We Got To Meet Fay!

You've read about our trip to Missouri and the feeling of overwhelming camaraderie at the bunker, now we want to share with you some pictures of our meeting with this VERY special girl.

We appreciate getting to meet Fay and have our pictures taken with her more than anyone can imagine, because she just radiates love and is one more dog (like our own Mickey Mouth) who is a shining example of how wonderful this breed really is. We want to share our part of Fay's story with everyone who will listen, and hopefully some will walk away with a new sense of understanding about the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Gale Frey, with Mutts n Stuff, brought Fay out to the bunker while we were there and gave us a special opportunity to meet this AMAZING girl! Fay is something else and it's obvious why she's such a much loved character throughout all this. She is a huge testament to the people loving nature of these dogs and why pit bull fanciers favor this breed like they do.

It's painfully obvious that Fay's life has been anything but stellar. Nobody knows exactly what happened to this dog with a heart so full of love. Our guess would be that Fay was as loyal to her former master as she is to everyone she meets, and wanted to make him happy. You see, sometimes when dogs fight, lips get torn and rather than providing proper medical care for the dogs, dog men will simply cut away the hanging skin (in this case Fay's mouth) and use super glue to piece together what little they can.

Although Fay may look scary, she is anything but! She is so gentle and ever so careful not to be to pushy or rough when showing her love. Incredibly, and as we have experienced before with our own Mickey Mouth, Golda and so many other dogs, Fay has such a soft mouth and when she gives kisses, she seems to have an awareness that bumping a delicate human face could actually hurt.

It's always a humbling experience to meet another dog that's obviously been through a less than wonderful life. We are reminded over and over so many times, why we love the American Pit Bull Terrier so much, and just how people loving and good natured these dogs truly are. Why these dogs are so worth saving.

Fay was of course curious about the environment around her, and as most dogs will do... she would sniff the ground, the plants and the objects around us; but she would only step away for a few short seconds before she came right back to our sides wiggling her butt and wagging her tail. She would snuggle in as close as she could get and her whole body was relaxed. This is what we experience with most of the dogs we meet.

We feel so blessed to have been able to meet Fay, the face of dog fighting and spokes dog for so many, and we wish her nothing but the best that life has to offer for the rest of her many years to come.

Fay is scheduled to have multiple re-constructive surgeries to repair as much of this torturous damage to her mouth as possible. Right now, with Fay having no lips, she is suffering from serious dental disease which is causing her teeth to rot and fall out. If you are able to and would like to help pay for Fay's much needed surgery and help give her a better life, please contact Mutts n Stuff in St. Louis, Missouri to learn where to send donations. We know they will appreciate your generosity and kindness.

Shout Out To Our Friends at Mutts n Stuff!

A big congratulations is in order for our friends over at Mutts n Stuff in St. Louis, Missouri, who announced yesterday that they are building a new facility to serve as a "halfway house" for pit bulls rescued from fight bust cases who have no where else to go after being released by courts.

The dogs in the cases are held as evidence until they are no longer needed by the courts, then they're released, often with no where to go. Suitable foster homes aren't always immediately available, and the dogs often require time to learn basic manners.

"Phoenix house will provide these dogs with a place to be cared for as they make the transition from victims to evidence to beloved family pets and breed ambassadors," said Gale Frey, founder of Mutts-n-Stuff.

The facility, named for Phoenix - a dog previously rescued my Mutts-n-Stuff, is being built on land donated by a previous adopter.

While construction for the building is already in progress, your donation is greatly appreciated. Please send your love and contribution to:

Mutts n Stuff
P.O. Box 187
Foristell, MO 63348

We are so happy for and proud of our friends at Mutts n Stuff! Maybe one day we can make something like this happen for bust dogs in our own area.

5 Plead Guilty In Missouri Fight Bust Case!

St. Louis, MO, September 14, 2009 -- The Humane Society of Missouri today confirms guilty pleas have been entered in connection to the July 8, 2009 multi-state federal dog fighting raid that resulted in the rescue of more than 500 fighting dogs. Federal agents made 26 arrests and dogs were rescued in 8 states.

