MISSOULA – Tails were wagging when five of eight pitbull rescues had the first chance to see each other after being adopted from the Humane Society of Western Montana this summer.
The dogs were delivered to Montana four months ago after being rescued from a dogfighting case. The young dogs were all adopted to loving families and had their first family reunion since adoption on Saturday.
The “Pity Party” was a celebration of the success and life of these wonderful canines.
“It’s so exciting to see these guys here, I know the staff is really excited. When they came in in June, everyone was just waiting for the truck to arrive and really excited,” said Humane Society of Western Montana Program Director Scheski.
“It’s really exciting to see them all together. They all have homes, and so the adopted families get together and talk about challenges and success stories and it’s really rewarding to see,” she added.
“Oh, it’s joyful! I have a sheer sense of joy in watching them. They’ve grown so much since I saw them last — when they left the truck. They are so happy…have loving families! It’s fantastic to see them again! So, so happy!” said Jessie Walrath.
Walrath, adopted Gracie May, a mature pitbull with slightly lower energy than all her peers. Walrath says it was love at first sight.
“The Humane Society has a sleepover program, so Gracie was just going to come and spend the night. Then it was, ‘maybe we can keep her another night,’ and she never went home,” Walrath said.
“We kept her forever, or she kept us. I had seen the video of everyone arriving from ASPCA and just fell in love with the dogs and their stories, she added.
Despite their upbringing, none of the dogs are violent or what is called ‘dog-aggressive.” And owners are standing up to the stigma against pit bull terriers.
At the Human Society, we don’t discriminate against dogs of any breed that I thought we treat every dog as an individual,” Scheski told MTN News
“Always give pit bulls a chance. They are very loving, very sweet and they should always be given a chance, as should every dog,” Walrath added.
The Humane Society of Western Montana and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helped find homes for the eight dogs.
Reporting by Donal Lakatua for MTN News
