Most people call hoping I can "place" a dog they no longer want - they're not usually looking for a dog to adopt. Usually I didn't get too "involved" - I would take the information and pass it along to other rescue people, or those few looking for a dog. Tuesday, March 30, 1999 was different. It was the beginning of my involvement in rescue.
The local Humane Society called. They don't normally place any "bull breed" dogs because the shelter is located in a not-so-nice area. There are a lot of illegal activities going on, some involving dogs. When they get a "keeper", they call me, hoping I might know someone that could offer it a home.
On Monday March 29, Humane Officer Ron Smith received a call from someone on a pleasure boat on one of Pittsburgh PA's famed "Three Rivers". Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, in an old closed up steel mill area, underneath a bridge, the boater pulled ashore to get out and stretch his legs. Thank God he did. There, tied to a stump, was the tiny body of an AmStaff puppy, barely alive.
Upon arrival, Officer Ron had to climb through a fence and down an embankment - to a spot that was not visible from the road or the river. There he found the pitiful ten month old pup, covered with open sores and bite wounds. She must have been the loser of a street fight, and intentionally left there to die. Emaciated and so dehydrated she couldn't stand, yet chained a mere three feet away from a large river. Straining to get a drink, her collar had dug into her neck deeply, creating a huge open sore. As Officer Ron picked her up to carry her to safety, her tail wagged a feeble "thank you", and she gently licked his face like only this breed can do.
Back at the shelter, the staff debated immediate euthanization, just to end her suffering. But they decided that if any dog deserved a second chance, it was her, so they called me to see if I could help. As I stood at work listening to her story, tears began to pour down my face, just from the thought of how she must have suffered through the past few days. I could just imagine her repeatedly thrashing at her collar to try to reach the water, with the determination that these dogs have.
I pulled my thoughts together, and made a few frantic phone calls and sent out emails, trying to round up a foster home for this pup. The boarding kennel I manage was already full for the Spring Break/ Easter weekend. Finally, within a few hours I secured a "temporary" foster home until room opened up at the kennel.
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The next day I went to the shelter to see the pup and take her to her foster home. The kennel employees were calling her "Scar". She was the most pitiful sight I'd seen in a long time.
When I first walked into the room, she was curled up in such a tight little ball I could hardly see her. They said she had done nothing but sleep since she got there. She probably hadn't done much sleeping while she was chained up to die. As I got closer and talked to her, her tail started thumping. When I got to the cage she rolled on her back submissively, tail constantly wagging. When I opened the cage to pet her she laid very still, probably waiting to see if I was friend or foe. I brought her some Pupperoni treats, which she wolfed down, followed by a couple of big Milk-Bones. As she was eating the first one, I reached over to pet her face. She never tensed up, growled, or in any way guarded the biscuit. If I was in her condition, I probably would have bitten if I thought someone would take my food!! She munched the second biscuit in half, and dropped a piece of it back into my hand to hold while she finished the first. Her eyes were all lit up, like she'd never had a treat before.
I began to look over her, trying to assess the damage to her poor little body. I couldn't control the tears running down my face. She looked up and tentatively licked my face, then wagged her tail and licked even harder! I couldn't believe her behavior. How could she trust a human after what had happened to her?? Then she tried to crawl into my lap to snuggle. I wanted to give her a big hug, but she was so frail I was afraid to hurt her.
They had told me on the phone that she was "homely". Even in her condition, I could see that she was a pretty girl!! She had a dark brindle coat, with just a little white blaze, a white chest, and feet, and a very sweet face. She was about 19" at the shoulder, but weighing only about 27 pounds. Her body was literally covered with scabs. Wherever bone met skin there was a pressure sore. Her spine stuck up over an inch. There was a huge hole in her neck from the collar rubbing, and her front legs were badly chewed up. One ear was torn completely through, about a half inch or more, and there was a deep gash in her left pastern that went almost to the bone- leaving the dewclaw and the bone behind it almost torn off.
