BooIzzy.comSpecializing in feral chihuahuas and blind pit bulls since 2006

We put Boo to sleep last Wednesday. Over the last few years, he had developed some sort of spinal cord issue which was causing him to lose control of his back legs. Initially, it made him walk slowly and lose control of his back legs. But in the past few months, he’d begun falling regularly and was getting sores on his stomach and back legs from the falls and being in one position so long. He had a hard time maneuvering around the house, and there was no hope of a cure.

It was still a hard decision for us to make and even harder to carry out. We brought Boo into the vet on one of his favorite beds covered in blankets, and we were able to feed him turkey dogs as the initial sedative kicked in. As he grew more and more tired, he laid down in his bed and made his happy grunting noise. He seemed content and at peace, which isn’t how he usually is at the vet. After about 15 minutes, the vet came back and gave him a sedative to stop his heart. We stayed with him for a while after.

My hardest moment was leaving him behind. I couldn’t bring myself to move him from his bed and blanket. As we walked out, I asked the assistant at the front desk if we could pick them up later, but she immediately went to go get them for us. I wanted to stop her and tell her that he needed them. He might get cold. It was just so hard to imagine him laying on the cold floor or the metal exam table without something soft and familiar around him. I tear up even as I think about it now.

Boo was always so full of life. Ready to go anywhere. Ready for an adventure. Wanting to be with us. He was with me through so much that it’s hard to believe he isn’t here anymore. I got him when I was only 18. He traveled with me to Washington as I finished college and got my first full time job. Then he went with us across the country to Boston where I went to grad school. He saw both oceans and flew on a plane.

As far as dogs go, I like to think that he had it pretty good. Still it almost feels selfish that I’m not cleaning up after him anymore. Or helping him onto the sofa. I had to hide his food dish in the far back of the cabinet because I can’t help but automatically go to feed him first. I’ve been doing it for so long.

I come home to five dogs. Five really great dogs. But Boo will always be my first. My companion through some pretty volatile years. And it’s going to be a while before I can think of him without shedding a tear and wishing that he was still romping around like he used to.

Our newest dog Stevie is blind. He and his two sisters were dumped at the county shelter at five weeks old because they were all blind. Probably the result of inbreeding. His gray color is somewhat rare and coveted among pit bull owners, and someone was probably breeding dogs they shouldn’t have been to make a buck off that gray color.

In spite of his disability, he’s an amazingly confident and well adjusted dog. He walks on leash. He plays at the dog park. He loves a good chew toy. He can find a warm spot on the couch all by himself. Occasionally he bumps into stuff, but all in all, it’s a pretty normal canine existence.

That said there have still been a few challenges. Initially he would chew anything that was in front of him. It could be a toy, but it could just as easily be the coffee table or a shoe. That problem was pretty easy to solve with a firm “No,” followed by handing him an appropriate chew toy, and rewarding him for taking it.

A more difficult challenge was walking on the leash. When we tried to walk him outside the house, he was very reluctant to follow and held back on leash. As a 20 pound puppy, it sometimes just seemed like it would be easier to carry him. But 20 pounds quickly became 30 pounds, and 30 pounds became 40.

To encourage him to follow, I filled a plastic container with kibble and shook it. After getting his attention, I would give him a piece of kibble. Once he got to know the sound of the kibble, he was pretty eager to follow the noise. I just hooked him up to the leash and headed out. Over time, he just started to follow.

Now he’s so confident on leash that he likes to get to the end of the leash and navigate around me in a big circle. Probably a signal that we need to start working on heal.

The other issue was stairs. He got the grasp of our doggy door quickly, but the back steps at our house proved a big barrier to house training. That too just took a lot of coaxing with kibble and physically helping him to see that the drop off wasn’t the massive chasm that it appeared. He’s still not always sure about stairs he doesn’t know, but he’s getting there.

He does have the come command down. Here’s a video of us at the park today:

If you want to find out more about blind dogs, there’s an informative site over at blinddogs.com.

Just in case you still think that pit bulls are dangerous, here’s a picture of mine in their usual positions:

A security system they are not.

On a related note, did you know that Helen Keller had a pit bull? Yes, she did.

I recently finished the book The Pit Bull Placebo by Karen Delise. An electronic version is available for free from the National Canine Research Center.

I don’t know that I’d recommend this book. It basically examines news reports of dog attacks from the turn of the century through the present to identify the factors involved in dog aggression towards people and to dispel the myth of the pit bull as a inherently dangerous dog.

The first few chapters recount fatalities caused by popular types of dogs from the 1900s. These were mainly caused by Newfoundlands, Mastiffs, St. Bernards, and other popular guard dogs of the time, but did you know that collies were responsible for several fatalities in the mid-1900s? Kind of shatters that image of Lassie that I had from my childhood. The point is that all breeds can aggressive and dangerous if neglected and abused, particularly when a breed is most popular.

The most interesting fact that I read in the book had to be this one:

The fact that there is no documented case of a single, spayed/neutered Pit bull or Pit bull-type dog, maintained exclusively as a household pet, involved in a fatal attack on a human in the United States is proof that canine behavior is profoundly influenced by the function of the dog and quality of care and control practiced by owners.

I live with two pit bulls. I love the breed for it’s loyalty and good nature, and I’ll stand up for pitties at any opportunity. I read a lot about the breed and follow the efforts to rehabilitate the Vick dogs and the dogs from the Oklahoma bust. But I’d never heard this fact, and it’s surprising to me that it’s never made it into a media story that I’ve seen.

I’ve long had a theory that pit bulls are a most resilient and forgiving breed. If you spend any amount of time in neighborhoods like the west side of Salt Lake or Rainier Beach in Seattle, you’ll see a lot of pits chained up in back yards. They’re often emaciated and bred frequently. They’re primarily guard dogs, kept around because they look tough. They don’t get a lot of attention, and when they do, it’s probably not the good kind. There are probably hundreds of thousands of pit bulls kept like this in neighborhoods across America, and the amazing thing is that in, spite of it all, so many of these dogs are actually good dogs. Even pit bulls who have been abused horribly can come into homes where they are treated well and be great dogs.

The moral of this story is that pit bulls are the least of our worries. In fact, they aren’t a worry at all. If you want to prevent dog bites and aggression, spay and neuter your dog. Don’t chain it up outside. Don’t let it run around and terrorize your neighbors. Socialize it. Encourage the people you know to do the same.

And if there’s a breed you do want to worry about, I’d say it’s chihuahuas. They’ve apparently taken over California, and this one won’t stop terrorizing my pit bull puppy.

This is my new evening routine. Actually, Amos is normally up on the couch too, but he’s camera shy.

In bed with Boo and his bat ears:

And a series of Izzy action shots: