Why I should be Daddy's 2009 Valentine!

There are several reasons why I believe that I deserve to become Daddy's Valentine (again). As his Valentine a couple of years ago, it gave me more exposure to help spread the word that every dog, regardless of breed, is a simple reflection of its owner's choices. Also, isn't getting a dog about making a 100% commitment to that animal, just as you would to any new family member? By choosing me again, Daddy is showing the value of staying commited to the same ideals over time.

I am an American Pit Bull Terrier rescued from www.badrap.org out of Oakland, CA. An urban town with dog fighting issues, Animal Control Officers believe that I was used as a "bait" dog, or a dog without fighting gameness used to bring out dominance in other dogs. Most dog fighters don't kill their bait dogs a la Michael Vick, but simply evict us to try to make do on the streets, alone.

Animal Control Officers in the area believed this to be the case with me since I turned up in a neighborhood with known dog fighters who also breed for my color (called blue in pit bulls although it's more of a taupe/charcoal). Described by the shelter's vet as "severely emaciated" and only 37 pounds, I quickly filled out to a robust and rather brick-like 53 pounds. Mom feeds me a raw food diet, sometimes called prey model and sometimes called BARF, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food & now my coat gleams and my energy level is way up. I just know that she makes me do training before I get to eat, so I learn a lot in that 5 min each day before mealtimes.

Having never known friendly humans, during my first few weeks with mom, I rarely came out of my cage (never locked) and would hide underneath my dog bed and stuffed animal toys, hiding like E.T. in the closet of toys. Eventually I started venturing out for meal times and for 5 and 10 minute spurts. A true isolation case, upon experiencing anything new, I would immediately "check out", get vacant eyes and cower on the ground with my tail between my legs & sometimes wetting the ground. This happened upon every single encounter with something new like walking on a leash, hearing dogs bark, city noises, stairs, cats (still working on that one - they're scary!), elevators, meeting people, going to the beach. . .

. . . but as most know, LOVE can cure anything, along with consistent daily exercise and training. In just 4 months with mom, I aced both the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test as well as the far more rigorous Therapy Dog test. As a working Therapy Dog, I get to visit our local hospital & a seperate retirement community weekly. The pediatric ward is my favorite and I love to lay upside down with folks in the hospice center too as I'm a natural cuddle bug. Some of the older people even weep as they hold me because it's oddly similar to cradling a sleepy toddler. I stay very limp and love to make sleepy eye contact and contented bulldog snores.

Watching me blossom into the happy, wiggly bundle of fun and joy that I am now has rejuvenated my mom's heart and spirit. My very wide smile makes most everyone who sees me smile back. While occassionally people will say mean things to mom because of my stocky appearance and the terrible media stories that abound about pit bulls, most people help me build confidence by encouraging me. At the beach, strangers will root for me to swim just 8 or 10 feet! Not to brag, but I just learned how to swim! My lab friend, Bodhi, helped me get over my fear of the water - here's a 25 second video of us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ56L-8n6ZY

Most importantly, now I've got the support of my team behind me including my everpresent mom, my grandparents, vets, my many "aunts" and "uncles", etc. Plus, mom arranges daily supervised doggie playdates for me, so I wake up each morning with something to look forward to, even if it does take me about 2 hours of luxuriating, stretching and cuddling before I'm ready to get out of bed.

To those in favor of breed specific legislation, I say that any dog is simply a reflection of its current owner. Look at how differently I acted before and after being in my mom's care. Two of Michael Vick's dogs are also Therapy Dogs now. Places like Denver will mandatorily euthanize any "pit bull type" dog, even those passing through the area under the care of non-residents. Ontario, Canada and the state of Ohio have similar laws that punish the wrong end of the leash.

It's every dog guardian's duty and responsibility to raise us right. Luckily, the unlimited joy and enormous smiles that we bring to every activity makes it well worth the daily effort.

The time has come to showcase the silent majority of pit bull owners who provide structured, consistent and most importantly, LOVING homes and have dogs who reflect that. I would appreciate you highlighting one of us!

To see the object of my affection who brings out all this emotion in me, check out Daddy here: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/456424.

