Saturday, May 30, 2015

Why I'm " luv_a_bul " and National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day

When I joined this century and created a blog and joined twitter and instagram, I had to think what I was going to be writing about and what my name should be. "Luv_a_bul" came to be out of my personal plea to people to educate themselves on a very loving and very misunderstood breed.
Meet Emma-
20150325_080756[1]Emma is a hyper ball of energy (and gas) that literally appeared into my life one very cold, wet night. I was on my second date with a guy and after dinner, decided to introduce him to the world of Netflix. I pulled in my driveway and opened my door and my date opened his and yelled to me "Do you know that dog?!" I saw what he was talking about. In front of my van, shaking in the rain, was a pit bull. Now, I don't live in the best neighborhood and although I love animals, I am aware that approaching and cornering a strange dog can end badly- especially if said dog has had bad humans in the past. And I admit I thought "Eek. Pit." I judged her in the split second before I met her. And then, I decided to meet her. I yelled back "Nope!" and got out of my car and stood behind my door. She looked at me. I stepped out from my safety and called, "Hey baby!" with kissy noises. She cowered. My heart dropped at that moment and I walked up and stopped a few feet from her and squatted, avoiding direct eye contact. She sniffed and I opened my leftover container and handed her the other half of my New York Strip. (Again, I was on my SECOND date when I was still trying to pretend I was ladylike. I don't think there has been leftover steak since.) She gobbled it down without eating my fingers- not on account of her own doing, but merely because I had faster reflexes mind you. Her tail and body began to wag and she belly crawled to get under my knees. She nuzzled me. "Well, I can't very well leave you out here. Let's see how you do with Remy." I looked back, my date still behind his car door, and opened the gate to my backyard. She followed me and my date followed her. Carefully. I locked the gate and informed my date to stay back, that I was letting my dog out and I really had no idea how it was going to go. I'm sure the look he gave me was somewhere between terror and I don't know what I've gotten myself into with this crazy lady I met online. Remy was happy I was back home and happier to see two new friends in the backyard. "Female pit bull" was not as happy. She did some assertion of her dominance by way of "my head is on top of your head" and when she uttered a low growl, I promptly gave her a swift Ceasar inspired jab to the neck with a loud "TSSSSST!" I'm pretty sure my date turned a few shades lighter. She looked at me with her big, sad eyes and silently promised to be good. I let everyone inside and started collecting towels for our very soggy foursome. As we took to the living room I knew that this would most likely be our last date. "Listen. This is who I am. I let strange animals into the house when they need me. I'll always pick them. And if she isn't claimed, I'll be keeping her. I'm not going to put her in a shelter. I can't do that."
We are getting married this December. (My date, not Emma.)
20150401_152547[1]No one came to claim her. And as it turns out, Emma was breed and she had puppies about 7 weeks later. I told Sam (my date) that I was keeping Deja (our beautiful blue pit) after my coworker wasn't able to get her as planned.
20150322_130011[1]So that's the story of how our family came to be. I've become an advocate of a breed that is feared and hated because criminals want to use them as weapons. Because people believe what a friend of a friend's aunt read on the internet one day. Because people know that they are "vicious dogs with a drive to kill."
2014-06-18_11.09.48[1] Our rabbit, Cal, clearly is terrified.
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So I ask that you inform yourself. And don't judge the group as a whole. My grandpa was so mad at me for keeping Emma that he refused to come over to my house for Christmas. I said, "Suit yourself." Needless to say, he met Emma that Christmas and now he calls to find out how "his" Deja is doing. (Before asking about myself, Sam or grandkids.) Today is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day. I assure you- We think by changing their life, you'll realize you were the one who was saved.

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