We know that those who read our blog are generally already keen to the fact that pit bull type dogs can be great family pets and are nothing to be feared or avoided. Many of you have pit bulls draped across your laps right now, and others work tirelessly at shelters and rescues in your areas to help give lost souls — many pit bulls — a new chance at life. But all the while that you’re doing so much good, could you inadvertently be doing harm also?

I was reading a great article by a kind advocate journalist in our local Examiner online newspaper the other day, highlighting our fantastic pit bull adoption promo that Chick has dreamed up and Little Zee has funded. I was happily bumbling through the article, which talked about how pit bulls were great dogs, more people should consider them as pets, etc, etc. Then, I saw it. And it stopped me dead in my tracks:

“The American Pit Bull Terrier is often recocgnized more for its aggressive nature; and as a fighting dog than for the other characteristics it is also known for, such as: companion dog, police dog, therapy dog.”

Its aggressive nature? Really? It’s a shame when things like this are said or written by well-meaning advocates who just haven’t had a chance to think through how their words sound to the outside world. I put down my coffee and took my two aggressive companion therapy dogs for a long walk to clear my head.

It’s a tough language game, talking about pit bull dogs in a fair and appropriate way. With thoughtful and effective advocacy and guidance coming from outstanding organizations such as Animal Farm Foundation, many of you have already read these concepts. But just the same, in honor of Pit Bull Awareness Day, here is a quick list of “don’ts” to help you be a better advocate:

Don’t call them American Pit Bull Terriers. Unless, of course, you have their papers. These days, any dog with a muscular, medium-sized body, short fur, and a pensive, wrinkly forehead gets called a pit bull. In truth, most of these dogs have no APBT and no Staffordshire Terrier in their family tree. I’ve tried out a number of alternative titles, and right now I’m calling them pit bull type dogs. It’s loosey goosey, and it refers only to broad physical characteristics. Do you prefer a different phrase?

Don’t call them bullies or bully breeds. Those of us who love them think it’s cute, but those who are already on the fence leaning away from liking our square-headed friends are not going to be charmed by this naming convention. Likening dogs who some people fear to bullies on the playground? Not great marketing. If you MUST “cuteify” and nick name pit bull type dogs, why not try “pitties” or “pibbles” instead?

Don’t say “it’s all in how they’re raised.” In truth, there is much more to it than that. Many dogs of all breed mixes are raised well and end up being little devils. Many others are raised in their own personal hell of abuse, and end up as perfect, loving pets. Remember Lollie Wonderdog, our first foster, who was found in a dumpster, starved, bred, beaten, totally filthy, and terrified of life? Odds are she was not raised in a warm and loving environment, and yet, she was one of the most warm and loving dogs we’ve ever known. By saying “it’s all in how they’re raised,” you are suggesting that dogs who come from a background of abuse could not make good pets. This discourages people from adopting, since the history of shelter dogs is so often unknown.

Don’t ascribe attributes — good or bad — based solely on appearance. You know not to judge a book by its cover. And yet, pit bull lovers are quick to refer to these dogs as smart, loving, snuggly, fiercely loyal, great with kids, athletic, etc, etc. Pit bull haters are equally quick to describe them as aggressive, tenacious, and unpredictable. Neither camp is right. Most dogs labeled as pit bulls are actually mixed breed dogs of varying genetic composition — the majority don’t even have a trace of APBT or Staffordshire Terrier in their bloodlines. If that’s the case, then how can it be logical to assume behaviors, good or bad, based on guesswork and physical appearance? This is a hard pill to swallow, even for me. But if we allow ourselves to make blanket positive generalizations about a diverse group of dogs who share some basic physical traits, why do we think it’s fair to criticize others for doing the same, but casting a negative light?

This list could go on: why you shouldn’t assume a dog was a fighting dog or a bait dog. Why the difference between those two doesn’t matter. Why you’re doing more harm than good when you cite fierce loyalty and love of owner. Why it’s crazy to talk about pit bull type dogs being bred for generations for any purpose at all, when in reality most pit bull type dogs are mixed breeds resulting from accidental litters.

