Here's a heartwarming Happy Tail from Christine in New Haven, CT:
Russell is a Boxer mix. We came across him on Petfinder and instantly fell in love with him from the video that was posted. He is 3 years old and comes from a troubled past. He was rescued from an abandoned dog-fighting facility in Georgia where he was used as a bait dog.
A bait dog is tied up and used to train fighting dogs. Russell came to us in the typical condition of an abandoned bait dog: starved, badly scarred and injured. The details of his story are too disturbing to repeat. If it weren't for Virginia Marconi of F.O.B.A.S. in Trumbull, CT, he would not be with us today.
Today Russell is a healthy 64 lbs. He goes out for three walks a day and spends free time in the yard or lounging around the house. He is a perfect gentleman, and we are convinced that he belonged to a family at one point in his life because of his manners and his love of children.
We are grateful to have him in our lives and can't imagine what life was like before he joined us. He is in a loving and safe home. Russell is a true "happy tail." We love him.
Here's a heartwarming Happy Tail from Christine in New Haven, CT:
this story nearly reduced me too tears.
i have rescued 2 bait dogs now, a female apbt that was only a year old, and my newest; a boxer x pit. Although am not sure about his past, i am almost positive that he was bait because of scarring and emaciation. he also, had to have belonged to someone and wasnt willing to fight because he loves loves loves other dogs; and he is actually very submissive with them. he loves my cat and my 6 siblings who are between the ages of 5 and 9. They hung off of him, hugging and kissing him for the last week and he loves it.
its very common where he came from to see many former "bait" to be dumped on side roads and picked up by the animal control.
both of the dogs i took.... well, nobody came for them. they were up for adoption despite their obvious medical issues and given a chance, because both were the sweetest dogs. But despite their sweet disposition, no one came. Nobody came to adopt them, and no rescue stepped up. You all know why... they are pitbulls and pit mixes, and they tend to clog up the foster homes because of there bad rap.
russells picture reminded me of my current boy mackey because they look honestly like siblings, and both have the same story. mackey is only 1-2 years old, and from now on nothing bad will ever happen to him. There had to be an angel with him all this time... protecting him so he could change my life in so many ways. He is my life right now and i would move the world for this dog, as long as he gains weight and gets a chance at a happy life.. and now ive had him for a week only and he has gained 2 pounds, so lets hope he gains another 20!!!!
thank you...
-taylor and mackey.
I think Russell is adorable; and am so glad you rescued him. I'm an animal lover and rescue strays all the time. All of my five dogs were rescued, and I've lost four of them. I only have my little pug, Angel, now, and she was a rescue also. I just cannot imagine how those horrible people can put those innocent dogs through the dog fighting process; it truly sickens me. I wish they would all be scarred for life, as they have done to these innocent dogs. If they could be made to have the same pain and horrors inflicted on them and had to live with it for the rest of their lives, maybe that would put a stop to this horrible activity. One of my dogs that I rescued in the park was a border collie/pit bull mix. He had all the same coloring and marking of the border collie, but had the short hair as the pit. He had a 3" thick collar and metal chain with a loop on it around his neck from having been chained up and starved and beaten and abused. It took the park ranger and I two hours to catch him because he was so afraid of being hurt. It broke my heart. I named him Charlie, and he truly was the smartest dog I've ever seen. Unfortunately, he had epilepsy and was given phenobarbital to counter the seizures, but the phenobarb made his liver fail and he only lived to be 6-1/2. It truly broke my heat to lose him. I was devastated. He had no idea that humans could be loving and caring and would feed him and care for him. He had scratches all over his upper body, infections in both eyes, been chained up outside, never ever shown any love or kindness, and I was so very glad to rescue him. A few days after I brought him home and he had devoured the food in his bowl because he had been starved, he literally jumped on top of my kitchen table and literally chewed through an aluminum can of dogfood to get the food out because he was so afraid he wasn't going to get any more food. That just tore my heart out and I am even tearing up as I am sending you this, so I am very glad Russel has a much better life now.
This is a wonderful story. I joined the ASPCA after watching the Animal Planet channel with my two dachshunds, Ellie Mae and Norma Jean and have been researching information about dog abuse and dog fighting. I was touched by an email I received about another bait dog named Oogy. Since then, I am trying to find ways to educate my community about this horrible and extreme cruel method of "entertainment".
I really feel the animals that have been used for bait and have a successful ending are going to be shining stars in this effort.
I never knew the severity of the dog fighting ring until I started doing research.
Thank you so much for adopting your wonderful new member of the family as it is an inspiration.
Kay
Hey starwannab -- I feel the same way you do. How can we all help preventing this? Here are my ideas. Anyone else have more?
1. Volunteer at your local shelter. You can sign up in Petfinder's volunteer database or use Petfinder to find a shelter near you and call them directly. You won't be preventing dogfighting per se but you'll be making a huge difference in the lives of pits and other dogs.
2. Adopt or foster a pit bull. Happy, well-loved pits with responsible owners are the best way to destroy people's stereotype of pits as fighting dogs.
3. Call your local law enforcement any time you suspect a dog is being used to fight.
4. Contact companies that perpetuate negative stereotypes of pits and express your disapproval.
Only by changing people's misconceptions about pits can we get more dogs like Russell out of the fighting rings and into loving homes.
How can I help with preventing this? This and Michael Vick make me sick. I Thank You very much for resucuing this pretty boy.
he is so beautiful. this story touched my heart. it makes me so happy to know that russell has found a forever home and can move on from his horrible past.