MABBR BLABBER

http://www.mlar.org/advocacy/dog-fighting

When Oogy was four months old and weighed thirty five pounds he was tied to a stake and used as bait for a Pit Bull. The left side of his face from just behind his eye was torn off, including his ear. He was bitten so hard a piece of his jaw bone was crushed. Afterward, he was thrown into a cage and left to bleed to death. 

I am not a religious man, but I can only conclude that at that moment God turned around and paid attention. The police raided the facility, found Oogy, and took him to Ardmore Animal Hospital, where Dr. Bianco stitched him up and saved him. This coincided with the last weekend of life for our cat, Buzzy, who was 14 at the tine. My sons and I had taken Buzzy to AAH for his last visit. The staff had gathered Buzzy in when out comes this pup to be walked that looked like nothing more than a gargoyle. He covered us with kisses. The boys and I fell instantly in love with him.

Life goes out one door and in another.

“This is one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met” Dr Bianco said. “I can’t imagine what he’d be like if half his face hadn’t been ripped off.” Then, Dr. B said, “I am not going to tell you the things this dog has been through”. Dr. B’s assistant, Diane, took Oogy into her home for several weeks to foster him and make sure he was safe and to crate train him. Once Oogy came into our house, for my sons, then 12, it was like having a little brother. Whatever they did and wherever they went, there was Oogy. Oogy had to get involved in whatever the lads were doing. He became known as The Third Twin.

Dr. B thought Oogy was a Pit or Pit-mix and would get to be about 45 pounds. By the time of his first check up, Oogy weighed 70 pounds. When we walked in the door for the visit one of the women who works at AAH exclaimed “That’s a Dogo!” I asked, “What’s a Dogo?” She said, “I’m not sure.” We went on line and learned that the Dogo Argentina is bred in Argentina to hunt mountain lion and boar. Oogy can run about 30 miles an hour, all four legs off the ground like a Greyhound. His leg muscles are so strong that, when he sits, his butt is a half-inch off the ground. Dogos hunt in packs. Dogos hurl themselves against their prey and swarm it. Oogy has a neck like a fire hydrant to protect him when he closes on his prey. He is built like a Pit Bull on steroids, with white fur as soft as butter and black freckles. Fully grown, Oogy is 85 pounds of solid muscle, but he does not know this and sits on us. He absolutely craves physical contact. He is full of kisses and chuffs like a steam engine when he is happy. He has a heart as big as all outdoors. One of the traits of the breed is that they fully accept anyone their family does. It is not unusual to come home and find three teenagers on the floor playing a video game and Oogy sprawled across their laps like some living boa.

Oogy hated the crate, and would bark and bark whenever we put him in. This puzzled me because I had been told by people with crate-trained dogs that their pets love the crate and feel secure in its confines. When Oogy was about eight months old, we hired a trainer who also happened to be an animal “whisperer”. We introduced her to Oogy and she sat on the floor for a full five minutes talking to him. We could not hear a word she said. When the trainer lifted her head her eyes were brimming with tears. “Oogy want you to know” she said “how much he appreciates the love and respect you have shown him.” Then she asked about his routine. I started by showing her where he slept in the crate. She said immediately, “You have to get him out of that box”. “Why?” “Because he associates being in a box with having his ear ripped off.” It was a smack- myself-in-the-forehead moment. Oogy never went back in.

Given what Oogy endured and what he is bred for, people are constantly astonished that he loves animals and people as much as he does. Walking with Oogy is like walking with a mayoral candidate. He has to meet everyone. A number of people we encountered in the neighborhood early on told me they were afraid of Oogy because when they would walk or jog by the house Oogy would bark at them and trot parallel to them, and given his size and looks … But everyone falls in love with Oogy. By the end of their initial encounter they are rubbing, petting, even kissing him on the nose. Oogy kisses them back. Because of the way he looks, when people meet him for the first time they almost always ask if he is safe. I tell them, “Well, he has licked two people to death …”

For the first year and a half of his life, part of Oogy’s face was normal and the other part looked like a burn victim’s. People who saw him in passing could not grasp the duality. As Oogy grew, the scar tissue spread. He could not close his left eye, so it wept constantly; his lip was pulled up and back. Dr. B said Oogy was in constant pain. So, in January 2005, Dr. B. rebuilt Oogy’s face. When all the scar tissue was removed there was a hole in Oogy’s head the size of a softball. After removing the scar tissue Dr. B took grafts and pulled the flaps together and sewed Oogy back up. Now Oogy has a hairline scar, but other than that looks just like any normal one-eared dog.

