Since 2009, the City of Austin has taken heroic measures to boost adoptions of homeless dogs and cats, thereby reducing the euthanasia rate of animals that come through the shelter from about 30 percent in 2009 to about 8 percent in 2011. A huge victory, right?

The city has achieved this incredible reduction in euthanasia through a set of initiatives that include free microchipping of pets, free ID tags, new reduced cost and free spay/neuter programs, free adoptions on critical days, and partnerships with local rescues and animal advocacy organizations that are working hard to make adoption more “cool.” In 2011, Austin opened a sparkling new state-of-the-art adoption facility that is both attractive and user-friendly for adopters and more comfortable for animals.

These changes haven’t been easy, but they sure payed off: in 2011, Austin achieved the elite and sought-after status of “no-kill city” — a well-deserved honor for a city whose leadership and animal care staff and volunteers work so hard.

And yet, even though Austin has achieved this well-earned recognition, 2011 saw the euthanasia of more than 2,200 cats and 900 dogs — including more than 400 pit bull type dogs — at the city shelter.

How does this happen?

Undoubtedly, some of these 3,000+ animals were too sick to save or had irreconcilable behavioral issues. But many were just regular, adoptable cats and dogs. The problem comes down to one of math. With limited kennel space, limited resources, and limited adopters, a publicly-funded shelter like the Austin Animal Center is required to take in any animal that is brought to its doors. When the kennel runs out of space, some hard decisions have to be made.

Because of the short straw that many pit bull type dogs are dealt in life and the still-lingering sentiment among some people that pit bull dogs are somehow different than others, a disproportionate number of these hard decisions affect our lovable block-headed friends. 400 pit bull type dogs under the needle is a huge improvement from 902 just the year before, but it’s still a lot of dead dogs.

So at the same time that we are celebrating the remarkable work being done by the city to make Austin a friendlier, safer place for homeless animals, let’s not forget that while “no-kill” is an aspirational phrase, our work is far from done.

Do your part — check out Love-A-Bull’s own adoptable dogs here.

Tagged: adopt, adoption, city council, community, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls, Breed-Specific Legislation, Press Releases, Rescue

We are so excited to be presenting at Austin’s American Pets Alive No-Kill Seminar on Saturday, February 25! Speaking will be Love-A-Bull’s Meghan Turner, Aleksandra Gajdeczka and Jessica Anisman.

The subject of our session will be — naturally — pittie power! The presentation will include the challenging issues that pit bull type dogs face in shelters, and the damage suffered due to misguided media and myths. We will tackle some of these issues, discuss creative solutions, and host a constructive dialogue about ways to boost adoptions, support owners, educate the public, and build partnerships, to better serve dogs that often, and unfairly, get a “bad rap.”

We hope to see everybody there! Here are the details:

American Pets Alive No-Kill Seminar 2012

• Location: Radisson Hotel & Suites, 111 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX
• Dates of the seminar: Saturday (2/25) 9am-6pm, Sunday (2/26) 9am-6pm, and Monday (2/27) 9am-1pm
• Lunch will be provided on Saturday and Sunday

Hotel accommodations: Attendees can get a room at the Radisson for $119 per night by calling 512-478-9611 or 800-333-3333 and mention the American Pets Alive! Seminar. Or go to www.radisson.com/austintx and use the promotional code PALIVE.

Details for registration can be found at http://americanpetsalive.eventbrite.com. For any questions regarding the conference, please email info@americanpetsalive.org.

Tagged: adopt, adoption, advocacy, community, education, event, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Events

My name is Peanut. I live with Foster Mom for Love-a-Bull. I have been super busy lately.

Here I am in the leaves

The last of the leaves have fallen and I surely did my part to help clean up. I chewed up all the big sticks into little sticks to fit into the brown bags. I sat on the leaves to make sure they didn’t blow away in the wind and gave lots of kisses on a job well done. 

These sticks are too big!

After our chores a super-sized car pulled up. It had stairs, a bed, table and a huge window in the front. I knew the front window would be my spot to take in the sights.

I belong up front, see?!

We drove out to the country and followed deer trails and the smell of BBQ. I had brisket and cautiously walked around the fire sniffing everyone’s fingers for tidbits of sauce. I have a really great nose.

Next time I’m going to help with the vacuum cleaning, and maybe learn to swim!

Tagged: adopt, adoption, foster, love, photos, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls

Check out these adorable dogs!

Help us find forever homes for our Adopt-A-Bulls. Below are flyers for our current fosters looking for a forever home, and more to come.

