Justice For Boss

KNOXVILLE — The wounds on "Boss" the pit bull hurt Leslie and James Woody, the owners of Break The Chain Pit Bull Rescue. The rescue travels all over the United States to find pit bulls a good home. That is exactly what they thought they did for Boss.



"We have home checks and vet checks," said Leslie Woody.

"We do work history checks and background checks for domestic violence," James Woody said.


All of those checks cleared a McMinn County man to adopt Boss in March.


The red flag didn't show until Boss missed two of his vet visits.


Three and a half weeks later after the adoption the Woody's wanted answers from the owner.


"He told us that Boss had an accident. We demanded to see him on Monday," Leslie Woody said.


"When I saw him I was speechless," James Woody said of his reaction this Monday.


The dog rescue said the owner first told them a tale.


"...that he was driving down the road and Boss did jump out of the window and then he took him to the vet," said Leslie Woody.


Then the rescue said the owner told the truth.


"He was tied to the back bumper of the truck. He was forgot about. He [the owner] got a phone call. He just backed over him and took off down the driveway and down the road," said Leslie Woody.


The Woody's believe Boss was dragged one mile and that the owner never took him to a veterinarian.


It was nearly 18 days later before the rescue learned of Boss' injuries. The Woody's rushed Boss to the Lenoir City Animal Clinic.


"He is on some antibiotics now, and the plan is to let the other small wounds scar in," said Dr. Tom Bradbury, a veterinarian at LCAC.


Bradbury will perform surgery on Boss next week to cover the larger wounds. The veterinarian does believe that Boss was dragged.


The Woody's plan to file a police report on the owner. They said their strict adoption checks will now be more tough.


If you are interested in adopting Boss or would like to help with medical expenses, you can e-mail your information to the Break The Chain Pit Bull Rescue at breakthechainpitbullrescue@live.com.

(Article Courtesy of WBIR Knoxville)

(Boss Photos Courtesy of Break The Chain Pit Bull Rescue)

Boss has had surgery & is recovering at the vets office. The Woody's could really use our help with Boss' mounting bills. Please give what ever you can. Even a few dollars will be a HUGE Help!

Click on the above Title of this Post...It will take you directly to
Break The Chain Pit Bull Rescue's Web Page. There is a link to make donations. Thanks so much for helping out this Beautiful Boy!

Hunting some Eggs...and Swinging

We all got together for a Family Cook Out & Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday. Here are a few pics of the Grandsons in action. They are growing up so fast!

My Son Brad & Grandson Reece.

DIL Cindy with Grandson Wyatt.

After hunting eggs, the boys enjoyed the swings!

Spring Time in the Mountains!

I have been home so little lately, that I haven't taken the time to stop & notice the changes all around my yard. I just love this time of year, when the Dogwood Trees pop out all over the hill & the Iris' put on their colorful show!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Roo & Hector Spread the News...

Andrew Yori, right, and his dog, Hector, socialize with Stevi Hallisy and her dog, Jonah, at Leashes And Leads. Hector is a pit bull terrier rescued from Michael Vick's dog-fighting ring and has now passed testing to be a certified therapy dog.
Ken Klotzbach/Post-Bulletin

3/7/2009 6:05:01 PM

By Karen Rorie
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Therapy dogs and their handlers offer a calming presence and a break from routine, social interaction. For patients in a nursing home or hospital, they can make the day a little bit brighter.

According to Therapy Dogs International, a group that evaluates and certifies therapy dogs, any breed is eligible to be certified. What matters most is the dog's training and temperament.

No dog is a better example of this statement than Hector.

Hector, who is owned by Andrew Yori of Rochester, was recently certified as a therapy dog by TDI. He is a 4-year-old pit bull who spent the first part of his life as part of Michael Vick's dog-fighting operation in Virginia. Rescued in 2007, Hector moved to Rochester in June of last year.

Hector still bears scars from his fights, but he has settled happily into his new peaceful life.

"He's a big goofy dog," Yori said.

Pit bulls are a very resilient breed.

"Not a lot of dogs could go through what he did and still come out OK," Yori said.

Hector's attitude seems to be, "It's behind me, let's go forward and have a good time."

Hector's journey to becoming a therapy dog began with simple obedience training -- learning to sit, stay and show other good manners -- and passing the AKC's Canine Good Citizen test. Working to become a therapy dog seemed like a natural next step for Hector.

"He really enjoys anybody who will give him some attention," Yori said. "Nothing seems to phase him too much, so it seemed like a really good fit. And because of where he came from, it would really shatter a lot of stereotypes."