An essential part of this story is the fact that AAH has never taken a dime in payment for anything they have done for Oogy. I never asked them for such an arrangement. When I went to pay the first bill I was told, “Oogy’s a no-pay.” I never asked why this is. Oogy is their dog. We are just lucky enough to look after him.

Because some of his jaw bone was removed in the initial surgery, some of Oogy’s lower left lip droops and a repository for dust and dirt. It is second nature to us to pull the detritus off his lip when we sit next to him. One day I told my sons that when they tell their children about Oogy, they will remember this routine act of kindness. I think that, on some level, every day we try to atone for what happened to him.

Last summer Oogy had ACL surgery; his body ultimately rejected the steel plates and developed an infection so his leg had to be opened up a second time and the plates removed. When I went to pick him up following the second surgery, the Technician who brought Oogy out said, “This is a great dog, I really love him.” I said, “Yep, we’re lucky to have him”. The Tech looked at me and said, “No, you don’t understand. I see hundreds of dogs each week, and every once in awhile there is a special one. And you have him.’

When I related that story to Dr. B he said, “But we already knew that.”

Oogy’s name is a derivative. The first day I was told we could adopt him I was thinking, “This is one ugly dog.” But we couldn’t call him “Ugly.” Then I went to a variation of that from my youth, “Oogly,” and his name followed immediately. Two years after we named him we learned that Oogy is the name of the Ghost Dog in the film, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

This is not inappropriate.

On a recent Saturday afternoon Oogy was curled up on the couch asleep, his head in my lap, and I was thinking about his life is now as opposed to the way his life had been before. Would he have sensed he was dying? Was he conscious when the police put him on a rubber sheet and took him to the Ardmore Animal Hospital? Oogy went to sleep in a world of terror and searing pain and awoke surrounded by angels in white coats who were kind to him, who stroked him gently and talked softly to him. Instead of people who baited and beat and kicked him, he was surrounded with healing mercies.

I realized then that Oogy probably did not know he had not died and gone to heaven. So I told him. I said, “Listen pal. It only gets better after this.”

This incredible dog now lives on the Main Line with his adoptive family, Larry and Jennifer and their twin sons, Noah and Dan. Noah and Dan are pictured here in the above photograph with Oogy. Main Line Animal Rescue would like to thank Larry, Oogy’s proud father, for sharing his story and helping us educate people to the horrors of dog-fighting.

National Dog Day Foundation

Hero Dog of the Year 2008: Meet Maza

http://www.nationaldogday.com/

We chose Maya for this award not only because she saved (Angela Marcelino) her human mommy’s life from an attacker, but because the organization behind National Dog Day, the Animal Miracle Foundation, loves and supports ALL dog breeds. We don’t believe in breed bans and Maya is a testament to the fact that the Pit Bull breed can be hero dogs just like any other breed.

“All dogs are capable of biting and even attacking, but it’s my firm belief that humans are to blame behind the dogs who get a bad rap. Sadly, so many dogs suffer a tragic fate simply because of their breed. Not only is Maya our Hero Dog of 2008, she is what we’re calling our AmbassaBULL to all bull breeds. I was very excited to have a reason to show the world the good side of Pit Bulls” said Colleen Paige, animal behaviorist, author and founder of National Dog Day.

It’s clear, in this situation, as is the case in many life-threatening situations that involve attacks on women, that Angela was fortunate
to have a Pit Bull as her protector. But the most heartwarming aspect of this story is that Angela rescued Maya from the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter….and on June 17th, 2007, Maya returned the favor.

Instead of writing a standard 3rd party editorial, we felt that this story is best told by the woman who not only loves this dog - but who is alive today because of her.

