Skye...

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To adopt Skye, contact us here.

Prejudice...

Oh no!  Watch out!  There's a pitbull dangerously close to that little girl's head!

Yes, I am being sarcastic.  Very sarcastic.  I mean really, doesn't she look so menacing?  I see prejudice against this breed all the time, and it not only saddens me, it makes me angry.  Let me give you an example.

I took Skye to the vet Saturday for a checkup.  She did pretty well.  Every new experience for Skye makes her very nervous.  The scale was a challenge for her, so after trying to coax her onto it and failing, I just picked her up and put her on it.  Risky, right?  I mean, this 70 lb pitbull could have turned around and bit me (heavy sarcasm).  The exam room was tough for her, as it was very cavernous in feel, and echoed terribly.  But she made it through it, and has a clean bill of health.

While back out in the waiting area to wait for Skye's heartworm test results, which were negative...phew, a woman and her husband come out of another exam room across the way with their three little dogs.  Skye was laying on the floor by my feet, completed relaxed. She picked her head up to see what these three little dogs were excited about,  and their female owner looks at Skye, nervously says Oh no, and proceeds to rush two of her dogs out to the car, leaving her husband standing there with one, wondering where she was going.  Skye is laying there minding her own business, and because she picked her head up to see what all the fuss was about with these three excited dogs, fell victim to common pitbull prejudice.

I couldn't help myself, I was annoyed and hurt for Skye, who is anything but a mean terrifying pitbull.  She, in fact, is a victim.  I look at the husband, a pretty scary looking dude himself, in a black leather jacket with tattoos and earrings (I'm being sarcastic again), and say to him, she, meaning Skye, is more afraid of you than you are of her.  She picked her head up because your dogs were all excited.  She wouldn't do anything, and I've got her.  Yup, couldn't help myself, I had to defend her.  The wife thoroughly aggravated me with her blatant prejudice.  I think the man was taken aback by me, and just grunted a quick uh, huh, very cave man. (there's that sarcasm again...)

Do you know who I blame this on, the media, who only give this breed negative attention, and the irresponsible owners who abuse and neglect this breed.  Skye most definitely was abused and mistreated by people in her past life, causing her to be so afraid.  Meanwhile, she is the most gentle girl, great with children.  Why doesn't the media focus instead on educating the public about this breed, and the thousands that are abused, neglected and murdered.

I am angry at the people who did this to Skye, who took away her trust of people and made her so fearful, that even going out my front door to do her business, is an overwhelming experience for her.

Now that I am sure I have a few of you shaking your heads in disgust at the prejudice this breed falls victim to, I will get off my soapbox.

Skye is a beautiful girl, just stunning, and she is looking for her forever home.  One where her owners will be patient and understanding with her, and guide her with love to trust again, and move past her fear.  She is doing very well here, has bonded with me, and is great with my children, giving them daily face washes.  She is housebroken, responds well to training exercises and corrections, and thrives on the positive attention and reinforcement we give her.  She truly is a gem, with the cutest big jowls, super soft coat and short chunky spotted paws.  You just can't help but want to kiss her all the time!  The trainers at Shelter Link have been working with her, and will continue to do so with her new family, so that one day, hopefully soon, she can be the happy girl she was meant to be.

 I would keep her in a heartbeat, but that isn't the goal here.  The goal is for us to be the go-between, and be able to continue fostering more needy dogs.  Maybe you are interested in her, or maybe you know someone who would be the perfect match.  Please help us by spreading Skye's story so she can find her forever family.  You can contact us here to talk about adopting Skye.

Skye thanks you for reading, and give you a big wet kiss!

The 1st Day of a New Life...

There she is, Miss Skye.  Last night was an emotional night for my oldest daughter and me, as we sat with Skye, petting her, getting her to relax and drift off to sleep.  We talked about how we saved Skye, how today there were so many firsts for her...it may well have been her first time in a home.  We don't know. We could see the reality set in that she was no longer bound to a cage, as we walked her and my dogs with 3 of the volunteers at Shelter Link around my block.  She became a different dog, one who was more sure of herself, peppy and definitely happy.  She mastered the stairs relatively quickly, considering she may never have climbed stairs before, and was afraid at first of them.  But patience and love always win out.

I turned the TV on in my bedroom where Skye was, and she got so scared, backing away from it.  I can only imagine how big of a day yesterday was for her, how overwhelming it must have felt.  A new home, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 kids and 2 adults as housemates.  A big yard with lots of new smells, noises that are normal to any household, but foreign to her.  A lot to take in when you have spent the past 2 months of your life in a kennel in a shelter, and before that, who knows.  It was beautiful to watch her finally settle in on a spot on the rug in my bedroom, and close her eyes, breathing a big sigh, ready to relax.  She spent the night sleeping on the floor next to my bed on the side I lay, and never moved.  My one dog, Coco, right beside her.  I bet berber carpeting never felt so good!

This morning, she was a bit nervous, and had an accident in the house, but who cares, that's why there are paper towels and Clorox wipes.  She will find her way here, slowly but surely, I am positive of that.  It's new to Skye, and us, and we will all learn together.

You might be wondering what is wrong with her eyes.  Skye had eye surgery to correct a common eye condition in dogs, called Entropion.  She is still healing up, and should be all better soon with the help of an antibiotic cream.

So there you have it, Skye's 1st day, I'm sure it ranks up there as one of her best, it certainly is one of ours.  Skye is off to the beauty parlor soon for her first spa treatment, thanks to the fabulous ladies at Lad & Lassie Groomer in Islip.

A reader forwarded me this video which shows how one person doing one thing, makes such a difference.  Maybe it will inspire you to do one thing.  I warn you now, you will need tissues.  {Don't forget to scroll down and turn off our music player.}

As always, thanks for reading...