You Gotta Fight… For Your Right!

June 16, 2014

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Back in February of this year I saw a post on Instagram by Priceless Pets of a sweet puppy that said “can I crash on your couch for a while?” That was the moment my life changed forever…

I had been going through a depression that I thought would NEVER end when Priceless Pets allowed me to help by fostering 8, yes 8, 5 week old puppies for 2 weeks. On my last day with the babies at their adoption event my 5 year old daughter fell in love with a sweet pittie named Shadow. She BEGGED me to bring him home but after 2 weeks of poop and pee and waking up every 3 hours I needed a minute to breathe so we left that day without a new family member.

A week had passed and I still was depressed and feeling empty when John had emailed me the pictures of my daughter and Shadow. My heart melted. It was that moment I knew what was missing….. a fur baby. He told me about the Sunday hikes at the Orphanage and that I should go. So the next Sunday I was there. It was my very first hike and John was walking Fawn that day. She was soooo skinny and sad looking but was so well behaved and still GORGEOUS. Of course he filled me in on her story which broke my heart.

After that day, my life was a little brighter. The next Sunday I got to the Orphanage 45 minutes early to make sure I got to walk Fawn. However, she came down with an infection and had to go into foster. Each week I fell more and more in love with her. I finally brought my daughter to the hike to meet her and it was then I knew she needed to be with us. I asked Elisha (her foster) if I could foster her for a few days just to make sure her and my 1 yr. old pug got along and she agreed.

Elisha brought her to my house and was greeted by a very yappy happy pug. There were some doubts about this working out but they got along like they were old friends. The next 3 days my mother told me I was different. I was happy, I was getting back to the old me and I owe it ALL to Fawn. I remember crying when my adoption application was approved for her…… it was kinda like giving birth and seeing YOUR child for the first time and knowing they were ALL yours. Since then my 56 lb. pretty pittie has become a 65+ lb. lap dog and is loving life.

Though we are fighting through some BSL and discrimination at our current house we are looking at 7 new properties that proudly accept my sweet girl and look forward to moving in the next month to start our new journey TOGETHER! And THAT is how a pretty pittie changed my life!

Like most of us that own pitties or bully breeds, we hear of stories all the time about landlords changing their minds about having such a “dangerous dog” on their property. After all, that is how I got Penny Lane. And while most of these stories end up in the tenant being backed into a corner and being forced to find their dog a home, Briana took a different approach. Instead of spending her time trying to find a home FOR her dog, she decided to look for a home WITH her dog. It’s a very brave move for her. Being that Fawn was from Priceless Pets, she could have easily given Fawn back and stayed where she was living. Nobody would have questioned her and it would have been the convenient solution. She’s a single mom and she takes care of her mom. Everyone would have understood if Fawn was the odd one out. Instead, she gave a 30 day notice to her landlord and decided to move on to better things.

We need more people like Briana to stand up for our pitties. Fawn can be the most perfect dog on Earth but without Briana as her voice, there isn’t much Fawn can do. I commend her for not being pushed around by an ignorant landlord and not taking the easy road. You always know who really loves you when times get tough and Briana has proven her love, not only for Fawn, but for the breed! We need to stand up for what we believe in. And if we keep letting people back us into a corner without fighting back we will never reverse this negative stereotype on this breed. In a perfect world, the media would change their minds tonight and decide that “pit bulls” are now “America’s Dog”. Unfortunately, that’s not happening anytime soon so it’s up to people like Briana to stand up for their family and most of all, for what’s right. I’m sure Briana’s landlord will find another tenant but I can guarantee he won’t find a better one.

We’re all proud of you, Briana! Keep being the example and hopefully someone who is going through the same thing is reading this and decides to do the same thing you did!