Pets on my Mind

After all the tears and sadness surrounding Bruiser the pit bull, I needed some happy pictures to get me out of my funk. Here they are: 3 angels that my friend Joan is fostering for the Memphis Shelby County Humane Society.

Their mom gave birth to 4 and was bleeding. One of the pups was having trouble too, but the owner didn't take them to the vet. Mom and pup died. These pups were brought to the humane society when they were 1 day old. The humane society happened to receive a nursing mom (Miley) without pups so they put these with her and she took care of them.

The brown pup is Montana. The little girl, the black and white one, is Hannah, and the black one with rottie markings is Cyrus. They will be ready to be adopted at the Humane Society in probably 4 or 5 weeks. If you're interested, visit the humane society and fill out an application.

The Mutts cartoon today by Patrick McDonnell could have been about Bruiser. It's on page M8 of Saturday's paper.

• A group of people are meeting at 2:15 Sunday at the Central Library on Poplar to talk about Bruiser's Law, one they hope will give our anti-cruelty laws some stronger teeth.
• The Memphis Animal Coalition, a group that formed to look at issues regarding the Memphis animal Shelter will be meeting there at 3:30 p.m.

Here is the link to the pitbull story that we ran about a year ago. Please look at this and read the articles. Let me know what you think.

http://pitbull.commercialappeal-web.com/

What sort of law would there be in the name of Bruiser? There are laws on the book against animal cruelty. They are strong laws. It's a felony to fight animals in Tennessee. The problem is that prosecutors need evidence. They need proof. They can't just pick up a dog like Bruiser or Mac and solve the crime.

 Who owned Bruiser? Who had him when he was a puppy? What did they do to him? How did this happen to him? How did he end up on Shelby Oaks? Prosecutors and law enforcement can only bring charges if there's a reasonable belief that they can get a conviction. The person who dumped Bruiser was long gone.

The problem is that if Bruiser wasn't alive when he was found, if Jody Fisher hadn't happened by, he would have probably died out there alone. His body would have started to smell and someone would call dead animal pick-up. They would have scooped him up and taken him to the incinerator. Case closed.

Do you know how many dead dogs there are in the fields and dumpsters of Memphis? The female dogs that can't breed anymore, the ones that don't fight. Michael Vick is the tip of the iceberg. I have a video called Off the Chain that was produced by a man trying to save the breed. He actually got in to some pit bull fights and videotaped what he saw. He let trainers go on and on about the dogs. He even showed one who didn't fight get electrocuted. That was just one man in one city with one camera. Do you know how many there are just in Memphis? Michael Vick was one case.

 When I did my series last year on pit bulls and I wrote about the horrible treatment, the chained dogs, the pit bull farms in people's back yards, I expected people to rise up and demand better treatment for that breed.

Nope. A little chatter. But nothing came of it. I just don't understand. There are Bruiser's everywhere. If you saw what I saw, the ones that are skin and bones and chained up in yards, you'd scream. I had nightmares for months after that story.

 I had some people hollering to ban the breed. Like the dogs are somehow to blame for what is happening. It completely takes the responsibility off the owners and says that these puppies become killers or aggressive all by themselves. It completely takes the blame from where it should be, which is on the people raising, training, fighting, abusing these dogs. It's a systemic problem that isn't going away unless people rise up and demand that it does. Adopt pit bulls from shelters that allow it. Help rescue groups by fostering their animals or funding their work. Fight the stereotype. Get educated on what is going on. Buy a book called The Pitbull Placebo by Karen Delise. It will open your eyes. Demand laws be enforced. Call the animal shelter and report abuse. Turn on your neighbors that keep breeding stock chained up in their back yards.

What about a law that eliminates the selling of live animals on street corners and in flea markets? That will knock out a marketplace for these puppies. I wouldn't mind a moratorium on the breeding of pit bulls, maybe 5 years. All pups confiscated and sent to rescue groups for adoption. The problem is that there's a huge market for these pups. Read the number of ads for the pups. Look on the street corners on the weekends. Of course, the problem with a local moratorium is that people who live on the outskirts of Memphis will just bring their pups here to sell or people will drive across the county line to buy them.

