We just finished another Pit Ed Camp last week. What could be better than spending 6 days with a small group of committed dog nerds; talking about pit bulls, brainstorming around pit bulls and playing with pit bulls for days on end? Well, maybe if we added a day to canoe and toast marshmallows.
The people that sign up for these camps always impress me. They're all animal care professionals with very busy lives, and they travel from as far away as Delaware with one thing in common: There are too many pit bulls in their shelters and not enough ways to help them right now. They trek across the country because they want to learn how they can make a difference.
I learned how dedicated they really are when three of the Campers showed up an hour late for our morning session. They weren't sleeping off their jet lag, they were at the side of the freeway, stopping traffic and flagging down help for a pit bull that had been dumped like yesterday's trash. I had to laugh... There they were on 880, divising a plan to capture the overwhelmed dog, all of them wearing pro-pit bull t-shirts. What a sight for the rush hour commuters!
Later in the week, we met a little female who came into the shelter with bite wounds. Lucky for her, one of the Campers was trained in collecting dog fight evidence, so we puzzled together over how her history. (By the way, watch for this dog's arrival in our Coming Soon section. )
We were so fortunate to be able to get Michelle's perspective on the dog's history and condition. Even better was watching her tender manner with the sweet beast. The devotion we see in these shelter workers gives us hope.
Maybe, with enough people willing to make a difference, this breed can finally find the help it deserves.
Many thanks to Holly, Jaime, Michelle, Mike and Rhonda for being one of the good guys.
Donna
