Dog Blog

Pit bulls are not for everyone, but these dogs can be fantastic family pets with the right handling, and if the dog’s temperament is sound. Rascal2 is now waiting at the A&S Pit Bull and Am Staff Rescue in Antioch, Illinois.

Rascal has already been there too long, and may not be available when you read this. Hopefully, he will go to a good home, and the rescue organization won’t need to euthenize him.

Unfortunately, there are far too many of these large, energetic dogs available in shelters and rescue organizations, and not all of them can find homes. Rascal appears to have a good temperament, according to the rescue group, and is good with people and other animals - but the scare stories that abound, and the large numbers of unwanted pit bulls, means that he has several stikes against him.

My mother once owned a Staffordshire terrier (the English version of a pit bull) and he was a loving, even-tempered dog. Much of his personality was the result of careful breeding to remove all traces of the pit bull’s traditional fighting temperament. Unfortunately, when you adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue group you have no way of knowing the philosophy of the breeders, or how the dog was treated in his previous home.

Some of these animals are, unfortunately, the result of random breeding by less-then-savory characters who still participate in dog fighting as a sport. This means that extreme care must be taken to make sure the dog is sound and safe before you bring him home. You can read more about dog behavior and temperament on my main site. Most responsible shelters will test their animals before releasing them for adoption, but this does require training - and not all shelters have volunteers or staff who are qualified to do this testing correctly. To be safe, be sure to get to know as much as you can about any dog you adopt (no matter what it’s breed) before you decide to bring him home to your family.

I hope by now Rascal has found a new home, with a nice soft, warm bed and plenty of attention and exercise - doesn’t every dog deserve a human to love?

If you’ve been looking for more information about the recent pet food recall, I suggest you go straight to the source - You can find the FDA’s statement at their website.

You can find the press releases and list of recalled dog and cat food at the following websites:

Menu Foods, Inc. Press Release

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company Press Release

Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Press Release

P&G Pet Care Press Release (Consumers who have purchased IAMS or Eukanuba pet food who have questions should check the IAMS web site. Consumers who have purchased other pet food distributed by Menu Foods, Inc. should contact Menu.)

There have been no dry foods recalled at this time.

My next post will be about something more positive - like a nice older dog waiting for you at your local animal shelter.

I haven’t written in my dog blog for months - too busy moving to a new home, writing books, and building websites.

Now that I have a few minutes to spare (between writing a new website and rebuilding my new garden…) I thought it might be fun to highlight some of the great older dogs available now at animal shelters. My main site at older-dog.com has lots of articles on how to choose the right dog to adopt, but showing some pictures of real-life adoptable pooches might help you to see who might be waiting for you at the local shelter.

Today’s special canine is “Angel,” a spitz mix female, 10 and 1/2 years old, who is now at the Portland Oregon Humane Society Shelter. (Of course, by the time you read this she may have found a home, but if you’re in the area be sure to check out the nice dogs available on their website. It’s unusual to find small dogs like this at large city shelters - so Angel probably won’t be there very long.

Since Angel is a small dog, it would probably be best for her to go to a new home with older adults, instead of children. She’s still got a lot of years left to love her new owners, but may not want to play with active kids, who are often too rough for smaller dogs.

You may think that 10 years old is much “too” old - but my last pooch was a 10 year old Border collie (adopted from the Portland shelter), and I could barely keep up with her. A dog this age, especially a small one like Angel, could live another 5 to 8 years, and you know how grateful she’ll be to live with humans who love and care for her. Unlike humans, dogs readily adapt to their new families, and within a few days she’ll act like she belonged to you her whole life.

Have you adopted an older dog from an animal shelter or from a friend? Have you had good experiences (or bad…)? We’d love to hear your story - just add your comments to this article, or to any page on our site.