Suggestion about APBT heroics.

[Iron Mike]

How about starting a link on this or someone's site about things APBT or crosses do that is heroic.

Not hyper link but copy and paste the story and the reference where it came from for credibility.
After a bunch is collected then maybe someone might publish the collection of stories.

Not a bad idea to counter anti-APBT BS.

[Iron Mike]

How about starting a link on this or someone's site about things APBT or crosses do that is heroic.

Not hyper link but copy and paste the story and the reference where it came from for credibility.
After a bunch is collected then maybe someone might publish the collection of stories.

But a bad idea to counter anti-APBT BS.
Examaple:

LEBANON, Pa. - A 12-year-old boy said he wasn't alarmed at first when his playful 7-month-old pit bull mix dogs jumped up on the couch he was sleeping on Thursday when he stayed home sick from Lebanon Middle School.

"They jump on me all the time," Vincent Nardone said. But this time, he said, "They wouldn't stop. I pushed them off and they jumped right up again."

That woke Nardone up enough to smell something burning, and when he looked around he found a second-floor bathroom filled with smoke. He quickly left the house with the dogs and borrowed a cell phone to call 911.

Vincent's mother, Gael Wilford, who had left minutes earlier for work, got a call during her six-block drive from police, who said there was a fire at her house and they had her son. Firefighters doused the blaze, which damaged the second floor and attic.

City Fire Commissioner Barry Fisher said old wiring probably was to blame.

[Iron Mike]

Get enough stories, now I think that would be a fun book to publish.
Get enough people to help get it funded to be published and after everyone got their money back, donate the profits to help fight BSL?

What do ya all say? Use the the press to help promote the APBT as it often likes to print BS about the breed!

[miakoda]

I'm on it. ;)

[thablacksheep]

thats a great idea Iron Mike. Almost wanted to call you Mr. Iron Mike

[NOVICE]

I wouldn't hesitate to donate some cash to a project like that.

[Iverson's Pits]

I'm down...just let me know how to help.

[miakoda]

Real Life Role Models: A perfect gentleman



By Erik Siemers (esiemers@abqtrib.com)
Tribune Reporter
November 21, 2005

Frankie the therapist meets with the women each day.

They've been homeless and victims of some form of abuse. They seem to find comfort in Frankie.

They can talk to Frankie. He listens to them. His support is unwavering.

In many ways, he's like them.

<CENTER>http://web.abqtrib.com/art/news05/112105_rolemodelbg.jpg</CENTER>Frankie the therapy dog sidles up to residents gathered for a therapy session at Tierra del Sol, a residential treatment program for homeless women. Frankie often sits in with residents to provide comfort during stressful and emotional sessions. (Stacia Spragg-Braude/Special to the Tribune)



The women and Frankie are each subject to stereotypes. They've all been through hardships and abuse. They've traveled a long, hard road to where they are now.

It's serious work for therapist Frankie.

"He takes it very, very seriously," says Rutledge Beard, herself a case manager and therapist who just happens to be Frankie's owner.

Frankie the therapist is also Frankie the American Staffordshire Terrier - one of the breeds commonly known as pit bulls.

A certified therapy dog, 3-year-old Frankie is a daily fixture at Tierra del Sol, a northwest Albuquerque residential treatment program for homeless women run by Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless.

The facility houses, at the moment, 14 women and five of their children. They stay an average of nine months, learning how to break patterns of substance abuse and rebuild their independence.

The dog with eyes that match his caramel-colored coat is himself a castoff.

At just over a year old he was found on Louisiana Boulevard by the wife of Beard's veterinarian.

He had been thrust from the back of a pickup and dragged by a trailing camper.

Meanwhile, the pickup with California plates rolled on, Beard said.

"Several vets pieced him back together," she said.

Frankie is now certified by the Delta Society, a Bellevue, Wash.-based group that has registered 8,000 teams of therapy animals and owners across the world.

In Frankie, the women have a constant friend and someone to talk to without ever judging them, Beard said.

