Every day that goes by is 1 more day that I become more experienced in the area of NOT understanding shelters…

Do I understand and see quite clearly what they are doing? Yes. But do I agree with the process? Does it make sense to me? Do I feel it’s the only way? All NO’s. Hence the “not understanding” part… We all know–there are some really unfortunate trends continuously playing out, and I’m going to start pushing back in the only way that I know how to…

This is BART:

Clear as day, THIS IS WHAT HIS KENNEL CARD READS:

It was written there by a volunteer who (you guessed it) actually INTERACTS with Bart! This same card has been out and on display since Bart came into the shelter back on May 23…

This past Friday I called the shelter (prior to the big holiday weekend) to ensure that the staff had noted “being networked” within Bart’s file… It was at this time that the phone operator said that Bart was deemed “Rescue only,” due to him getting a “D” on his temperament test. I will leave my immediate response out of this article, but lets just say that this judgment by the shelter is a complete disgrace… Anyways, this test that Bart apparently “failed” was given back on June 3. By my count that was 28 days ago… Even more shocking than this, was that I was told that 2 interested adoption parties were turned away due to this profiling…

On Saturday morning I called again, and made the request that Bart be Re-temp-tested… Guess what? I was told “No,” flat out. This was the same response that an actual volunteer was given when she called Friday afternoon and requested the same thing… When I asked the phone operator why not, I was told–because Bart was “VERY AGGRESSIVE”–so not just aggressive, but now VERY…

Let’s get back to reality here for a second… In the video you can see one of the volunteers going in and getting Bart out for a walk… As you can see, Bart is extremely scared. He’s putting the brakes on out of fear and uncertainty… He doesn’t know, for all he knows he’s being led to the “kill-room.” The volunteer eventually leads him out by being friendly and supportive–and notice Bart’s tail, always wagging (even after he initially retreated, he came back to her, tail constantly moving)… Yet, according to the phone operator, it was the kennel cleaners and feeding staff who were the ones that noted this mystery “aggression.” They claim Bart “cowers in the corner” when they enter his kennel… Well, maybe he does? And maybe it’s justified? What do you do when an unwanted person enters your space? It might be scary… Or maybe he’s afraid of water? These persons just hose down the kennels, sometimes with no regard whatsoever for the animal… My own girls run to the other end of the yard the second I turn the hose on… Does that mean they are aggressive? Or sketchy? Or unfit for living? No, No, and No!

Point blank, numerous things don’t add up… How has an “aggressive, rescue only” Pit Bull survived 42 days in Carson’s extremely high-kill shelter, when totally friendly and adoptable Pit Bulls on average only last there a fraction of that time? I mean seriously… Carson killed about 10-12 totally harmless pitties this last week alone, and that number is only based on the dogs that I know of, because I photographed them just days earlier… If Bart was even partially as nasty as they claim he is, how is he still alive after 40+ days? By their own logic it’s beyond puzzling… The only answer I can come up with is that every time someone asks about Bart, that Carson then confuses the dogs? And I know that’s not the case because you can’t mess up the same way 20 times in a row… Clearly Carson knows who Bart is, and they honestly think he’s an aggressive dog–or they are just taking the word of an employee and don’t care to check it out for themselves, or their temperament-testing methods just suck, or all of the above…

All I know is that this bungled, confused, mess of a reality is costing dogs their lives! Carson shelter discriminates against all Pit Bulls, by putting them (no matter the age) through this rigorous situational course of foolishness before allowing them to be adopted out by any member of the public… Am I against temp-testing as a concept? No, not really… I think all dogs of EVERY breed should be payed attention to, showed love, and monitored accordingly… But when it’s being done by uncaring individuals with bad energy, with big sticks, and with fake hands, used to pull at the dogs food while it’s eating and so forth… It’s just bullshit. You know your concept of “temp-testing” ISN’T WORKING when angelic dogs who wouldn’t harm a damn fly are getting scores in the D-percentile range… But enough about that.

Back to Bart… Look at him, watch that video, go visit him and see for yourself… This dog is the exact opposite of an aggressive dog. It insults my intelligence to have this shelter staff even utter that phrase… To know that they have DISALLOWED 2 separate opportunities for Bart to actually get a home, it’s enraging. Not only that, but that they are now denying multiple requests coming from myself and others, to have Bart re-tested by their shitty temp-test… Why? Why fight so hard against people that are actually wanting to help? You’ve kept him alive for this long… All I’m trying to do is get that “aggressive” label back off of him so that he’s given the pure chance that he deserves… Maybe 1 of the interested parties are even still interested in adopting him? It’s worth checking into… Isn’t the point to save the dog? (Sometimes I feel I’d be horrified at their honest answer back)

As it stands right now, Bart is still alive… Since there has been this level of push back concerning the original temperament test, he has been spared until at least Tuesday–which is when the sargeant gets back in, at which time he will hopefully reassess the situation.

