LuLu

Dark brindle spayed female, CGC & TDI, rescued from BCAS in NJ from Hamilton, NJ

LuLu was laying in her kennel run at the shelter when I walked by. She looked up & gently wagged her tail, and came over slowly for me to pet her through the bars. Poor thing had clearly been used as a breeding machine, and then was simply cast aside like an old dishrag when she was no longer useful. She had practically no hair from a severe case of demodex mange, and she was painfully emaciated as well. I didn't bring her home that day, but there was something about her quiet, gentle nature that I just couldn't get out of my mind. I went back the next week, thinking I'd take her out for a bit if she was still there. She was. Apparently, no one wanted an ugly, skinny, hairless pitbull that looked as if she had many skeletons hidden in her closet. But I soon learned that I was to become very lucky that day that I took her home, because LuLu is one of the most amazingly smart & loving dogs I have ever met. Her talents know no boundries, and together we set out to persuade people that the media's evil portrayals of these loyal & devoted dogs is completely false. LuLu quickly passed many temperament tests with flying colors, and she is now a certified therapy dog. Her mange is gone, and she looks healthy & vibrant. She accompanies me to school, where I am a 5th grade teacher, and all of the students cannot wait to run up to her & give her great big bear hugs. LuLu is at her happiest when she's "working", and so she just sits quietly & soaks up all the attention, her tail thumping joyfully. I couldn't have hoped to find a better representative of the breed, and she educates people wherever she goes. And if I hadn't gone back to rescue her, who knows how her story would have ended......that is another thing that LuLu teaches people: you can find so many gems at your local shelter, if only you go & you look beyond the dirt, & the fleas, & the despair, to see the dogs how they are on the inside, and then gradually their hidden potential as loving companions will emerge, if only you'll care enough to nurture them.

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