Willow Glen Resident
Cover Story
Pit bull rescuers speak out for dog breed
By Stephen Baxter
If a dog finds its way to Our Pack Inc., a pit bull rescue group with volunteers around San Jose, it has had trials.
Take Bullet, an American pit bull terrier who was apparently running around barking when a man shot him in the face. Animal care workers took him in, and he had nearly five hours of surgery to stabilize his blown-out sinuses and palate. As he recovered, Bullet cowered at the sight of brooms and other objects--clear signs that he had been abused, his new owner said.
Three years later, Our Pack volunteer Noelle Rossi says Bullet is healthy and happy, and an example of how resilient the breed can be.
"It was really fast. As soon as he realized we weren't going to hurt him, he really wanted to trust us. It really didn't take much--he was getting obedience training," she said.
Training and a safe environment also have done wonders for Leo, the fawn-colored pit bull who came from former NFL football player Michael Vick's Virginia dog-fighting ring.
More than 45 dogs linked to the Vick case were flown to eight rescue groups around the country, and in late 2007, Our Pack president Marthina McClay took Leo into her home in Los Gatos.
With firm training, Leo became a certified therapy dog on Jan. 21 and since has been comforting hospital patients in the South Bay. Following stories in Silicon Valley Community Newspapers and other newspapers, he was featured in People Magazine and on Fox News Channel.
McClay, who has been working with dogs since 1972, says she hopes Our Pack and Leo's case might help break down some stereotypes about pit bulls.
"They really are just like any other dog, and they're actually so resilient and so optimistic that [Leo] has been easy to train. He's just been awesome," McClay said.
Some San Jose residents don't share McClay's love of pit bulls.
In October 2007, a collarless, unneutered pit bull started growling at Amy Allen's door on the 1600 block of Andover Lane in the Branham neighborhood. Peanut, Allen's mixed-breed chihuahua, went out the door and fought with the pit bull, which ended with Peanut receiving cuts, bruises and a punctured anus.
The pit bull had escaped from a nearby garage with a blue tarp draped over the door, and its owner later apologized for the dog's behavior.
San Jose Animal Care Center representatives say they respond to hundreds of dog escape and biting cases like each year like the one on Andover Lane, and dog bites on humans almost always involve dogs that are not properly confined.
"You're only going to hear about the bad ones because the good ones are in the back yard or on a leash," said Michelle Metcalf, a 25-year-old Our Pack volunteer who lives in downtown San Jose.
Our Pack volunteers, some of whom are also animal care workers, say problems start when owners don't socialize them with other dogs, take them on walks or give them daily attention.
"It's like blaming your car for hitting a tree," said McClay, who has trained dogs professionally. "Pit bulls are not bankers or lawyers--they can't make executive decisions."
Our Pack selects dogs from South Bay shelters such as San Jose Animal Care Center at 2750 Monterey Road. The nonprofit group has from five to 10 foster families in San Jose, Saratoga and other cities, and they train and care for roughly 15 pit bulls a year at their houses. Foster families may keep a dog from 30 days to nine months, but the typical time is four to six months.
After careful screening of potential adopters and their home, Our Pack places pit bulls with permanent families.
In choosing potential pit bulls to rehabilitate from shelters, Our Pack looks for dogs that don't show aggression. It also takes on some tougher cases.
Betty was found in a Milpitas Dumpster in January with two rubber bands tied around her. One band held her front paws to her head, the other was wrapped around her hind legs.
After receiving some medical attention she was playful, but she couldn't shake her fear, and leaders worried that it would lead to biting. Eventually she was released from the program.
Many other pit bulls in Our Pack's program have been able to turn their lives around.
Metcalf, who cared for Betty, began fostering a 2-year-old pit bull named Gino in late February. She said Gino has been calm enough to begin doing some therapy work. Therapy dogs can lift morale in hospitals and clinics by letting patients pet and interact with them.
Our Pack volunteer Juline Perry said some of her friends and neighbors in Willow Glen are amazed at the friendly demeanor of her 9-year-old pit bull, Foxy.
"Everybody says, 'Is that a pit bull? She's so well trained.' And I say, 'Yeah, that's because I trained her from a puppy," Perry said.
Perry, who is also an attendant at San Jose Animal Care Center, said part of the problem in San Jose is people's lack of time and money for proper care.
Animal care workers said many city residents can't afford the $150 to $200 it typically costs to spay or neuter a dog. Others mate pit bulls with other breeds to sell the puppies for cash, and some just let dogs roam neighborhoods and breed randomly.
Other dog owners think an angry canine makes them look tough.
At San Jose Animal Care Center, workers estimate that more than 90 percent of the dogs are poorly bred pit bulls.
However, dogs at shelters often are misidentified and called pit bulls or "pit mix" even if they have dominant features of other breeds. They are often confused with the American bulldog.
"American bulldogs are taller, have longer legs and are built a little bit differently," Metcalf said. American pit bull terriers usually weigh 35 to 55 pounds, compared to 70 to 100 pounds that American bulldogs weigh.
In April 2003, a 4-year-old Fremont boy had his ear ripped off by a registered American bulldog, but several media outlets initially reported it as a pit bull attack. Police reports also have contained misidentifications of dog breeds.
Perry said "media hype" has helped fan the flames of pit bull hysteria, and misconceptions are rampant about the mental makeup of pit bulls.
According to Our Pack's website, pit bulls came to the United States from Great Britain and were bred to fight each other in a pit. Handlers often needed to pull the dogs out to separate them, and if a dog showed aggression to a handler it was killed. Killing those dogs helped eliminate aggression to humans in their gene pool.
Pit bulls still can be intolerant of other dogs to varying degrees, according to Our Pack, but their jaws don't lock--as many believe. Pit bulls might squeeze on something and tenaciously and stay with it, but no dog has jaws that lock.
Some pit bull experts advise against taking pit bulls to dog parks because they tend to play rough. Pit bulls might bark and appear aggressive when playing with other dogs.
Our Pack leaders also debunk the myth that pit bulls have been bred as guard dogs. In general, dog-on-dog combat was their main purpose, and they are intended to be friendly to people.
McClay, the Our Pack founder, said all dog owners should take responsibility for their dogs' actions. She said she used to train Doberman pinschers in the 1970s, when they were the "monster dogs." Now, she said, it's pit bulls.
"These dogs are just too awesome," McClay said. "I've worked with other breeds, and these guys are just people soft. That's why they're so easily abused."
For information on dog training classes at San Jose Animal Care, visit www.sanjoseanimals.com or call 408.578.7297. For more information on Our Pack or to volunteer, visit www.ourpack.org.