In the end, I want to leave you with a little game. One of the dogs in these photos is half American Staffordshire Terrier, and the other one is 1/4 to 1/2 English Pointer. Care to guess which is which?

Hey guys, it’s me Chick, your favorite pit bull! And have I got great news for you!!

Tomorrow is National Pit Bull Awareness Day, and in honor of that, my former foster sister Little Zee and I have put our giant brains together and sponsored a special adoption event at the Montgomery County Humane Society!

You may recall when we did a special fundraiser for Little Zee’s medical care. Well we raised much more than we needed, and Zee generously agreed to use some of her extra monies to sponsor the adoption fees of a few other very special pit bull type dogs at her very own shelter of origin, MCHS. For a limited time only, all adoption fees are sponsored for Little Zee’s Fabulous Four — that means you can adopt one of Zee’s custom-selected pit bulls for free, and only pay the $25 microchip fee. And these lovely dogs are all spayed/neutered, tested for heartworm and other ickies, vaccinated, and come with Little Zee’s stamp of approval. Wowza, what a deal!!

Friends, these four dogs were selected because they have a special place in Foster Mom’s heart, and all have fantastic evaluations from the shelter. All they need is a little spotlight to shine on them, and we hope they’ll be adopted in a flash. And after they’re adopted, Little Zee and I will appoint NEW dogs to the elite “Fabulous Four” team to take their place! And as our wonderbulls are adopted, they will free up cage space for other great dogs in need. We’ll all be saving lives together!

But you can help!! Please spread the word about this awesome adoption special by re-posting this blog on facebook, on your own blogs, and emailing it to your DC area friends who might be looking for a new best friend.

As mama always says — you can’t put a price on a good dog’s love. But as I would say, right now you can bring that good dog home for just $25! Here’s the lucky line up. Our Fabulous Four of wonderbulls:

BEAMER

We’re not sure how Beamer’s name was picked, but we do know that it suits him perfectly. Happiness just bubbles out of this little guy’s ears, and his future family will be beaming every time they’re around him too — he’s that lovable and charming. Beamer is about 8 months old and a very quick learner. It’s tough for a lot of pooches his age to concentrate, but if you have treats in your hand, he’s with you 100%. This valuable skill will make him a delight to train, and very attentive to his future family! He also loves to be petted, and basks in the glory of human affection and attention. And seriously– could he be any cuter?

KERRY

Kerry is just a silly little wiggle-butt! She is three years old, playful and fun, confident and touch-oriented. When you lean over to scratch her butt, she will curve her body into a little u-turn shape to show you how much she loves your attention. That’s a special move I taught her, by the way. When you call her name, she sometimes cocks her head to the side in a mischevious way, to show you she’s listening. Her ears are lopsided and adorable, and get her tons of attention. She walks well on leash and seems good with calm male dogs. She’s a volunteer favorite!

SLOANE

Sloane loves to party! She is an eight-month-old pup who is full of bubbly exuberance and puppy energy, and it’s infectious. Spend a little time with this girl and she’ll have you wiggling, jumping, and grinning from ear to ear. We can’t put our finger on what it is about this girl, but she has some kind of gravitational pull that makes people want to touch her, play with her, kiss her, and look into her eyes. Go meet her. You’ll fall in love, and she’ll be the most loyal companion you’ve ever known.

DIAMOND

Oh, Diamond. Can you get enough of that adorable mug, that patchy eye, and that sweet underbite? Diamond’s face is absolutely irresistible. She is a sweet girl, well behaved, and desparately wants a home of her own. We don’t know where she lived before, but we know that she was well fed — Diamond would love a forever-companion who will take her for long walks to help her burn off a few extra pounds. But in the meantime, I hear she makes a great pillow and loves to be touched. Diamond seems fine with dogs and is great with all people. She’s a sensitive girl who gently closes her eyes when the wind blows, and will flip over onto her back for a belly rub at a moment’s notice. She is so beautiful that people stop dead in their tracks to stare and ask about her. Come check her out!

