Community Corner

Local Dog Seeking Home Between Here and New Orleans

An Altadena-based non-profit that transports wildlife in need of rehabilitation, shelter animals, and other animals by air is seeking help for a Pasadena pit bill whose time is running short.

Know anybody between here and New Orleans that might have a home for a female pit-bull who has nowhere else to go?

If so, the Altadena-based On Wings Of Care organization wants to hear from you.  Bonny Schumaker, a part-time Altadena resident, runs the organization, which helps rehabilitated wildlife, shelter animals, and more by providing transport to them when they are in need.

Schumaker writes that the organization is willing to transport Scarlett, the pit-bull, to "just about anywhere" in the Western states up to late October.  After that, the group will be headed to New Orleans and can drop her off anywhere along the way.

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However, after that, there will be little the group can do to help Scarlett, Schumaker wrote.  She sent Altadena Patch the following information on Scarlett's background:

Scarlett is a young adult chocolate-gray female pitbull, spayed, clean bill of health, chipped and currently being kenneled at a local humane society, where she was taken after being found as a stray with another female pit (who has since been adopted to a forever home).  Scarlett has had pups in the recent past.  She is sweet and moderately assertive.  It's easy to guess that she spent time defending her pups and finding food for them, as she has a bite out of one of her ears and a keen eye for pigeons. 

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When confronted with aggressively barking dogs on her way back to her own kennel, she does not cower but neither does she bark in return or act eager to engage, she just turns to look at them.  No one experienced with pits has tested her extensively.  She appeared to be the more dominant and protective one with the other female she was found with, but she was not aggressive toward any humans and graciously went in the car to the shelter with just a loose leash.  

When we saw her a few days ago, nearly two months after she came to the shelter, she was more hyper, but that seems understandable since she rarely has gotten out to run or play.  We are not pit experts and are not generally in the practice of rescuing strays or homeless animals, but we don't want to see this girl euthanized just because the local shelter doesn't receive enough traffic of the sort who know or want to adopt pit bulls.  They have kindly kept her since August 10 because we offered to take financial responsibility for her but could do no more as we were out of town.  We are now back in town (southern California) for just 10 days and met with Scarlett ourselves this week, so the observations above are our own; but they match those told us afterward by shelter personnel. 

We all agree that Scarlett will likely blossom with a loving but firm and knowledgeable pack leader and a calming environment.  BUT -- we were told that she must be out of the shelter by next week -- October 12, 2011.  Even without that dictate, it's likely that her psyche cannot flourish if she continues to remain in a kennel environment. 

We will transport her, we will try to raise funds to come with her, we will do all we can to bring her to a responsible rescue or foster.  Please, can you help us find a good place for her?   Email us at:info@OnWingsOfCare.org


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