Post by michele5611 on Jun 20, 2011 12:44:04 GMT -5
network.bestfriends.org/17308/news.aspx
Saving America’s Dogs
June 15, 2011, 5:48AM MT
By Sandy Miller, Best Friends staff writer
Best Friends’ Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program aims to do just that
It seems appropriate that one of the five shelters participating in Best Friends Animal Society’s Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is located in the nation’s capital.
After all, for years pit-bull terriers were considered “America’s dogs.” A brindle pit-bull terrier named Stubby, once a stray, became the most decorated war dog of World War I.
Today, his wonderful story is the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian. Pit-bull terriers were also displayed on war posters as proud mascots of bravery, and they were America’s favorite family pets.
Sadly, thanks to the myths and the negative and misleading press that surrounds them, these wonderful dogs have become vilified in recent years. The sad result is that many of these dogs end up in shelters and often don’t find their way out again. Some communities have banished them altogether by enacting unfair and ineffective breed-discriminatory laws.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program, made possible through a grant from PetSmart Charities® with additional support from Best Friends, is trying to change all that.
Five shelters across the country are participating in the pilot project designed to encourage responsible pet guardianship, increase adoptions, reduce euthanasia of pit-bull terriers and similar-type dogs, and improve the public’s perception of these wonderful dogs.
One of those shelters is the Washington Humane Society in Washington, D.C., where Kirstyn Northrop Cobb, Best Friends’ local coordinator for the D.C. program, and her all-volunteer Pit Crew are hard at work educating the public about pit-bull terriers and providing community outreach services, such as free or low-cost spaying and neutering. They’re holding adoption fairs and other events and providing training and enrichment activities for shelter dogs. One of their regular activities is “Mutts on the Mall.” They take shelter dogs to the National Mall to help educate the public about how great these dogs really are.
“I can tell people that pit-bull terriers are fantastic dogs, but I find that if I let them see these wonderful dogs for themselves, it really hits home,” Kirstyn says.
One of these dogs is Jordie (right), a sweet 1-year-old pit-bull terrier who came to the shelter after being found in a crate next to a dumpster.
“Jordie is a fantastic dog with a huge personality,” Kirstyn says. “She knows basic obedience and gets along well with other dogs. Jordie loves nothing better than to go outside and roll on her back in the grass. She would do well in any home, but would be especially happy in a home with a yard so she can roll in the grass. That would make her so happy.” To find out more about Jordie, go to the Washington Humane Society’ website and click on Jordie’s name.
There’s nothing better than getting out for some fun in the sun with your dog friends. This is especially important for shelter dogs. The D.C. Shelter Partners program has been holding regular play groups for the dogs since the program was launched earlier this year.
“The dogs love the play groups,” Kirstyn says. “We’re going to start having Kong-stuffing parties as well so our dogs have a little more mental stimulation. And since we started the play groups, we know what dogs we can pair up so now some of the dogs have buddies they can stay with all the time. It helps with space and the dogs really seem to like having a friend with them.”
A partnership
The Washington Humane Society has been the area’s leading voice for animals since 1870. As the only open-access shelter in the nation’s capital, and the only congressionally chartered humane society in the country, the organization provides comfort and care to approximately 30,000 animals each year.
Lisa Fontaine, president and chief executive officer of the Washington Humane Society, says the organization is very excited to be part of the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program.
“Educating the public about the true nature of these great animals is a key to decreasing their numbers in our shelters — and to viewing dogs as individuals,” Lisa said in a news release.
The four other shelters participating in the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls project are the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter in Baltimore, Maryland; the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services in Carlsbad, California; the Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care and Adoption Center in Rancho Cucamonga, California; and Hillsborough County Animal Services in Tampa, Florida.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is modeled after a very successful partnership between Best Friends and Salt Lake County Animal Services that began back in July 2009.
The save rate for pit-bull-type dogs climbed from 57 to 71 percent in the program’s first year, and the number of dogs adopted doubled from the previous year.
Jamie Healy, manager of the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls project, says the program is already making great strides in changing community perceptions of pit-bull terriers. People, she says, are realizing that pit-bull terriers are dogs just like any other dogs.
“They deserve our help and compassion to get them out of the shelters and into loving homes,” Jamie says. “The number of pit-bull terriers in shelters is so disproportionately high that we can’t just stand by and hope their numbers will decrease. We wanted to get involved and make a true impact in raising the save rates.”
Jamie says another important part of the Shelter Partners program is to provide support and resources to people with pit-bull terriers so they can keep their dogs in their homes and in their families where they belong.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is an important tool in bringing us closer to a time of No More Homeless Pets.
“We’re accomplishing just that through this lifesaving program, and I’m so proud of what has been achieved so far,” Jamie says. “Sometimes we see huge changes and sometimes it’s baby steps, but in both cases, we’re moving in the right direction to make a lasting difference.”
Pit Crews at each of the five Shelter Partners shelters have set up Facebook pages to keep their communities up to date on everything that’s going on. Here are the links to their pages:
Washington, D.C.
Baltimore, Maryland
Tampa, Florida
San Diego, California
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Read more about the Salt Lake County Pit Crew.
To find out more about how to become a part of a Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls Pit Crew team, see the Best Friends Volunteer Center.
Best Friends Animal Society is working throughout the country to help pit-bull terriers, who are battling everything from a media-driven bad reputation to ineffective and expensive breed-discriminatory legislation. Best Friends hopes to end discrimination against all dogs. Dogs are individuals and should be treated as such. Find out how you can help by visiting and becoming a fan of Best Friends’ pit bull terrier initiatives.