It was Fathers Day 2007. I opened my front door and was about to walk inside when I saw someone’s shadow out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head just as a man pushed me into my house. I screamed as loud as I could, but the man had slammed the door shut behind him. “Shut up” were the only words he said to me. He was choking me with one hand. I was able to scream one last time. After I did, his grip tightened around my neck. That is when I saw a white streak run in from the other room. His grip was so tight that I could only gurgle the words “Maya, get him.” He still had a grip on my throat, as his other hand was busy trying to fight off my angry dog. I don’t know how, but I managed to get on my feet.

His attention turned away from Maya for a second so that he could push my front door open and she followed. At that point I grabbed him in the groin as hard as I could. He doubled over and released the grip around my neck. I pushed him away and grabbed Maya by the collar. I like to think, at that moment, he told himself he had picked the wrong woman to mess with. He looked at me one last time, only for a second, and then simply walked away. I waited and followed him from a distance just in case he decided he wasn’t done yet. He was getting into a car. I repeated the license plate number over and over in my head and ran back inside to call 911.

The police arrived after only a couple of minutes. Officers gathered evidence and asked so many questions. I told them how Maya had come to my rescue. I also told them that Maya had something red on her face. They asked me if she was alright or if she was injured. When I checked her, she looked up at me and had such a proud look on her face. She was licking her chops and wagging her tail. If dogs could talk, I think at that moment she would have said “he sure wasn’t expecting to see me, was he?” Maya was fine. Now the officers were trying to determine the best way to swab the head of an angry pit bull. After a couple of tries, and lots of patience, they were able to retrieve what they needed. I told myself that he was going to be arrested the same day. He wasn’t. Everyday following the attack, I worried that he would be back.

Sometime later, Detective Kimber asked me to come down to the station. He had pictures of potential suspects and wanted to know if any of them looked like my attacker. After writing out a statement about one of the photos, Detective Kimber said “we processed the DNA and got a match.” It was same man that I had picked from the photos. The lab had processed the blood from Maya’s face and got a match. I could not believe it. It turns out this man had a record and this was his third strike. He was arrested shortly after being identified. Anthony Easley, 38 years old, now facing life in prison if convicted. After the arrest, Maya became the local hero. I’ve learned that our story has reached across the country. I wish everyone knew how grateful I am for the support and the prayers. It makes each day a little easier to deal with. I cry sometimes when I hug Maya and ask her ” What would I do without you?” But first, I thank God for bringing Maya into my life.

“I’m so proud and grateful that Maya has been honored with the National Dog Day Hero Dog Award for 2008 and feel truly blessed to have her as part of the family. We cant imagine life without her.”

~Angela Marcelino

http://www.nationaldogday.com/dogoftheyear.htm

How to help your neighbors feel secure with your Pit Bull

My neighbors like my pit bull dogs because they’re familiar with them and are frequently introduced to them. I am at an advantage because I live in the middle of a large city, and there seems to be an almost universal acceptance and overabundance of the breed in larger cities. Not all people are this lucky; the suburbs are full of children and over protective parents that mean well, they’re just uninformed.

Step 1: Make sure your dog is well behaved.

It will not benefit you to have an ill behaved dog. Spend the $80 for a basic obedience class and you will be amazed at what you’re dog is capable of. People are threatened by a dog that is jumping at them on leash, or barking at all hours of the night. Basic obedience classes will teach you how to recognize triggers that set your dog off. Many dogs have issues that need to be addressed individually. Some dogs are afraid of skateboards, men, children, or separation. You will need a professional trainer to help you understand your dog’s fears and learn to control them through proper training. Even the most well meaning dog that jumps on people for attention can seriously harm a child. Basic obedience will teach you how to control your dog’s outbursts and excitement and make for a much more pleasant experience for both of you.

Leaving your dog outside unattended is a sign of a bad owner, and a red flag for people walking by. Even if your intent is to get your dog out of the house, you need to always be in control if its behaviors. If your neighbors have good cause to be afraid of your dog, that can only lead to trouble. Most dogs are wonderful pets, but what goes on when you’re not watching can prove to be a huge liability. Neighborhood kids taunt dogs, cats get into neighbors’ yards, baseballs fly over fences, and if you’re not home, you cannot control the outcome. If you are not home, your dog should not be your neighbor’s problem, BRING THEM INSIDE!!!

