[mrPronmaker]

You can't save them all. There are just not enough good solid homes. That statement does not apply exclusively to the APBT or types. It includes all animals.

my thoughts exactly.

[SkapySisy]

So I understand all of the opinions concerning my puppy as a non-rescue. I can see how some of you feel this way. I didn't go to this home seeking a BYB Pit Bull. We were there to look at a truck that was advertised for sale. After we were there less than a minute we realized that the residents were most likely drug adicts...leaning toward meth as their favorite. I think that they saw that we were good people with a little bit of $$$ because they tried to sell us EVERYTHING they owned...they must have been needing a fix. Their kids were filthy...the house was discussing...it was just nasty! I would have rather had a papered Pit Bull (like my other two). But I stumbled upon an abused and neglected pup and fell in love with him.

Axle did know the life of abuse when I found him. He has numerous scars all over his body (mostly on his belly). He was so malnutritioned that at 4 weeks old he had no extra puppy skin, very thin coat, severe rib exposure, etc. If you don't think that this is suffering or abuse then that is your opinion...that is fine...we are all entitled to an opinion.

I did call AC after we left the residence. I don't know what AC did about the whole situation...but I am sure they no longer have any animals in their home. AC might have even alerted CPS due to the nasty living conditions.

So taking that into consideration. Had I left Axle there and then called AC he would have then went to a shelter. I would have then had to try to find him and adopt him. The AC shelters in the county he was from make it practically impossible to adopt certain breeds of dogs...in my opinion it is purposely done because of the CA state law that prohibits breed-specific laws, except for mandatory spay/neuter. Therefore the counties that oppose this law just make specific breeds pretty much unadoptable and kill them. I am sure had I left him there he most likely he would have been killed.

Weather you agree with what I did or not is up to you. In my opinion my family saved a wonderful dog from a life of misery and or death.

[8Uxtkz7F]

I adopted a dog two weeks ago that was seized in a drug raid. 80 dogs were on 4' chains in their own filth. 14 were dead and frozen into the ground. The others were starving and dehydrated. The one I got had a chain embedded in her neck (it was also infected) and had chewed off most of her fur from uncontrolled allergies and had 3 entropion eye lids. She also had Lyme's and double ear infections and rotted pads and 2 torn cruciates, not repairable any longer. She was also starving along with the others. Half were euthanized. For some reason, my train wreck of a dog was not. Her temperament is amazing. Due to the number of dogs involved, the agency that seized the dogs shipped them out statewide. One ended up in a local shelter. So, I paid the full adoption fee and brought her home and then spent twice that amount fixing her up. She's amazing and funny and doing great.

The guy who had her certainly wasn't able to keep up with her care, but he must have been pretty decent to her as she just loves everyone in the world.

The neglect was pretty horrific though.

I went and got her because she looks just like the first pit bull I adopted 4 years ago and that first dog is old and fading. A dumb reason to adopt, but she will be well-cared for the rest of her life. She's hilarious and just proves how resilient dogs are.

[Veveseinlep]

Missy cat
I took Missy from my parent's cow barn three years ago. I'd moved into a house after graduating college and my roommate wanted to get cats so we got her and her orange brother. I actually insisted we also take her because they were very attached to one another. I'm glad I did because she'd be long dead by no if I hadn't. They were two years old at that time. My roommate took them straight to the vet appointment I'd set up for spay/neuter... well neither was healthy enough because of upper respiratory disease and they were put on antibiotics immediately.
Apparently my roommate wasn't very good at administering the oral drops because after I got back and finished up the amount they were given... they were still sick as dogs. So another vet visit and this time Clavamox drops.
Right after they finished the last dose Missy went into her first heat. Thats right, her first heat at two years old because she'd been too unhealthy before that. They both got fixed and got their distemper/rabies/etc shots then. And had another round of antibiotics because Milo got very sick again after getting neutered. After that Missy was in good health.
Both gained and actually grew because I had gotten them Blue Buffalo Indoor formula to start with and then put them on Kirkland Signature Feline Maintenance after that was gone.

Milo was still showing signs of being sick and having asthma. Missy had a little asthma, but nothing like Milo. After some research I switched their litter to Feline Pine which helped immensely. I also contacted my current vet about doing dentals and trying to figure out wtf was going on with Milo still.
Missy's dental resulted in four extractions and getting those nasty teeth cleaned up. Milo's resulted in SEVEN extractions and the vet thought part of his problems might be abscess pockets from the infected teeth. Both had yet another round of antibiotics and his urd flared again after that. He was tested for just about about everything and they could only determine that it was probably a result of the bad teeth and permanent damage from having upper respiratory disease his first two years of life. They put him on predinisone for the asthma, which seemed to really improve his quality of life.

