Humane Society of Missouri Dog Released to Our Pack

Jakob is coming to California!

We are thrilled to finally be able to announce that Jakob, one of the dogs seized in Humane Society of Missouri fight bust, the largest dog fighting bust in U.S. history, has been released into Our Pack's care.

Jakob looking optimistic about his new future.

Jakob is one of three dogs that will be rescued by Our Pack from the more than 500 dogs seized in the multi-state raid coordinated. The remaining two dogs are still being held at HSMO while they await the results of forfeiture proceedings in federal court. Like Leo, the former Michael Vick dog, Jakob will be trained by Our Pack for a new career in therapy work.

Associated Press reporter Cheryl Wittenauer was on hand today at HSMO for Jakob's release. You can read her article here: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13562726.

As soon as we saw pictures of Jakob, we knew he was special, and our first impressions have been confirmed by our good friends Gale Frey of Mutts-n-Stuff and Our Pack's Tracey Cutler. They have been on the ground in Missouri working tirelessly to care for and evaluate these dogs.

Jakob looking happy at his release.

Therapy dogs are trained in basic manners, then provide affection and comfort to people in need in hospitals, retirement homes, schools and similar situations. Although Jakob comes from an abuse case, we’ve seen time and again these dogs are cut out for therapy work and we think he is a great candidate for this kind of work. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is temperament, and as we know, Pit Bulls have loving, affectionate natures that often make them perfect for this kind of job.

This is not the first time that Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff have teamed up to train former fight bust dogs for therapy work. In 2008, Our Pack trained Leo, a dog rescued in the infamous Michael Vick case. Despite his rough start at Bad Newz Kennels, Leo blossomed under Our Pack's care and received his therapy certification in just five weeks. His work earned Leo headlines in national media outlets, including the Washington Post, MSNBC.com, Animal Planet’s “Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case” and many others. See Leo’s story here.

Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff also worked on a HSMO bust case in Stoddard County in 2007. Gale Frey, founder of Mutts-n-Stuff, trained some of the dogs from the Stoddard case to be therapy dogs, and has been helping with the evaluation of Jakob and other dogs held at HSMO in this more recent case.. “The dogs from these cases are so resilient and wonderful to work with,” says Gale. “We’re thrilled to be helping to find them new and loving homes.”