Step 2: Get off your butt and walk your dog regularly.

I am often identified by neighbors as “that girl with the big dogs” and when they meet me, they often ask about my dogs. I make it a habit (during the warmer months) to be out and about almost every day with my three large dogs. My neighbors constantly stop me to chat and generally come close to my dogs and start petting them. Once they have established a friendly relationship with my dogs they don’t view them as a threat to their families. A trick I use to charm little kids who want to pet my dog is treating. Make sure you train your dog to have a soft mouth; this is very easy to do with any dog, trust me. Bring biscuits with you wherever you have your dogs. When a child wants to pet them, put your dog in a sit, and hand the child the biscuit. Say “soft mouth” and then “okay” and when the dog ever so gently takes the biscuit out of the child’s hand, the child is usually overwhelmed with excitement and alas, a doggy/child relationship has been formed.

As a female who lives in a “up and coming” area of the city, this is also a good crime prevention tool. A lot of home invaders wander through unsuspecting neighborhoods to seek out which homes are prime targets, and which homes have dogs. Everyone on the block knows about my dogs!

Step 3: Talk to your neighbors

Our society is heading towards complete anonymity; we don’t know, care, or want to deal with our neighbors. I was this way before I moved into my current neighborhood and I am so glad I changed my ways. Your neighbors want to look out for you and in turn, they want you to look out for them. If you move in to the house across the way with a huge dog and a bad attitude, it’s no wonder they’re afraid of you. It’s important to include your dog as a member of the family, especially when introducing yourselves. If you see people in the street, walk out with your dog, put your dog in a sit and introduce yourself and the dog. It works wonders, and they’re generally un-phased when they find out your dog is a pit bull.

Step 4: Be an active member in the dog rescue community

Many pit bull owners work actively with city councils, non-profits and shelters to ensure their voice is heard. When people find out that you’re an active volunteer for animal welfare organizations and that your dog is rescued, it generally softens their feelings about the dog’s breed. This will also help you with education; the more you know the more you can teach!

Step 5: Make sure you give your dog a proper name

I always cringe when I hear someone talking about their pit bull named “Killer” or something similar. I understand its all in good fun, or for a tough exterior, but a name like Killer makes people uncomfortable. Try a name that softens the perception or causes a person to smile. My first pit bull was rescued off of death row and we decided to name her Slappy because nobody can be afraid of a dog named Slappy. My other two dogs are named Pokey Monkey and Beans. People love their names and are always happy to meet them.

There are plenty of other ways to be a good neighbor, but that is an entirely different article. Get out into the community, show them what your dog is made of and you will have happy and friendly neighbors who may defend your dogs to others. Be a good neighbor and understand that their fear is based on misinformation from the media. Help them better understand the breed, educate and familiarize. Most people who are afraid of pit bull dogs have never met a pit bull!

BY RACHEL H,
MABBR VOLUNTEER

Magic Man’s adoption warms our hearts everytime we think of our lucky boy. He found excactly what he needed and exactly what we had always dreamed of for him. Though distance often is difficult for us to overcome in our adoptions, living in seperate countries didn’t prevent this amazing family from adopting the dog our their dreams.

We thank Coleen and Rob from the bottom of our hearts for giving Magic the home that fullfilled his dreams and more.

Note: Katie, Magic’s foster mom, will be visitng Magic for Valentine’s Day!

Update from Magic’s mom:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you so very much for the Christmas goodies for our special bear. Magic is, absolutely, the best boy ever, and Rob and I are privileged to share our lives and home with him. I am rarely separated from him, as I am the one that suffers from separation anxiety when he is not by my side.  As I am typing, Madge is curled on the floor on his “office mat”. He has two mats and two futons in different rooms throughout the house. He is such a good fellow, in fact he is amazing. I am going to have to make a special deal with God that when he calls Magic back to Heaven, as I am certain that is where my bear started, God allows me to go with him.

