Posted on 11/11/2004 7:04:12 PM PST by LUVABUL
RCA is 15 years old and in quite good health, considering her advanced years. She came to Alaska from Alabama. Because the housing market was tight and there was pitbull-hysteria in the air, her owners couldn't find a place to rent that would allow pitbulls and she was eventually sent to the Alaska SPCA in Anchorage.
A friend of mine, John Ledum, was trying to start a hearing-dog program in Alaska. He and a local veterinarian, Dr. Joyce Murphy, temperament-tested 170 dogs and RCA scored the highest, so she was chosen to be the first hearing dog in Alaska. At the time she completed her training and was certified, there was talk of banning pitbulls in the city of Anchorage and the SPCA was concerned about placing her with someone who might have to give her up. So they decided to make RCA their demonstration dog because it would also promote the idea that pitbulls are smart, loving animals with good temperaments.
As a demonstration dog, she made numerous trips all over to Alaska and the lower 48 states. Her demonstrations helped raise funds to finance the training of more hearing dogs. But her favorite demonstrations were at elementary schools because after working, she would get to go down a long line of children and kiss them all. Then John would take her through the drive-up at the nearest McDonald's and reward her with a hamburger of her very own. She's got scrapbooks with letters from about 700 schoolchildren and once had a full-page feature story written about her in the Anchorage Times newspaper.
I first met RCA when she was first in training and living with her trainer, John. I was captivated by her charm and obedience. Later, when I got my first Sheltie and I would bring him over to John's to visit, she was incredibly tolerant to this rambunctious puppy and would bring him toys to play with. Of course, her favorite toy was a tug toy and she always won.
If anyone had told me I'd ever own one of these dogs I would've told them they were crazy, but about that time I let it be known that if she ever retired, I'd love to take her. And that's just what happened. After about five years of working, she was getting a little burned out and when her trainer left the SPCA, he decided to let her retire and come to live with us. He couldn't keep her because he had been living in the training facility and he couldn't find a place that would rent to him with a certified-hearing dog that happened to be a pitbull. That was before they enacted legislation giving hearing dogs the same privileges as seeing-eye dogs. She started her life with us eight years ago when she was seven years old.
Over the years, she has tolerated many puppies and cockatiel chicks. She'll lie down so the puppies can play with her more easily and lets the chicks chew on her ears. She's the one dog I always trust to tolerate human babies and small children, not to go ballistic when someone walks too close to the car and she loves everyone. We joke that if a burglar ever came in, she'd show him around and let him take her for a ride in the getaway car.
RCA's greatest joys in life are to go for rides in the car and to rescue logs out of our favorite lake. Her main pastime is sleeping, of course--she's very good at that. She's selectively deaf now, particularly when we want her to move over on the bed to make room for us, and her sight is going (but currently stable), and she's a bit arthritic, but the vet says she's healthy enough to give us a few more years of her splendid company.
Donna Lindsay
Postscript:
RCA died of cancer on June 29, 1997 at age 16. She was sick a very short time and was active until the last few hours. She did not suffer.
ping
ping
I clicked the URL. I'm on a 1010 dial around site. Was this an article or is this a vanity?
The "Pit Bull Problem"
There is some graphic content that may not be suitable for young children
http://www.breederville.info/petnews/pitbull-prob.htm
Ping. I have a pitbull mix who is the most affectionate, obedient dog one could want. I trust him absolutely with my 3-year old granddaughter. He worships the ground she walks on - will do anything she asks him to do instantly (like eat gravel). One of the things about bully dogs is that they are tough - babies and puppies can pull ears and tails and it doesn't bother them, they are extremely tolerant.
We fostered a cross between a german shepherd and a rottweiller some years ago and at the same time fostered his brother, a cockatiel. Mason would let Charlemange the cockatiel abuse him mercilessly, crawling all over him pulling hairs and verbally chewing him out. Mason just layed there and moaned. Dogs are so weird. The cockatiel would also jam with our friend the jazz pianist. Wish we had had a video camera back then.
