The other night I was awakened by Sammy growling and looking anxiously outside. I peered into the darkness and saw nothing, and walked the house to be sure, and headed down the hall to the laundry room.I had just awoken and when I found the back door ajar, my heart skipped a beat, but I peered out into the darkness. Standing before me was a glowing iridescent white pit bull, staring right into my face. I did what any self respecting person would do at 3 in the morning with an open door and a ghost dog. I slammed it! Hard!
It took a while to calm myself down. What just happened here? I checked the house again, but I couldn't shake the open door and seeing the dog. Did we water out back and forget to close it tight? Did I imagine that white glowing dog in the moonlight? I looked through the peep hole but couldn't see a dog. No way was I opening the door again.
I'm not sure how I talked myself back to sleep, but around 3:30 I drifted off. The Hubs had slept through the whole thing, so imagine his surprise when he rose for work at 4:30 and took the dog out for a pee and met up with a (real live) pit bull. I was awakened in all that excitement, and we checked her out. She was a sweet little dog other than the breed; a recent momma, by the looks of it, no collar or ID, just hanging out hoping for a little help. Sam sure liked her.
It took a day or so before we chanced letting her in - but we did feed and water her, and kindly gave her somewhere to lay in the shade. We put up signs for her owners knowing her pups must be missing her. We asked around, called the Humane Society to register a found dog, but nobody's called or come by. But by day two it had become clear that our dear Lili Von Shtupp might have been dumped out here on purpose. What a
terrible thing
to do.
She is a very even tempered and kind dog, accustomed to people and being inside, friendly and good mannered. She and Sam get along wonderfully, and she would be an ideal companion if it weren't for her breed.
There's a twang of guilt as I write this, knowing how selfish it sounds not to want a perfectly good dog because she happened to be born a Pit. But we have learned since getting Sam that owning a dog is all about fit, if you want it to be part of the family. We love that we can take Sammy everywhere with us - we travel with her, take her to Home Depot and into the shops in Carmel. But sadly, we wouldn't be able to do that with sweet Lili. People are afraid of Pits and they are not welcome in hotels and businesses. Heck, they are not even welcome on public sidewalks or at dog parks.
Lili is a Staffordshire Terrier. Her early ancestors came from England, where until the first part of the 19th century, their bred Bulldogs looked more like Pits than they do today. A Pit Bull is a Bulldog and Terrier mix, that made its way into America around 1870. Pits weren't originally bred for fighting, as the modern myth suggests. Their use in dog fighting is a vicious abuse of a loyal breed by traffickers capitalizing on illegal gambling at the dog's expense. After much talk, we decided that Lili needs a forever home with loving people who will treasure her. She may not have had a very good life up to this point, but you'd never know it by her kind and gentle nature. We think she may have been forced to have many litters before being discarded when they were done with her. For that reason alone we want to help her find a brighter future.
Please, if you are interested in offering a permanent home, email us here or on FB.
