About animal shelters…

Shelters and humane societies were created to care for stray and abused animals. They weren’t meant to be a drop-off for people who don’t want their pets anymore. Shelters, on average, take in 100 new animals or more each day. Let’s face it – there won’t be enough good homes for all of them. Even the best shelters can’t boast much more than a 50% adoption rates. Only the youngest, friendliest, cutest and best-behaved dogs are going to be adopted.

By law, stray pets must be kept several days for their owners to reclaim them. They may not be destroyed until that period is up. These laws don’t protect dogs that have been given up by their owners. They may be destroyed at any time. Shelters don’t want to kill all these animals but they don’t have a choice. There just isn’t enough room for all of them. Shelters today are so overcrowded that your dog could be killed the same day it arrives.

Being purebred won’t help your dog’s chances of adoption either – almost half of the dogs in many shelters are purebreds. Chances are things will be worse for your dog because he is a Pit Bull. Due to the breed’s bad reputation and the attraction these dogs have on undesirable individuals, *many* shelters across the nation have a “non-adoption” policy on Pit Bull type dogs and will not put them up for adoption at all. Your dog may be as good as dead when he walks in the door. If your Pit Bull is old, has health problems or poor attitudes toward strangers; its chances of adoption are slim to none.

Sending your dog to a shelter in hopes that he’ll find a good home is wishful thinking. It’s more likely that you’ll be signing your Pit Bulls death warrant. A shelter is your last resort only after all your best efforts have failed.

About “No-Kill” Shelters

True “no-kill” shelters are few and far between. Obviously, no one wants to see their pet killed so the demand for no-kill shelter services is high. So high that they’re forced to turn away many pets because they don’t have room for them all. Often, they have to choose only the most adoptable dogs to work with. Pit Bulls are certainly not the easiest dogs to place…

About Breed Rescue Services

Breed rescue services are small, private, shelter-like groups run by volunteers dedicated to a particular breed. Most of them operate out of the volunteer’s home. Like no-kill shelters, demand for their services is high, so high that your dog may be turned away for lack of room. A breed rescue can still help you place your dog by providing referrals to persons interested in adopting your dog. You’ll have the most success if you follow the rescue service’s advice and are willing to do your share of the work to find a new home.

Adopt Don’t Shop

Before you go along with putting your dog up for adoption, please remember that the dogs featured on the Pitties.Love.Peace website are all in dire need of a home. Many come from abusive homes, neglect, or from homelessness. Some of their stories are so hard to believe, except that there are pictures and scars to back them up.

If you provide love, a daily walk, some space (which doesn’t have to be a lot, just enough), proper training, and food and water, your dog has a much better home than most of those looking for placement. We know that you may feel that you don’t have what it takes to properly care for him or her, but we believe that your dog is receiving all that he needs. In a world as overpopulated and dangerous for Pit Bull dogs, you are the best chance that your family pet has.

Adapted from “When You Can’t Keep Your Chow Chow” by Karen Privitello, Lisa Hrico & Barbara Malone