I hope you’re as excited about my Fabulous Four as I am, friends! Now go book MCHS in your calendar for tomorrow so you can snatch up one of these wonderbulls for yourself, or if you live too far, tell your DC area friends to come check them out. These dogs will truly love you as much as the day is long!

Oh, hi . . . good morning . . . or is it afternoon? I’m a little disoriented . . . I was just . . . taking a nap. With my Chick. Under this here blanket. It was a really good nap . . . the kind where my nose goes twitchy-twitch and my feet go pitter-patter and my voice goes squeaky-muff.

In my dream we were running through a field together, soaking up the sunshine and chasing the shadows through the tall grass. When we’d get tired, we’d lay down and roll around on our backs with our mouths wide open in a big grin and our legs flailing about. Every once in a while, we’d turn around and run back to our people to make sure they were coming with us. But it wasn’t just my foster people who were there with me and Chick but some other people too. My people.

Then we both woke up, and we were under this here blanket, together.  And when it’s me and Chick under a nice warm blanket, there’s not much to complain about. But I’d still trade this handsome Chick of mine and my foster people for a forever family all my own.

In the meantime, I think we’ll snuggle back up under this here blanket and take another little nap.

For more info on adopting Curious Georgia, click here or contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com.

For months now, we’ve known the time would come when we had to stop fostering for a while. We have dreaded it for a few reasons, the biggest of which is that it has become one of the truest sources of beauty and satisfaction in our lives, and it nourishes our spirits daily.

Over the past year, six foster dogs have hung up their hats and rested their weary heads in our home for a while, taking time to relax, rebuild, learn to trust, and find the strength to carry on. We have loved each one. And when the time has come, we have sent each one off to its very own new life. We hate to see this journey end, even for a short while.

But, the time has come. We left a big piece of our hearts in Austin a few years back, and we’re heading back to retrieve it. In a few weeks, we will be making Texas our home again.

Chick is already hard at work packing up his pearl snap shirts and cowdog boots. He loves the endless supply of sunshine and year-round swimming opportunities down in Central Texas. He doesn’t like to admit it lest you think less of him, but he is even happy to have a temporary reprieve from his foster brothering duties.

Inevitably, there will be some fostering downtime while we pack, move, take a little time to travel, and get set up in our new community. But we can’t imagine letting our blog world go. We may cut back on posts to a few per week until we’re ready to ramp back up again, but we don’t plan to stray far from this blog community that we have grown to love so much.

Some of you might have thoughts about topics we could write about during our fostering sabbatical. If you do, please let us know in the comments or in an email (DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com).  We would love to hear your ideas. Will you share them?

So as you can imagine, saying goodbye to Zee was extra emotional for us. At just three weeks until our move, we were not only sending a dear dog love off to a new home, but we were also closing the fostering book for a while.

Even we are not so crazy that we’d pull another dog with our move looming so close.

Or are we?

Last weekend while our foster Stevie Wonder was busy powerwashing the deck with her dad, I snuck away to Providence, RI, to visit my good friend Handsome Dan and his lovely family.

When Handsome Dan was picked to be in American Dog Magazine, his momma kindly invited me to come up for the weekend and photograph Dan, his parents, and their pit bull rescue for the article. Since Dan is rather shy and I had met and photographed him before, his mom thought her coy darling might be more comfortable with me than a stranger with giant photo gear. And since we had been planning a visit for months anyway, American Dog gave us the perfect excuse.

For those of you who don’t already know Handsome Dan, he is one of the Vicktory dogs — the 22 dogs seized from football star Michael Vick’s dog fighting operation that was deemed too emotionally traumatized to go into a regular rescue or foster home. These 22 dogs went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where they received boundless love and intensive rehabilitation. Some of the dogs — like Dan — have been eventually released to foster and adoption, while others are still at Best Friends.