"He's like a big buddy," Beard said. "A lot of the women have only had negative touch in their lives."

Women who refused to communicate with other adults would instead open up to Frankie, Beard said.

Residents with nothing to give would find a way to give treats to Frankie.

He takes naps with them, waits for them on green lawn chairs outside their apartments, and nuzzles his heavy, muscular body against them when he hears them become agitated.

But in his own way, he's a role model exemplifying how stereotypes can be wrong.

He's just one of 22 pit bull breeds to be a certified therapy animal, Beard said, an achievement that seems to shatter notions about the breed being among the dog world's most dangerous.

"Theories about them being out of control or loaded guns aren't true," said Beard of Frankie, the pink-nosed dog that's scared of her two chickens.

Jesus Rivas, a Columbus, Ohio-based documentary filmmaker, used Frankie as a vehicle for a film aiming to show that so-called dangerous dogs aren't always dangerous.

Rivas, who has worked with National Geographic, hopes to shop the unfinished film both to his old employer and places like the Animal Planet network. "One thing I tried to push in the film is not only that dogs are not that dangerous," he said, "but also that we need to realize they don't know how to speak our language. They have a dog language that is different from our language. Their language is a symbolic, physical language."
http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_4256121,00.html

[miakoda]

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Dog helps youngster to safety




By BETH IPSEN

Staff Writer




Saturday, December 06, 2003 - A 3-year-old black and white pit bull resembling Pete the Pup from the 1940s "Little Rascals" shows grabbed the back of a girl's jacket and helped her out of a burning home Thursday night.




After 6-year-old Autumn Marley alerted her mother that the Nordale Road home where they were staying was on fire, the dog--also named Marley, by coincidence--grabbed the girl as she struggled to get out the back door of the burning house and helped her to safety, said the dog's owner, Jennifer Ingram.



"She's always been an awesome dog, but I didn't know she was capable to doing this," Ingram said of Marley, who she raised from a pup.



Thanks to Autumn's alert and Marley, no one was injured in the fire. However, the trailer with several additions was a total loss, Ingram said.

Ingram wasn't home at the time, but said her temporary roommate, Julie Marley, was cooking dinner for herself and her two daughters when Autumn noticed the entryway was on fire. The three couldn't go out the front door and Julie Marley had to force open a seldom used back door to escape from the burning building.



After Julie Marley stumbled out the back door, she turned around to see Marley the dog had grabbed her youngest daughter by the jacket and was pulling her out the opening, Ingram said.



North Star Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dave Tyler said Julie Marley flagged down a motorist who called 911 shortly before 6 p.m. By the time firefighters arrived at the house near the Freeman Road intersection, the building was fully engulfed by fire.



Ingram, 22, was shopping with her boyfriend, Daniel Martin, when Marley called her to tell her the house was on fire. By the time she got to the home, there were firefighters and lights everywhere. Marley the dog had been running loose during the chaos.


"I'm going to take her to the vet tomorrow," Ingram said. "Her feet are frostbit."



Tyler said the fire went up into the ceiling and Autumn Marley discovered the fire before smoke alarms sounded. Tyler said the cause of the fire is unknown, but it started in the entryway. What flames didn't reach in the house, heat and smoke seemed to touch, Tyler said.



An initial estimate of the damage was $20,000, the fire department said.

Ingram was at the house Friday with generators and flashlights her boss, John Keys, had loaned her while she and friends searched through the charred rubble in 25-below-zero temperatures for anything salvageable.



"We're trying to salvage everything thing we can, but it's not really looking good," Ingram said. The American Red Cross has supplied Julie Marley and her children with clothes and Ingram with a pair of boots. The Red

Cross set up a place to stay for the Marleys. Ingram is staying with a friend.

"I just thank God that nobody was hurt," Ingram said.


Reporter Beth Ipsen can be reached at bipsen@newsminer.com or 459-7545.





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12/11/2003 http://www.news-miner.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,113%7E7244%7E1813868,00.html

[apbtluver]

Anyone know where the article is on the pit bull that donates blood to save the lives of other families' pets that need it?

