When I began advocating for misunderstood dogs -- my dogs -- I didn't think much about the people. I was just a pit bull parent with a knack for website design and a little bit of blogging. My goal was to ask others to share their dog stories and hopefully they could change minds. At the least, they get to tell their stories, and I'm Not a Monster becomes a platform to give these dogs their voice.
Everything went as planned, slowly in the beginning, and then we started getting steady supplies of stories -- 100 "Monster" stories published in six months. I celebrated with all my "Monster" parents by making a little video.
Then something happened. It was a dog named Ace in a shelter in North Carolina.
Ace was a beautiful dog with only one ear. He was in Davidson County Animal Shelter, a shelter with a gas chamber (the gas chamber was destroyed earlier this year). What grabbed our attention to Ace was that he was actually rescued yet ended up at a shelter. Ace was dumped there by his "rescue."
Ace at the Davidson County Animal shelter after he was dumped by his "rescue."
Several people reached out to us for help, and we couldn't say no because we have had dealings with this "rescue" when it abandoned another dog, who sadly lost his life a week earlier.
We are based in New York City -- quite a way from North Carolina -- but we have our network of hundreds of "Monster" parents and their networks of friends. We started a campaign to get Ace out, to find him a rescue or an adopter, and expose the "rescue" for what it was.
I posted every day on I'm Not a Monster's Facebook page and we asked people to pledge money to entice a new rescue. We worked behind the scene to vet rescue offers -- we started to get a lot of them after our pledge total reached $800. We even received an offer from a famous pit bull "refuge" facility in Texas.
Every rescue offer was researched by contacting local "Monster" parents and friends. We didn't accept the Texas "refuge" offer although most people heard great things about them, except one of our "Monster" parents. We are thankful we didn't as it was raided a month later with dogs buried in the backyard, nearly 300 dogs stacked in filthy crates, and pregnant dogs found in the facility.
You heard that right: We almost sent Ace to Spindletop.
The campaign went on for weeks. The "rescue" that dumped Ace threatened to report us to the police, and the shelter director was not happy with our description of their kill-shelter and Ace's potential euthanasia. An undeniable bond grew between us, Ace's guardians, which include Kim, a "Monster" mom who is a staunch advocate for throwaway animals like her three "Monsters": Laila Ali, Liam and Gabby.
Then, on day 30, we got a great rescue offer from a local shelter, SPCA of the Triad, so I started coordinating pickup, adoption fee payment and transport. It was a huge relief to see Ace out of that facility and delivered safely to the new rescue. Ace celebrated by relieving himself on every fence post in the huge backyard.
Ace's freedom run at SPCA of the Triad.
That night, he went home with one of the staff members as a foster and was adopted 24 hours later. He was now named Ludo and we could not be happier. We celebrated too, giving out virtual high-fives over emails.
The celebration didn't last long because a new plea for help would come from California, another from New Jersey, and another, and another.
One of my most memorable stories is of Bailey, who was found in Houston, TX. Someone shared a photo of a pit bull on our wall. It was not a great photo: she was in a garage surrounded by people. It was dark, and she had a makeshift collar and leash made out of ropes.
Bailey after being captured in a Houston, TX, parking garage on January 15, 2013.
Someone dumped her in the parking garage in the middle of Houston. People observed her stumbling down the different levels; upon closer inspection, they realized she was blind and deaf. Her nails were long, she was cold and she needed help.
A woman who worked in the building decided she would be Bailey's guardian. Her name is Linda, and she brought Bailey to her vet. We reached out to Linda and told her we would help find a home for Bailey.
Sadly, a week later the vet informed Linda that Bailey's HW test came back high positive. It was bad, and she didn't have long to live -- it could be a couple of years or it could be months. So Linda decided to be Bailey's hospice co-foster with another person since she had a major surgery planned in a couple weeks.
A month later, I followed up with Linda to see how she and Bailey were doing. She told me the other person that was supposed to co-foster backed out and, due to her surgery, she had to put Bailey at her friend's pet-sitting business. Linda sent her friend money and told us not to worry.
We posted a photo of Bailey in her plastic igloo. It was not the best photo and the reaction we got was not great. A lot of people were unhappy that she was not on a fluffy couch; some started badmouthing Linda, the only person that had truly done something for Bailey.
We put our foot down and stated that Bailey's plea for a forever home was shared more than 800 times, and we received only one application that turned out to be not the right home. We asked everyone to turn their disappointment into something positive: networking.
Not even a day would go by when we received a message and an email all the way from Las Vegas. It said: "I will give Bailey a home for as long as she lives." That person was Christy, and she flew to Houston to meet Bailey. It was just magic. Bailey, the blind and deaf pit bull, went straight up to Christy and licked the tears off her face.
Bailey now lives happily in a beautiful home in Las Vegas with a family who is active in animal advocacy, rescue and welfare. One more twist: Bailey also went on an extensive HW test, which came back with no Heartworm! Is it even possible? Well, Bailey is proof that love heals and miracles happen.
Bailey's first morning in Las Vegas with forever mom Christy. April 21, 2013.
Bailey becomes one of our "Monster" Elves, collecting much needed goods for homeless pets in her community—paying it forward. Without Linda and Christy, her story might just be a blind and deaf pit bull, dumped in a parking lot, brought to a shelter, and euthanized for space due to her prognosis.
I never thought the little website and Facebook page I started four years ago would introduce me to all these wonderful dogs and their equally amazing people. Bailey's story, Ace's story, and all of these stories wouldn't have happened without the people who decided to do something.
These stories have their happy endings because there are people on the ground who took time to check on an animal's welfare, opened their homes to foster, drove miles to transport, or just sat next to a scared dog in a cage, offering a little comfort until help -- and hope -- arrived. These people are also my go-to for advice, support, help, and source of inside information for their local shelters and rescues.
Most of them are not rescuers; they are just people like you and me: people who care, know the animals need them and take action. All these dogs have a second chance because of everyday people who wore a superhero cape of compassion covered in dog (and cat) hair.
And I am thankful to have them in my "Monster" network, the network of misfit dogs and their people.
For the second year, The Huffington Post is holding a week-long, community-driven effort to bust the myths and raise awareness about pit bulls, a maligned "breed" that often bears the brunt of dated, discriminatory legislation that can make it near impossible for these dogs to find a forever home. You can follow along with HuffPost Pit Bull Week here, or on social media where we'll be using the hashtag #PitBullWeek.
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