Our Therapy Visit Last Night on Christmas Eve Eve

I sent this newsletter submission to the company which Daisy is certified through to act as a Therapy Dog. Enjoy!!!
______________________________________________

My rescued American Pit Bull Terrier, Daisy Mae, and I visit our local hospital weekly. We always do the Pediatric Ward and often I dress Daisy up in her many costumes. This season, it has been in her holiday finery comprised of red velvet with marabou trim and lots of jingle bells, making her very popular with the kids.

Last night, we stopped by the room of a usually headstrong 3 year old I’ll call Molly. She has been battling a very aggressive and cancerous stomach tumor since August and we’ve been visiting her weekly since then. Often, when we see her, she is connected to a sort of kiosk on wheels that she’s attached to by myriad tubes. She rarely lets that or her rounds of chemotherapy slow her down though and enjoy visiting nurses all over the hospital, especially those on other floors. Even in our large hospital, most everyone knows her and smiles and waves as she makes her rounds, chattering away as always. Her mother spends most nights in the hospital although they live 2 hours away and enjoys our visits as a rare 10-minute respite from watching an active 3 year old.

At any rate, she had gotten surgery the day before to remove her tumor and sported a long, fresh, angry red scar zigzagging up her stomach. When I arrived she was huddled in a ball, screaming and crying into her mom’s chest while a nurse encouraged her to walk. After any abdominal surgery, the doctors want you up and around as soon as possible afterward as it will only hurt worse the longer you wait.

When Molly heard and caught sight of Daisy Mae and her off-kilter jingle bell antlers, it surprised her enough to stop the racking sobs so she could get a deep breath. The nurses explained to us that her pain would lessen if she would stand up or walk, even a shuffle, and that the hysterical crying was hurting her tummy more.

Molly spent about 20 more minutes petting Daisy (whom I had put in a Down-Stay) but was adamant about not standing or walking. Finally after much negotiating, her mother and I told her that if she stood up, she could use Daisy as a crutch. I gave Daisy her command to stand up, “Up and Around”, and she stood slowly. Molly screwed up her face in concentration and put her hands on Daisy’s back. She squinted her eyes closed and ever so slowly, with her mom supporting her middle, pulled herself up while Daisy stood patiently. Being of bulldog descent, Daisy Mae has many wrinkles of loose skin around her neck and enjoys getting them tugged on and scratched. Once Molly got herself to a standing position & with tears still all over her face, she continued to clutch Daisy’s back with one hand and grabbed on tight to one of her many folds of neck skin with her other hand. She then shuffled herself 4 or 5 small sideways steps to her bed while Daisy waited patiently, turning her head only to look into her face. The nurses and I clapped for Molly and told her good job and she said, “I only did it ‘cause Daisy helped me”.

Needless to say, I was moved and proud. Molly’s mother was relieved and mouthed me a quiet “thank you”.

On Christmas Day, our hospital encourages all the Therapy Dogs to visit as one big pack, so we will see Molly again tomorrow. Hopefully the sight of so many dressed up doggies will take her mind off her pain again and even draw a smile!

Thank you TDI, for giving me the opportunity to explore such a rewarding volunteer experience for not only the patient, but also the patient’s family, the hospital staff, Daisy Mae and me – often we all work together as a team.

DOGGIE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME!!

I celebrated my 3rd birthday and my 2nd anniversary in my forever home this weekend! Mommy invited 10 humans and 8 dogs over on Saturday. All the dogs have been on walks and outings in differenct groups and all the doggie parents were there, so things went very smoothly. The doggies wore party hats and engaged in lots of wrestling and flopping around for sure. I have playdates every day, but never with all my friends at once! I didn't know where to run or who to slide under first.

Check out some photos of it above. I wore pearls and a headband with a big ribbon on it to start with, but only my pearls lasted. Mommy even threw 5 stuffed animals into the yard at once for a major tug o war. Mommy made pigs in blankets as an appetizer for the humans and each doggie got a goodie bag from Petco for being so nice to me all year long. Since I was an emotionally vacant rescue dog at first and have blossomed into a bouncy joyful Therapy Dog, Mommy had a lot of thanking to do. Surrounding me with balanced people and dogs has changed my entire personality. It takes a village, right?

