I won't dwell on where I think he ought to be dropped off.
About a month later, we were at the dog's home and saw him, tied to a fence with clothesline wire, unable to move his hindquarters or walk very well at all and painfully thin.
He went home with us and we took him to the vet the next day, more than half thinking that the dog would have to be put down. The vet went over him with a fine tooth comb. First she had to let him get something in him as he was obviously starved nearly to death and the next day, she did x-rays and found a lot of fusion going on in his hips and legs. He was, at the same time, declared to be a sweet, loving dog by everyone who came in contact with him.
The vet discussed it with my husband (she is his long-time friend, veterenarian extraordinaire and treats all manner of living things) and while I do not know exactly what transpired in that conversation, the dog came home to our house, ostensibly "overnight" to see how he coped with life that included food.
The vet is a terrifc woman, located in Royal Oak, Michigan, with offices in three other SE MI areas. For the absolute best and most reasonably priced veterinary care contact:
Royal Oak Animal Hospital
824 South Main Street
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
Telephone: 248.542.7330
FAX: 248.542.0306
We don't want another dog. We don't want a "crippled" dog. We don't want a pit bull. We don't want another male. If we ever get another dog, it will be a Chow.
Except.
Lucky's staying. He's a good boy, loving and terribly needy and he needs us. He'll get better and we'll take care of whatever he needs to get better. And unlike the Asshat who allowed him to get hit by a car and then dropped him off without a care in the world, we'll never train him to do things that make his life painful and angry.
I've been reading some interesting information on the breed.
http://www.workingpitbull.com/
http://www.dogexpert.com/HomePage/DogBiteStatistics.html
http://pitbulls.jentown.com/dogattacks.htm
http://www.dogexpert.com/Popular%20Press/Pitbullfriend.html
http://www.pbrc.net/home.html
Now, there are those people and groups who would love to see the breed "outlawed" - PETA for one. "It's a pit bull, it's dangerous, it was bred for killing, blah, blah, blah."
They were originally bred as a hunter's gripping dog, then bred to bait bulls. Gripping dogs have been used for thousands of years in many cultures to hold dangerous wild animals while hunters killed them. The pit bull has had a variety of jobs through his long history, first as a gripping dog for hunters, then as the work-mate of butchers. When you realize how large, strong and unfriendly most bulls (not pit bulls) are, you realize that ancient and medieval butchers had need of a strong, absolutely fearless dog which would, when called, race out and become a "living nose-ring" by attaching themselves to the noses of out of control bulls. From this work came the contest known as "bull-baiting" in which butchers and gamblers would set their dogs on a tied bull to determine who had the better bulldog. The dog which could grasp the bull by the nose and not be shaken nor thrown off, and which could subdue the bull by pinning its nose to the ground, would be the winner.
When bull-baiting was outlawed, certain types of people still wanted to watch animals injure and kill each other, so dog fighting became popular. Since a dog fight is much easier to hide from the police than a bull-bait, dog fighting has remained to this day the most popular way for enthusiasts of animal fighting to get their kicks. You also have a group of criminals who believe that they are the biggest and the baddest if they can turn a decent dog into a complete asshole.
Rather than put the dog down, I have a suggestion......
But, whatever the arguments against Lucky coming to live at our house, he has and he's going to stay.
May he live long and prosper.
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