American Dog will be featuring a piece about the beautiful rescue operation that Dan’s family runs, specializing in fostering and rehabilitating pit bull dogs seized from fighting operations or extreme cruelty cases. Dan’s mom is a savvy and experienced trainer, Dan’s dad runs a daily park trips program to socialize and exercise the dogs, and baby sister Josephine helps fosters get adopted by showing the world how good they are with children.

Baby Josephine rules the roost. In background: Handsome Dan, Heather, Story, Mark, and Ocean

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was getting to meet all of Dan’s former foster siblings: Gozer, a handsome fawn boy who suffered from behavioral issues at a young age, Betsy, an oversized beauty who had been confined for a long time in a cage so small that her entire paws were stained and infected from urine, Maddy, a tiny, adorable puppy who was scheduled to be euthanized while still a tiny baby, and Kermit, a still-adoptable energizer bunny seized from the recent large-scale dog fighting bust in Philadelphia. They all came to have their photo taken with Dan and his parents!

left to right: Dan, Heather, Betsy, Mark, and Gozer

Gozer and Betsy: now best friends and siblings, love to play bitey-face and snuggle on the couch together.

left to right: Mark, Kermit, Maddie, and Heather

adoptable Kermit and Maddie: best buddies

Something I notice right away every time I watch Heather and Mark interact with the animals is the amount of calm tenderness that they have to offer. Dogs — especially young ones who have never had a real home — can have a lot of frenetic energy, but Heather and Mark have a gift for calming them and helping them to really shine. Just look at the love in their interactions with their fosters and their own Dan:

Look for Dan in the next issue of American Dog magazine. If you live in Southern New England and are interested in adopting Kermit-the-dog, check here for more info.

We hope you don’t mind this break from your regularly scheduled Stevie Wonder programming — we wanted to dedicate one post to yesterday’s Neighborhood Pit Bull Day in Baltimore, where I had the great pleasure of photographing more than 100 pit bulls and their owners. I also got to meet two of our long-time blog readers, which was especially thrilling.

The event was put on by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and BARCS, and had a great showing — more than 130 dogs were registered at the event. Dogs and owners came for the dog-related info — including “ask the trainer” and “ask the vet” booths and a Best Friends info booth, and for goodies — including free dog food, snacks, and squeaky toys. But even though many people came for the booty, I think the most valuable part of the event was the health and safety-related features that people got to explore just by being there. A vet booth was on site to microchip dogs and hand out vouchers for free vaccines and free spay/neuters, and people could trade old or low-quality gear in for new, properly-fitted collars, harnesses, and leashes.  I loved seeing all the dogs trotting around the park in their new collars, snacking on ice cubes and organic doggie treats, and hearing the owners talking excitedly about going to get their dog vaccinated or neutered, or finally getting to talk to a trainer about how to deal with a particular issue.

For me, the photo booth was especially fun, of course. I got to meet more than 100 dogs and their families. It was so beautiful, seeing how people of all stripes love their dogs and how proud they were to have their photo taken together as a family. Baltimore is an amazingly diverse city of incredibly warm people, and I felt lucky to get to interact with so many of them — and their gorgeous animals — at the event.

To close, a collection of portraits from our booth.

. . . to show off this handsome furball we flash-fostered over the weekend!

When we heard that Lucky Dog needed overnight fosters for several dogs coming up from a rural shelter in South Carolina, we couldn’t help but agree to the challenge.

We wouldn’t even dream of abandoning our mission of only fostering pit bull type dogs, but this weekend, the pitties were all spoken for. So we ended up with Aspen!

Aspen is a 3-year-old Boykin Spaniel who had been staked out in a dusty yard on a heavy chain before his rescue. His fur is terribly matted and overgrown, and the poor guy is a little on the heavy side from eating whatever garbage his prior “caretakers” gave him and never getting any exercise.

Still, Aspen is a spunky character. He absolutely adores people, large and small, and is a big attention-seeker. If he detects even the slightest bit of attention from a person he immediately sits and flashes his most charming smile. Aspen likes other dogs, knows basic commands, and is nice and quiet in the house.