According to a press release issued by the Humane Society of Missouri, four eastern Missouri men, Robert Hackman of Foley, Teddy Kiriakidis of Leasburg, Ronald Creech of Leslie and Michael Morgan of Hannibal plead guilty today in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges connected to the dog fighting raid. Another man arrested in connection with the dog fighting raid, Jack Ruppel of Eldon plead guilty to charges on September 4 in federal court in Jefferson City.

“We can confirm that five of the individuals charged with this gruesome form of animal abuse are being brought to justice,” said Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri. “Today’s guilty pleas raise awareness that dog fighting is unacceptable, inhumane and illegal and will not be tolerated. The unprecedented scale of this investigation and rescue operation should alert the entire nation to what a horrible crime dog fighting is and what a dangerous and serious affect it can have on animals and communities.”

Warnick continued, “We sincerely hope these guilty pleas will result in sentencing that sends the message that this form of animal abuse will no longer be tolerated. Humane Society of Missouri staff and our many partners have selflessly sacrificed much of their personal lives in the pursuit of this investigation and the care of these dogs. We fervently desire that this historic effort marks the beginning of the end to dog fighting in the United States.”

“This was the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history, but it will not be the last,” warned Michael Kaste, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis. “This case sets precedence for the FBI along with our local, state and federal partners to aggressively root out underground dog fighting rings where people have absolutely no qualms about torturing man’s best friend for money and entertainment.”

More pictures of some of the dogs seized in this large scale effort can be seen on HSMO's online album.

We are hoping since the evil men have pleaded guilty they will forfeit the dogs very soon. We hope the dogs will be coming to us in the next few weeks...we cannot wait and lets hope the courts system acts quickly. NHPBR has been working with HSMO and Missouri based rescue group Mutts n Stuff to receive dogs and follow the progress of the cases, so please check back often for updates! We will let you know more as we are permitted.

Among the groups helping to care for the dogs are:

American Humane Association Animal Humane Society APA of MO ASPCA Atlanta Humane Society Best Friends Animal Society Brazos Animal Shelter Brew City Bullies Broken Hearts, Mended Souls Rescue Denver Dumb Friends League Hawaiian Humane Society Hickey College

Humane Society of the United States Humane Society of Central Illinois Humane Society of Greater Kansas City Kauai Humane Society Michigan Humane Society Mutts n Stuff Oregon Humane Society Pierce County Animal Response Team Pit Bull Rescue Central Seattle Humane Society Sioux Empire Pit Bull Rescue UAN

Other groups are expected to arrive in Missouri to begin helping with dogs this week. Included in these organizations is Our Pack, Inc's Tracey Cutler.

Tax Deductible? Why YES!

May 7th was a WONDERFUL day for us! We received our 501(c)(3) tax exempt determination letter! All donations ever made to us dating back to February 6, 2008 are tax deductible! We apologize for so many exclamation points but seriously, we have SO many more opportunities now to help out more dogs :)

Friendly Advice About Checking Rescue References

This info actually came from a yahoo group (Pit-Bull-Crusaders) that we are a member of, but we thought it was great info to share with with anyone looking to place a dog with a rescue, looking to adopt from a rescue or even those people interested in volunteering a the rescue.

If the rescue hesitates to provide references, ask yourself, "Why?"

What to Ask For?:

1) Vet Reference(s)-----> Is this a new vet for them? If so, ask for the name of the one they used before. Some people move because of bad rescue practices which could indicate substandard veterinarian care for their animals.
2) Have they filed paperwork with their local government to be recognized as a non-profit organization? Verify it.
3) Local Shelter reference and number
4) Local Animal Control and number
5) At least (2) adoptive homes that the rescue has adopted to
6) Local rescue group(s) that they have worked with on any level

There are many more things you can ask about beyond this list. What is important to you? Who might have that answer? How well does the rescue know their chosen breed? Are the animals handled and placed appropriately? We've heard some pretty disheartening stories regarding the outcome of animals who were not managed appropriately and were set up to fail.

Keep in mind too that sometimes a rescue's references may not tell the whole story about who they are as a group. We've heard stories about people who are engaging in unethical treatment of their animals, but they are good friends with Animal Control who overlooks it. We've also heard of another rescue that is notorious for abandoning animals in their foster home. I don't know WHY any rescue would want to treat a foster home that way, but it happens!

