Let’s face it, I am a Newfie person. I am now,  and will always be a person who will share their life with a Newfoundland. However, with that being said that doesn’t mean that I don’t have enough room in my heart for another breed to be passionate about. In fact,  I have enough room in my heart to be passionate about any dog, mix or purebred. I think most of us do.

Today we are going to talk about the Pittie in me. I have learned a lot about the Pit Bull over the last few years through blogging and through friends that have graced my life. There are so many people that put their heart and soul into protecting this very misunderstood breed, and one such person is a good friend of mine that I use to work with. She has made it one of her missions in life to do all that she can to help save this breed. She opens her home up to them, she rescues them, she fosters them, she cares for them, she places them into loving homes. She protects the ones that she can.

That is why when she came to me a few days ago and asked me if I would be willing to do a post on a dog case referred to as “Hope for the 27″, I told her she need not ask twice.

“Hope for the 27″ refers to 27 pit bulls that were removed from a Cleveland, Ohio home last month, where a suspected dog fighting ring was operated.

photo courtesy of fox 8 news

According to Examiner.com the 27 dogs were kept in poor living conditions, living in barrels and boxes, and some of them being restrained by heavy towing chains. While none of them appeared to have any life threatening injuries, some did have deep scars and scratches.

Sixteen of the dogs were thought to be puppies, but after further examination by a vet, they were determined to be very malnourished.

All of the dogs were people friendly and did not appear to have aggression towards each other but a fighting pit was found in the basement along with other items used to train dogs to fight.

While the county prosecutor continues to build a case about the suspect, Cleveland City Kennel employees work to rebuild the trust of these 27 dogs. Many of the dogs were fearful and did not want to walk on a leash, they were more interested in just being held.
As of  Wednesday, January 11, two of the dogs remain under veterinarian care, fifteen have been taken into rescue or foster homes, but ten of the dogs still remain at the kennel waiting for more rescues and fosters to come forward. At this point most the local rescues that were able to foster a dog have taken one. The Cleveland Kennel is willing to let the dogs go to out of town rescues as long as they meet the approval requirements and are willing to bring the dog back to Cleveland if the prosecutor should need them to.
A slideshow of the 27 dogs has been made and is ready to be viewed here.

This is Blossom.

Blossom is in my friend’s foster home network.
It is likely that she has never been out of a cage and was used as bait.
She is very sweet and has a lot of love to give.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in fostering, kenneling or donating to the care of the “Hope for 27″ dogs you can contact Muttleycrue@rocketmail.com or visit here for more information on how you can help.

When I saw my friend the other day and we were talking about the temperament tests that she had performed on some of these dogs, I could see the love and passion in her eyes, I saw the Pittie in her.

Help me spread the word about “Hope for the 27″.  Share their story.