HOW For the Love of Pits® BEGAN
I am inherently a rescuer. From my early childhood, I would bring home
stray cats. If I saw an animal unaccompanied by a human, I had to
help. I would attempt to find each homeless animal a new home when
I was unable to find their owners. I was never permitted to own a dog so
my neighbors generously offered to let me walk their dog, Alouette.
In college, at the end of the school year, students would
merely let go of their animals since they were heading home or
traveling. Because I stayed in my apartment during summer months,
I would always come across the stray dogs. I never looked at
the dog to determine breed prior to helping the dog, I just saw a
helpless dog left to fend for itself. I never thought about it, I
just knew I had to help. I rehomed many dogs, including pit bull dogs,
during my college and law school years.
It was common in our home to watch shows on Animal Planet, including
"Animal Precinct" and "Animal Cops Detroit." In 2003, my now
husband and I were living in an apartment, and we were in the process of
building our first home. One night while watching Animal Cops
Detroit, I turned to my now husband and said "they can't all be bad.
We're getting a pit bull." (This was in response to the Michigan
shelter killing all pit bull dogs, even though their tails were wagging
while being injected.) Without missing a beat, my husband
responded "oh no, we're not!"
Even though we had over 6 months before our house was completed, being
naturally inpatient, I began my search for our dog. I knew I
wanted a tan/fawn colored dog to match our furniture and the interior of our home.
In stark contrast to the current situation, the only pit bull dog I
could find online at that time was over a 45 minute drive from our
residence. This was the picture I saw:
Of course, we went to meet her and, thereafter, spent every weekend with
her until we moved into our home. This is where it all began.
We were building our first house
and I wanted a dog; a dog that would love us and whom we would
love; a companion. Grace provided us with so much more
than we expected or could have ever imagined.
Before adopting this gorgeous girl, Grace’s life was filled with
unforgivable abuse and severe neglect, untreated
illness and unfathomable loneliness. Neither my husband nor
I fell in love with Grace at first sight but we could not leave
her where she was and never imagined she would become the love
of our lives, the center of our home or impact our future in
such a profound way. We were only looking for a dog but
Grace was so much more.
Before bringing Grace home, we would visit her at the boarding
kennel where she spent the previous year and half. Grace
occupied the first indoor/outdoor run. On the days of our
visits, we would pull up to the kennel and see her staring
longingly at the cars in the parking lot. She was always
still, appearing at first glance as a statue, standing on all
fours, neck stretched out, head parallel to the ground but as
high as her neck would reach, ears back, eyes open wide. We
would get out of the car and turn to approach the kennel office.
Without fail, our first steps would cause Grace’s ears to shoot
straight up into the air. She would stand still for our
first steps – no movement, focusing intently on us.
Immediately upon our eyes making contact and, at the speed of
light, Grace would turn and dash through the seemingly small
doggy door to the interior kennel. How she knew it was us,
we’ll never know but she knew. Grace
was my shadow from the day she entered our home. She
cuddled as close as she could when I laid on the couch, was my
co-pilot when I ran errands and never questioned or hesitated
when asked to do something. She was so grateful we loved
her and she loved us unconditionally. Grace
was strong willed, vocal when she felt ignored, accepting of
every stranger and, when in her presence, made every individual
feel like the most important person in the world. Grace
did not hold grudges for past experiences, she loved everyone
she encountered without question, without hesitation and with a
love you could feel deep inside. I always admired Grace’s
ability to live each day to the fullest, her amazing spirit
glowing in everything she did and her unstoppable determination.
Despite not falling in love with my Gracie Lou Mae at first
sight, I now ache with the thought of living one moment without
her. Grace
is the reason, the sole reason, For the Love of Pits®
was formed and so many pit bull dogs’ lives are saved today. In each dog we rescue,
we see a little of our Gracie Lou Mae; our first pit bull dog,
our special girl, our heart.
