Hello Celebritys

Owie
Nothing feels right when loved ones are in pain. Our ten year old Sally, aka Wasabi Sabs, aka Queen Machine - the dog who first sucked us into this crazy work - had to have her toe removed yesterday.

Her most beautiful, most precious, most exquisite little digit
....... Sob! ........
The result of an angry mast cell tumor.

She's had the friggin' dis-ease for three years now. Some of our lessons learned along the way: 1) Don't over vaccinate your pets. Please. Sally's immune system literally crashed years ago after an accidental double-dose of vax and we're sure it opened a door to this cancer. 2) Don't think that you have to remove every MC tumor you see. Let smaller bumps sleep, but do take off any tumor that grows up angry & fast. 3) Consider diet key to strengthening your pet's vigor. A raw meat & bones diet has kept our girl running strong since she was diagnosed. We swear by it. 4) Cancer is a gift that reminds us how short & precious life is. (Repeat: Sob!)

Cool Things
Pit Ed Campers are Doing

We've been honored to meet many hardy souls & talented miracle workers during our Pit Ed Camps. Here are just a few things that alumnae campers are doing to help the underdogs in their corners....

Leslie Dodds of Mendocino County went home after Camp last summer and hammered together a successful pit bull adoption program at both of her local shelters, all while maintaining a 'real job' in the insurance biz. Besides saving lives of adoptable animals, she brought a group of teenagers together to train and socialize the dogs. We met her Pit Crew last weekend when they brought us a new dog for our program. Lookit what these young people can do: PIT CREW
Make it work, girls. We're SO impressed!

Debbie Eaglebarger (above) knows how to spin straw into gold like nobody's business. She manages a small crowded shelter in Corning CA with only one steady helper. When she's not socializing her dogs in well run play group sessions, she's helping adopters put Canine Good Citizen titles on their pit bulls. NEWS. By the way, this severely under-funded project can always use donations. More info on Debbie's efforts here.

Look at these sensitive photos from Alison Talley of Silicon Valley Humane. Not only was Ali keenly tuned in to the dogs during our hands-on exercises, she has one hell of a good eye. She snapped these pix during Aug 08 Camp while the CGC exam was going on. Beautiful work, Ali. PHOTOS