles and begin to open up their hearts? 

A foster dog comes to you in this exact situation.  The dog you get on Day 1 is only a rough, outer shell of the dog you will have on Day 14, Day 28, and Day 100.  Maybe this is why fostering is so rewarding – because you see the rock bottom of a dog and you get to help them, you get to rise them up to become the dog they were always meant to be.  

That’s pretty powerful.  It’s also pretty inspiring.  

This thing called the two week shutdown is a fancy way of saying “adjustment period”.   It is an acclimation to a new life that is so absurdly different from the one that they’ve known all their life, one in which the learning curve is not the bunny slope, it’s the Black Diamond’s steep, treacherous hill.  Essentially, they are learning how to do everything in their life in a completely different way, all at the same time.  Not only do they need to learn who the hell you are and what language you’re speaking, but they need to figure out what you want from them, figure out how to navigate the house, the boundaries of the yard, what’s acceptable of the new pets, kids, furniture, and then to top it all off, suddenly there are rules and a thing around their neck stopping them from doing what they want. 

The first two weeks is in no way an acceptable form of judgment of a dog’s temperament and personality.  It would not be expected of a person, so it should never be expected of another species that can’t even understand our language.  Their initial behavior may be reserved and depressed. Their initial behavior may be bordering unmanageable from their acting out.  Either way, giving a dog a few weeks to acclimate to their new house, smells, routines, humans and pets will allow them to slowly become the dog they actually are.  As humans, we are quick to rush into things and we want to show everyone our new dog and take them everywhere and do everything with them, but that will only overwhelm and stress out your new friend in a way that could be very detrimental to him, your bond or others around him.  

If you are committed to the well-being of your new dog, family and existing pets, please consider following the structure of the Two Week Shut Down.  It is not written in stone and can be modified for your dog’s individual needs.  It is a guide in order to help your new dog experience his surroundings and learn to trust the people around him.  

If it were you, you’d wish the same.

Adoptable: Winnie

Please consider becoming a foster parent today.  You have the tools to do it; now you just need the final part – the courage.  Take a deep breath and jump in with both feet.  

The rescue world will be waiting with open arms.

1 Dog, 2 Dog, Red Dog, Blue Dog

Everyone knows that puppies are quite possibly the most sunshiny, wonderful thing on the planet.  Puppy breath in your face and a squirmy ball of fur in your lap should be a regular form of therapy.  I love puppies. I love to look at puppies and hold them, squish them and play with them.
And then I gladly give them back.

Puppies are pint-sized troublemakers.  They need to explore everything, and the way they do that is by sniffing and chewing with their razor sharp teeth.  Unless you are okay with a puppy chewing on anything near or on the floor, constant supervision is a must. Also, puppies don’t sleep through the night. They are vocal and high-pitched when they wake up, and Lord help you if you need to wake up early for work.  Puppies need very, very frequent potty breaks, and then they will inevitably piddle on the floor a few minutes after coming back in anyway.  Puppies demand an enormous amount of time, especially if you want them to be properly socialized.  They need to go everywhere, do everything and experience it all.  Puppy classes are a must and they don’t come cheap.  Puppies are balls of energy that wear out quickly and are easily removed from situations, but then they grow and become stronger and still don’t have the maturity to consistently follow directions.  Nipping, jumping, house training accidents and chewing are all very common in puppies under a year.  So yes, I will gladly get my fill of puppy love but then I hand them right back to where they came from. 

The reason is this: With adult dogs, you know what you’re getting.  There are no hidden secrets behind their looks, shedding level, personality, temperament, likes/dislikes or energy level.  Foster homes are the best thing ever invented because when you are ready to adopt, the parent can tell you everything you need to know about that particular dog to minimize any mismatches.  Adult dogs commonly will be referred to as “used” by people unfamiliar with the animal rescue world.  The animal world is working hard to change this perception.  We are extremely proud of our adult dogs and excited about the potential they each have.  Adult dogs, especially ones in foster care, are house trained, crate trained, know basic commands, and are working toward individualized goals of polite leash walking or appropriate behavior with guests in the home.     

We have wonderful (and I say wonderful not because I want them to be adopted, but because they really will melt your hearts, heal your soul, and care for your kids and family) adult dogs that are waiting for you. Or your brother. Or mother. Or sister, cousin, stepdad, friend, coworker or boss, etc, etc, etc.... 
Consider helping Izzy - she needs you!