Saving America’s Dogs
June 15, 2011, 5:48AM MT
By Sandy Miller, Best Friends staff writer
Best Friends’ Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program aims to do just that
It seems appropriate that one of the five shelters participating in Best Friends Animal Society’s Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is located in the nation’s capital.
After all, for years pit-bull terriers were considered “America’s dogs.” A brindle pit-bull terrier named Stubby, once a stray, became the most decorated war dog of World War I.
Today, his wonderful story is the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian. Pit-bull terriers were also displayed on war posters as proud mascots of bravery, and they were America’s favorite family pets.
Sadly, thanks to the myths and the negative and misleading press that surrounds them, these wonderful dogs have become vilified in recent years. The sad result is that many of these dogs end up in shelters and often don’t find their way out again. Some communities have banished them altogether by enacting unfair and ineffective breed-discriminatory laws.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program, made possible through a grant from PetSmart Charities® with additional support from Best Friends, is trying to change all that.
Five shelters across the country are participating in the pilot project designed to encourage responsible pet guardianship, increase adoptions, reduce euthanasia of pit-bull terriers and similar-type dogs, and improve the public’s perception of these wonderful dogs.
One of those shelters is the Washington Humane Society in Washington, D.C., where Kirstyn Northrop Cobb, Best Friends’ local coordinator for the D.C. program, and her all-volunteer Pit Crew are hard at work educating the public about pit-bull terriers and providing community outreach services, such as free or low-cost spaying and neutering. They’re holding adoption fairs and other events and providing training and enrichment activities for shelter dogs. One of their regular activities is “Mutts on the Mall.” They take shelter dogs to the National Mall to help educate the public about how great these dogs really are.
“I can tell people that pit-bull terriers are fantastic dogs, but I find that if I let them see these wonderful dogs for themselves, it really hits home,” Kirstyn says.
One of these dogs is Jordie (right), a sweet 1-year-old pit-bull terrier who came to the shelter after being found in a crate next to a dumpster.
“Jordie is a fantastic dog with a huge personality,” Kirstyn says. “She knows basic obedience and gets along well with other dogs. Jordie loves nothing better than to go outside and roll on her back in the grass. She would do well in any home, but would be especially happy in a home with a yard so she can roll in the grass. That would make her so happy.” To find out more about Jordie, go to the Washington Humane Society’ website and click on Jordie’s name.
There’s nothing better than getting out for some fun in the sun with your dog friends. This is especially important for shelter dogs. The D.C. Shelter Partners program has been holding regular play groups for the dogs since the program was launched earlier this year.
“The dogs love the play groups,” Kirstyn says. “We’re going to start having Kong-stuffing parties as well so our dogs have a little more mental stimulation. And since we started the play groups, we know what dogs we can pair up so now some of the dogs have buddies they can stay with all the time. It helps with space and the dogs really seem to like having a friend with them.”
A partnership
The Washington Humane Society has been the area’s leading voice for animals since 1870. As the only open-access shelter in the nation’s capital, and the only congressionally chartered humane society in the country, the organization provides comfort and care to approximately 30,000 animals each year.
Lisa Fontaine, president and chief executive officer of the Washington Humane Society, says the organization is very excited to be part of the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program.
“Educating the public about the true nature of these great animals is a key to decreasing their numbers in our shelters — and to viewing dogs as individuals,” Lisa said in a news release.
The four other shelters participating in the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls project are the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter in Baltimore, Maryland; the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services in Carlsbad, California; the Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care and Adoption Center in Rancho Cucamonga, California; and Hillsborough County Animal Services in Tampa, Florida.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is modeled after a very successful partnership between Best Friends and Salt Lake County Animal Services that began back in July 2009.
The save rate for pit-bull-type dogs climbed from 57 to 71 percent in the program’s first year, and the number of dogs adopted doubled from the previous year.
Jamie Healy, manager of the Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls project, says the program is already making great strides in changing community perceptions of pit-bull terriers. People, she says, are realizing that pit-bull terriers are dogs just like any other dogs.
“They deserve our help and compassion to get them out of the shelters and into loving homes,” Jamie says. “The number of pit-bull terriers in shelters is so disproportionately high that we can’t just stand by and hope their numbers will decrease. We wanted to get involved and make a true impact in raising the save rates.”
Jamie says another important part of the Shelter Partners program is to provide support and resources to people with pit-bull terriers so they can keep their dogs in their homes and in their families where they belong.
The Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls program is an important tool in bringing us closer to a time of No More Homeless Pets.
“We’re accomplishing just that through this lifesaving program, and I’m so proud of what has been achieved so far,” Jamie says. “Sometimes we see huge changes and sometimes it’s baby steps, but in both cases, we’re moving in the right direction to make a lasting difference.”
Pit Crews at each of the five Shelter Partners shelters have set up Facebook pages to keep their communities up to date on everything that’s going on. Here are the links to their pages:
Washington, D.C.
Baltimore, Maryland
Tampa, Florida
San Diego, California
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Read more about the Salt Lake County Pit Crew.
To find out more about how to become a part of a Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls Pit Crew team, see the Best Friends Volunteer Center.
Best Friends Animal Society is working throughout the country to help pit-bull terriers, who are battling everything from a media-driven bad reputation to ineffective and expensive breed-discriminatory legislation. Best Friends hopes to end discrimination against all dogs. Dogs are individuals and should be treated as such. Find out how you can help by visiting and becoming a fan of Best Friends’ pit bull terrier initiatives.
I look forward to learning much here