Featured Happy Ending: Gracie

Hello! My name is Molly and I am a dachshund. Yes, I know this newsletter isn't about dachshunds. I'm here to tell you about my sister, Gracie.

On January 1, 2010, my mom brought home a new dog. This time, it wasn't a dachshund like me or my other sister Ava. Mom said she was a pit bull and that she was a rescue, just like Ava. She was coming to live with us for good because she needed a safe, loving home because she was scared and her former people hadn't treated her very well. You see, Gracie and her six puppies were found along side of some road. Then she was dumped at an animal shelter at night. Wow, talk about scary! Needless to say, this whole experience made Gracie a very timid girl. When Mom first brought her home, she didn't even want to come in the door. We gave her time and space to explore and get comfortable.

Mom wanted her to sit on the couch with us but Gracie prefered to sleep on a big comfy pillow on the floor. She was too nervous to eat in the kitchen with us, so Mom started feeding her in the bedroom which is where she still eats to this day. Gracie was so scared of little noises. If Mom walked into the room and looked like she was carrying anything in her hand, Gracie would cower and run out of the room. Poor Gracie, she just didn't realize how excited Mom was to have her with us and that she's in a safe place now.

Its now 2011 and Gracie has been with us for over a year. She no longer cowers and runs out of the room though some little noises still startle her. She has been a great friend and playmate to the foster dogs Mom has brought here. She loves to play and wrestle with them and me and we're all smaller than she is! "Vicious"? Hardly! She loves to ride in the car, chase squirrels out of the backyard and catch treats.

Gracie's a great big sister. I'm glad Carolina Care Bullies was able to help her become part of our family. Thanks CCB!

Sincerely,

Molly

Volunteer Spotlight: Janet and Cassie Brown

My daughter and I are new to CCB. Once I told Cassie that we were asked to be the Volunteer Spotlight, she asked if we would be called the Dynamic Duo! She makes me laugh!

There is a little story about how we got started working with CCB. We have two dogs – a Boston Terrier named Frank and a Boxer named Roger. The dogs just happened to become part of our lives. Frank was found in SC on a farm and Roger needed a home after his owner passed away. We had a full house at this point!! However, my husband and I were at a party a couple of years ago and fell in love with Maggie. Maggie is a pit mix puppy that my friends had recently taken in. They had both Maggie and her brother Hank. After having both puppies for a while, they decided they only needed one! I left that night with Maggie in my hands!

Once we had her home, we all started looking up and researching her breed. My husband has always said he wanted a pit bull, but I had never really thought about it. BUT Maggie was SO loving, SO attentive, SO loyal, SO beautiful! We fell completely and totally in love. I started looking up pit bull groups on Facebook just to learn more and found CCB. To be honest, I just have never been much of a volunteer. There was just something about this breed that made me want to get involved. I got Cassie involved right away with me! It has become “our thing” – our mother/daughter time!

Cassie is so helpful at all the events she attends. She has even written about her experience for a few school papers, as well as her camp counselor application (she got accepted at Camp Kanata this summer as a Counselor in Leadership Training!!!) I feel this is a good experience for a teenager to be involved in a volunteer group, and this has been good for me too – you just feel so good about helping!

Cassie and I just attended the volunteer orientation with Amanda and the crew. I am happy to report that I am about to plan my first adoption event at a local doggy day care here in Raleigh! You all better come help and support Cassie and I!

Meet the Board: Meredith Denny

Dear CCB Fans,

Hey! My name is Meredith. I am y’all’s Foster Coordinator. Although I’m still trying to figure out all the details of this job, basically, I take care of all things FOSTER. I email people asking if they want to foster, I email people telling them I found them a foster, I email people asking if they want to transport a foster, I email people begging for current pictures and bios on their foster, I email people when we get an adoption application submitted on their foster, and sometimes, I email people just because. I work out doggie-sitters, order monthly meds, attend events, and do any other odds and ends Amanda asks me to.

As you can see, I am always connected to my computer and phone!

In my spare time, I hang out with my family. My eight year old daughter, Jessi (self proclaimed “puppy spokesperson”) and I live with my boyfriend, Ryan. We share our home with Ollie, our pit bull, Maggie, our boxer, and three lazy, spoiled cats, Tang, Honey, and Bear. Our favorite thing to do together as a family is to go hiking and camping. Once the warm weather gets here, we will be headed out to see some beautiful scenery.

When I’m not volunteering with CCB, I am also the room-parent for my daughter’s 3rd grade class and Girl Scout cookie Mom for Troop 41616. Believe it or not, I email people all day long for those jobs as well!

I really enjoy the role I play in the CCB Team. Being foster coordinator has given me the opportunity to meet lots of great people and dogs. Working alongside the rest of the Team to reach our common goal of saving pit bulls and raising awareness of the breed is certainly a wonderful reason to wake up every morning and crawl out of bed.

I hope to see y’all at the next CCB event!

Meredith Denny

Featured Adopt-a-Bulls: Pepper, Fidget, Pongo

Pepper
Pepper is a 5 month old pit bull puppy mix puppy. Pepper is a little shy with new people and new situations, but give her a few minutes to warm up to you and she blossoms into a sweet and loving little girl. Pepper is potty and crate trained. She knows the commands, sit, leave it, wait, come and is getting good at down. Pepper was not real fond of the leash but once she realized it would take her places other than the backyard she was all for it. Pepper loves to go for rides in the car. She has excellent dog manners, so she gets along with dogs male, female, old and young. She is a curious little girl and loves to inspect new things once she realizes they aren’t scary. Pepper doesn’t believe in wasting daylight and will let you know when the sun has risen. She loves to play with her foster siblings and be outside in the yard. When she is tired she will find a good spot to lay down and go to sleep preferable on a lap.
Pepper has her own facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pepper-Pep-CCB-puppy/118879384839418

Fidget
Fidget is 5 month old pit bull puppy mix. Fidget was the runt of her litter, so she is still catching up to her sister. Fidget knows, sit, leave it, wait, down and she is working on her recall. Fidget loves to play with her foster siblings. It doesn’t matter if it’s outdoors or in she is in full puppy play mode. Fidget gets along with dogs of all sizes, female or male. Fidget thinks she is a big dog, she can be found in the middle of a wrestling match with her older foster siblings getting in on the action. She has excellent dog manners and knows her place in her foster home. Fidget loves to go for walks and is currently learning how to walk on a leash. She is starting to get the whole potty training thing down with lots of encouragement from her foster mom. When it’s time to settle down for the night Fidget wants to be cuddle right up against you.

Fidget has her own facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fidget-Fidge-CCB-puppy/169619266383530

Pongo
Pongo is crate trained and almost potty trained. He has learned to go to the back door to let someone know he needs to go out. Pongo knows how to 'sit' and has been working on 'down', 'stay', and 'leave it'. He responds well to his name and really wants to please. He's treat motivated so that is very helpful when teaching him. He loves to play with his 8 yr old Sheltie foster sis and they get along great. Pongo is very submissive and will lay down and roll over on his back when playing with my dog. And he LOVES belly rubs. Pongo's learned how to walk on a leash and enjoys the sunshine and fresh air. He doesn't seem to pull while on the leash and responds when needing to be correct (like when other dogs pass or he is distracted by other things...like blowing leaves :) And he's recently noticed his tail because he looks back and decides to chase it sometimes! He's a silly boy!


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