Pit Bull Notes from Seattle

As BullsEye Dog Rescue got off the ground, we wanted to do more with our own pit bulls. After Buffalo Sky earned her Canine Good Citizen with ease, I signed us up to become a certified pet therapy team through Delta Society.

I drove Buffalo north about an hour of Seattle every Saturday for an 8-week training class with Becky Bishop. Becky didn’t like pit bulls much. When I mentioned I’d volunteered with Pit Bull Project, she said, “Isn’t every pit bull a project?”

I ignored her comment, and she agreed to let us attend the first class to see how it’d go. Our classmates included: One old, fat beagle with a crooked grin. An unneutered Standard Poodle dressed for Gay Pride. A Yellow Lab like the ones you see in LL Bean catalogs. A chocolate lab. Two Golden Retrievers. And a mutt from a local shelter.

Turns out the Poodle had it out for Buffalo and went after her twice during class. Buffalo ignored him. So Becky kicked the Poodle out of class and explained, “Of all the dogs your dog could pick a fight with, the Pit Bull is not the dog to choose.” 

By the time we had a few classes under our belt, Becky was a Buffalo fan. I don’t know that she ever became a pit bull fan but she was as proud as I was when we passed our Animal Assisted Therapy Dog Test. And she didn’t ding me for slathering my hands in hot dog juice. This is the photo that was taken for our team badge.

Not long after, Lorrie and I were invited to Beacon Hill Elementary to meet with 1st Graders about animal shelters. Lorrie brought Gretel, who is also a Canine Good Citizen, and she spoke with the kids about why there are animals that don’t have homes and what to do if you see a stray or injured animal. We were amazed at how many kids asked with wide, I-wanna-look-but-I’m-scared-to-touch eyes, “Is that a pit bull?” It was like we had an exotic animal on leash from the zoo.

Here’s Gretel being such a good canine citizen that day at school. 

Not only did we do more with our own dogs, BullsEye helps owners do more positive and responsible things with their pit bulls. And at BullsEye’s Pit Bulls on Parade event this past summer, owners got to try agility courses, weight pull, and disc diving.

54 pit bulls earned their Canine Good Citizens that day. Now that’s a headline I’d love to see writ large in neon lights.

My last board meeting with Pit Bull Project included a new face, Lorrie Kalmbach-Ehlers. Anne was hoping Lorrie would be my replacement, and while I expected the meeting to be about transition, Anne wanted to re-hash why I was leaving. She sternly read my resignation letter aloud even though all the existing board members had already read it. It was a punishing conversation, and it’s one that suprisingly led to a really good thing.

As it turned out, Lorrie shared my concerns about Pit Bull Project and agreed with the recommendations I’d been making. After that night, we set out to create a new pit bull rescue focused on education and our own guiding principles.

With the help of Relaena and Kirstan, Lorrie and I founded BullsEye Dog Rescue in 2004. Our mission focused on public education, support for pit bull owners, and partnerships with other rescue organizations and shelters throughout the Puget Sound region. And we committed to not taking on more dogs than we could responsibly adopt. 

Meet Sirus, the first BullsEye dog. He typifies the pit bulls we wanted to help. Lorrie pulled him from Metro Animal Services in Puyallup when he was about a year old because he has a rock solid temperament.  

What wasn’t typical about this adoption was Alisha. She was only 19 when she adopted Sirus. She was a manager at Hotel Monaco. She had her own apartment and approval from her landlord to adopt a pit bull. She’d done her breed research. Sirus remains Alisha’s beloved family pet–and her family now includes two small children.

Alisha and Sirus, you make us proud.

If you want to meet more BullsEye dogs, check out Becky Meig’s beautiful photos on Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/28666245@N06/sets/