Just to be clear, I have used some very harsh phrasing within this article… Should that then categorize every person who makes up the shelter staff? No. Absolutely not. There have been individuals who I’ve found to be helpful, others who I’ve found to be just the opposite, and then others still who obviously exist and who are allowing things like this to continue to happen… 3 different realities, but 2 different problems, and sometimes the problematic areas seem to overlap.

Finally–yet another thing I found interesting… Even though the kennel card pictured above remained on Bart’s cage through his intake week AND THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JUNE, it is now GONE… Replaced with a new card that has no notes on it… Carson shelter.

Here is an updated story concerning the actual charging of the Pit Bull owners from the incident in San Diego… Is that specific portion good news? Yes! Unfortunately the media–at the behest of a boatload of hateful human beings–have already skewed the conversation and spent the better part of the last 2 weeks beating the “ban-drum.” Not to mention 13 Pit Bulls lost their lives, 11 of which were completely innocent 3-week-old puppies.

But back to the story… I was drawn to 2 particular portions of the article, which I’ve screenshot below:

The first part being: Why weren’t the Boxers as a breed then targeted by the citizens? By the media? By the city?–after this “attack”?

And secondly: Why, in a span of 25 long years was there only 1 instance where an owner was actually arrested and then subsequently convicted after a “mauling” incident?

To my first question…
Am I proposing the banning of all Boxers? Hell no, I love ALL dogs… I’m just using the absurdity of the witch hunt-mentality and applying it to all incidents NOT involving Pit Bulls, and then asking myself if there is/was a discriminatory precedent set? If the answer is “NO,” which in this case it was, then why not?

To the media… Was this just not a juicy enough story for you? Do some of your staffers personally have Boxers? What gives? Where was the lynch mob? All of these are sarcastic questions of course, but it shows the lack of consideration given to Pit Bulls when an animal of that “type” finds itself in a situation such as this…

And another question, going out to Boxer guardians… Do you feel lucky? Knowing that your dogs are on the “okay” list? Do you recognize dog racism when you see it, or only when it applies to your type of dog? Would you stand with Pit Bull guardians when their dogs are marked for extermination? Or would you join in on the conversation, villainizing the pitties amongst the mob? I know plenty of Boxer guardians that LOVE Pit Bulls and could write this article verbatim, for me, and on a pit’s behalf… But at the same time, there are some guardians of all breeds that talk pitties down–clinging to the safety that exists in knowing that their dogs would never be targeted… I find that highly disturbing, shallow, ignorant, lacking in long-term conceptual thinking, among other things…

What happens if this tyrannical world one day comes to fruition? A world where the scum owners continue to get off, free from charge and media scrutiny, and where the pitties then perish and are phased out? Well, obviously those same scum owners would just move on to another breed… Maybe yours? And then the cycle repeats itself.

And to my second question…
That makes 2 cases in the last (now) 30 years, where the owners have been a partial target… How only 2? I guess that’s 2 better than 0. Can’t this situation create some sort of momentum in the direction of COMMON SENSE? How about the owners become the ENTIRE target, and then make that the precedent. Now that’s a world I’d like to live in.

This is what surrendering a dog at the shelter looks like…

The dog in this video is still alive, but will most likely be killed in a matter of days if not rescued or adopted…
He also has full sponsorship from a very generous admirer!
So if any part of you is considering adopting/rescuing/fostering then please take a trip down to the Carson shelter and meet him.

Pedro (aka Pirate) ~ A4301119
Male/5 years old
Well-behaved boy, seems to be good around other animals

Carson Animal Shelter
216 W. Victoria St.
Gardena, CA 90248
Phone = 310-523-9566
Fax = 310-538-9229

Important: I was notified that the San Diego Union Tribune is doing a phone survey concerning whether the city should BAN PIT BULLS…
It takes 30 seconds, I just did it…
1-800-244-6397 x2506, choose option #2 (It’s the owners, not the breed, against ban) ~ It doesn’t matter if you live in the area or not, you can still participate and it’s free…

You can also go directly to their website and vote…

From a grassroots level doing both is advisable, and it gives us the opportunity to speak up resoundingly loud in favor of the millions of fantastic Pit Bulls and out against any potential spreading of BSL legislation… It’s been thoroughly proven to not work, thoroughly rejected by the majority of people, and does nothing but induce hate, increased killing, stereotyping, scapegoating and ugliness.

