This is Bella. Bella is a 5 year old female pit bull who was brought in as a stray by Gary, IN animal control. She’s got a short ear crop, filed incisors and has been repeatedly bred – sound like a dogfighting victim to anyone else? They don’t think that she was a fighter or a bait dog, as she doesn’t have the telltale scars.
She is, however, a victim. She’s completely shut down, unsure of who to trust. She isn’t dog aggressive and doesn’t resource guard – she simply just doesn’t react at all. Thankfully, I’ve got experience in dealing with scared, shy dogs, courtesy of Ellie Mae, my coonhound mix rescue from Hurricane Katrina.
I posted her on the Indy Pit Crew Facebook page today hoping that folks would pass it on and somehow, miraculously, she would find rescue. And she did, in my own backyard. Humane Society for Hamilton County agreed to take her, provided we could find her a short term foster home as their shelter is currently full. Not a problem there, we already had an Indy Pit Crew volunteer willing to foster her.
HSHC has been on my gold-star list for a while, especially after reading about Nico, the deaf Dogo Argentino they saved from a high-kill shelter in Los Angeles. I have not had an opportunity to work with them, as I live in another county, but have a good friend who is one of their “pit bull angels”. Having them offer space for Bella was a dream come true.
You know the saying, it takes a village? Well, it applies here too. A village, and a powerful social networking tool called Facebook.
1. The independent rescuer, Dawn, who posts the animals at the Gary animal control on Facebook and sends out emails BEGGING for their lives. Gary doesn’t do adoptions, so when the stray hold expires on an animal, their time is up if they haven’t received a rescue commitment. She doesn’t work for the shelter, she has just committed herself to saving these animals, singlehandedly. In the last 18 months, she has saved over 1000. She is truly my hero.
2. The Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Miranda, who brought Bella to my attention, and who offered to foster her
3. The Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Becky, who worked out a vetting arrangement with another rescue group near Gary, and who offered to transport Bella
4. Sherry from We Care Rescue agreeing to pull Bella tomorrow and take her immediately to the vet to get checked out
5. Humane Society for Hamilton County director, Rebecca, who offered to take Bella once space opened up in the shelter
6. Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Mindy, who bought Bella a crate and a “welcome” goodie bag
7. Casa Del Toro founder, Laurie, who agreed to take Bella as a transfer from the Gary “on paper” until HSHC could take her in
7. And me, although, all I did was make some phone calls and send a bunch of emails. The rest of these ladies are the superstars.
Bella’s journey is far from over. We’ll see what the vet says and then we’ll spend a decent amount of time teaching this gal to trust people and how to be a pet, rather than a possession. Those beautiful eyes tell me that she’s worth it.
One Crazy Lady 