Saving Tinkerbell

On 9/11/14 I was feeling kind of down remembering the horrible attack that happened 13 years ago. I decided to get Jake (our Labrador) a play mate. At a year and a half old he needed another dog to be his forever partner.

As I entered the humane society's parking lot, the cries of the dogs was unbearable. I just wanted to cry. I took Jake with me because him getting along with another dog was important. That day was very stressful to him because he had been from home to home before we adopted him.

At the shelter, they said a female would be better for Jake then a male so I took a piece of paper and started my journey to find Jake a playmate. Cage after cage of crying dogs jumping up and wanting to go home. It was all I could do to not lose it. Each female I saw and I thought would be a good match for Jake, I wrote down on my paper. There were four in total that I liked so I went to each one again. Our eyes locked and I knew this was the dog I was taking home.

The shelter informed me that if I came across any dogs that said Stafford Shire Terrier, they would be a Pit Bull. Lovely to give a nice name to try to adopt out these lovely dogs.

The shelter thought of only two of the four would be a good mate for Jake. Tinkerbell was the first one I had the pleasure of seeing in the meeting yard. She was excited and came up to me for petting and some love but then was running around. She was very thin and you could see her ribs, so I knew starvation played a big part in her life. The next was a Jack Russell Terrier that wouldn't give me the time of day. We planned to let Jake and Tinkerbell meet in the play yard.

Jake was kept in one of the offices where he got lots of love and treats. He is really a big sucker for treats of any kind. I put on his leash and took him to the play yard. The worker that was helping with the adoption brought Tinkerbell to the yard. She said they could sniff through the fence first and after that was over the gate would open, we would drop the leashes and I can tell you I was really nervous. I never knew how much went into matching dogs.

As Tinkerbell entered the play yard, Jake got down in his play position. They started playing immediately and went to the fence of the other play yard to sniff another dog. Tinkerbell was very hyper and of course had and still has some behaviors we are working on. The first day was stressful on all of us because we were at the humane society for a long time.

Tinkerbell is an American Bulldog Terrier or in other words a Pitbull. I was very fearful of how she would get along with the cats because most do not like cats. Well that isn't true either because dogs only do as they are taught.

Once I brought her home, I kept her on her leash and let her sniff each cat. They all passed the sniff test but she wanted food and went right for Jake's bowl. She was starved. I let her eat and then took her outside. Her and Jake played for two hours straight. I was so happy for both of them.

That night they laid together on my bed and Tinkerbell slept with her head in my arms sighing a relief sigh that she had found true love and she has.

I have learned to love Pitbulls through friends of mine who own them and see how wonderful these dogs are. We all felt disgrace when Michael Vick got caught up in his dog ring. Taking these wonderful creatures and making them fight.

Pitbulls are not a hateful breed. They only learn what they are taught. Tinkerbell is a year old. Who knows what the last year of her life has been. All I know is she is a wonderful, silly dog, who craves love.

She was very under weight, her body was full of mites that she came home with on medication and had tape worms. I know nothing of her life before I adopted her except she was at animal control and protective services before being sent to the Humane Society.

Our shelters here in Jacksonville have received a no kill status. So Tinkerbell probably would not have been euthanized but she would have been hard to adopt. She had potty issues for the first two weeks because she was in a kennel for a long time with no where else to go.

I will never let her breed be a decision in any pet I may adopt. I would never know how wonderful these dogs were and only want what every other dog wants and that is love.

These dogs deserve to have a good life. I know there will still be fighting rings and abused dogs, but people need to realize it was never the breed it was the owner. Any dogs I have ever met that had behavior problems, it is because the owners taught them to be that way. What dog should live on a chain in a back yard with no play time and in all kind of temperatures.

Don't let any breed deter you from adoption. Shelter dogs are wonderful animals because they will appreciate any love they are given. Her first bone she didn't know what to do with so I put her in the room with Jake and it took a while but she got it. Just like she learned that you don't potty in the house and not with any scare tactics. It just took patience and love.

Dogs are mans best friends but it is we who make them unwanted.

Don't shop adopt. You will find your best friend for life.