All of this comes in light of a horrible incident that occurred on Saturday involving a 75-year-old woman from Paradise Hills… An incident that in my view should prompt the DA to file charges AGAINST THE OWNERS of the dogs…

What we don’t want, and what we constantly have to deal with, is opportunists and vile human beings using this tragedy as justification for banning and subsequently killing ALL Pit Bulls.

No Pit Bull is inherently dangerous or inherently violent, and especially towards human beings… It is just not reality, but yet continues to be exploited by media and the like because it drives ratings and is a hot button topic for people who’ve never taken a minute of their time to ever be around or bother to get to know one… If they did, they would see almost instantaneously that the very-high-majority of all Pit Bulls in existence (even the ones in shelters, many of which have never had a home, a person, or been shown love) have some of the most generous and loving dispositions towards their human counterparts. This is irrefutable. It is bad owner’s–made up of dog fighters, gang members, drug runners and just downright careless human beings of all color and creed–and placated by irresponsible breeder’s (who allow said individuals to continue to occupy these animals) that are the problem, and make no mistake about it.

Quite bluntly–anyone with a shred of common sense, dignity and decency can see that it’s an “owner” or “circumstance” to blame, not a dog… And villainizing an entire ANYTHING based on the actions of a few is patently ignorant and flat out wrong, always, and every time.

Please participate and then share, WE HAVE THE POWER, our voices…

So this post was originally crafted back in January on my personal Facebook wall… It was essentially a 1-line rant that, due to me not shutting up, ended up turning into a 20-point rescue manifesto-type thing.

I don’t know exactly what sent me into it, but it was plenty of built up frustration over all that I had experienced since first taking shelter photos and immersing myself into this rescue world. To be honest, being online and getting tagged in hundreds of different rescue scenarios–you see plenty of wild stuff… And plenty of it is of a very quick and careless nature. Not only that, but I’ve also seen it play out locally as well, so it was probably prompted by a combination of just seeing how not very responsible certain people are capable of being.

More directly, there’s a fine line you walk when wanting so badly to help all the animals you can, and then balancing that with what you are capable of concerning the animals that you may already have… And for a few of us it’s very easy to tilt that responsibility and all that “should” go into it for a chance to save 1 more dog, and then 1 more, and so forth… Some people get taken advantage of, some overwhelmed, others just lose perspective on the process–but it all opens the doors for sloppy mishaps, and who then suffers? The animal.

Just to be clear: Save as many animals as possible, I’m all in favor of that… But do it responsibly, be accountable–if not for yourself and your reputation, then for the animal’s safety! As they should always come first regardless, yes? And what happens if you get out of control and do your reputation harm? Well then people take note and it minimizes your ability to legitimately help those animals going forward, even if you learned your lesson prior…

Bottom line… It seems as though sometimes rescue work gets treated like an assembly line, where checks and balances are forgotten for the draw of saving another. People just need to do their due-diligence, to protect the animals they do have, or else they may sloppily throw something together where the animal then ends up in a more dire strait than it was in while in the shelter… What follows is essentially my explosion on anything relatable to this topic, and what I thought was relevant in that moment…

~Josh Liddy // 1/3/2011 // SwayLove.org

01) If you want a dog and then are asked for a reference, give the reference! No one is too big to not be properly verified as legitimate. Your reputations do not precede you in this. If you think that your shit doesn’t stink, got news for you, it does–everyone’s does. If you disagree with this then you have simply lost sight of what is important and you need to go back to the drawing board ASAP.

02) If you want a dog and then are asked for a verifiable environment check, give that check… Allow your area to be deemed as appropriate or safe by the person currently caring for that animal. It’s only meant to protect the animal and is rather simple and not intrusive at all.

03) If you are in the position as a citizen/puller/rescue/etc. to pass off an animal, and then are not doing 01) and 02) prior to passing off said animal, then you are being highly irresponsible.

04) If you are a puller, and yet the dog you are about to pull does not have a legitimate plan in place, with checks made and ducks in a complete and structured row, then do not pull the dog… Unless of course you yourself are going to foster the dog while said things are completed.

05) If you are a puller, and yet are then not doing your due-diligence to make sure that the animal that you pulled is fully accounted for at all times, then you are simply failing at your responsibility.

06) If you would rather censor other people’s opinions by deleting/blocking/badgering people to do said things, instead of simply explaining yourself out in the open and then standing on your own opinions/actions, then you are not cut out for doing this (or any) important/meaningful work in the way that it should be done.

07) If you cannot take criticism without getting confrontational, if you cannot take criticism without running to others to defend you, if you cannot take criticism without clearly defending your position and then proceeding to rationally respond to anything that follows, then you are not cut out for doing this (or any) important/meaningful work in the way that it should be done.

