Pass the Pup Update

Our Pass the Puppy Program is going very well. The pups were happy to see us this week with wagging tails and smiling faces. The pups seem to like this Pass the Pup thing too! Dr. Dexter also got to work some of his magic with the little ones. We leave our shoes outside the door, put down a clean blanket, wash our hand...s (they're still getting their shots) and just love them up. We're sure to pass them around, touch them everywhere and talk to them. As we mentioned in a couple of posts back the pups came in at 10 days old and lost their parents. So we decided to get some folks together once a week to socialize them and set them up for success.
Thanks to all who are helping with this. Thanks to the fosters for bringing them to the shelter for social time. We'll post if we need more people after the 1st. Enjoy these lovely, lovely photos taken by Christine D.

Happy Free Day Leo!

Lots of talk about Michael Vick lately. The thing I like to focus on the most regarding this subject are his former dogs. We also stay focused on dogs that are still victims of cruelty in similar cases. Today it's been 3 years since we took Leo into Our Pack as a rescue. Later I officially adopted him. Happy free day Leo! You've brought the best to us and taught us so very much so we could help others! Look how peaceful, confident and wise he looks in the pic. I love my Leo. <3

Our Pack Year in Review

Our Pack's year in review. See what we've been up to including our story of Bernie, a victim of cruelty that's teaching kids about humane treatment of animals. We'd like to include here a HUGE thanks to Animal Farm Foundation for their great support and help in getting Bernie to us! Thanks for seeing the therapy dog in... Bernie and your continued tireless help for the dogs!! We love you. See their site at http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org
Here's our newsletter with an amendment below that was missing:
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=jzch8rcab&v=001Q54IKSLlf4FHwLaJ6XneQAivulbHroestWq4Zsn2MqfzW7fDfi5kpoGDkfuaXB7lLK7PsUor5rpjz63RT_951ElMMQJSdh8cXcES7IVB7MG8o_0hzdCEoCz0L5WDewaBUx6KNo7HEQSxa5uADDopz8dRTlbXHKT1

Amendment:
Rescue is not our only function. Our main focus through Our Pack is to try and help create a community where rescue won’t be necessary in the future. Through our 2 prong program including 2 days/week of socializing and 1 day/week of focus training for the public as well as adopters through Our Pack we’ve been very successful at helping people continue to keep their dogs by teaching them leadership skills, management, training and socialization. We not only rescue dogs but also provide education and guidance for the community . It’s an ongoing 24/7 job that we all absolutely love. Changes in community awareness and responsible ownership is what we are trying to achieve so that our dogs no longer have to suffer, be abandoned, abused, fought and most of all, profiled. Thanks to all the generous people who donated to Our Pack this year and helped us not just rescue but make better lives for our dogs. Your continued donations to Our Pack help us achieve these goals. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization so your donations are tax deductable. We truly appreciate your continued support and help…so do the dogs!

Pit Bull Mix is National Dock Diving Champ!

We love to highlight positive Pit Bull news when we see it! Check out this story from yesterday's San Jose Mercury News about Aries, a rescued Pit Bull mix who is making headlines as a national champion dock jumper:

Formerly lost San Jose mutt now a national champion of little-known sport of dock-jumping

By Sean Webby

Three years ago, a troubled, traumatized pit bull mix puppy with the coloring of a Rorschach test was picked up by the San Jose Animal Care and Control. He had been abandoned or became lost leaping after squirrels through the streets of San Jose.

Last month, Aries -- now considerably mellowed with St. John's Wort and the gentle stewardship of his new owner, Ursula Kinley -- raced down a slender dock at a Las Vegas pool, soared through the air and splashed down just shy of 30 feet away. With that astonishing leap, Aries became a national champion -- for the second year in a row.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Pack Walking

For some training fun, get some dog friends together and practice walking your dogs in a group. Over the years we've practiced pack walks like this in the Sunday Our Pack classes just for fun and to help the dogs to relax. It's good to change directions to get the dogs used to staying calm while walking towards other dogs, while keeping a comfortable distance.

Here's a video from the Sunday Our Pack class:

Your Pups Featured in Our Pack Calendar!

We'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who submitted photos for the 2011 Our Pack calendar! We had a great response to our call for photos, and we loved reading your stories about what your Pitties have meant to you. We wish we could have included every photo! Thank you for sharing your photos and stories with us, and thank you for your tremendous support!

Get them now! Our Pack 2011 Calendars are available here:

http://www.cafepress.com/pitpack/7434283

We received lots of photos! Unfortunately, not all of them could be used. Some tips for submitting your photos for next year's calendar:

1. Make sure the photo is in focus. We received some darling shots that were too blurry to use.
2. Set your camera to its highest quality settings. In order to look good in print, photos need to be as large and high resolution as possible.
3. Try to avoid "green eyes" when using flash and shooting in overly dark environments indoors. Outdoor shots tend to be best for capturing those cute Pitty faces!
4. We can only use photos you possess the rights to; professional pet portraits must be submitted by the photographer or come with a written release.

Thanks again everyone and enjoy!

Tip

It's best to have your pup around lots of people that provide positive experiences early on and dogs that can set good examples. Of course sometimes even when we do all the right things issues can still come up. Dogs do have a better chance with good social structure and management set in early on. Nice video of some ...calm relaxed behavior.