Yes, you've seen this pic before. But I like it, so you get to see it again.
Hard to believe it’s been six months since our last For What It’s Worth (FWIW). You can read the first one HERE and the second one HERE. You can also get some background info by reading 100 Days and My Op-Ed Piece. Once you are all caught up, you can continue below.
The last six months have seen many changes to our lives. The biggest of which was the addition of lady #3 on April 14, 2009. Lucy Kate was born and Trinity got herself another lifelong friend. Most of the time Trinity just ignores her and, for her, things have not changed too much. Little does she know that in about 10 months she is going to have to dodge a little lady learning how to walk. We may have to let Trinity retreat to the basement so she doesn’t go crazy trying to get away from little Lucy.
Last week Hartford saw a crazy pit bull story, in which a number of pit bulls were seized and brought to the Hartford Dog Pound. The local paper, The Hartford Courant, covered the story, and followed the dogs as some were actually released back to their owner. Hard to believe, but as you can read HERE, the law in Connecticut didn’t allow for much else to happen. Only two of the dogs went back to the owner, and the rest were adopted out. Good thing, because they don’t get much time in the HDP because of budget reasons. We had heard about the dogs a week before, in an email from Kelly of Paws New England, and actually visited the pound to see if we may foster one of the dogs while it waited for a home. Trinity and the dog got along fine, but he was young, and very jumpy. Jumpy and three little ladies at home does not mix. We came to the realization that we are a one dog family. Sophie was not happy with that decision, but I guess when you are three all you think about it getting another dog!
We also helped redesign the Hearts of Gold Pit Rescue website. You can check it out HERE. It is still a work in progress, but Donna is getting the hang of updating and designing, with a little help from up north. HOGPR brought us Trinity, and we are forever grateful and will do whatever we can to help out. Who can forget THIS. It’s the reason we got Trinity in the first place.
Sophie and I went to a birthday party last weekend. As I stood and talked with one parent at the party, she told me an interesting story. We started talking about dogs. And, if you know me, you know I love to talk about Trinity. I will take any chance I get to tell her story. Of course, as soon as I mention that we have a dog, the first question is always, “What kind?”. When I say she is a pit bull, the reaction is usually one of three different ones. People are: 1) caught so off-guard that their only response, with very wide eyes, is, “Oh….” 2) Look at me and say, “Really, aren’t afraid she is going to eat your kids?” or 3) They know someone who has a pit bull and immediately tell me how that person has always told them what a great dog he/she is, but that they would always worry that something would happen. Well on this day, the women I was talking to relayed an interesting story. She said that her brother had a pit bull, and kids, but that whenever anyone asked what kind of dog he was, he lied. He said another breed. He would not tell them that he was a pit bull. I wasn’t sure what to think at first, but the one thing that I knew was that I would never lie about Trinity. There are several reasons for this.
First, it wouldn’t be fair to her or to the breed. Pit bulls get a Bad Rap, and I don’t want to hide who Trinity is. It wouldn’t be right. If I lie about who she is, what does that say about me? And if I did lie, why would I be lying? Was I ashamed that I adopted a pit bull? Certainly not. No reason to lie.
Second, every opportunity to answer that question is an opportunity to educate. I like to think that we have changed many mindsets since we adopted Trinity 16 months ago. Every time she meets someone is a chance to change someone’s view of pit bulls, and she has done it more than once.
But most importantly, I am proud of what we have done. I am proud that we helped save her, and since that time we have helped save more pit bulls. I am proud of having done my homework and realizing what a great breed they are and what a great dog Trinity is. I am proud of what what we have taught our children, to love unconditionally, and to not let prejudice into our household. I am proud every day that I see her as a member of our family.
Wouldn’t you be?
