Craigslist is a dangerous place. You can get scammed (google "craigslist scams") killed (google "craigslist killer") or end up fostering an energetic, completely untrained pit bull mix.
Guess which one Josie and I fell victim to?
Wandering around Craigslist on Friday, I came across the ad for an older dog that was about to be euthanized. Though I'm not sure I'm ready for another dog yet, I pretty much decided this dog wasn't gonna die. Something good had to come out of Stewie's death.
His name is "Kilo." The name is in quotes cause I don't know if that's his real name cause "Kilo" doesn't respond to his name.
He's "nine" years old. The "nine" is in quotes because there's no way he's nine. He's waaaay too energetic, his eyes are too clear and his teeth are too white and solid.
When we asked the woman from the rescue organization what breed he was, she said, "Oh, he's part Staffie, part Terrier, I'm guessing part German Shepard, and maybe (cough, cough) part Pit Bull." When we got his official papers, in the breed category, it read, "Pit Bull Mix" (and his head is totally Pit Bull except for his ears, which are Terrier)
Anyway, I have no idea what his previous owner's deal was, but Kilo is completely untrained (though he does go to the bathroom outside). He barely knows "sit," forget about "stay," "down," or "fetch me my slippers."
Walking him is a challenge. He pulls with all of his muscular 50 pounds, even when I tried a choke collar (he sounded like he was choking, even while continuing to pull). He saw a squirrel this morning...I almost lost an arm.
He constantly cries, whimpers, and/or yelps. I assume he's sad cause he doesn't know what's going on...spent a week at the shelter and is now in another unfamiliar environment. Thanks to his stay at the shelter he also has kennel cough, really bad too. At least his diarrhea seems to be under control (he took two dumps in our apartment).
He's also really sweet, displays no aggression, wags his tail often and is pretty happy to just lie next to the sofa (though he oddly doesn't like being petted).
I'm happy to be able to help save such a great dog, whose definitely had some bad breaks.
Then again, I'm also saving myself.
harris
Guess which one Josie and I fell victim to?
Wandering around Craigslist on Friday, I came across the ad for an older dog that was about to be euthanized. Though I'm not sure I'm ready for another dog yet, I pretty much decided this dog wasn't gonna die. Something good had to come out of Stewie's death.
His name is "Kilo." The name is in quotes cause I don't know if that's his real name cause "Kilo" doesn't respond to his name.
He's "nine" years old. The "nine" is in quotes because there's no way he's nine. He's waaaay too energetic, his eyes are too clear and his teeth are too white and solid.
When we asked the woman from the rescue organization what breed he was, she said, "Oh, he's part Staffie, part Terrier, I'm guessing part German Shepard, and maybe (cough, cough) part Pit Bull." When we got his official papers, in the breed category, it read, "Pit Bull Mix" (and his head is totally Pit Bull except for his ears, which are Terrier)
Anyway, I have no idea what his previous owner's deal was, but Kilo is completely untrained (though he does go to the bathroom outside). He barely knows "sit," forget about "stay," "down," or "fetch me my slippers."
Walking him is a challenge. He pulls with all of his muscular 50 pounds, even when I tried a choke collar (he sounded like he was choking, even while continuing to pull). He saw a squirrel this morning...I almost lost an arm.
He constantly cries, whimpers, and/or yelps. I assume he's sad cause he doesn't know what's going on...spent a week at the shelter and is now in another unfamiliar environment. Thanks to his stay at the shelter he also has kennel cough, really bad too. At least his diarrhea seems to be under control (he took two dumps in our apartment).
He's also really sweet, displays no aggression, wags his tail often and is pretty happy to just lie next to the sofa (though he oddly doesn't like being petted).
I'm happy to be able to help save such a great dog, whose definitely had some bad breaks.
Then again, I'm also saving myself.
harris
"Kilo"
Posts
10 comments:
How did Stewie die :-( Sorry for your loss!
he was hit by a car
thanks
harris
Oh! Adorable!
Oh, sh*t. I did not know about Stewie. I'm so, so sorry.
Kilo sounds like a handful, but you know, sometimes the "off" ones make the best pets. We have an insane cat among our three. For the long list of what's wrong with him, we love him to pieces.
Good luck with the training, esp. where it involves the dumping in your apartment.
First~I am so sorry to hear about Stewie. I understand. Second~God love you for fostering. I would end up like the old ladies on Animal Planet with 106 dogs in a one bedroom apartment-I could never give one back! Third~try a harness (on the dog, man, on the dog). It works for my 90 LB lab/rottie/shepard mix.
Happy Doogy :)
those are the right reasons. good luck.
Bloom- Long time, no read! Sorry. Hey, I'm so sorry to hear about Stewie. We have a five your old lab and would take it worse than the death of a family member.
As for Kilo- I've given pit bulls a bad rap for a long time until I saw a documentary series about the rehab of Michael Vick's dogs on National Geographic Channel (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dogtown/3684/Overview). Who knew they could be such sweet dogs.
One thing I've learned is that the breed is big on pleasing their owners. It will take some work, but Kilo will come around.
All the best-
Chris Ives
Hey chris,
yeah, Kilo is an awesome dog - really gentle - i just think that pit bulls (and mastiffs, which he is part) have that gene which makes them slightly unpredictable - cant take teh chance, or i'd consider keeping him - though i can't really train a dog right now either
harris
Kilo sounds like what a drug dealer would name his dog.
--Nadia
What is fostering? It's a temporary arrangement until someone adopts him?
Kilo is luckier than my dad to have you taking care of him, even for a while.
My dad threw a chair at his foster mother. He was really unpredictable. I heard from my mother we were lucky because he only threw shoes at us.
-Atlas
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