I collected presents and cuddles from every single person and doggie at the party, then as soon as the last guest left around 4:30 PM, I promptly went to bed for the night. Mommy let me snore away on the big bed for a few hours too!

My new favorite ward: Pediatric

Hi there!

I just have to share that after testing out 5 different wards in our local hospital, I've decided that my favorite is Pediatric floor. This week, I got to visit with a 9 year girl with cancer who let me flop upside down on her bed for almost 20 minutes while our moms talked. The girl gave me about 100 kisses on my nose AND scratched under my neck while I emitted a loud, very bulldoggish bbbbbpppprrrrr purr of contentment. Occassionally I stretched my arms toward her, but other than that, I could have stayed all day! How did she know how much I love to spoon?! She read my mind. I hope that I bring half the joy to the patients as they bring to me as a Therapy Dog!

Woof, Daisy Mae

I had a great Therapy Visit this week!

This past Sunday, I went to do my "job", which is to visit the 60 or so residents of a local Alzheimer's facility. I was especially relaxed and happy on this day and the residents were so responsive! I got to lay (upside down of course) on 3 people's beds for about 15 minutes each while they scratched under my neck which is my all time favorite thing to do. One woman remembered my name, exclaiming, "Daisy!" when I came in and her attendant said it was the first lucid thing she had said in 3 days. Of course I wiggle waggled my bottom out of control when I heard my name, which is my signature pit bull move that always garners me tookus scratches, my other favorite thing.

In all, I think I collected about 80 kisses and mommy said I looked very pretty with all the different shades of pink lipstick on the top of my head which is very noticeable there since I have a white stripe up the middle of my face. At the nurse's station on each floor, she gives me a wipe down before we head to the next wing and each time the washcloth was pinker than before! Getting wiped with a washcloth is always my least favorite part of the day, but if it leads to more kisses, it is worth it. You should see how I cower though when I see mommy with a towel in her hand, you would think I get beaten with it. Mommy just started giving me a treat right after though, so I'm starting to not look so sad when I see a towel coming at me.

Oh yeah! Another bonus: I'm completely over my fear of elevators, which has been my longest lasting fear. Just in the past couple of weeks, I've been able to forget that I'm on one, as mommy runs me through my obedience paces: "Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Jump. . . " Obedience is a great way to distract me from scary things or to cure me of a fear in a certain place. It really takes my mind off the problem and helps build my confidence at the same time. So good news all around!

Finally! Denver is getting sued for its Breed Specific- Legislation!

Hi all,

Here's a great, well written news story about
Breed Specific Legislation in general and about a
fabulous new lawsuit in which I wholly support the plaintiffs. To have to move just to have the right to keep your family pet is ridiculous!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97515 4&page=1

Finally, some of Denver's residents are suing
their city & county for banning their dogs.
Almost all of Colorado has a ban on pit bulls and
so they mandatorily euthanize them instead of adopting them out from shelters. The sickest thing is that as soon as Animal Control in Denver started enforcing the ban, they stole 380 (and killed 260 of those) licensed pit bulls from people who were responsible enough to pay the city's dog registration fee. That's out of an estimated 4,200 pit bulls in the area! To target the law abiding citizens is just so wrong.

You can download the 13 page pdf file of the actual filed claim and it makes great reading. One woman's dog was taken after a neighbor reported her to Animal Control as owning a pit bull. Can you imagine if your neighbor called the city to ask them to please stop by and kill your dog for being born a certain breed?

In Ontario, Canada, pit bulls are also banned and
the ones who are grandfathered in have to wear a muzzle when outside. Most of Ohio is the same & Las Vegas. Even New York City is proposing banning pit bulls right now. I send letters all the time, obviously.

Here's the Denver paper's one page story about it:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5628087_

If you feel like sending emails or letters, you can check www.defendingdog.com for a weekly update of BSL across the nation.

We all have to keep spreading the word that any dog is what its owner makes of it.

