We lost a beautiful soul....

It is with great sadness I must announce the loss of a wonderful soul. This week Leo passed away from a severe seizure disorder. Leo was my working partner, friend and family loved one and I will never forget how wonderful he was. He was so many things to many people and to many dogs.
Leo came to Our Pack from the Vick case and I was lucky enough to later adopt him. Even though he didn't have a good start in life he made life for others around him better. Just after arriving to us, Leo quickly turned inhumanity into humanity. He gave love that wasn't even given to him.
He worked with cancer patients as a therapy dog. He showed kids that no matter what you can still show love and compassion toward others regardless of how life has treated you. He showed the world that one should not be judged based on what property he lives on but on who you are and what you do as an individual. Many dogs are alive today and many people have smiled because of Leo and his work. He gave a second chance to other dogs that may never have gotten one because of who he was and what he did.
Please join me in remembering the good that Leo has done and pass it on. We've suffered a great loss but we've also received a wonderful gift in the time we were lucky enough to share with him. Leo accomplished so much in so little time. Thank you Leo, I love you so much and you will never be forgotten....Ever.
For Leo, 2005 - 2011

The Old Days

Growing up with animals I can't imagine my life without them. My parents came from a time when we depended on animals, worked along side them everyday. I grew up mostly where I live now and it was mostly a farming community. Now it seems that insurance companies and landlords are making it so difficult to provide homes these days for dogs of many different breeds. We get the calls and e mails daily. Education is key I think in keeping our dogs in our homes and in providing information to those who rent out homes/apts and make decisions for insurance companies. Pass out handouts (www.ourpack.org) or from your local favorite rescue at www.pbrc.net and take your dog out, show him off, get his CGC www.akc.org/cgc Show the world that it's not the breed of dog, it's the teamwork between dog and owner. If we take responsibility, our dogs won't have to.

Norman entertaining his temporary houseguest

A Little Face in the Crowd....Leo's New Friend

HikeABull

Check out the HikeABull facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HikeABulls
They're awesome group that organizes hikes for dogs and their people in the Bay Area California. Spread the word and start one in your area. Here's a video of their Walk for Awareness Hike http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3-1PRkP48

More sun today! Yay!

Dexter at the Children's Library Today

Here's Dexter again at the Library where several kids read to him to gain confidence.

Our Pack's Talk for the Kids

Our Pack is regularly providing education not only for the general public but also for kids with the goal to prevent animal care issues in the future. Yesterday we met up again with some great kids and brought Bernie from the 200 dog bust in OH last year. Bernie of course stole the show again as always and was a hit! We talked about ...spay/neuter, chaining dogs, what happens when dogs are left in yards and not socialized, how to care for dogs, abuse of dogfighting, etc. We talked about how dogs do great when they're revered as family members. We got the point across that the animal problems we see today are a human responsibilty. These kids were awesome! They had great questions, smart, smart answers and they were wonderful to work with! We loved them! We'd like to thank their wonderful teachers for bringing the kids, you guys are the best! We'd also like to thank Oakland Animal Services for letting us do our class there. Thanks to their ACO for the great tour and wonderful info given to the kids. She did an awesome job. Thank you Stephanie as always for giving the best talks. Anna thanks for bringing our lovely Bernie and your great input. And of course, thanks most of all to our sweet Bernie for the wisdom and love he passes on that makes the best points of all.

Thank You Dogtime!

Dogtime was kind enough to write a nice blog about Our Pack. Take a look.
http://dogtime.com/our-pack-pit-bull-road-to-rescue.html

Our Pack classes nominated in Beast of the Bay Awards for best training classes!

Online voting ends at midnight on Sunday, February 6 for Beast of the Bay Awards. So vote for your favorite groups, business etc. We were nominated for best training classes! If you prefer, you can fill out a paper ballot from a January or February issue of Bay... Woof and send it to BoBA2011 c/o Bay Woof, 3288 - 21st St., San Francisco, CA 94110. Be sure to mail it early enough so it will be in our office by February 7.
Vote here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BoBA2011ballot

Love.....

Oakland Animal Services to the Rescue!

A thanks to our friends and partners at Oakland Animal Services and task force for getting abusers caught and wonderful dogs out of a horrible abuse case and into new lives!! A must see are the before and after pics of the lovely dogs!! OAS has also continued our Our Pack training classes in helping the dogs in our communities. Sats at 11am. http://oaklandanimalservices.org/2011/01/out-of-crates-into-the-world/

Pass the Pup

Greta who was left on a doorstep a few months back hosted our Pass the Pup Sat. She will be up for adoption shortly through Our Pack btw. She did great with themand they were good pups with her. We had more kids this week too and more unknown adults for the pups. The pups will soon be available through www.sanjoseanima...ls.com Thanks to everyone for the help. Here's a video.