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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Too Stroked on June 22, 2021, 10:09:17 AM

Title: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on June 22, 2021, 10:09:17 AM
As most of you know, my wife Stella and I welcomed a rescue Pit Bull named Herbie into our house late last fall. We'd come to the conclusion that we wanted a dog and I was adamant that whatever we got had to be a rescue. Stella was a little bit worried about my love of pit bulls, but she went in with an open mind. She did state that she didn't want a dog that jumped all over her like some pit bulls she'd seen though. Fair enough.

I started looking for just the right doggie online and had been looking for several weeks when one day I stumbled across Herbie's picture at a rescue about an hour from us. His eyes just looked right through me. Then I read his back story. He'd been rescued from a very abusive situation in South Carolina. Basically, they found his chained up with another dog in a back yard. The other dog was dead and Herbie was in pretty bad shape. That was all it took for me and Stella agreed. We put in an application and got to meet him the next day.

When we met him, he was skinny, but not terribly so. They said he had some skin conditions that they'd been working on, but he looked pretty good. I knelt down on one knee and he came running right up to me with his tail going like a helicopter. The girl at the rescue said that was kind of odd because he was always pretty laid back. I didn't mind at all and just let him shower me with kisses. Then he turned to Stella. He simply walked up to her and leaned into her side. She melted. Yes, we found our dog.

Life the last 6 months with Herbie has been great. He's about the closest thing to the perfect dog anybody could ever ask for. He's never had an accident in the house. He loves everybody. He's gentle with everyone and everything. Oh, and he rarely barks. He's just a gentle soul. Ok, maybe a gentle giant. We were more than happy to give him a loving home, but we didn't know how bad Herbie really had it.

The other day Stella came running up to me all excited with her phone. "I found the girl that rescued Herbie on Facebook!" she said. Sure enough, she had. She reached out to her and I ended up talking to her last night for quite some time. Her name was Anna. Yes, Herbie had it bad, but I had no idea just how bad it really was. According to Anna, Herbie was literally days away from death. His owner was charged with several counts of Animal Cruelty and Herbie was freed from the huge chain wrapped around his neck for the first time since he was born. She said that when she removed it, he gave her a big hug and kiss and she broke down in tears. When he was safely back at the shelter, he melted everyone's hearts with his loving manner.

Herbie was given medical treatment for several weeks before he was sent up north to New York where he had a better shot at finding a forever home. The posts that Stella found on FB had a lot of people wondering if he ever found a happy home though. The trail had gone cold - until Stella picked up the trail.

I asked the girl if she had pictures of Herbie when he was rescued and she said she did. "Are you sure you really want to see them?" she said. "They're pretty bad." I thought about it for a minute, then said that I did. She sent them to me this morning and I'm going to share a few of them here. Be forewarned though, they're pretty sad. Just look at how battered and broken he looks.

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2109_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2108_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2117_1_.JPG)

As bad as those pictures are, poor Herbie was about to win the lottery - and so were we. Here's a few recent pictures of Herbie in his new loving forever home. We will never allow him to be abused or neglected again!

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_1859_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2063_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2079_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_1921_1_.JPG)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2054_1_.JPG)

Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on June 22, 2021, 02:41:49 PM
Tom, I almost didn’t scroll down further.  I have a really hard time with animal cruelty.  If it wasn’t for the fact that one of the pictures was already visible by the time so read they were before pictures, I might not have kept scrolling. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am for all three of you!  Herbie looks so happy and healthy!

Your post couldn’t have come at a more coincidental time though.  Two nights ago while scrolling Facebook, I came to a post from the shelter we adopted Bowie from.  They had made a chewy wish list and were accepting donations.  I thought this was a really cool idea and took the opportunity to send a few things their way but in the process, I got to digging and ended up finding the Facebook page for the shelter in Texas that Bowie originally came from.  We got him at a year and a half old so we missed all of the puppy years but I was able to scroll through over 4000 pictures until I got back to roughly his puppy years and found a bunch of puppy pictures of him and his litter mates.  He was adopted at some point and even had his own little boy before being returned for reasons I still would like to find out.  I’m still trying to track down the answers.  Luckily for Bowie he was never mistreated like Herbie.  And never will be. 

