Pittie Party Archives - Page 8 of 12

Rescued Pit Bull Mix Rescues Family Just 2 Days after Adoption

Silvia Reyes and her family adopted a 1-year-old Pit Bull mix named Candi on Saturday during an event held by Miami-Dade County Animal Services.

Just two days later, Candi returned the favor by saving the lives of her new forever family.

Monday night, as Reyes, her husband and their 13-year-old son were sleeping in their Pinecrest, Fla., townhouse, Candi started barking downstairs and wouldn’t stop.

“We heard a lot of barking and howling,” Reyes told Local 10. “To my surprise, at one in the morning, I came down and our kitchen was engulfed in smoke.”

The smoke was pouring out of the refrigerator. “The compressor was making some kind of bad connection,” Reyes said.

Everyone was able to get out of the house safely, although the hero dog began vomiting and having breathing difficulties.

The Reyes family rushed her to an animal hospital, where X-rays revealed she had suffered a collapsed lung due to smoke inhalation. She spent the day there yesterday, receiving oxygen and IV fluids.

Candi is now back at home with her grateful family, and is expected to make a full recovery.

“She rescued us. She saved our lives, I promise you,” Reyes told Local 10. “I mean, we were sleeping. We wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

Photo via Twitter

Rescued Pit Bull Mama Nurses Orphaned Poodle Puppies

A young, very pregnant Pit Bull mix was dumped at a high-kill Los Angeles County shelter last month — something that happens way too often.

Fortunately, instead of being euthanized, the mother-to-be was taken in by The Ark Animal Rescue, a non-profit based in Oceanside, Calif., that saves the lives of pets from these types of shelters as well as from other desperate situations.

Last month the Pittie mix, now named Annie, gave birth to five healthy puppies in her foster home.

A few weeks later, The Ark Animal Rescue happened to take in four Poodle puppies whose mother had died.

“Our amazeballs foster decided to see if mama Annie would help out in a pinch!” the rescue wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday.

“Guess what…she took on the pups in a heartbeat. Dogs surprise us every day and this was a special moment. Funny to see a Pittie mix take on some orphaned, furry fuzzball Poodles.”

Here’s a photo of three of Annie’s biological puppies and one of the surrogates. “One of these babes is not like the other (yes, this is us…breaking out in song)!” The Ark Animal Rescue wrote in the caption.

All of the puppies and their mom will soon be available for adoption. For more information and an application, email shalee@thearkanimalrescue.org.

“It is a true testament to this loving and special breed,” The Ark Animal Rescue wrote on its Facebook page today.

Speaking of loving and special, in Texas earlier this year, an abandoned Pit Bull was found nursing a two-day-old kitten. The two, named Pitty and Kitty, were taken in by Dallas Dogrrr–Rescue.Rehab.Reform. and adopted together.

Photos via Facebook

Rescued Pit Bulls Save 3-Year-Old Girl from Bear

As a 3-year-old girl played in her Long Valley, N.J., backyard yesterday morning with Chief, one of her family’s four rescued Pit Bulls, a 400-pound bear that was well known in the neighborhood climbed over a fence.

“Usually the dogs will chase him off and he’ll climb over the fence and wait (for the dogs) to come inside,” the girl’s mom, Emily Wagner, told the Long Valley Patch. “He’s very smart.”

However, the bear wasn’t so smart yesterday.

“I looked up and the bear was about 15 feet from her and walking right toward her,” Wagner said. “The bear was between us. Chief heard her scream and immediately grabbed the bear’s back leg, at which point the bear turned and bit Chief’s face and leg.”

Wagner ran and grabbed her daughter, while the other three Pit Bulls helped Chief chase the bear away.

By the time police arrived, the bear had disappeared into the nearby woods.

Chief is okay, Wagner wrote on the Long Valley Patch Facebook page this morning.

“Fish and Game informed me that it’s mating season for bears, and they’re more active during the day,” she wrote. “Just a heads up to be vigilant with children and pets outside.”

According to the Patch, local police advised residents to call their non-emergency line to report bears coming too closely to their properties, and to call 911 in case of emergencies.

Photo via Facebook (from left: Chief, Chloe, Mack and Idget)

Rescued Pit Bull Rescues Unresponsive Dog Dad

There’s nothing quite like a story about a rescued dog who pays it forward by saving the life of its new pet parent. Fortunately, there seem to be plenty of these stories.

Most recently, a 6-year-old Pit Bull named Sweet Dee found her dog dad, Elliot Nerland, unresponsive on a couch in their Boston home.

Sweet Dee, who’d been adopted from the MSPCA five years ago by Nerland and his wife, Erin Daly, had sensed something was wrong. She left the bedroom where she was sleeping with Daly and approached Nerland on the couch. When her dog dad didn’t respond, Sweet Dee started barking. She ran back to the bedroom and nudged Daly with her nose until she awoke.

Nerland, who has a rare heart condition, was in full cardiac arrest. Daly called 911 and performed CPR on her husband.

“At this stage, Elliott’s heart had stopped and he was not breathing,” Daly said in a press release. “I credit Sweet Dee with making it very clear that something was terribly wrong. Had I made it there even one minute later, Elliott may not be with us today.”

After being rushed to the hospital and put in a medically induced coma for two days, Nerland was sent home.

“It’s just astounding how Sweet Dee knew that something was very wrong and that it was clear to her that I wasn’t sleeping,” Nerland said. “She’s a beloved member of our family, but I never realized just how deep our bond is. Both Dee and my wife were there for me when I needed them most, and I’m forever humbled and profoundly grateful.”

Dr. Terri Bright, director of the MSPCA’s Behavior Services department, said Sweet Dee’s heroic act illustrates the incredible bond shared by dogs and their pet parents.

“I think Sweet Dee knew something was horribly wrong and that she should sound the alarm, and she did so without fear of punishment for barking loudly,” Dr. Bright said. “She barked and woke Erin up, so in her own dog way, made it clear that Elliott needed help. She’s a hero — and so is Erin for administering life-saving CPR.”

CBS Boston reports that when Nerland got home from the hospital, Sweet Dee was rewarded with a “big, juicy steak.”

Sweet, Dee!

Photo credit: Elliot Nerland

What It Really Means to Be ‘Like a Pit’ (Video)

Many people who don’t know any better believe that Pit Bulls have locking jaws (not true), bite more than other breeds (also not true), and since they were bred for fighting, make horrible pets (you guessed it, not true).

The media certainly doesn’t help quash these false stereotypes. In fact, most of the time when there’s a negative TV news story about a dog, you can bet the photo used is a Pit Bull, even if it was another breed involved.

Pit Bull advocates (like me) do all that we can to help get the good word out about this misunderstood breed. Joining the campaign is Dogly, a photosharing app that gives back to shelters and rescues.

Dogly asked pet parents what it meant to be “like a Pit.” The purpose, according to the company, was “to unite our voices in spreading awareness and positivity to help break down stereotypes for all dogs that are judged first and loved second.”

This beautiful “Like a Pit” video gets two thumbs way up from me. Please share it and help it go viral.

You can download the Dogly app from iTunes (iOS) or Google Play (Android).

Photo via YouTube