Last month we told you about the NKLA-Best Friends mega-adoption at the La Brea Tar Pits. The numbers are in and 400 cats and dogs found love and homes during the the 2-day event. If you’re thinking about a rescue dog or cat, maybe give the NKLA video a look.
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| Eugenie and Tanner at the NKLA mega-adoption |
Woke up this morning to find that WOOF, a digital dog magazine from India, yes India, just published a piece I wrote for them entitled ‘What A Bullie!‘. The story (p. 14-16), which is based on material from the GIMME SHELTER sidebars, offers readers some useful tips on adopting and caring for a Pit Bull or any shelter dog. Following the article, which has several great photos of Tanner, there’s a full-page profile of the book. Thanks to Nirav for contacting me and running the story.
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| Tanner, Eugenie and Lou (photo by Roxanne McCann) |
A few days ago 29-year-old Alex Jackson was arrested and charged with murder in the death of Pamela Devitt, 63, the Lancaster, CA woman who was fatally mauled by a pack of Jackson’s dogs with a history of previous attacks. Despite his wife death, Devitt’s husband, didn’t blame the dogs involved, or demonize the breed. Her husband told KCAL-TV he blamed the dogs’ owner for what happened. “I do not blame the dogs. I don’t blame pit bulls,” Ben Devitt said. “I blame people who don’t take responsibility for their animals.” For more details, check out the Huffington Post report.
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| Dexter & Tanner: Pitbulls are inherently dangerous. Really? ~~~~~ |
If you are looking to keep your dog healthy, happy and under control, consider dispensing with that retractable lead and using something that offers more control and safety. In an article in Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan’s online newsletter, Jon Bastian writes: “There are three big issues with retractable leads, the first of which is safety. Since they can effectively allow your dog to run for twenty or more feet before the end of the line, they allow your dog to build up a lot of speed. Remember “force equals mass times acceleration” from high school physics? Well, give even a small dog a twenty foot head start, and they can build up enough speed to pull you off your feet, break the lead, or yank the handle right out of your hand. That last situation can be particularly disastrous, since the handle will then retract on the lead, and the sound and motion of that big hunk of plastic suddenly whizzing up from behind can make your dog think something is chasing it, inspiring it to run faster and farther.
There’s also that twenty feet of line between you and your dog, which can be nearly invisible under the right circumstances. Your dog can get tangled in it, or tangle you or another person in it. Even the website for a prominent manufacturer of retractable leads warns of multiple possible injuries, including cuts or burns from the line, falls, eye and facial injuries, and even broken bones or loss of fingers. You wouldn’t let your dog run free in the middle of the street, but very long leads can allow exactly this to happen. Dogs on retractable leads can and have run into traffic and been killed by cars. Beyond safety issues, retractable leads just teach your dog the wrong thing: That pulling on the lead will get them what they want — in this case, the freedom to run all over the place. When they stop pulling, the lead pulls back, so the desire to pull and run away is constantly reinforced. Finally, retractable leads may be illegal in your area. For example, the leash law in the city of Los Angeles reads, “Every person owning or having charge, care, custody or control of any dog shall keep such dog exclusively upon his own premises provided, however, that such dog may be off such premises if it be under the control of a competent person and restrained by a substantial chain or leash not exceeding six feet in length [emphasis added].” The same is true for leash laws in Los Angeles County, and may be similar in your jurisdiction. Aside from endangering a dog’s safety, many users of retractable leads may not even know that they’re breaking the law.
Lots of you know from firsthand experience that dogs have wonderful spirits, terrific instincts and delicate, accurate emotional radar. Amazing as they are, when interacting with people and other animals, they rely on us, their human partners, to keep them out of harm’s way and help them become canine ‘good citizens’. As my wife, Eugenie, says, “We have to be their brains.” Socializing and training are important for all dogs but especially for ‘dominant breed’ dogs (Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Mastiffs, Chow Chows, Jindos, Shar Peis, Dogo Argentino, Cane Corso, Presa Canario and any breed with a history of fighting) that too often find themselves unfairly targeted by the media and misguided legislators. Tanner was already a sweet, docile well-behaved dog but working with trainer Tony Rollins helped make him even more responsive and fun to be with.
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| 7-year-old Jasmine East relaxes with Tanner, our rescue Pit Bull, at last week’s book signing |
Dogs serve as a daily reminder to live gratefully, and gracefully in the moment. Offer a bowl of kibble, table scraps, a romp at the beach, a visit to dog park, a new squeaky toy or just a few kind words and it’s a safe bet that you’ll be whacked with a whipping tail, or slurped across the mug with a sandpaper tongue. How often do we, their two-legged partners, match their joy or appreciation? I mention this in honor of Anthony Battista Greco, a friend who passed away last week after a long struggle with lung problems.
