I love the fall. It’s definitely my favorite time of year with changing leaves, cool weather, back to school hub bub, and of course, football. This NFL season is a special one though. As it turns out, it’s the season of second chances. It’s the season to forgive horrific crimes against animal-kind and accept that we all make “mistakes.” And I can’t help but find great irony in this as I walk through our kennel and see so many beautiful, innocent pit bull faces longing for their chance. I see Sedric, a 6 year old pit bull who will be celebrating 1 year at this shelter in September unless he finds a home before then. His crime? Well, he’s a pit bull. Then I see Bruno, this big headed, bat-eared wonder dog who lives to play ball, works the teeter totter in the play yard like an agility champ, and doesn’t harbor any hard feelings toward us humans for the cigarette burn scars on his head. He has been at shelter since December 2008 watching visitor after visitor walk by his cage with that look of “guilty as charged”….after all, he is a pit bull mix. Oh and here’s one of my favorite girls, Pearl. She’s a gorgeous white pit bull with a velvety coat and brown spots sprinkled about her nose and one eye. She flops down in my lap, belly up, and I comfort her as I know she has had two seizures this week from the stress of living in this environment. My heart breaks every time I look at the deep scar on her neck that goes from almost ear to ear where someone left a cable around her neck until it embedded there. Tears turn to a smile as Pearl licks my face with ferocity.

These are just a few examples of so many amazing dogs who have been judged and juried based on their breed alone. They are the victims of abuse, neglect, discrimination, and intolerance. Biased media reporting and a lack of education regarding the pit bull breed have all but ruined the reputation of this dog who was an icon of American culture and worthy of our respect not long ago. Known as “nanny dogs” in England for their compatibility with children, this breed is inherently excellent with people and very social….a lap dog in their minds regardless of size.

The fact is, more pit bulls are dying or waiting for homes in U.S. shelters than any other breed. In most cases, they’re not even getting a first chance. And for those shelters like ours who do not discriminate against any breed and look at every dog’s individual temperament as the deciding factor for their future, pit bulls have the longest length of stay than even senior or disabled pets. It is for this reason that we need your help. We need you to open your minds to a new way of thinking about this breed. We need you to help educate those around you who assume the worst about pit bulls. We need you to recognize that at the end of the day, pit bulls are just dogs. They have two eyes, four legs, and one heart. They are born innocent with a blank canvas on which we will paint their future. Chains and hate, greed and ignorance will make them, or any dog, dangerous. But love, obedience and respect will make them the best dog you’ve ever had.

So in honor of this season of second chances, we would like to launch a new program we’re calling “Pit Bull Angels.” You can become a pit bull’s angel by fostering, adopting or becoming a financial sponsor of one of our pit bulls or pit mix residents. Members of our Pit Bull Angel Network will be recognized on our website and monthly newsletter with additional membership benefits to come.

If you would like to help dogs like Pearl, Sedric and Bruno receive their chance, please email hamiltonhumane@yahoo.com for financial sponsorship opportunities or animalprogams@hamiltonhumane.com if you would like to foster or adopt.

For more information about the Pit Bull breed, please visit our Pit Bull Education website page.

Sincerely,

Rebecca M. Stevens
Executive Director

Sincerely,