Please click on any of the adopt-a-bull pictures below for the PDF flyer. Hand them out to friends, post them at work, or put them up in your local neighborhood.

Thank you in advance from the Love-A-Bull Team! We couldn’t do it without you!

Billy the Kid

Buster Brown

Clint Eastwood

Janis Joplin

Jelly Bean

Nutty Brown

Petey

Peanut

River

Tater Tot (Tate)

Truffle

Whitney

Tagged: adopt, adopt-a-bull, adoption, community, flyers, friendly, love, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls

You may remember our adorable girl Coco from a story last year.

Coco was found as a stray in East Austin at the beginning of 2010, limping in the cold spell during Austin’s winter. She was found emaciated, flea-covered and extremely weak due to injuries that we guess might have come from being hit by a car. She had also recently delivered a litter. She sustained some semi-permanent nerve damage, which causes her to drag her foot when she walks.

Coco was adopted out about six months ago but due to some changes with her new family she has returned to the Love-A-Bull program. We are so happy to have this sweet girl back safe but upon her return, we noticed her brace no longer fits her foot and she could really use a new fitted brace to help her on walks.

This sweet girl and been through a lot and we want to help her continue to do the one thing in life that she loves so much — take walks! No matter where Coco is she will always have her walks. Can you help this sweet girl this holiday season?

Here’s a link to some of the original footage from when Coco was rescued. Don’t worry, she looks TONS better since this!

Please pass along and share the link to Coco’s ChipIn with your friends and other supports: http://loveabullsadoptabulls.chipin.com/cocos-christmas-wish.

Coco (Puffin)

Smiles from Coco!

Tagged: adopt, chipin, foster, pet owner, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls

Less than a week after joining her new foster home, Adopt-A-Bull Dora the Explorer has settled in quite nicely it seems! She’s full of doggy curiosity and is apparently quite the assistant.

“Before her rescue, Dora lived outside in a yard with several other dogs. She wasn’t pampered or spoiled, and she most certainly was not responsible for any house chores…”

“Being two years old and all, she must have figured that she has been slacking and she’d better make up for lost time. So on day two of her grand adventure in our foster home, she got right to work doing the laundry…”

“…she bravely played patty cakes with the washing machine during the spin cycle, play-bowed to the dryer as it fluffed, and did her very best to hold still while I did my very best to use her back as a folding table…”

Read the entire laundry saga and more here: http://loveandaleash.com/2011/11/30/dora-does-the-laundry/

Tagged: adopt, adopt-a-bull, adoptable, adoption, adorable, blog, foster, love, pet ownerFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls

On November 6th, we’ll be celebrating great dogs like Juneaux and wonderful owners like Amanda — please see her wonderful letter and heart-warming story below, and join us at our Texas-Sized Pittie Pride event!

Dear Friends:

In May 2010, we decided we were ready to adopt our third dog from TLAC. I knew I wanted to choose a “Pit Bull Type Dog” (AKA Staffordshire Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier/etc.), because our first dog is a Staffie mix and he has been an amazing companion for the last ten years. There was no shortage of Staffies at the shelter, so I spent several weeks visiting and playing with lots of different dogs until I found just the right one. All of the dogs were wonderful, but Juneaux (formerly Rhonda) completely stole my heart. She was smiley and wiggly and spent the whole time snuggling up to me and playing with her ball. I took this picture (check out pic #1) and sent it to my boyfriend, and told him I’d found our new dog. He couldn’t say no to that goofy face.

The next day we brought her home. Since then, she has brought so much happiness into our lives. At first she was shy and scared, but after a few weeks she started to warm up and show her true colors. Over the past year and a half I’ve watched her grow into a loving, carefree dog that she never had the opportunity to be in her past life. She has taught us the true meaning of being happy no matter what bad things you may have experienced in the past. Her clipped ears and “stray” status told us people may not have always been kind to her, but she still puts all of her trust in people.

Nowadays we take her with us everywhere. Her favorite thing to do is go to the bar (I don’t know where she gets it from ). She stands next to our table wagging her tail and smiling at every person who walks by. People can’t help but stop and give her pets and hugs because she is just so friendly. She LOVES it, and I think it’s great for people to see the true nature of a “Pit Bull Type Dog” in a public situation.

She is affectionate, gentle, and very eager to please. Her training was so easy, because her desire to make us happy is so strong. I just want to tell people who may be unsure about “Pit Bulls” that this is the true nature of these kind of dogs. They get a bad reputation because they are willing to do anything their owner asks (including fighting) and will tolerate extreme abuse without turning on their abuser. Unfortunately, these traits often get exploited. I hope people will give these dogs a chance because they make wonderful family dogs and companions, and are great with kids.