 I'm open for debate and discussion. I asked the new shelter manager if he's seen any city deal successfully with the pitbull problem. Not one, he said. Maybe we can be the first. Please tell me what you think. Remember, it's one thing to hope that people do these things to these dogs get what's coming to them, it's another thing to make that happen. It will take a village to save this breed. People have to stop being afraid and start getting proactive in the fight. What are your thoughts?

What sort of law would there be in the name of Bruiser? There are laws on the book against animal cruelty. They are strong laws. It's a felony to fight animals in Tennessee. The problem is that prosecutors need evidence. They need proof. They can't just pick up a dog like Bruiser or Mac and solve the crime.

 Who owned Bruiser? Who had him when he was a puppy? What did they do to him? How did this happen to him? How did he end up on Shelby Oaks? Prosecutors and law enforcement can only bring charges if there's a reasonable belief that they can get a conviction. The person who dumped Bruiser was long gone.

The problem is that if Bruiser wasn't alive when he was found, if Jody Fisher hadn't happened by, he would have probably died out there alone. His body would have started to smell and someone would call dead animal pick-up. They would have scooped him up and taken him to the incinerator. Case closed.

Do you know how many dead dogs there are in the fields and dumpsters of Memphis? The female dogs that can't breed anymore, the ones that don't fight. Michael Vick is the tip of the iceberg. I have a video called Off the Chain that was produced by a man trying to save the breed. He actually got in to some pit bull fights and videotaped what he saw. He let trainers go on and on about the dogs. He even showed one who didn't fight get electrocuted. That was just one man in one city with one camera. Do you know how many there are just in Memphis? Michael Vick was one case.

 When I did my series last year on pit bulls and I wrote about the horrible treatment, the chained dogs, the pit bull farms in people's back yards, I expected people to rise up and demand better treatment for that breed.

Nope. A little chatter. But nothing came of it. I just don't understand. There are Bruiser's everywhere. If you saw what I saw, the ones that are skin and bones and chained up in yards, you'd scream. I had nightmares for months after that story.

 I had some people hollering to ban the breed. Like the dogs are somehow to blame for what is happening. It completely takes the responsibility off the owners and says that these puppies become killers or aggressive all by themselves. It completely takes the blame from where it should be, which is on the people raising, training, fighting, abusing these dogs. It's a systemic problem that isn't going away unless people rise up and demand that it does. Adopt pit bulls from shelters that allow it. Help rescue groups by fostering their animals or funding their work. Fight the stereotype. Get educated on what is going on. Buy a book called The Pitbull Placebo by Karen Delise. It will open your eyes. Demand laws be enforced. Call the animal shelter and report abuse. Turn on your neighbors that keep breeding stock chained up in their back yards.

What about a law that eliminates the selling of live animals on street corners and in flea markets? That will knock out a marketplace for these puppies. I wouldn't mind a moratorium on the breeding of pit bulls, maybe 5 years. All pups confiscated and sent to rescue groups for adoption. The problem is that there's a huge market for these pups. Read the number of ads for the pups. Look on the street corners on the weekends. Of course, the problem with a local moratorium is that people who live on the outskirts of Memphis will just bring their pups here to sell or people will drive across the county line to buy them.

 I'm open for debate and discussion. I asked the new shelter manager if he's seen any city deal successfully with the pitbull problem. Not one, he said. Maybe we can be the first. Please tell me what you think. Remember, it's one thing to hope that people do these things to these dogs get what's coming to them, it's another thing to make that happen. It will take a village to save this breed. People have to stop being afraid and start getting proactive in the fight. What are your thoughts?

I only met him once, but he never met me. Bruiser was knocked out with pain medicine. A teddy bear was near his head. He was under a heating pad with a  vent gently blowing warm air on him.

I pulled back his green blanket and looked at his wounds. He is like so many other pit bulls in this town, born to suffer, born to die. He was so savagely attacked by other dogs. He could have been a bait dog, could have been put in a ring with a fighting dog or maybe he was just dumped out somewhere, a dog left to starve who was attacked by other starving dogs.

 No one knows the story of Bruiser before Saturday April 19, but everyone knows the story about the last 10 days of his life.

He was loved, prayed for, petted, fed well, babied, talked to and doted on. Top veterinarians did their best to help him fight infections and heal his wounds. Healing his emotional scars would have come once he got better physically.

He never made it. He died Tuesday on the operating table. The odds were against him from the start, but Jody Fisher, just an average person, stopped her car when she saw this torn up dog standing on the side of the road.