Love,
Daisy Mae,
a happy pit bull and a certified Therapy Dog

Raincoat!

Just tell me the truth: do I look silly in my new raincoat? My mom just got it for me and it turns out that my boyfriend, Scout's, mom got him the exact same one. So of course we had to try them on together. Scout doesn't like wearing it. I don't mind at all. After a few minutes though, he forgot he was wearing it and we were back to wrestling around. I don't know though, about dogs wearing clothes. The only clothing item I like is my fleece cape thingee that I wear when it's cold out.

Cesar Millan's "Daddy" chose me as his 2007 Valentine!

First, I'd like to say Happy almost-Valentine's Day to all the dogsters out there! I've been giving out lots of free kisses every day that I've been in my forever home, so it's sort of always Valentine's Day for me. My "job" as a certified Therapy Dog is to visit people in a local medical & hospice center and I have a very wiggly bottom, waggling tail and I'm always happy to dole out kisses and stretch in for a nose to nose smell session with any person.

There are many reasons that I want "Daddy" from Cesar Millan's pack, to be my Valentine. First off, I try very hard every single day to be a great ambassador for my breed, which is American Pit Bull Terrier. Daddy is my hero in that regard. He's Cesar's right hand dog and to earn that distinction, he has to be extremely balanced.

The other reason I love Daddy is that Daddy's first Daddy is the rapper, Redman, who realized when Daddy was still a pup, that he did not have the time and energy to devote to a little wiggly waggly pit bull puppy. There are far too many pit bulls in the hands of people who don't have time to train them and that's a travesty. Pit bulls also have a problem with being favored by rappers who do the breed more ill than good. DMX was found guilty of 13 counts of animal cruelty brought against him by the Humane Society because he kept his pit bulls in cages, neglecting them to live in their own excrement for weeks at a time. The rapper Big Boi of Outkast is a breeder. Jay-Z and others glorify dog fighting in their videos and album covers. So in light of the usual way pit bulls are treated, Redman chose to be the most responsible owner he could be, realized his own limitations and rehomed the dog with someone who could train and raise him right.

The last reason I love Daddy is because my favorite thing in the world is a doggie playdate. Cesar preaches that all dogs need socialization in the dog and human worlds daily along with exercise, etc. Right now, my best friend is a standard poodle who likes to box and bump chests and play tug o war like me. My mom makes sure that I have a supervised doggie playdate at least every other day. This has helped me blossom and open up so much from when I first came home from the shelter a scared, shaking, frightened submissive dog who quivered with fear in my cage. I am still submissive as all heck, but now I am open to meeting new friends and I act silly with happy confidence too!

So Happy Valentines Day dogsters and especially to Daddy! Daddy's profile can be found here: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/456424.

I'M DOG OF THE DAY!! www.dogeachday.com

Hi everyone!

My mommy is bursting with pride that Larry Merrill chose to sketch me and I am the dog for today, Saturday, 1-13-07, at www.dogeachday.com! Better yet, I got to include a bio on there, so of course I mentioned that I am an APBT certified Therapy Dog, the ongoing fight against BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) and encouraged people to consider a shelter before a breeder. The site has a complete archive of the entire year's sketches too. So take a look! The last photo on my dogster page is the sketch he drew of me and the primary photo of me is the photo he used to work from. I think he really captured my demure nature.

Woof,

Daisy Mae (and her typist/mom Alison)

Therapy Visit today

My mom and/or dad take me every other week to a retirement community near us. I went on a "Pet Therapy" visit today!! I had a blast. Since I'm sort of a big bag of rice in the shape of a dog, I had fun leaning against people and laying on their feet, doing some toe licking. I walk around and visit the 60 or so older residents. It takes us about an hour and a half and we visit people in groups and in their individual rooms.

Most people are so happy to see me! Last time I went, one man on bed rest demanded that mom put me in his bed. Instead, she pulled me onto her lap and sat in a chair next to him, so I could drape my upside head toward him. Whenever I'm in my mom's lap, I love to flop into an upside-down-head-hanging-low position, then I stretch my legs forward & the people were loving that move! I'm just a silly girl.