When I meet new people with Juneaux the topic of “Pit Bulls” often comes up, and I frequently hear people say, “They can be great dogs — it’s all about how they are raised.” I will be the first to say we had nothing to do with the way Juneaux was raised; as far as I know she was turned loose as a stray. The truth is, you can adopt a great Staffie at the shelter and make them a part of your family, even if they didn’t get the best start in life. I’m not saying that all shelter dogs would fit into any family, but many dogs can overcome difficult pasts and make great family companions. All they need is someone to give them that chance.

Juneaux is proof that this is possible, and I honestly don’t know what our life would be like without her now. Thank you Town Lake Animal Center, for adopting out Staffie mixes and giving them the chance at a life they deserve. To those reading this who wouldn’t consider adopting a Staffie, I encourage you to look beyond the media hype and see what these dogs are really like. If you spend an hour at the shelter, and you might change your mind.

Sincerely,
Amanda Hill

June at TLAC

June & Matt at Shangri La

June with Crab

June, Clementine, and Rory

Beautiful photo at a Summer BBQ captures the true nature of this relationship.

Tagged: adopt, adoption, discrimination, love, national pit bull awareness day, pet owner, pit bullFiled under: Rescue

Love-A-Bull has been working really hard on becoming a successful rescue.  We are still small, but we have been making great progress.

Although not yet finished, we thought some of you might want to read our “Success Story” page.

We want to thank all of the many fosters who have made this possible. We still have more dogs to add to the page, and we will continue until we recognize all of our “successes.”

We are inundated every month with hundreds of tear jerker requests to help America’s most abused and our most beloved breed.  I know many of you don’t want to hear another request for help. You may want to hit “delete.”  I can’t resist asking, because if it saves just one dog, it will be worth it.

So, please read on, post to your Facebook or forward an e-mail to your friends and family.  We have never needed your help more than now.

“Saving one dog won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog.”

Want to make a difference in the life of a homeless dog? Please become a foster parent and make a homeless dog a lucky dog!

Fostering is one of the single greatest things you can do for a homeless dog. Fostering helps Love-A-Bull get dogs out of dangerous situations and into a safe, loving environment where they can start to grow to their full potential.

We have a waiting list of dogs that we have been asked to help.  How many we can help really depends on you.  We need YOU to foster!

Many of these situations are URGENT!

Dora – She recently rescued from an extreme poverty situation where she was living in a backyard. The owner would go out of town and leave Dora in the backyard unattended without food and water for long stretches of time.  Dora is heart worm positive and was in terrible condition. She has been rescued, but has no home to thrive in.

Penny – We rescued Penny from the kill-list at a small shelter in Everman, Texas.  Penny has chemical burns on her back.  She will have to live in boarding until a foster steps up.  She is a young pup who needs socializing.

Sandman – Sandman lives at the end of a tangled chain in the hot sun with little to no water or food. We can’t rescue him until a foster offers to help.

Diamond – Diamond is deaf and alone.  He is living in a backyard not knowing when the water bowl or kibble bowl will be filled.  He is heart worm positive and will eventually die alone if we don’t intervene.  We can’t rescue Diamond without a foster.

Little Blue Dog – Blue Dog was living on a tangled chain in a backyard in Austin.  Fortunately, because of the anti-chaining ordinance, he is now living in a backyard without a chain, but is alone in the hot sun with only occasional water and food.  Blue Dog needs a foster.

Harley –  We have been asked by Town Lake Animal Center to rescue a dog that was almost drowned by his owner.  Fortunately, Austin police caught the owner in time. Harley won’t make it without a foster home.

Joplin, Missouri Humane Society dogs:  Representatives from the Humane Society in Joplin recently asked if we have room for two pit bull-type dogs. Overcrowded conditions mean shelter staff will soon have to kill these two dogs, which are victims of the Joplin tornado.  We are so proud that they are working so hard to help these tornado victims.  We can’t help the Joplin dogs without a foster.

When you foster for Love-A-Bull, you are not alone. We have a great support network!

If you are worried that you cannot afford to be a foster parent, we can assist with the costs related to caring for the foster dog. All Love-A-Bull dogs are spayed or neutered and current on their vaccinations before they are placed in foster homes.

We never place a foster dog in a foster home without first doing a meet and greet with any and all of the critters that are already living in the home.

Please help us by filling out the Love-A-Bull foster/adoption application.

Tagged: adopt, adoption, advocacy, chain, foster, rescue, tetheringFiled under: Uncategorized