Save this dog!

August 19, 2008 6:15 AM

Help me help this dog.

My friend and I just found a female pit bull tied up and abandoned in Mt. Prospect Park. This is in Brooklyn, NY. I'm not allowed to have pets, and he has two already and can't take another. She's very sweet, and our guess is that she was a breeding dog and the owner abandoned her when she outlived her usefulness. We've waited a couple of hours with her, so I'm pretty sure at this point nobody is coming to get her.

A couple of people in the park told us not to take her to the ASPCA, as they will put down all pit bulls. Is this true? If so, does anyone have a recommendation for another shelter in Brooklyn or one of the other boroughs?

I'm about to leave for work but will be checking back here as soon as I arrive. My friend is still in the park with the dog, and he will probably be taking her home temporarily while we try to figure out what to do.

Thanks for your help!

posted by Evangeline to pets & animals (22 comments total)

Is there a NYC pit bull rescue group?
posted by k8t at 6:25 AM on August 19, 2008

The ASPCA does not automatically euthanize pit bulls, in fact there are some on their adoption pages right now.
posted by moosedogtoo at 6:27 AM on August 19, 2008

The BARC shelter in Williamsburg will take pit bulls, and they're right there in Brooklyn even.

http://www.barcshelter.org/
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:51 AM on August 19, 2008

If you don't find a suitable answer here, it may be worth e-mailing the kind folks at BadRap. They're SF-based, but probably the most prominent Pit Bull specific rescue group in the country. They may have some advice and/or contacts for you.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:11 AM on August 19, 2008

Thanks all. I called BARC but got a voice mail saying they're not taking any dogs right now. Keep 'em coming.

Is that a widespread rumor about the ASPCA - has anyone else heard it? Anyway, I'm certainly glad it's not true.
posted by Evangeline at 7:18 AM on August 19, 2008

Check with the Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals. The portion of their website listing rescue groups is here. There doesn't appear to be a pit bull group in NYC, or at least not one affiliated with the Mayor's Alliance.
posted by Mavri at 7:24 AM on August 19, 2008

Okay, with a little bit of research, some others you may want to try -- both the Brooklyn Animal Foster Network and Sean Casey Animal Rescue are Pit Bull friendly (as they have Pit Bulls up for adoption on PetFinder.

Here's a search on PetFinder for Pit Bulls available in Brooklyn/NYC, which is where I found those two agencies. Digging through the rest of those search results may lead you to other PB-friendly agencies to contact.

Disclosure -- I know nothing about those shelters (if they're no-kill/what their facilities are like, etc.).

Also, thanks for caring and best of luck.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:27 AM on August 19, 2008

What I've been told about another SPCA (Baltimore) by someone who worked there is that while they do not automatically euthanize pit bulls, they're harsher on them when doing the temperament tests (that they do on every dog) and "fail" them more easily.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:59 AM on August 19, 2008

List of no-kill shelters in NY (state):

http://www.nokillnetwork.org/d/New-York

For SPCAs in general, the "kills all pit bulls" rumor is false, since our local SPCA is a no-kill facility. I can't speak for other facilities, however.
posted by aught at 8:31 AM on August 19, 2008

Thanks guys. I actually found the Sean Casey Animal Rescue (also called The Dog House, I think) this morning, and passed the number onto my friend. I'm still waiting to hear back from him.

How willing are shelters to perform medical procedures on animals before they put them up for adoption? She has a prolapsed uterus. I can afford to spend some money on her, but I have no idea how much money a surgery like that would take. Poor thing - she's remarkably friendly for a dog that's clearly not been very well treated. Dogs are just amazing.
posted by Evangeline at 8:40 AM on August 19, 2008

I was gonna say barc shelter but came late to this party, so instead all I'm going to leave here is a massive kudos, evangeline.
posted by krautland at 8:50 AM on August 19, 2008

I'd contact the Mayor's Alliance. You can go to them directly rather than trying to find an organization on their list of APO's with space to take her. The Alliance also has a veterinary fund that they use to help their APO's with vet costs, according to the link.
posted by Mavri at 9:07 AM on August 19, 2008

Maybe try Bidawee?

I don't know a LOT about the organization but they seem to do a lot of community and volunteer based work. They do offer adoption services but i'm not sure if they take dogs in. At any rate they seem like they might be helpful if you want to get her prolapsed uterus (ouch) fixed. The site says that the medical care of their animals is supported by contributions.

Thank you so much for taking care of her- It breaks my heart to know someone could do this to a dog and it makes me feel better that people exist like you that would try to help.
posted by modernsquid at 10:23 AM on August 19, 2008

My old animal shelter used to euthanize pit bulls by default although I think that is no longer true for them. They are still fairly harsh on the breed. However, it may be difficult to get a pit bull into a no-kill shelters, which necessarily must be selective about which dogs they accept; they accept a non-adoptable dog and it lives its life out in the shelter? Lose-lose. At any rate she'll have to pass a temperament test before they accept her. As for the prolapsed uterus, that might be something you should offer to at least defray the cost on since shelters don't have big budgets and by dint of sheer volume cannot give ever animal everything it needs or deserves.
posted by bluenausea at 10:36 AM on August 19, 2008

I can't help out with a new home for the pooch (wish I could...) but I can kick in some money to help defray surgery costs. (I think bluenausea is right -- if that can be covered separately, you'll be much more likely to find her a good placement.) Memail me to make the arrangements, if you like.

Thanks so much to you and your friend for stepping up to the plate.
posted by dogrose at 11:00 AM on August 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Get a photo and post it to http://www.flickr.com/groups/familypitbulls/
posted by watercarrier at 11:29 AM on August 19, 2008

Dogrose, that's so kind of you! I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle it.

I'm still waiting to hear back from my friend.
posted by Evangeline at 11:35 AM on August 19, 2008

This might be totally unrelated, but a message board I belong to had a posting this week from a Brooklyn Heights dog owner who had encountered a man in the neighborhood with a tan and white pitbull that needed to see a vet, and the dog owner was worried that the man might abandon it. If you think this could be the same dog, mefi mail me and I'll tell you more.

Also - you could try calling Hope Vet. They do some animal rescue (it may only be cats, though) but they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck!
posted by Shebear at 4:56 PM on August 19, 2008

Looks like you are on your way.
Just in case, you may be able to find some other pit-friendly rescue here.

Good luck. Hope your building can cut you some slack for a couple of days.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:36 PM on August 19, 2008

Update! My friend (the same one from this morning) took the dog home. Supposedly it's just until we can find her a permanent home, but I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful friendship. He's already starting coming up with names for her. This would be his third rescue dog.

So the crisis is over. Thanks again, to all of you - you guys have really impressed me with your compassion and your offers of help.
posted by Evangeline at 6:49 PM on August 19, 2008

One more update: Jerry took her to the vet yesterday for her shots. She's 45 pounds and about 18 months old. I was wrong about the prolapsed uterus - apparently she's just in heat and swollen. I must say, I've never seen anything like that, and I grew up with dogs, but then again, I don't know much about pit bulls.

Here are some pics.

She's going to an adoption fair on Saturday, and we've sent out emails to our friends as well. Things are looking up for this darling!
posted by Evangeline at 7:33 AM on August 20, 2008

Aww, that's great news Evangeline. Kudos to you and your friend.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:34 AM on August 20, 2008