We love pit bulls here at Oakland Animal Services, but sometimes, the negative portrayal of the breed in the media makes it difficult for them to find homes. It’s even harder when a pit bull has had its ears cropped. Many people assume that it means that the dog was used for fighting, which is rarely the case. In fact, some of the sweetest-tempered dogs that we’ve seen at the shelter have been pit bulls with cropped ears. One of them was Babe, who was at the shelter for four months before finding a home. We can’t say it any better than Babe’s adopters:
“We adopted Babe from Oakland Animal Services in January 2012. We have three children: Qiqi (15), Mike (10), and Rosie (6). We have never owned a dog before but our children have been pleading for one for quite some time. We started our search and were immediately drawn to pit bulls. After much research I determined that unscrupulous owners are much more of a problem than the breed. Our friends thought we were crazy, though. We met Babe at your shelter and it was love at first sight. All the dogs around Babe were barking and she was calm and had the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. We met Babe several times and the entire family was enchanted. In fact, I was very surprised to learn that Babe had been found on the streets and had been at the shelter for more than four months. Some say that her cropped ears make her look mean; however, her wagging tail and instant ability to roll over to have her belly rubbed puts that impression to rest. In fact, when I take her on walks the compliments we get about her “beauty” and demeanor are astounding. Babe is a great Pit Ambassador!
Babe acclimated beautifully into the family and if feels as though she’s been part of the family forever. As a pit bull, Babe needs her daily dose of exercise. A long walk with some training and “bird watching” calms her beautifully and by 7 pm she’s ready for snuggle time on the couch with the family. Her temperament with my children is superb. She has endless patience, is remarkably gentle, and is exceptionally loving towards them. This affection is clearly reciprocated. The attached pictures tell the real story.
Babe is smart, resourceful, and easy to train. I have found that she plays very well with other dogs provided that there is adequate warm up time. Finally, I’d like to thank the terrific staff of Oakland Animal Services for providing us with great guidance and letting us adopt this most magnificent creature.”
We have another wonderful dog with cropped ears at OAS who is waiting patiently for her home: Katy Perry. Make sure you check out her fabulous video in which Katy goes looking for her missing ears!