Around this time I told the crazy roommate that I didn't want to room with her again when the lease was up and that I was definitely keeping Missy. I let Milo go because I'm too nice and I really couldn't afford to keep a cat with that many issues. She totally screwed me for the cost of his vet care, insisting that the dental wasn't needed.... nevermind the freaking seven rotted teeth that needed taken out.

I switched Missy from Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken to Evo right after she moved out and that seemed to really put muscle on her. I've never had a cat that I had to worry about keeping weight on before that. She can be a pain in the ass sometimes because she's a bitch to other cats, but I'm beyond happy that I rescued her from certain death. She's a very loving cat and truly appreciates everything thats gone into her.

Lily GSD/Siberian Husky mix
Long story short, I decided to adopt a dog because of a shitty relationship and not being able to help a dog I had fallen in love with for fear of my own physical safety. Horrible decision that I hope no one else ever has to go through, but I can honestly say I do not regret the outcome because Lily is my reason for living. I visited like 5 shelters to meet dogs I'd seen on Petfinder before going to the shelter she was at. It sounds cliche, but I knew the second I saw her. It was a done deal that Saturday, I filled out the paperwork and they were going to drop her off at All Valley Animal Care Center to be spayed the following Monday night. I bought a collar and leash set and a name tag at Petsmart after completing the adoption paperwork that day. She has been awesome and she's my once in a lifetime dog. I got her when she was about a year old, was still living with the crazy roomie at that time. I've put two and a half years of training into her and she is just the best dog ever. When I visited her at the shelter, they said they'd found her wandering the streets and that they all loved her so much they let her chill with them in the office. Every single employee literally said, if I didn't have four dogs at home I'd take her. I'm glad I got there first!
Knowing her like I do, I'm pretty sure someone actually dumped her on the street. I take her everywhere and it took about a week for her to figure out that this was for real and I wasn't going to dump her somewhere.
I'm pretty sure whoever dumped her for AC to pick up also smacked her around. She was specifically terrified of older men with glasses and brooms, mops, anything that would make a good beat stick. I'm happy to say she's completely over all that trauma and is a very secure princess.
Though she will always be food obsessed to the point of having an eating disorder from her street days... thanks a lot asshole...

Vivian another evil cat
Right before the crazy roomie moved out I brought home Viv. She was a little young, but I'd known since she was just two or three weeks old that she would be mine. I literally kinda snatched her the second I saw her. Her mom lives at my friend's mom's house... its sooo not an ideal place for cats. Diseased, mangy animals outside the house. This free kitten was definitely a rescue situation. So I took her at about 5 weeks old because I was worried if I waited any longer something would happen to her. She couldn't even get shots her first visit because she was so tiny and underweight. I fed her soft food mixed with milk replacer the first few weeks. Lily was indispensable with stimulating her to potty and keeping her clean. She ate Solid Gold and then Evo in addition to that as she got big enough to eat the dry food. I ended up switching her to Wellness Kitten Health because the Evo was too rich for her. She is my little devil baby and has just been a delight. She's never known a hungry day or any illness because I took her so young. I'm glad I did. Don't tell the other cat, but she's my favorite.

Mordred aka Big Gay Cat not so evil cat
Actually my roommate/best friend's cat. She adopted him from a rescue that has cats in the Petco. He started recognizing her so she had to adopt him. The rescue lady actually cried a little because no one had adopted a cat in months. He is an awesome cat, super sweet and super flamboyant. He is kind of carb obsessed though. He stole and ate her sister's doughnut a few months ago!! He's on a diet of Fancy Feast wet that doesn't have grains because he's a little too plush and its affordable for his momma.

Gawain aka Little Dude another evil cat
My friend and I found him in a bush after work one night as a kitten. Actually I heard the mewing and my dog found him. He was filthy. We thought he was gray, but it was just nasty road dirt. We found a trash bag next to him... so its not too hard to do the math on that one. He screamed until he was inside. She named him on the way home, so needless to say he was a keeper. We gave him a bath and he curled right up with the dogs so it was pretty much a done deal at that point. He ate Wellness Core/Kitten Health when we were rooming together like the other cats and now he just eats Atta Cat because trying to feed a good cat food in that house would be a waste of money. I took him in when she adopted her RR puppy and got him his last round of puppy shots and Little Dude his only round of kitten shots and some Revolution for his ear mites and treatment for the clap that was making his eye and lymph nodes swollen... oh and I got him neutered too. Hes an awesome cat. She lets him wander because he screamed until she let him out. I'm glad I got him fixed. Fraking take care of your damn cats people!!

