Okay, I deleted the earlier shared post from Chako Pit Bull Rescue and Advocacy about Butters, a dog that was euthanized after biting me. I dont want to give Vanessa (the foster) any more exposure to spread the untrue information she is spreading and unfortunately, facebook does not give me the option to edit once we share a status. I have had to ban Vanessa from posting here. I am working on a blog post about what happened but it is a difficult post to write and I need to be home and at my pc to do it, which isnt often these days. It may take a few days for me to get it published. It is also a very emotionally charged topic. It is also something that happened THREE years ago and I want to make sure that when I tell my story, I dont leave anything out. Some facts of the bite (again, a blog post will follow in the next few days): (1) YES, I was bitten. Skin was scraped and there was bruising, but no bleeding. (2) Vanessa was given the option to adopt Butters but would have had to sign additional paperwork acknowledging that she was aware of Butters unstable temperament and would not hold Chako liable should Butters bite again. She declined to adopt him, well aware that if she did not, the rescue would euthanize him. (3) Vanessa was present, along with myself, when Butters was euthanized. We were turned down by the first vet we went to. At no time during that day did Vanessa say anything to me about believing that we were making the wrong decision, or that she did not believe I was bitten (she now claims I was not bitten). We even stopped at a park to feed Butters a Whopper and let him play a bit. There was AMPLE opportunity for her to speak out. She remained silent. While at the park, we spoke at length about the inherent risks involved in adopting out a dog that showed a response like Butters did. Again, at the time, Vanessa did not say anything about disagreeing with the decision. (4) There is ZERO benefit to my lying about being bitten. I was not Butters foster, Butters was never in my care, I made no money from euthanizing an otherwise healthy animal. In fact, it broke my heart. Im in rescue because I want to SAVE dogs. Sadly, responsible rescuing means sometimes you have to realize some cannot be saved. (5) When the bite happened, Butters showed fear of a forklift at a pet store during an adoption event. Since part of my job at the rescue at the time was temperament evaluations, I wanted to see what his fear response would translate to as the behavior was concerning. Butters walked willingly with me closer to the forklift. He suddenly stopped, then turn around and gave a warning bite to my arm. HIS FIRST RESPONSE WHEN AFRAID WAS TO TURN AROUND AND BITE MY ARM. He did not try to get away, did not cower down, he bit. This is extremely disturbing for a number of reasons. What if we had adopted him out and a small child was in his face and he decided he was scared? He wasnt going to back down, he was going to BITE. Butters was a large dog, too. Tall and at least 90 lbs. I do not know what would have happened if I had forced him any closer to the forklift (which was not moving at the time). I am experienced enough with dogs to know that it could potentially be very bad for me if I pushed him further. (6) When Vanessa started fostering for Chako, as with all Chako fosters, she was advised of Chakos zero tolerance policy for bites to humans. It has always been this way, and always will. With the current climate of hate and distrust against the Pit Bull and even Pit Bull mixes (which Butters was), Pit Bull rescues have to have exceedingly high standards for the dogs they adopt out to the general public. ONE bad experience can not only cause for a call to enact BSL, but will also impact that rescues ability to save any more dogs. Most people would not adopt from a rescue with a history of adopting out unsafe pets. This has been a very rough day and the reason Vanessas attacks against Chako are being made public, is because she made them public by commenting on posts for ADOPTABLE DOGS with her untrue and inflammatory posts. I am truly sorry that Vanessa still holds so much pain in her heart and I wish she was at peace with the decision we all made but it is clear she is not. This however, potentially causing other dogs to miss out on their forever homes, is NOT the way to grieve and it certainly is no way to honor Butters. ~Rachele
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:08:14 +0000
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