She didn't turn away from him. She called her daughter Kristen and Kristen's boyfriend and they took him to a vet. It's so much more than most pit bulls get in this town.

They are the most abused, neglected, misunderstood breed in the history of dogs. Thousands lead horrific lives at the hands of brutal people. Whatever horrible hands touched Bruiser during his early years didn't touch him in the end. Only loving hands.

 I hope through his pain and his medication he felt that.

I only met him once, but he never met me. Bruiser was knocked out with pain medicine. A teddy bear was near his head. He was under a heating pad with a  vent gently blowing warm air on him.

I pulled back his green blanket and looked at his wounds. He is like so many other pit bulls in this town, born to suffer, born to die. He was so savagely attacked by other dogs. He could have been a bait dog, could have been put in a ring with a fighting dog or maybe he was just dumped out somewhere, a dog left to starve who was attacked by other starving dogs.

 No one knows the story of Bruiser before Saturday April 19, but everyone knows the story about the last 10 days of his life.

He was loved, prayed for, petted, fed well, babied, talked to and doted on. Top veterinarians did their best to help him fight infections and heal his wounds. Healing his emotional scars would have come once he got better physically.

He never made it. He died Tuesday on the operating table. The odds were against him from the start, but Jody Fisher, just an average person, stopped her car when she saw this torn up dog standing on the side of the road.

She didn't turn away from him. She called her daughter Kristen and Kristen's boyfriend and they took him to a vet. It's so much more than most pit bulls get in this town.

They are the most abused, neglected, misunderstood breed in the history of dogs. Thousands lead horrific lives at the hands of brutal people. Whatever horrible hands touched Bruiser during his early years didn't touch him in the end. Only loving hands.

 I hope through his pain and his medication he felt that.

The woman who rescued Bruiser emailed me to say that he died a few minutes ago on the operating table. The poor baby. At least he was touched by hands who loved him for a while. I'm so sad. Another pit bull, another death from violence.

This is the update from Jody as of Tuesday, April 29. If she updates later, I'll post it: The vet was going to remove dead skin. He still may lose a toe or a paw. He's going to start going to the Animal Emergency Center every night and then back to Berclair Animal Hospital every day. 

If you read the comments in the section below, you can get some details about how Bruiser is doing. He's up, he's down. He takes a turn for the better then a turn for the worse. He has to go through so much. I guess some people wonder why he wasn't put to sleep from the start. What do you think? Is Bruiser worth fighting for? Can we save one pit bull from the hell he's been through?

This is the latest update from Kristen, one of the people who saved him: Brusier is in bad shape. He was able to get around his cone over the weekend and chew on this back leg. He has opened up old wounds and won't stop licking his lip. He is back in critical condition. He is oging to have the back paw amputated because it is nothing but dead skin. He is going to have skin graphs this week bc there is so much dead skin and it is causing infection. They are treating him as a burn victim as of right now. I am absolutely horrified by the sight of him. I was in and out of the vets office in under 10 minutes if that says something ( i usually stay for 2- 3 hrs). I was not emotionally ready for that kind of news. I'll go back this afternoon after I have my head on straight and maybe he will be feeling better. Pray for him.....I can't handle this dog not making it

UPDATE: FRIDAY: 2: 45 P.M. Bruiser ate a can of high-protein dog food this morning. His body temperature is going up. All good signs.

I've never wanted a pit bull to fight as much as I want the one to at Berclair Animal Clinic. Jody Fisher found this bony, horribly injured pit bull Saturday standing perfectly still on the side of the road. His injuries were horrible.

That silver pipe is heat. The vets are trying to get his body temperature to climb. He's fighting infection and faces surgery. And he's never really been awake long enough to see if he loves humans, except for the lick he gave Fisher's daughter when they resued him Saturday.

 The sad thing is that there are thousands of Bruisers out there. The reason no one knows about them is that they usually die in pain in a field or at the cruel hands of an owner. Carcasses are picked up like litter and tossed in the back of a truck. The bodies are incinerated and their secret hell burns up with them.

I hope people will speak to their legislators, talk to politicians and anyone in authority and demand that animal cruelty be a priority in the town. It's the least we can do for the least of us in this world. I hope there's something left in Bruiser that wants to live. I hope he's a good boy. I hope fights to live.