For anyone new to the site, in January, my friend found a pit bull chained to the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, left to die overnight in a horrendous snowstorm. I posted her story here, and despite the fact that about 1 in 800 rescue pit bulls finds a home, she became a sensation, and I was inundated with offers to take her in from as far away as Greece (!!).
We ultimately chose a new home for her in Washington, D.C., with a very nice couple and a pair of pugs. A number of you have been asking for an update, and I recently received a detailed report from her new owners. I’m happy to say she seems to be fitting in quite well!
I’ll let her new owners take over this one…
“Here’s [a picture] that I think shows Penelope right at home. The picture shows their pack order, actually. Argus is the pug at the top of the bed. He’s in charge and he knows it. Ziggy is the guy yawning. He likes to avoid conflict, so he tends to occupy the bottom slot.”
“Penelope has been doing great…We took a little trip to PetSmart [the other day]. I was like an overindulgent parent with a spoiled child. I’m literally walking up and down the isles saying, “Do you like that? Do you want one of those? We’d better get two, then.” We bought her a soccer ball the other day and she thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Seriously, the “Oh my GOD” look in her eyes is what I imagine I would look like if someone paid off my student loans.”
“We put her back on puppy food to get her weight up to where the vet wants it (about 50 pounds). That, plus the exercise she gets has helped her get that characteristic pit bull muscle definition that she didn’t really have when she came to you. She looks great…Oh, she gets spayed in a few weeks. That will be (not at all) fun.”
“She knows her name, she comes when we call her, usually enthusiastically, and now has sit, lie down and stay solidly in her bag of tricks. And “off.” That’s an important one. And “give it” and “leave it.” She’s a little shaky on those two at times. The big one is coming when called and she’s pretty solid there…We did a lot of work with her in the beginning and now she’s a park pro.”
“Her play growl sounds mean to most people, so I’m always giving people a heads-up that she is not fighting, just playing, and that I know the difference, but if they aren’t comfortable to let me know. That usually works and people will let the dogs play…She’s a pretty good ambassador for her breed, actually, and most people are won over pretty quickly.”
“She also gets endless comments on how beautiful her coloring is, her coat, her eyes. She’s happy and friendly, loves to play and chase and be chased. You should see her fly. The girl can run like nothing else and the park where we go has a center area that is sunken about six steps and surrounded on two sides by a hip high wall… She’ll run full steam and leap up the wall onto the upper level and back with a power and grace that is something to watch. We just got back from the park tonight, actually, and she’s passed out on the floor; couldn’t even bother hopping up into the bed.”
-SCOUT
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