Scout
This is truly an example of the right dog finding the right person. I've been wanting a second dog since shortly after I adopted Lily. Specifically either a well bred working line GSD or a GSD/Siberian Husky mix half as good as Lily is. I've been researching the GSD very heavily for several years.
She was adopted by a co-worker of my best friend from Heart of the Valley shelter in Bozeman, MT at 3 months old. She was from a bust of 80+ dogs that some crazy dude had crammed onto a bus. They euthanized most of the adults. The original adopter ended up having to rehome both Scout and the big ass GSD boy she got to keep her company due to various issues. My best friend thought maybe I'd be all over that, but I have pretty good self control when it comes to all the shelter/rescue stuff. Anyway her mom decided she just had to have Scout so they drove up to Bozeman to get her while I watched my friend's RR mixes for the weekend. Poor thing was so terrified of the whole ordeal, I really thought this would be a trainwreck. Luckily she learned how things go from the Ridgebacks and has done really well. She never did bond to my friend's mom... she followed my friend around and really decided I should be her person. My friend's mom moved to OR with intentions of coming to get Scout when she had the pet deposit, etc taken care of. I knew that trying to make Scout an only dog would just be a nightmare. I took her for two weeks while I was house sitting to do some socialization and training with her. She really decided she was mine after that. Just a few weeks after that my friend spoke with her mom about needing to know what was going on with this because she is trying to move and etc. Turns out now the whole thing probably wasn't going to happen and I got taken up on my offer to take Scout. She is super smart and learning really fast. Really submissive so Lily still gets to be in charge. I just got her shots, etc. updated and my vet told me he thinks I totally scored with this dog.

Inspector Lynley Not my dog, but I figure I better just tell the whole packs' stories.
My friend had just lost her old boxer that she'd adopted from the shelter and was pretty down. Her mom was doing home health work and this really obese to the point of not being mobile woman she was caring for had gotten this six week old puppy somehow. He followed her mom around all day and she immediately knew who needed him, so she took him and fed him a cheeseburger and he's been my friend's spoiled boy ever since. I believe they negotiated giving the lady a table and chairs for him since she'd paid for him. Someone in this area is purposefully byb-ing Lab/RR mixes... far too many end up in the shelters for it to be coincidence...
Anyway he's like almost six and is very spoiled and splendid. He and Lily are pair bonded.

Chicago RR, almost 2yrs old
It was kind of my fault that my friend adopted him. I just had a feeling... I showed her his shelter page online and we went to "see how much he looked like Lynley". Hah! We ended up introducing to Lily and Lynley that day and filling out paperwork. We took him home the following Monday, it was when we were still roomies. He is something else. Most stubborn ass, loving thing I've ever met. Definitely a find! I don't know who else would appreciate that nut like she does!

[Hedkffiz]

MY BROTHER IN LAW GIRLFRIEND FOUND ZOE IN A WAL-MART PARKING LOT IN THE BEGING OF JANUARY . SHE WAS ABOUT 3MO OLD AT THE TIME SKINNY,COLD, AND HAD WORMS. SO THEY TOOK HER TO THE VET AND HAD FIXED HER UP, HOWEVER B/C SHE WAS A PIT BULL NEITHER ONE OF THEM COULD KEEP HER (THER PARENT WERE SCARED OF HER). SO KRIS AND I WERE AT R HOME (THE DAY WE CAME HOME FROM R HONEYMOON) NICK CAME OVER AND SAID HE HAD A WEDDING PRESENT FOR US. HE WENT OUT TO THE CAR AND CAME BACK IN WITH ZOE. I OF CORSE FELL IN LOVE WITH HER AS SOON AS I SAW HER.WE HAVE HAD HER FOR 4 MONTHS NOW. SHE IS THE SWEETIES DOG I HAVE EVER HAD EVERY TIME A SIT ON THE GROUND SHE COMES UP BEHIND ME AND GIVES ME HUGS AND KISSIES.LOL

ZOE 3 MONTHS OLD.

ZOE 6 MONTHS OLD.

[SkapySisy]

IT IS SO WONDERFUL TO FEEL THE LOVE IN THIS THREAD!!!
Good looking animal pics too. I love it!

[Xutrsavf]

Piper's story

We had been looking for a shelter dog for almost a month when I saw that a local shelter had a litter of American Bulldog puppies. When we went to look at them there were 4 tan puppies that really looked like American Bulldogs and then one little brindle girl that looked nothing like her brothers and sisters.

After looking at all the dogs Piper had the best personality and we fell in love with her. I did not realize at the time she was a Pit Bull type dog. Once I found out I was worried and scared and upset that the shelter did not prepare me for this.

The puppies had come up to Chicago from the south and I think at some point someone put piper in with the litter to try and save her as she was the same age. I love Piper and can't imagine my life without her but I'm still upset with the shelter not giving me any warning or counseling about how to handle such a dominate dog.