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Even in her condition, she didn't flinch or try to move away from us while we examined her. She didn't even resist as we looped a leash over her head, even though last time something was around her neck it almost killed her. All she wanted to do was climb into my lap and give me kisses, just like any other AmStaff.
Within days this abused, injured pup was tugging at heartstrings across the country as her story circulated the internet. It was printed in a nationally read newspaper column called "Pet Tales" and her pictures were posted on her own website, donated by a friend. This sweet pup was named Blossom at my mother's suggestion- she said that with enough love and attention, she would Blossom into a beautiful dog - how right she was!!
To my surprise, donations began flowing in from all over the country to help pay for Blossom's food and medical care! I was overwhelmed with the scope of the concern for this one little dog, who had been discarded like trash just a short time ago! As spring turned into summer, Blossom began to look like a different dog - happy and healthy, and barely showing any physical signs of her former near-death experience. Her personality is fantastic - a testament to the stability of this breed. She adores people and thrived on any little token of affection- a fresh blanket in her kennel made her prance around happily, and a pig ear would practically put her in heaven!! It took her a while to be secure enough to run and play in the fenced yard- at first she wouldn't leave my side, afraid to be abandoned again.
After the infection in her front leg finally subsided, we discovered a fracture in her front leg, and she had to wear a cast for a while. Once that healed, she was finally healthy enough to spay. As summer began to fade, sadly, the one thing that was lacking was someone to take this beautiful dog home. It seems that her former abuse scared off many adopters, who were unwilling to take this "former fighter" into their homes.
Leah Purcell from Spindletop Refuge in Houston generously offered to take her in for training and placement, if I could find a way to get her there. Again, donations came in to pay for her plane fare. She arrived in Texas in November of 1999, to begin to be introduced to household manners and obedience training. She immediately took to the training, including agility obstacles, and became a favorite of the staff. She even learned to be social with some other dogs!! But still that special home eluded her.
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Finally, in March of 2000, I got an email saying "Hi, I am adopting Blossom, and I wanted to thank you for saving her" - I began shaking, and called Leah. "Is this true?" I asked her, mindful of the many people who didn't follow through. Well, it WAS true, and on Friday, April 7, 2000, exactly one year and one week from the day she almost lost her life on the riverbank, Blossom boarded a plane to Oregon.
She is now living a storybook life, on a home with 180 acres of woods and trails, other dogs, and a doting "mom". I just got my first pictures of her new life, and when I showed them to Officer Ron, who found her, tears welled up in his eyes, and he said he can't even imagine her being so happy- he still sees her tied to a stump on the riverbank when he closes his eyes.
This story could not have had a happy ending if it hadn't been for the phone call of a good Samaritan and all the generous donations from all over the country, and STCA's rescue fund. While we will unfortunately never find out who did this to Blossom, at least her suffering wasn't in vain. Because of her, I have continued to do rescue work, and have placed about 6 other great dogs in homes, and the shelter has begun to rethink its policy of non-adoption of bull breeds.
Please keep Blossom and other rescue dogs in your hearts- and help out with rescue whenever you can. Personally or financially- rescues are terribly overburdened and under funded. She was just one of the thousands of homeless dogs that are discarded in this country every year. One of the lucky ones.
And finally, PLEASE be careful who you sell your puppies to!! After all, Blossom was once a cute little pup, and it is obvious that she had some love and affection at some point before her ordeal began. Hug your dogs tonight, and be glad they've never endured Blossom's agony.
By Lora L. Bauer, Hartagold AmStaffs/APBT's SLURP (Staff Lovers' United Rescue & Placement)
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Leah D. Purcell Spindletop American Pit Bull & Staffordshire Terrier Refuge Houston, Texas http://come.to/pitbullrescue [email protected] 713-937-6229 IRS Code: 501 (c)(3) Fed. ID #11-3261963