08) If you are commenting about a dog in a picture or a video, and are proceeding to ask questions that can be answered by you simply taking 30 seconds of initiative, then damn it, take the initiative. It goes a long way and speaks volumes to your sincerity.

09) If you are commenting about a dog in a picture or a video, and all you can add to the comments are whiny statements i.e. “Why is no one saving this dog yet?” — My advice to you is this: Get off of your butt and save the dog yourself. Make a call. Send an email to a rescue. Google something. Share a post. Drive down to a local shelter and pet the dogs in your area. Take their pictures. Tag people. Compliment the animal or just make a simple silent prayer for its well-being. Do anything besides sitting behind a keyboard and berating others for not doing anything, when you yourself are not doing anything.

10) If you are wanting to save an animal, but yet live across the country without a way or a desire to pay for any potential pull/vetting/boarding/transport, then be prepared to not only do 01) and 02) to the fullest extent that may be requested, but to also take part in helping to raise those funds and then making life as easy as possible on the people that actually raise those funds for you.

11) If you post things like “I am done with rescue” every time the wind blows in the wrong direction, then you are clearly not passionate enough to just keep plowing forward regardless of the situation. It silently says a lot.

12) If you have a disagreement with someone that you are working closely with, please contact them directly. It saves a lot of time and is a way to illustrate that we are actually all adults. It’s also responsible and eliminates hearsay or opinionated versions from 3rd parties.

13) If you are ever above saying that you are sorry, admitting that you made a mistake, owning up to said mistakes, or simply just reaching out to someone to hear their side of the story, even while intending to air your own grievances back (and even if it’s inevitable that you will never totally agree)… It’s sometimes still appropriate, and that lack of action speaks loudly to your character, or lack thereof. If you are above this basic exercise in humility, based in respect and open communication, then you may just want to rethink your approach.

14) If rescue A and rescue B cannot seriously come together and eradicate any road blocks that were manifested purely by egotistical means, then you have simply lost sight of what is important and you need to go back to the drawing board.

15) If for whatever reason you feel that you are ethically obligated to ever speak up, about anything, then do so. Because if it gets to that point, then you must believe in your heart that you are doing the right thing… On the other hand, if your concerns were to be knowingly misplaced, or based in jealousy, or based in vindictiveness, or based in ego, or all of the other ugly human traits that we are all susceptible to at one point or another… You would simply then run into someone who holds 06) and 07) in high regard and those things would be clearly seen through by your peers.

16) If you treat the rescue world with a clique mentality, then you are treating it like it’s a game and like you are a child. You should be able to form your own opinions and not just have opinions that fall in line with other people whom you may in some way be affiliated with, personally or professionally. If someone you respect says or does something that you disagree with, you should have no problems with respectfully stating as much. And you should also want to be held by that same standard, which would obviously keep you accountable.

17) If you are a bystander or uninvolved in a situation, do not then blindly insert yourself like a keystone cop and create a fabricated version of what was reality. This is Facebook, and rumor travels fast. But if you still cannot contain yourself, just know that at the end of the day you will most likely take the fall after someone who cherishes 06) and 07) thoroughly makes a fool out of you.

18) Human ego and self-glorification should never come anywhere near trumping an attempt at safely and efficiently carrying out an animal’s rescue. Never. Ever. Solo or amongst 20 different people. Never. Never. Ever.

19) Keep the line of communication open to those that are intimately involved with your rescue attempt… Be it assets/helpers/funders/supporters… As they are what, in tandem with your own actions, then builds your name and your reputation. If you take advantage of those people by misrepresenting yourself when using certain tools of the trade, then you are also discrediting those outlets as a whole for everyone… This usually results in less new people coming to the table who are willing to trust, and ultimately less lives that you are able to save.

20) Finally… If you have a problem with the bluntness, or feel offended by anything that I’ve said, then (I’m sorry, but) that kind of speaks for itself. I am just a photographer who does everything that I do in order to maybe have the chance to affect 1 Pit Bull’s life in a positive way. Thankfully I’ve already done that, so everything beyond this is just a pleasure that is very embraceable. I love what I do, because I love more than anything in the entire world who I did it for, and who I continue to do it for.

It was also requested that I make this a PDF document so that others could download, and you can do that by clicking HERE.

So I’m just really happy to finally have a site up that represents the efforts that I’ve been working towards for the better part of the last year, both on and off of Facebook. Thanks to all of the people that have “liked” the specific page, and to those that have followed and networked the pitties that I’ve photographed & that others have photographed for that matter… We really have a huge multifaceted problem on our hands, and I hope that in time this website will serve as a positive asset for those who want to make the world a better place for Pit Bulls.

I just want to recognize Sway here, and say that I miss her and love her, and that I do what I do here in her honor always…