In order to be certified, each dog and handler team must pass a rigorous, 15-part exam.

"We try to mimic what some of the encounters might be like," said Marcia Fritzmeier, a TDI evaluator who administered Hector and Yori's test. TDI's exam tests each dog's manners, obedience, ease around people and reactions to situations such as loud noises and meeting other dogs.

Fritzmeier was aware of Hector's background before his test and paid special attention to his temperament, extending some of the tests to be sure Hector would be a good therapy dog.

"I could not believe the degree of excellence he passed this test with," she said. "He never stopped wagging his tail. He just enjoyed every second of it."

Once the paperwork is processed in a few weeks, Hector and Yori will begin making visits to nursing homes. Yori says bringing a bit of joy to another dog lover is the best part of the job.

"You really see the people who had dogs and love dogs, their eyes just light up," he said.

Karen Rorie is a Rochester freelance writer.

Web links

Therapy Dogs International
American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen program

FYI: Roo & his Rescued Pit bull Wallace won the 2007 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Freestyle Flying Disc National Champions! Incredible event, and the National Championship was aired on ABC, ESPN2 and Animal Planet. Thousands cheered Wallace on as we proved once again what a Pit Bull is capable of in responsible hands.

Miami’s Pit bull Ban Takes a Hit

Breed specific legislation against pit bulls took another much deserved hit last week when a Dade County court ruled that Miami’s pit bull ban is too vague to be used as grounds for euthanizing animals.

The county ban applied to all dogs that “substantially conform” to American Kennel Club standards for American Staffordshire Terriers or Staffordshire Bull Terriers, or United Kennel Club standards for American Pit Bull Terriers.

To determine if a dog conformed to the standards, the animal control department used a chart that lists 15 body parts, such as head, neck, lips, chest, eyes, tail and hind legs. Officers check off which characteristics of a dog conform to a pit bull. If three or more characteristics are checked, the dog is declared a pit bull.

The court ruling came in a case challenging the finding by Miami-Dade County Animal Control that a family pet named Apollo was a “pit bull” that must be removed from the county or euthanized.

Rima Bardawil, the attorney for Apollo, pointed out that the ordinance makes no mention of any chart or checklist, and that it is not clear what standards animal control is using in making its determinations or how valid they are.

Dahlia Canes, executive director of Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation, testified that animal control is “constantly” misidentifying the breeds of dogs. She told the court about one dog that was declared by an animal control officer to be a pit bull mix and ordered euthanized. Canes arranged to have the dog re-evaluated and he was determined to be a mastiff mix. The dog was then adopted to a family in Miami-Dade County.

In the case of Apollo, the animal control officer photographed the dog from several feet away, then used the photo to pick three body parts he said he thought conformed to pit bull standards.

It makes one wonder — how many of the dogs described by police, and characterized in headlines, as pit bulls really are of the breeds that fall under that catch-all term?

Posted by jwoestendiek March 30th, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: american pit bull terriers, american staffordshire terrier, animal control, apollo, ban, bans, breed-specific, characteristics, checklist, conform, dade county, dogs, florida, laws, legislation, miami, pit bull, staffordshire bull terrier, standards

Boys will be Boys...

We got to spend a Fun Filled day with our Grandsons Wyatt & Reece this weekend. Here's some pics of just a few of the things they got into...

Biker Boyz

Baha Buggyin'...

Let's Slide!

Looking for Trouble...

...They say it's your birthday...

Today is my Birthday. They are coming faster & Faster & FASTER! LOL! We also celebrate Phil's birthday along with mine. The place... errr...pig sty...he came from is down the road from my home a little ways. I saw him when they first got him as a tiny puppy, so we can sort of "guesstimate" that he was born in March sometime...4 Years ago.

I got (took) Philly when he was about 7 or 8 months old & knocking on deaths door. He was such a sick & emaciated pup & his "owners" were just going to let him die, like the other dog they had let die the week before. It looked like he had parvo from the symptoms, but Thankfully No...it was Coronavirus instead, which has the same symptoms. You can only imagine the shape he was in. I really only expected to pay to have him humanely put to sleep & end his misery, poor boy. But...after 3 days of Excellent Care & IV fluids at my Vets office...he made a Miraculous Recovery! I got to bring him home to finish nursing him back to health & here he is today! My beautiful Philly Boy...Happy & Healthy. Happy Birthday Buddy! I hope to celebrate lot's more birthdays together.

Oh yeah...the Wonderful Vets who saved my Phil...well...they are now my Bosses! LOL!