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| Lou & Tanner w Agoura volunteer Andy & ‘Dusty’ (also a rescue dog) |
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| Trainer & volunteer Ellen Naumann w ‘Skittles’ and Tanner |
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| Lou, Eugenie and Tanner @ Bank of Books, 5-18-13 |
Checked my Amazon page today and found a really great review from actor, author and rescue dog parent Harry Hamlin, who had this to say about GIMME SHELTER – I loved this book! I love dogs but you don’t have to be a “dog person” to get the message hidden between the lines. This book opens a door to serenity and a fresh appreciation of the precious gift of life. It’s a fun read written by a thoughtful man who takes us on his own journey of self-discovery that turns out to be ours as well. Great job!
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| Lou, Lisa Rinna, Eugenie, Harry Hamlin |
Saturday, April 13, was Tanner’s four-year anniversary with us and we wanted to share it with you. It feels like only yesterday that we brought him home from the Agoura Hills (L.A. County) shelter, an underweight, over-anxious creature that panicked at the slightest noise or movement. from GIMME SHELTER: “Watching him bounce along on our walks, it’s hard to recall the skittish rescue dog that used to slink behind me, head hung low, bracing for the danger that loomed at every turn; the malnourished stray that ate in fits and starts, stopping constantly to check for unseen assailants. Now he gobbles down his food without a glance. Then he runs to fetch his toys, kicking off each day with affection and exercise instead of threats and abuse. He has grown buff from all that exercise, packing on ten pounds of rippling muscle. He prances proudly, eager to demonstrate his tricks for anyone willing to fork over a treat, or two. Sorry, Tony. He used to pull and strain to greet other dogs. Now he sits patiently (okay, not all that patiently, especially with puppies), until we signal that it’s okay to play, which he does with a gusto and good nature that never cease to amaze me. The homeless dog that slept on the street or, when he was lucky, on a tattered shelter pad, now bunks down in one of three comfy beds, nestled in plush blankets.
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| Tanner, 4 years later |
We’ve had all sorts of gracious feedback from friends and neighbors on the Malibu Surfside News feature but I wanted to mention two responses that stand out. One was a note from reader Diane Malecha, a longtime rescue worker, who has fostered many, many Pit Bulls until they could find permanent loving homes. She wrote to thank me for writing GIMME SHELTER and helping raise awareness of animals in need. We’re flattered but it’s we who thank her and her fellow rescuer, Sherman, of Sherman’s Place pet grooming in Malibu, for their extraordinary efforts. Without people like them, we’d have never had Tanner.
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| Burton & Malibu, two of 8 Pit pups fostered by Diane Malecha |
The other amazing response was from a woman who read the story and called the paper to say that she was the good Samaritan who found Tanner wandering on Las Posas Road in Camarillo and later brought him to the Agoura Hills Shelter. We left our number with the paper and asked them to forward it to her so we could personally thank her for saving our boy. We’d also like to ask her a pressing question: How the heck did she get him into the car? As readers and anyone who’s met Tanner knows, he’s no fan of motorized transport. from Gimme Shelter “Tanner’s an incredibly athletic dog–he can maneuver like Messi, run like Usain Bolt, and jump like Blake Griffin–yet he approached the rear seat like an octogenarian tackling Mt. Everest. On a good day, it took a minute for him to make the climb. On a bad day, you could read Moby Dick before he reached the summit.”
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| Wally & Zoolie, foster Pits that found a forever home thanks in part to Diane. |
In my haste to spread the word about Maryland’s misguided law (nothing gets a ‘recovering’ angry guy worked up like picking on Pitties), I forgot to include some statistics from GIMME SHELTER about the odds of being killed by a Pit Bull. While the numbers are a few years old, they illustrate how the media’s obsession with these ‘killer’ dogs is perversely overblown. I’m including them now to give you a sense of perspective.
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| Eugenie and Tanner |
Tanner, Eugenie and I are thrilled to announce the start of the Gimme Shelter Campaign to help rescue animals. We had already committed 10% of the book’s profits to animal rescue causes when our friend and fellow writer, Dan Cohen, suggested we offer interested organizations discount codes so that their members could save on the book and earn donations for their groups. It took a few weeks to work out the tech kinks but now it’s a reality. By pointing their members and supporters to our online store, www.buygimmeshelter.com, and using the unique codes that we supply, they earn $1.00 for every book sold through their groups. In the coming weeks, we’ll be announcing some of our ‘partners’. Right now, if you know any organizations that could use a helping hand, have them get in touch with us to learn how they can join the Gimme Shelter Campaign.
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Now that Genesis Awards are behind us, we’d like to thank the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for letting us contribute to the cause by offering e-copies of GIMME SHELTER to the celebrity presenters. Hope they enjoy the book as much as we appreciate all the hard work the HSUS does raising awareness of animal issues. For a look at photos of the star-studded gala, check them out on Facebook.
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Lastly, my sister and mad dog lover Honey pinned me a photo of the most decorated war dog in the history of the United States. Wanna guess the breed? That’s right, a Pit Bull named Stubby.
Louis Spirito 