Last spring my husband, children and I decided to adopt a dog. My husband wanted a pit bull - in high school he got a little brindle female puppy that was his "partner" for 16 years. She died of lung cancer. She traveled all around the country with him. That being said, I still wasn't so sure about the breed. I came into Greg's life a few months before his dog died, so I really didn't have too much experience with the breed. I had heard so many negative things pit bulls, I certainly didn't want a dangerous dog around my children. But Greg was pretty determined, and his brother (who is a professional dog trainer) reassured me that the breed is very good with people/children. His brother has a rescued pit bull himself.
After much searching, I found PittieLove Rescue. Noreen is so efficient, she called me as soon as she got my application. We were interested in Venus, a fawn colored female that had been a stray. We live on the Vineyard, so we traveled up to Framingham during a horrible rain storm and finally met Noreen....and our new girl, Venus (we now call her Bella). She was shy, my guess is that she was abused at some point in her young life, then living as a stray added to her fear. She was a diamond in the rough. She is so sweet and happy now...but she had some help getting there....which brings us to Twinkie.
Bella sticks to me like glue, and although she is very attached to me, she clearly needed another dog. We turned to Noreen again, looking for a male. We had to wait for just the right boy to come along, and in July we really lucked out when Twinkie (we also call him Riley) became available. He had been a stray also, who had a severe leg injury. Due to a volunteers love for him and a very kind vet, he received the surgery he needed. He was being fostered by PittieLove volunteer, Mary and her children, where he was treated like a prince, it was a tough goodbye for them :(
Twinkie (Riley) loves EVERYBODY, I often joke that he is running for mayor, he has to say hello to everyone and kiss all the babies. He is the perfect companion for Bella, as she is for him. They sleep snuggled up together and play play play when they're awake. He goes to work with Greg every day where he gets all the attention he needs. To know Riley is to love him.
These 2 dogs of ours are the best. I can't imagine ever wanting another breed of dog again. Although their personalities are different from one another (one shy one not), they both love their people so much. They are both WONDERFUL with the kids, including our 3 year old who loves to "read", talk, sing, play and cuddle with them. I often wake up, look to the side of my bed, and there's our daughter, sleeping between the 2 dogs on the doggie bed! They are always sweet and gentle with her.
Pittielove Rescue is such a great group of people dedicated to helping this misunderstood breed. I keep in touch with Noreen, I really feel as if she and the other volunteers are a part of our dogs family. I hate to think of where they would be (or IF they would be) if PittieLove Rescue had not taken them in. We are so grateful.
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