[miakoda]

Anyone know where the article is on the pit bull that donates blood to save the lives of other families' pets that need it?
Coming up! :)

[miakoda]

http://www.komotv.com/news/printstory.asp?id=40428
Getting A New Leash On Life

November 23, 2005

By John Sharify (JohnS@komotv.com)
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BELLINGHAM - Walk into the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, you'll find the donors are happy. "I think this is a great idea to tell you the truth," says Robert Sharp.

Happy because they get treats. Right? "Yeah", says Robert.

But they're not treats for Robert, not that Robert doesn't like a treat once in a while. We're talking about his dog. Otto.

"Oh yeah, he gives him a big ol' can of food and a toy if he wants to bring it home," says Robert.

The blood donors at this Bellingham Blood Bank have wet noses, four legs, and I'm fairly certain, no clue.

"Okay, we're ready for Otto," says Veterinarian Edmund Sullivan. Hurricane Katrina showed us dogs need blood just like people do. Otto, a pit bull, is donating one unit. One unit provides blood for four dogs.

If Ouzo could talk she'd say: "Thanks".

Maybe. Hopefully. http://www.komotv.com/news/images/leash_ouzo_112305.jpg

Without the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, Ouzo wouldn't have survived emergency surgery.

"We're convinced of that," says Dr. Sullivan.

Ouzo lost massive amounts of blood from a liver tumor, and from the surgery. Not a problem, not here anyway. There's plenty of blood to go around at the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, one of the few in the Northwest. P> Otto's owner Robert, donates too. "I usually wait 'till Otto's ready to go," says Robert. He drops off Otto and goes to a human blood bank nearby.

The Bellingham clinic has about 50 dogs who donate blood regularly. Dr. Sullivan created the blood bank four years ago, after one of the worst nights of his life. That night, three dogs came in at once, and needed emergency surgery. Three dogs, but not enough blood.

"By morning, the little dog was ready to go home. And the two dogs died," says Dr. Sullivan.

Dr. Sullivan thought 'never again'. P> "That was sort of the last straw," says Dr. Sullivan.

And so a blood bank for dogs was born.

What a treat for Otto! While he's asleep, Otto gets his nails done, his ears and mouth cleaned.

"He probably doesn't think that's a big perk," says Dr. Sullivan with a smile.

But his big perk comes when he wakes up. Otto has to like this. A big bowl of dog food! Yummy.

It's gone in 7 seconds flat. His reward for helping other dogs get a new leash on life. If you would like more information about the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, or to become a donor, call 360-752-5554 or go to www.northwestbloodbank.com (http://www.northwestbloodbank.com/)

[apbtluver]

Dang Mia, that was quick. :D Thanks. I remember watching about that on the news one evening but wasn't able to find it online.

[miakoda]

Dang Mia, that was quick. :D Thanks. I remember watching about that on the news one evening but wasn't able to find it online.
I have soooo many articles saved to my computer. It helps when I, or others, need them for anti-BSL purposes.

[miakoda]

Pit Bull Leaps To Rescue - Coral Springs

12 November 2003




Anthony Romaro got the scare of his life Wednesday night when two Akita dogs, each weighing about 100 pounds, attacked him near his best friend's home in Coral Springs. But another kind of dog -- a type also known for vicious attacks --may have saved the boy from more serious injuries.

Witnesses said a 2-year-old pit bull named Missy played the part of hero during the attack. Missy, witnesses say, pulled the two Akitas -- Cella and Baci -- off Anthony after several struggles during a 15-minute span.


Anthony, a 7-year-old Hunt Elementary School second-grader, is recovering after surgery at Coral Springs Medical Center. The dogs ripped much of Anthony's left ear and bit his skull before Missy fought them off of him, said Anthony's mother, Stephanie McGuire. ''He's doing better today,'' McGuire said on Friday.


Missy suffered scrapes and cuts on the shoulders and buttocks, received a few stitches, and is back home. ''Missy saved the day,'' said her owner, Scott , who asked that The Herald not publish his last name. ``She just went out there and broke the fight up.''