You can call a vet to see if they see their animals, but do you have proof that ALL of their animals are being seen there? (I'm of the personal opinion that a dog should at least be seen by the primary vet for a health checkup, even if all the procedures were done at a separate location). I've heard stories from people about adopting a dog only to realize it had NEVER seen a vet while in the rescue's care. That's absolutely frightening! Get those vet records BEFORE you adopt!

The point to all of this is to not settle for one good answer. Get as many answers and opinions as possible!

And yes, we are inviting any of you to check us out :) You can email us at info@nhpbr.org. If you have thing else you think is pertinent to this blog post, let us know that too!

Thank you everyone!

Just Wanted to Update :)

Looks like Beacon may be going to his new home next Friday! Katie and Luke have been patiently waiting for Beacon to get in a little better health and now that he's ready to go, they are getting ready for him. :) We're very excited for everyone!

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Be looking for some educational stuff coming your way via our blog here too. We're still steadily working on our demonstrations that we'll be having at our event for National Pit Bull Awareness Day this year. Actually, we're hoping to have quite a bit to share with you all, not just what our demonstrations will consist of.

Keep your eyes peeled!

If you would like to be added to our automatic update list when we update the blog, please send an email over to info@nhpbr.org. I'll make sure to get you put on the list.

Thank you everyone for your support! More good things are on the way!

Are You Graphically Inclined?

New Hope has a HUGE event coming up in October (which we need TONS of volunteers for by the way!!!) and we need some help with a shirt design.

Pit Bull Awareness Day is on October 25th this year and New Hope Pit Bull Rescue will be hosting an event for the Charleston area. Stay tuned to find out more details as we are still in the planning stages :)

Anywho, on to the shirt design. We're having a design contest to help get the public involved more and to help raise some funds for the rescue :)

Graphic Requirements:

- Vector Files are preferred although .png is acceptable. Please email us if you have questions about specific file types.
- Please limit graphic to no more than three colors.
- The graphic should depict pit bulls in a positive light. Please no snarling/aggressive images or dogs with cropped ears.
- Ideally, the graphic will include at least one happy, smiling pit bull. We have LOTS of examples if you need them.
- The graphic will be used on a white shirt so please keep this in mind while designing.

Rules:

- Entrant must be age 18 or older.
- Contest is open to all US residents.
- Upon submission, all graphics become property of New Hope Pit Bull Rescue and may be used in other media. However, owners of designs will retain rights to use their design.
- All submissions MUST be emailed.
- Please title your email “Design Contest Submission – (Last Name Here)
- Your entry(entries)must have been designed by you.
- Multiple entries are accepted.
- The entry fee is $10 per submission and can be made through PayPal. Our PayPal email address is donations@nhpbr.org or to make things easier, use the chipin widget at the bottom of this page.
- A minimum of 10 entries must be received. If we do not receive the 10 entry minimum, all entry fees will be returned. Submissions will still remain property of New Hope Pit Bull Rescue.
- All submissions must be received no later than Midnight, August 15, 2008
- Winner will be notified no later than August 22, 2008.

Incentives:

Why should you enter?

- You have the opportunity to win money for your design! 50% of the entry fees go to the owner of the winning submission. Your design could win at least $50!
- The graphic is needed for t-shirts that we will be making available to the public at this event for purchases and for prizes. Local businesses will be purchasing “ad-space” on the back of these shirts. The winning designer will receive their name/business included in this line up. If you are part of a business looking to gain more exposure, this is an opportunity for you!
- Winner will receive one free t-shirt with his or her design that was chosen to represent our Pit Bull Awareness & Education Celebration.
- Add to your portfolio!

Remember, HAVE FUN!

Lookit Who We Had a Visit From!

This is Ryan with his adopted pooch, Rambo (formerly Tino)! It was SO wonderful getting to see them again yesterday. Tino (he'll always be Tino to me) was an awesome guy and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him again :)

We also snagged a candid HAPPY shot of our Beacon boy who is steadily putting on some weight. :)



Beacon got to meet some wonderful people yesterday who are interested in adopting him when he's available (probably another month or so) so cross your fingers!

In other news, we have some VERY cool magnets for sale! If you are interested, stop by at one of our events or email us at info@nhpbr.org to find out another way to get one :)

The following are $5 a piece:












And these are for $3 :)