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.

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

It’s a bittersweet kind of excitement. Love-A-Bull will be meeting its two newest fosters. But there’s a little more to this story…

September was a month with some important moments, hopefully all in a positive direction — the raid on Alpha Tex Kennels in West Texas and the dog fighting ring bust in Columbia, South Carolina. Coincidentally, both occurred in the weeks prior to Austin’s Puppy Mill Awareness Day on September 25th.

MidlandsConnect.com reported that deputies had busted the suspected dog fighting ring, and made one arrest on Sept 9th, 2011.

One man was charged with two counts of violating the animal fighting and baiting act after the raid late Thursday… Sheriff Leon Lott says deputies spent Thursday night and Friday seaching for other suspects and rounding up loose dogs… They have seized 24 dogs so far.

By mid-September more dog fighting arrests were made (now a total of three persons) and the animals needed foster homes.

Investigators are hoping to get the dogs into foster homes. Right now, they cannot be permanently adopted because they are considered evidence in the case. Authorities want people to know there are misconceptions about pit bulls, and that they are not simply vicious by nature, rather they are trained to be that way.

On Oct 20th, two more were arrested in connection to the Richland Co. dog fighting raid.

"Upon investigation, it was determined the suspects used box cutters or scissors to cut the ear off of three puppies between four and five weeks of age."

All of the dogs have received medical treatment, including shots and tracking microchips. Some dogs are being fostered. Others are still in need of temporary homes. Authorities intend to give the rescued animals better lives.

Sheriff Lott said, “I found something out today that just, it kills me, it disturbs me, all other dogs in our state that have been seized in dog fighting rings were all killed, they were killed, they were killed by us, those who rescued the dogs.”

“The easiest thing that could have been done is to put these animals down, but that’s not the right thing, we are going to do the right thing,” Sheriff Lott said.

Fortunately, Love-A-Bull has been working diligently with Animal Farm Foundation over the past 3 weeks to coordinate transportation and foster homes for two of the dogs rescued from this dog fighting ring.

This coming week, Buster Brown and Joplin will be arriving to join Love-A-Bull’s foster program. And we can’t wait to meet them!

Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, and while the Humane Society of the United States says there are not accurate statistics about dogfighting, they estimate roughly 100,000 people in the U.S. participate in the dangerous bloodsport that is often associated with illegal gambling and drug trafficking. – From MidlandsConnect.com

Tagged: dog fighting, dogs, foster, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Adopt-A-Bulls, Rescue

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

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.

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“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

Click on the image to open a PDF document with clickable links.

Tagged: adopt, adoptable, dog, foster, pit bull, rescueFiled under: Uncategorized