Back in the 1980's I was sitting in our truck at a small store. A truck pulled up next to us and I noticed that the elderly gentlemen had a dog in his lap. We both had our windows down and we got to chatting. I got out of our truck and got closer to his since he seemed to have some hearing impairment. Anyhow, his dog stood up and reached out to me. I was petting his dog and admiring how beautiful he was when this kindly gentlemen said, "betcha don't know this is one of those viscious killer pitbulls".
I had heard of course about pitbulls killing children, etc., and was shocked at this creature who would have licked me to death. LOL I learned a valuable lesson that day. We should "never judge a book by it's cover"....something my mama had taught me but I guess it hadn't settled into my heart and soul yet.
This gentleman explained to me that it wasn't the breed that was bad, it was the way they are raised. This is true of us humans as well. :)
This is just a true example of the breeds temperment, showing what the, often hated and misunderstood, bully breeds are capable of! I will try to find more articles like this one. Everyone needs to understand they aren't what most think of when some one says "Pitbull".
There is so much wrong with that spin I don't know where to start, and to tell the truth, I don't feel like starting.
A reluctant ping: As the keeper of the 'doggie' ping list, would it be acceptable to the group for me to just simply "OPT OUT" of pinging pit bull threads, especially threads posted by people who sign up here for the express purpose of pushing a pit bull agenda? Or threads about yet another mauling that does ~not~ offer anything new to the issue?
I am tired of pit bull threads, be they heros or villians, pit bulls were not my mission when I decided to have a doggie ping list. Several people have asked to be removed from the list because we had so many pit bull threads awhile back, and I agree. I have ignored a few, but I would rather just ask: Is this stuff that people want from me?
I was walking through the lot next to my house when I felt something run into the back of my leg. I thought it was a neighborhood brat being a pest, but when I turned around , I found myself staring down into the unmistakeable eggshaped head and triangular eyes of a young pit bull. He was smiling and wagging what little tail he had, so I held my hand under his nose, which he deigned to sniff and lick. I scritched him under the chin, and suddenly he reared up on his hind legs, grabbed me around the waist with his "arms", and leaned his head all the way back till his ears touched his shoulders-considerately trying to make it easier for me to stand there and scritch him all day.
How long I might have wound up doing that I don't know, because his owner came by on his bike and called him over. The owner also scowled at me like he thought I was trying to steal his dog. The thought hadn't occured to me....well, not seriously anyway.
While all this was going on ,the four dogs I then owned (two have gone on to the rainbow bridge) were in their yard watching everything. How they screamed with rage at me for touching another dog! I let the four-a standard dachshund, two miniature dachshunds, and a chihuahua (combined weight of about 38 pounds)-back into the house, and none of them would permit me to touch them or show me any attention for some time.
That's the day I learned the appeal of big dogs. Little dogs are cute and cuddly-but big dogs can hug .
Let the Pit Bull people start their own threads HOTD. One of those dogs would kill my Yorky in a second!!
Good idea... maybe someone wants to start a PIT BULL PING list that they will hopefully NOT put me on ;~D
Me neither, LOL, I already warned a neighbor that he better keep his two Pitt Bulls penned up in his yard!!
I appreciate your doggie pings. It's your ping list and your effort. If you want to opt out of pinging on certain threads (whether it's pitbull's or other), go for it. Especially if they seem to have "an agenda" I can understand why you would just as soon ignore them.
LOL! Ah, he was lovin' you to death! I'm a dog lover, and the bigger the better. I've held and loved many a dog, both small and large. My husband and I started out with a golden retriever (angels with legs, fur and tail) who brought us sheer joy for 12 years. We've lost our faithful Malamute (Blizzard) and a black lab named "Niki". We bought a McKenzie river Husky 10 years ago, and she's a joy. Last year we bought a Siberian Husky/Malamute mix that has just turned one year old. Her mama was a purebred Siberian Husky who ran in the Yukon Quest and finished 12 times! Her papa is a purebred Malamute. Oh she's a beauty, wisdom in her eyes, and what a love. The wife of the couple we bought her from is the head vet tech for the Iditarod. Ah, I'm rambling...it's that sort of night here in AK.
I enjoy your pings, and don't much care about pit bulls. When you get down to it, it's your list, if people miss the pit bull stories they'll start a new list.
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