The Best Thing About Dogs

They love you, they don't hold grudges, they don't hate, and they do their best to create peace whenever possible. They're about loving you and having a good time and best of all, like Posie here, they love to show their bellies! Of course, her cute freckles are just a bonus.

Souls That Heal

In rescue, we try never to forget that we're dealing with sentient, feeling beings.

The dogs we take in from local shelters, as well as the dogs from across the country that have suffered in abusive situations, give us what amounts to a huge college education. We learn so much from all of our dogs. They teach us that hope is inside of you, not outside. That hope is something you have to try out first, test, see if it's there and then go for it. They teach us that life is precious, not something to waste or destroy. They also teach us that optimism and hope is a state of mind, and can prevail even in the worst of circumstances. Wise ole souls, these dogs!

It's amazing to me how resilient our beloved dogs are. Whenever I find myself griping and bitching about something, I look at what some of our dogs have been through and I suddenly feel like such a wimp. If I could only be more like them....hmmm.

Our bust dogs, as well as our shelter dogs, generally change according to their environment. They don't hold grudges, go on Oprah and whine about how they just can't go on anymore. They say, "Hey, look where I am, I just knew life could be great!"

Sometimes, some of our dogs can be hurt and damaged, and have a hard time swinging back into life in a hurry. Sometimes they need the extra mile, and they need someone to hold out hope, throw them a lifeline that holds them up long enough to get them there. It's worth the stretch, the reward is like heaven. Seeing a dog smile for the first time, seeing his eyes light up because he gets to snuggle, to love and be loved, is giving AND getting the world for both human and dog!

We are still helping to coordinate rescue for the very large recent HSMO bust. I just know, as we've already seen, that there are those sentient feeling beings there with hope that they will get a spot in a foster home so that their souls can begin to heal. The miracle in this work is that our souls begin to heal when theirs do.

Please look around and see if you have a spot for dog from this bust and contact www.hsmo.org, muttsnstuff@yahoo.com or info@ourpack.org.

Happy healing!

—Marthina

Friday Pit Bull Fun

Who's exercising who here??

Just a reminder to get out and have some fun with your best friends this weekend!

Dog Loving

One of these days I hope the word "fighting" will no longer have to be associated with Pit Bulls. Despite their lineage, I don’t see Pit Bulls confiscated from fighting rings as "dog fighters." "Animals abused by cowards" would be more like it.

In March, Leo came with me to the Alternative Placement Academy (http://network.bestfriends.org/stopbsl/news/24603.html). One of the things I mentioned to the kids was that only cowards fight their dogs, NOT brave men. “If someone wants to have a fight, so be it. But don’t have your dog do your fighting for you - work it out.” Their supervisor wrote me a few days later and said, “….any information we can give the cadets regarding how bad dog fighting is and how animals should be treated is so important. I thought it was great when you told them that cowards have their dogs fight for them. Thank you for all your help.”

The people who teach and lead our children see the importance of putting a sense of humanity back into our society. They see the downward spiral that can occurs in a society that engages in and endorses barbaric, abusive activities like dog fighting. They understand that it’s not the dogs’ fault - it’s the human being’s (lack of) responsibility.

In doing rescue, I've found that dogs that come from fight busts do astonishingly well in homes, make great pets, and some (like Leo and Zoe) have even become therapy dogs. It's not because we're transforming them into what they could become, it's that we're unearthing who they truly are. A positive, well-managed environment and good training brings their inherent human-loving trait out. It's no surprise these Pit Bulls seem to be born for therapy work.

Ultimately, it's about who is guiding the dog. Dogs are not doctors and lawyers for a reason! They don’t make executive decisions, we do. They depend on US for guidance. So what THEY do, we are responsible for…..period.

I think this picture shows how these dogs just bring the love out of someone. Hopefully putting these kids on the right track towards love, respect, and most importantly, responsibility for the life of an animal.

While one might say I'm simply defending Pit Bulls, I'd have to disagree. There's nothing to defend as they are not guilty. (Any guilty parties are the people involved, not the dogs). But it is a plea for folks to recognize the real root of the situation - the cause and effect that people have with dogs.

Marthina McClay