I rescued an 8 pound, black miniature schnauzer about 2 years ago.
He was hours away from euthanasia. I'd driven to the SPCA b/c of a story about another dog on 'death row'. The yorkie was adopted.
He hadn't been bathed or groomed in at least a year. My children had schnauzers for the last 25 years, so I knew he was 'mostly' schnauzer.
What I learned of his history compelled me to adopt this creature who endured life in the outside world, 'on his own' for at least 7 months.
He's fast. He 'splits' faster than an atom! He'd escaped from his original owner THREE times. The first time, the SPCA fee was $400--he was 'fixed' and vaccinated with a tattoo and microchip. Second time? $350. The third time he landed in an SPCA cage, the owner said, "I cannot afford this; I hope someone adopts him, b/c he's a sweet dog, but I just cannot afford to pay this bill."
She also explained, "he escaped 7 months ago. He's been on his own these last 7 months." That's how I knew how long he'd been 'on his own'.
When captured, he was part of a homeless dog gang. There was a doberman-mix, five pit bulls or mixes and this 8 pound black schnauzer!
One thing that was immediately clear. He was 'no one's BITCH'. I live in River Oaks, Houston, TX and the city built two of the most unbelievable dog parks I've ever seen. There are concrete ponds with fountains and very secure fencing with about an acre of land in each side (big dog side; small dog side).
Sarge is so filled with energy, we always play in the 'big dog park'. I've seen akitas, doberman, German Shepherds and pit-mixes FLEE in terror when Sarge snarls with all his teeth. Think of the rat. Did you know when threatened, a rat's instinct compel it to attempt to viciously attack the face! I think Sarge is the dog equivalent in the above.
Before I brought him home, the discharge veterinarian said, "you can see this little fellow's ribs. He's lived off dumpster scraps, slow birds and the occasional distracted squirrel."
No matter what anyone might say, that pack of pit bulls/mixes could have eaten Sarge for dinner at anytime. Instead they taught him how to survive in the heartless city wilderness. We had the most brutal winter (for Houston, TX). They protected him. In fact the SPCA employee that caught him said, "catching him wasn't the problem. It was the damn pack of dogs prepared to die protecting him!"
He's thriving, now, and I think if he has an imaginary mirror, he'd see himself as a mighty and proud pit bull!
I've allowed him to spend a few nights on four instances when a friend said they had mouse/mice in their home. People might believe dogs only act on instinct, but Sarge is intelligent. He acts with strategy. For example, most were very young, but he went nuts trying to get underneath a cabinet. We pulled from the wall and 8 mice scrambled to flee.
Instead of just killing ONE, Sarge maimed 7 and killed the last. I was impressed and amazed and a little terrified at the same time. Methodically he ended life for those 7 fatally wounded creatures. I looked at all those little carcasses and thought "OMG.....this is like Hiroshima!".
I couldn't let him eat the mice b/c a neighbor had placed poison bait, but he was quite proud of himself. I love all animals, so my emotions were mixed, but when I looked into his loyal, devoted, innocent and hopeful for approval eyes, I've never been more proud of any dog, before.
Say what you will about pit bulls, but Sarge managed to survive those seven months AND learn how to protect himself and hold his ground. These dogs, if savage, could have hurt or killed countless people. They merely wanted to survive. That they were so protective of Sarge when most large dogs would see him as 'prey' is proof that you'll never see in a positive statistic about pit bulls.
My heart sincerely goes out to this family and this is a tragedy. An even worse tragedy, though, is how this story will serve to only provoke people already convinced pits are pure evil.