Jennifer, I understand that when I initially enquired about Magic, you spoke on my behalf to Katie, who was understandably reluctant to consider an out-of-country adoption. I cannot adequately express my gratitude or my indebtedness for your conviction that Rob and I could provide the forever home Magic so readily deserves. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I must also say, that Katie is truly a remarkable advocate for MABBR. As human beings go, she is one of the very best. That she did a terrific job of fostering Magic was strongly evident, as his social skills and trust were very much intact. Additionally, Katie made it clear that she would remain accessible should there be any concerns regarding our boy’s settling in period. Jennifer, please know that Rob and I love Magic with all of our hearts and take great pleasure in doing all that is required to provide him with the happiest, safest and healthiest life possible; afterall, he is our baby boy.

Warmest regards,

Colleen

February is the month of love. Show your love by doing something important for our dogs!  A new proposed State Bill before your Senate, SB 886, would allow any Missouri village, town, or city to adopt regulations to control vicious or dangerous dogs. More importantly, the bill prevents communities from discriminating specifically against any breed of dog! There is no evidence that breed specific laws reduce dog bites. However, there is significant evidence that well enforced, breed neutral laws do. Kansas City Dog Advocates (KCDA) and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) both believe that laws like SB 886 can help keep communities safe without banning targeted breeds. MABBR agrees.

The Bill is supposed to be retroactive, which means that it would wipe out existing Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) that has altered or ended the lives of so many innocent dogs.

What Can You Do?

If you’re not comfortable writing your own letter…A very convenient option is to visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to send an email to your state senator and to the committee currently considering SB 886. The email urges the senators to support this legislation. It will automatically send your email to all of the Senators and/or Committee members listed. It can’t get much easier than that! Use the comment box to personalize your letter. Remember, you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar! Be polite and respectful when you choose your words. Please take 5 minutes right now to do this. If your dog has a special talent, redeeming quality, or is just a good breed ambassador~ point it out! For example: My dog is in training to be a Certified Therapy Dog.

Please stress in your letter that you support SB 886 as originally filed. We’ve heard that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is pressuring the bill sponsor to revise the proposed bill to allow for Mandatory Spay Neuter (MSN) of specific breeds. While we do support voluntary spay/neuter programs, we do not support breed specific mandatory spay/neuter, because it is another form of breed specific legislation.

Some Dobies are red…
Some Pit Bulls are blue…
Help pass this bill…
They all will thank you!

BY BRENDA H,
MABBR VOLUNTEER

Buff was a bit sensitive when she came to foster care. Loud noises, sudden moves, lunging-all would send her running away. What I like to do with shy gals like this is desensitize with PLAY. This entails slow introduction with positive reinforcement, etc. Adjustments must be made for each dog of course. But for the Buffster, it meant letting her sniff the object voluntarily to a gradual and eventual all out chasing with newspaper, plastic bag, etc. This also included poking, pulling, and even lunging at her while stomping my foot. No, don’t call Animal Control on me. Thanks to Buff’s positive attitude and just fun gal heart, this is now her favorite game. So yes, chase her with the scariest thing you can think of, she’ll run and chase you back in delight. In fact, she likes it so much she’ll bring you the newspaper! She’s also now incredibly vocal. When she waits at the door from the yard to come in, she’ll often howly and snortily request you hurry as she’s getting a bit cold. Think sea lion meets elephant. Every time she makes her snorty requests (which is often), her foster dad likes to chase her with the broom and threatens to call Animal Control. I instead tell him he should call the Enquirer or some other publication that might pay for a story about the mythological creature from Scotland that’s been hanging out at our house.

It’s been a long haul and we still have some hurdles to overcome, but we’re so proud of how far our special boy has come. Clarence is still battling mange. His last vet appointment showed excellent progress and we are hopeful he will beat this ordeal once and for all. He recently had surgery for entropian and is on a special diet to help with his skin sensitivity. Though we are still working on his health, his personality is absolutely amazing. We know there are days where he is uncomfortable and doesn’t feel so hot, but you’d never know it by how he acts. Every day Clarence shows nothing but joy to be alive. He savors every moment, finds fun in everything he does, and never misses an opportunity to snuggle up to someone who loves him. He’s an inspiration to us all, and a reminder to not let lifes’ little hurdles get us down, but instead to appreciate all that is wonderful each day we are given. MABBR would like to thank all of the generous donors and supporters who have helped Clarence along the way. He shows us every day how thankful he is to be alive - and we are incredi-bully thankful to have him in our lives.