First of all, my name is Laura. I am 27 years old and live in Thornton. I am the mother of two beautiful female blue brindle pits. I will tell you about them soon.... But, here is how I started....I started volunteering in Thornton at the old Mile Hi Shelter a few years ago. I immediately took a liking to the pits because there were so many of them. Mile Hi had a contract with Commerce City, who has a ban- so any of the pits who came from Commerce City, could never return home. A lot of them were at the shelter until their time was up, or more likely, until there wasn't space for them. I decided I would foster one, so I picked out my boy Toby. He had been in the shelter for 6 months. The sweetest boy ever- I took him strait to the dog park- where he did wonderful! I knew he would be adopted-so after a few months, I returned him to the shelter to be neutered. They wanted to keep him for a few days after the surgery- no problem, I thought.....
Well, it turns out, it was a problem- I got a call that he attacked a dog and they euthanized him.... I never for a minute believed that- I knew what really happened as soon as I got to the shelter- There were 4-5 other pit bulls also "missing".... They had cleaned up the shelter of the pit bulls. This broke my heart! I loved him dearly and after 6 months of being in the shelter with no love- he finally had it and he had to be put to sleep by cold hearted shelter workers who only saw him as another pit bull????
My heart was broken- but I knew I had to keep going and trying to save them, other wise another would be euthanized. So I took home the cutest little pit bull puppy. Jada. She was chocolate brown with a speckled filled heart on her chest. I kept her as my own and was planning on fostering more while I had her. Unfortunately, Jada became really sick at 6 months old and had to be put to sleep. The doctors could not explain it and still to this day cannot. Broken hearted again-
I fostered alot of dogs after that until I received my current pups. Here they are....
I have a 9 month old pit bull, Deja, at home that was born at the shelter that I volunteered at to a 7 month old mangy deaf pit bull. I took her and her brother home at 6 weeks. At 8 weeks they both had ring worm. The rest of the litter returned to the shelter at 8 weeks to be treated for their ring worm - they were all dead within 2 weeks. The only survivors were my two puppies. I found a wonderful home for the boy and kept my little girl- She is mangy and stinky, but I love her and cant imagine not having her.
Now for my baby, CeCe. I watch CL everyday because of the Pit bulls. I came across an idiot who was trying to sell a 3 week old pit puppy. He was a back yard breeder in Aurora. He told me that the mom had bit her and she had to have stitches in her lip- which is why he needed to sell her- to pay himself back for the cost of the stitches. I wanted nothing more than for her to be safe and make it. I know how hard it is to bottle feed. I called into work, overdrew my bank account, and paid $150 dollars for her. (keep in mind not many bottle fed puppies make it if they are taken away so young) I hired a baby sitter to watch her for 6 weeks while I worked my 9-5. It was just as if I had a child- I took her to daycare in the morning (yes- with a diaper bag full of formula, sweaters, blankets, toys,etc.) and picked her up promptly after work. My nights were filled with cuddling, preparing bottles, and running outside to let her potty. I put an immense amount of time, heart and money into this pup. And she made it! The guy was selling the others for $1000- I called Aurora animal control- and I could have told him where they lived and were breeding- but they told me that most of the time they are all just euthanized. That it depends on the judge's mood that day. How can the fate of a litter of puppies be determined by one person's mood? The breeder could have faced two felonies- one for selling an under aged pup and the other for housing and breeding in a banned city. But who would have been punished in the end? Not the breeder- the pups and their mother who would be put to sleep almost immediately at the shelter. I would not tell where he lived- I would rather them have a chance at life than to send them to a known destiny of death.
About a month ago- i was emailed by rescue workers here in Colorado about a mother pit who came into the shelter and gave birth to 11 puppies- 6 died within 24 hours. The other 5 were holding on- but for what???- in 4 days they would be euthanized due to breed and space….. I took off work again- drove to Colorado springs- and brought them to safety. Momma and 5 babies were safe. Momma Rosie had the socialization level of a feral cat- it was like she had never been touched, never been in a house and never eaten out of a food bowl. She is now in a foster home with children, dogs, cats, and her babies and weaning her pups so that they and herself may be adopted. She is an amazingly sweet dog who just needed to learn to trust and love.
While watching craigslist a couple weeks after that- i came across two more momma pit bulls who needed a place to go- They were both pregnant! I know there is a rescue for pit bulls- but to be really honest- it is extremely hard to get pit bulls into. Not to mention that they run solely on foster homes. Most of those homes have had the same pit bulls for years-
It is very apparent that we need a place, a shelter, a safe location where this breed can be brought to be adopted, loved, trained, socialized, etc. with out being at risk of euthanasia or criticism.
I am determined to create that sanctuary. I don't care if i have to call Oprah, Obama, or the dog whisperer to get it.
I know this ban can be overturned and that it is going to take an immense amount of work and effort by alot of very passionate people to do it.
I am confident we can do this- and I would love to have all of your help in doing so.
I will keep you up to date on what I am working on- and how we are going to get to the big finale meeting- I plan to have media, supporters, etc. everyone there- We have to show Colorado that it is not our dogs- It is the ignorant people who get the breed and are not responsible pit bull owners who ruin it for us all.
I would love to get all of us together on a weekend - maybe at the dog park so we can bring our bullies and bounce some ideas around on how to combat this- I have some- but know i cannot do it all on my own....
Please let me know your thoughts and ideas- Let's get this moving- every day we wait, more and more pit bulls are killed in our local shelters-
Laura
Every day pitbulls are put to sleep at shelters in Colorado. puppies, adults, you name it. It doesnt matter out here. There are pitbull bans in 3 of the major cities. It is almost impossible to place a full grown pit bull.
They need a place to go where they are safe. I have found a building and have a team- but need funding to make it all happen.
Anyone love pitbulls as much as I do?