It was not until I was 20 years old, and rescued my first pittie, that I learned about BSL, breed bans and dog fighting. I was absolutely crushed and heart broken for the millions of dogs and their families. I immediately began talking to people, reaching out to people and looking closer at city laws. Although I was face to face with ignorance and prejudice many times while walking my dog, Tink through petco or even on walks. We were constantly asked things like, "Do you want to breed her?" (She was fixed.) Or, "I know where you could fight her!" (She bor the scars of abuse from the people we rescued her from.) And my ever favorite, "No! Don't touch that dog it's a pit bull!" (Yes, her face is so much scarier than your ignorance!)
But I had never stared down BSL like the day I received an email about Stoli. The story goes that the man that had Stoli drove to pick up his kids for the weekend from his ex wife who also still had Stoli. When he got there he realized how badly she was being taken care of and that his ex had bred her with a boxer. He, not thinking, put her in the car and drove back home. Little did he realize that his city has a pit bull ban. The city animal control had threatened to take her and euthanize her....yes, even while very pregnant. In desperation they sent out emails to several rescues but everyone was full. That is when the email got passed on to me and from the moment I opened the email that there was no way that I would let that happen.
Through some phone calls and great contacts I was able to set something up for her. We were to foster her and the puppies (once born) until they were all ready to be adopted out by the rescue. We drove about 2 1/2 hours to meet with Stoli's then family to do the hand off. I had done a few hand offs prior but I was not expecting what was waiting for us in the Harley Davidson parking lot that day. The man could not be there for us to meet. According to his wife it was just too hard for him so he said his goodbyes at the house. His wife and her mom met with us and brought us a very pregnant Stoli. We exchanged information, the paperwork, some idol chit chat about the weather, Stoli's personality and their incredible love for their dog. When the time came for us to leave we handed the leash back to them and took a few steps back. I watched with my hear breaking as both women broke down in tears, hugging and kissing Stoli good bye for the final time. I hugged both of them, told them how sad I was that we were meeting under those circumstances, put Stoli in the car and broke down. My heart absolutely broke that day. For as I was saving a life, they were losing one. All because of a horrible, ridiculous law.
Stoli and I at a rest stop on the way home from picking her up.
Two weeks after we picked Stoli up, on November 24, 2010 she gave birth to 9 of the cutest puppies the world has ever seen! (The first two of which were born on my couch!) We cared for all nine puppies until they were adopted out to wonderful families when they were between 8 and 9 weeks old. Shortly before the last three puppies were adopted I recieved an email from the rescue asking for updated pictures of Stoli and her information to put up on Petfinder.com. It only took one glance at my husband for him to know....Stoli wasn't going anywhere. I mean, really, she had puppies on our couch for pit's sake!
Since we adopted Stoli we have become even more aware of the ignorance and bias against pit bulls, especially in Iowa. We've worked hard to make sure that our dogs are always on top of their good behavior, are never running loose, are always good advocates, and we've even begun educating the community. In our neighborhood we are that "pit bull family." When people see us out walking they stop us to talk about all sorts of things from health and obedience to breeding etc. Now, we often get questions from people asking us, "Do you want to breed her?" No, we don't condone it and she is fixed. "Where do you get a dog like that?" Rescue, don't shop. But we also get a lot of good feedback from people as well. They tell us how our dogs have changed their minds about the breed, how they hated pit bulls but had never even met one until ours, how sweet our dogs are..... We proudly soak it up. We'll be "that pit bull family" everywhere we go and we'll do it proudly and responsibly.
Stoli, my son and I walking in the first ever Pit Bull Awareness Day event in our city
Stoli and I sharing a treat at a gathering in the park
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