Shadow – Don’t judge a book by its cover

If you don’t know who Shadow is, he is an American Bully who was found emaciated in Moreno Valley while some people were out riding their motorcycles in the hills.  I had always seen pictures of starving dogs like Shadow but never in person.  He was 35 pounds when we picked him up.  He was weak and could not stand that well but he also had too much pride to hang his head down low.  After much needed medical attention and TLC, Priceless Pets and their awesome fosters got Shadow healthy enough to find his forever home!

Anytime you own a bully breed you must provide them with strong leadership.  They need a leader to tell them what to do or they will try to figure it out for themselves which is never good.  So when this couple came in looking at Shadow, I took one look at them and was doing everything I could to talk them out of adopting him.

I will never forget this couple. “Chin” was the man’s name and he did most of the talking.  They knew nothing about owning a “pit bull”.  There was no way either of them would be able to control him if he saw something he wanted to chase.  We even tried showing them smaller, “calmer” dogs that may be a better fit, but they just kept looking at Shadow with hearts in their eyes.  It was obvious they weren’t taking “no” for an answer.  After some consulting with Elisha (a fellow pittie crew member), Mandy (The Pittie Crew Director) asked them what they thought about a home check.  They  obliged and off we went!

While Elisha and I were on our way to their house with Shadow, I started to re-think things.  Maybe it was a GOOD thing he didn’t know anything about “pit bulls”.  Chin wasn’t tainted by the media.  In fact, his exact words were, “What’s a pit bull?  I know small dogs and I know big dogs.  Shadow is a big dog and I want him.”

Shadow’s foster also sent me a text saying that Shadow doesn’t “roam”.  He likes to be wherever you’re at and just lay down.  Chin was also very clear that he wanted a trainer to come over because he wanted to be a good owner for Shadow.  The more I thought about the more I realized that this might be the perfect home for Shadow!  Chin was almost always home and Shadow LOVED his crate so he would happily go in there should he need to leave the house.

As we got closer to his house, I realized that we were not in your regular track home neighborhood.  These were some BIG houses on some HUGE property and Chin’s was no different.  This place was awesome!! Shadow actually got tired exploring the whole place.  And just like Shadow’s foster told me, Shadow never roamed too far and always was near us wherever we went.  Chin had assured me that Shadow would be allowed inside and even showed us where he would be sleeping.  He sat for them, gave them his paw for treats and followed the girl everywhere she went.  At that point, Elisha and I both approved his adoption!

After completing the adoption, we all went to Petsmart and they probably spent a little over $400 on their new family member.  Shadow looked so happy.  This was  literally a “rags to riches” story.  Since then, I’ve been in contact with Chin.  He sends me pictures and Shadow is as happy as he can be.

Dog rescue not only teaches me something new everyday but it’s also giving me a refresher course on how I need to be treating people and not be so judgemental of others.  Some days it breaks your heart but these animals have a way of mending it right back together and sometimes they’ll teach you a lesson along the way.