Coral Springs police cited Sandra Ashley, the owner of the Akitas, for not putting a leash on the dogs, not attaching dog tags, not having proper rabies vaccinations and for biting Anthony.


The fines are more than $800. McGuire, who is friends with Ashley, hasn't decided whether to press charges.


The two Akitas are at the Broward County Animal Care and Regulation Division as Coral Springs police complete a dangerous-dog investigation, said animal care spokesman Allan Siegel. Whether or not Anthony antagonized the dogs, and how the dogs got loose, are among the issues police are investigating.


If the Akitas are found to be dangerous, one of three things could happen, Siegel said. The owner may keep the dogs if she meets certain requirements, such as muzzling them when she leaves the home, and putting a dangerous-dog sign on the property. She may also appeal the decision, or surrender the dogs and have them euthanized.


Police and witnesses said Anthony and some friends were outside Ashley's home when the dogs escaped just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. ''The dogs got out of the house,'' said Sgt. Rich Nicorvo of the Coral Springs Police Department. ``They bit him pretty bad.''


Scott, the pit bull's owner who lives next door, was drinking coffee outside his house when the attack started. He handed another witness a metal pipe to get the Akitas off Anthony. The unidentified person used the pipe to hit the dogs, but they continued attacking. ''They were really mauling him,'' said Scott, whose son, James, is Anthony's best friend.


Scott then let Missy out of the house to break up the fight. Police did not document any information about the pit bull. Akitas have been known to attack humans. Last month, doctors euthanized an Akita owned by Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor after the dog bit 15-yearold Jonathon Raof on the arms and legs.


The Akita Club of America Web site states the dogs have ''complex'' personalities and, while intelligent and loyal, can ''exhibit aggressive tendencies,'' though not necessarily toward people.

[miakoda]

<TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=0 width=607 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=2>http://wtoc.images.worldnow.com/images/static/hdr/hdr_607x37.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>01/28/05

Hometown Hero--Otis
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=150 align=right bgColor=#ffffff border=0 NAME="D20"><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=2>http://wtoc.images.worldnow.com/images/2872940_BG1.jpg</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=2>Chuck Thompson and Otis


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>It's often said that dogs are man's best friend. You'll agree after you meet Otis, an eight-month-old red nose pit bull. A breed that gets a lot of bad press.

But this dog loves everybody he meets. Last Wednesday night, he proved just how much he loved his family.

Chuck Thompson and his wife Rebecca fell asleep watching television. Around 2:30am, Otis let them know something was wrong.

"Otis come through the house barking and growling and raising all kinds of sand," said Thompson. "He wouldn't leave me alone in the living room."

Otis was relentless, running back and forth between the living room and the bedroom where two of the family's five children were asleep.

"Once I woke up, all of a sudden I could smell it," said Thompson. "It was a surge protector in our twin girls' bedroom and it just before catching on fire."

Thompson quickly pulled the plug.

For a breed of dog that seldom gets any good press, for this life-saving pooch, the media attention this time is good. Otis, you are this week's WTOC Hometown Hero.

If you'd like to nominate a Hometown Hero, you can drop us a line at the station: PO Box 8086, Savannah, GA 31412, or email rwallace@wtoc.com.

Reported by: Ron Wallace, rwallace@wtoc.com (rwallace@wtoc.com)




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http://www.wtoctv.com/global/story.asp?s=2872940&ClientType=Printable

[apbtluver]

<TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #004400 1px solid" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=600 bgColor=#dadada border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #004400 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #004400 1px solid" vAlign=center width=592 bgColor=#dadada colSpan=2 height=40>Pit Bull Saves Man's Life, Dies a Hero






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April 26, 2001 Belmont, North Carolina, USA

Good thing Gaston County, North Carolina doesn't have a ban on pit bulls, or this man wouldn't be alive this morning.

Steve Carpacca, 41, was asleep in his mobile home at 3:15am when his pit bull ran into the bedroom and started barking frantically.