Our brief time with Aspen was not without its adventures, though. Given that we have only ever cared for short-haired, block-headed bully-type dogs, we had no idea how to even begin caring for a sweet spaniel with a giant afro. We spent what seems like hours combing out his fur with a de-matting brush, and then knitted several sweaters with our harvest. We gave him a bath, and then gave him another bath. When the second bath still didn’t leave him smelling entirely fresh, we spritzed him with a gentle and nicely-scented leave-in conditioner. The end result was a well-conditioned, poofy spaniel with a very odd haircut and a rather confusing scent. We whisked him away to an adoption even this morning where he didn’t meet his forever-family, but he was chosen by a long-term foster mom who plans to whip his tubby self into shape!

Sound like your kind of dog? Check him out at Lucky Dog here!

**Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook here**

Meet December.  Like Lollie Wonderdog, December is a beautiful, affectionate, gentle dog with a terrible, sad past. And like Lollie Wonderdog was just weeks ago, December is looking for a home.

Her story is still waiting for a happy ending and her journey is far from over, but this sweet girl’s sad beginnings came to a close in late 2009.  December was still practically a puppy when she was discovered in a cold, abandoned house in rural Virginia. She was cold. She had no food. No water. She was left in a tiny crate – far too small to stretch out or even move around at all, and abandoned. She had been there, alone, for a long time. When she was found, she was laying still in her own waste, too scared to wag her tail, too weak to even cry for help. She had given up.

When the property’s landlord found her she was rushed to the vet, where she was found to have a critically low body temperature, and in such a state of undernourishment that she weighed just 21 pounds. It took days to stabilize her, and she stayed with the vet far longer before she was able to get her strength back. During her time there, the vet uncovered signs—bad signs. Cigarette burns on her body. Other bad signs.

Once back to health, December returned to the shelter in Radford, VA, where she has lived for more than a year. She has bounced back from her tortured youth and has somehow learned to trust again. She now weighs 43 pounds. She loves all people and other dogs. She is very attentive, staring lovingly into the eyes of anybody who will paying attention, and wags her tail at the slightest hint of kindness. She has a steady temperament and a big heart. The cutest ears you’ve ever seen.  Eyes the color of roasted almonds. She is spayed, vaccinated, and heartworm/Lyme disease tested. She has adoring fans at the shelter where she lives. She even has a free ride from the shelter where she lives to her foreverhome– wherever it may be– through Rural Shelter Transport. She has it all – except a family and home of her own.

Unfortunately, the small rural shelter where December lives cannot keep her forever, and cannot provide the enriching, warm environment that an intensely social animal needs to thrive.  Recently, December has begun to show signs of kennel stress and depression. This condition is almost inevitable in dogs living in a shelter environment long-term. It tends to vanish quickly once a dog moves into a home, but is next to impossible to treat in a shelter environment. If December isn’t adopted soon, she may not make it out at all. Her fragile little life could be over before it really had a chance to begin.

I am not one to preach to the choir, but without the kindness of strangers, dogs like December have no chance. Looking for your very own special four-legged companion? Consider adopting this dearheart. Know someone who might be a match? Shoot them a quick email. Have a great network online or in the real world? Share December’s story to help her find a home. Thinking about getting into fostering? She might be the perfect dog for you. You may not be able to independently find December’s forever family, but you may be able to play a role. Not every small act can save a life, but a large number of small acts certainly can—and has—time and again.

If you are interested in meeting December or just learning more, please contact pals@psknet.com or visit her on petfinder: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/15884113

6/16/11 update: December was adopted!! She now lives with this adorable young couple in the DC area. They love spoiling her and carrying her around like the little baby that she is!

By popular demand, Lollie Wonderdog and I have written up some tips and tricks on pet photography. Over the next few weeks we will post some info on camera gear and photo processing, so stay tuned! Check out the first in our series here.