The man awoke to a room filled with smoke and immediately ran outside. When he realized that his dog had not followed him, he rushed back into the blazing trailer, armed with two 5-pound fire extinguishers, but the fire was already out of control.

Four fire departments responded to the call, and it took a total of 15 firefighters to douse the flames. The dog never made it out; fire crews found the little hero's body in the hall just outside Mr. Carpacca's bedroom.

Mr. Carpacca was devastated at the loss of his dog. "The dog saved his life, absolutely," said Chief Dicky Harris with the Community Volunteer Fire Department. "If the dog hadn't been in the house, [Mr. Carpacca] would have been overcome by smoke." It is believed that the fire was caused by an electric heater in the kitchen. Mr. Carpacca never heard any of the smoke detectors sound.


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http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0104/articles/010426a.htm

[apbtluver]

Pit bull's courage saves city couple

The dog is shot and killed while defending his family from three masked intruders

BY SAMUEL SPIES

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Rock

Three men wearing ski masks burst through the back

door and into the kitchen. The first man drew a gun

and ordered Travis Rappold, 21, his girlfriend

Amanda Searle, 18, and their three friends to lie

down.

Enter Rock, Rappold's 75-pound pit bull. The dog

jumped up from his seat at his master's feet and ran

out from under the table toward the armed assailant.

"They yelled 'get that pit' and I yelled 'get him,

Rock,'" said Rappold, recalling last Sunday's incident

at his apartment on Rossmore Road in South

Richmond.

Backpedaling, the gunman fired once, striking the

dog in the chest. Rock kept going.

The intruders fled through the back door and scattered.

Rappold shut the door before Rock could keep chasing the three men.

Moments later, the injured pit bull collapsed as he tried to crawl to the second floor bedroom where

he slept.

Rock died in Rappold's arms before he could try to administer first aid.

"Nicest dog in the world, but he was 75 pounds of muscle and pretty intimidating," Rappold said

Thursday.

Rappold had rescued Rock from an abusive situation only a year before. When adopted, the 5-

month-old pup "was just skin and bones," Searle said. "Travis saved him . . . and he came back

and saved Travis."

Richmond police Detective Kevin Hathaway said the victims likely would have "been assaulted and

robbed, if not killed, if it were not for Rock, who gave his life defending his owners from harm."

Printer-Friendly Version Page 1 of 2

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPri... 4/3/2005

No arrests have been made in the case.

Contact Samuel Spies at (804) 649-6331 or sspies@timesdispatch.com

This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?

c=MGArticle&cid=1031781927094&pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPri... 4/3/2005

[Iron Mike]

I'm on it. ;)
Make a special forum like you did for History and R.I.P. etc.
Call it like...APBT heroes or something.
Then collect all you have on this site and other sites and put them in that forum.
Any new stories add them to the forum.
Like I said No hyper links to stories because often hyper links get broken and the story is lost. Just copy and paste it.
Don't forget to post the references so no one call the stories lies.
Then after a few months or years get the stories published.
Call the book ahhhh:

American Pit Bull Terrier.
True American Hero. Vol 1.

Then after more and more stories come out, publish more and more books.
First volume could start out with the help of old stories like the Sgt dog from WW1.
That way it can tell the story of over the years how many lives have been saved and NOT taken by APBT.
As the new stories come out and be publish it makes it hard to ban heroes then it does killers!
Whom ever has the book publish decides which BSL group or groups get the profits from the books.

I know it would take time but Rome wasn't built in a day!
That is just because I wasn't foreman on that job. lol

Seriously, the breed is being ban one city or area at a time. They're not trying to ban the breed all at once all over. So this is just one way or idea to help counter it.
Raising money takes a long time and effort. It is hard work. Writing a book doesn't happen over night. It takes time to research and collect information but it can come together if more people help in this part of the work, collecting and gathering information of research.

[Wayne]

Great stories guys.

[Judy]

Yes, those are great - thank you for posting them.