Tom, this post warms my heart and hurts it at the same time.  I’m very thankful for people like you and Stella.


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on June 22, 2021, 03:19:22 PM
Tom, I almost didn’t scroll down further.  I have a really hard time with animal cruelty.  If it wasn’t for the fact that one of the pictures was already visible by the time so read they were before pictures, I might not have kept scrolling. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am for all three of you!  Herbie looks so happy and healthy!

Your post couldn’t have come at a more coincidental time though.  Two nights ago while scrolling Facebook, I came to a post from the shelter we adopted Bowie from.  They had made a chewy wish list and were accepting donations.  I thought this was a really cool idea and took the opportunity to send a few things their way but in the process, I got to digging and ended up finding the Facebook page for the shelter in Texas that Bowie originally came from.  We got him at a year and a half old so we missed all of the puppy years but I was able to scroll through over 4000 pictures until I got back to roughly his puppy years and found a bunch of puppy pictures of him and his litter mates.  He was adopted at some point and even had his own little boy before being returned for reasons I still would like to find out.  I’m still trying to track down the answers.  Luckily for Bowie he was never mistreated like Herbie.  And never will be. 

Tom, this post warms my heart and hurts it at the same time.  I’m very thankful for people like you and Stella.


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Mike,

Thanks for the kind words. I had you in mind when I was writing this thread up because I know how much you love dogs.

We knew Herbie was neglected, but had no idea he was abused. Seeing the pictures last night broke my heart. But when I started looking at current pictures of him, I started feeling a lot better. He's healthy, happy and loved - all of the things he never had before. And we got to be the ones who gave him a better life! I felt so much better. I gave him the biggest hug last night before everybody went to bed!

The thing I find most amazing is that Herbie is such a happy, gentle, loving dog. One would never know how bad he really had it if you met him today. I guess that's a good thing. Trust me though, we're going to love and spoil him for the rest of his days!
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on June 22, 2021, 03:33:01 PM
Tom, I almost didn’t scroll down further.  I have a really hard time with animal cruelty.  If it wasn’t for the fact that one of the pictures was already visible by the time so read they were before pictures, I might not have kept scrolling. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am for all three of you!  Herbie looks so happy and healthy!

Your post couldn’t have come at a more coincidental time though.  Two nights ago while scrolling Facebook, I came to a post from the shelter we adopted Bowie from.  They had made a chewy wish list and were accepting donations.  I thought this was a really cool idea and took the opportunity to send a few things their way but in the process, I got to digging and ended up finding the Facebook page for the shelter in Texas that Bowie originally came from.  We got him at a year and a half old so we missed all of the puppy years but I was able to scroll through over 4000 pictures until I got back to roughly his puppy years and found a bunch of puppy pictures of him and his litter mates.  He was adopted at some point and even had his own little boy before being returned for reasons I still would like to find out.  I’m still trying to track down the answers.  Luckily for Bowie he was never mistreated like Herbie.  And never will be. 

Tom, this post warms my heart and hurts it at the same time.  I’m very thankful for people like you and Stella.


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Mike,

Thanks for the kind words. I had you in mind when I was writing this thread up because I know how much you love dogs.

We knew Herbie was neglected, but had no idea he was abused. Seeing the pictures last night broke my heart. But when I started looking at current pictures of him, I started feeling a lot better. He's healthy, happy and loved - all of the things he never had before. And we got to be the ones who gave him a better life! I felt so much better. I gave him the biggest hug last night before everybody went to bed!

The thing I find most amazing is that Herbie is such a happy, gentle, loving dog. One would never know how bad he really had it if you met him today. I guess that's a good thing. Trust me though, we're going to love and spoil him for the rest of his days!
Dogs can be like humans.  It’s almost like some take their situations and use it as an excuse and some just appreciate their current situation because of where they came from.  You never know what you’re going to get with dogs.  I’m glad Herbie’s previously life didn’t negatively affect him.  A lot of dogs can’t be afforded that second chance.  Opie used to move other dogs and played so well with them.  Then he was attacked by another pit bull and he hates other dogs.  He does seem to be getting better.  He doesn’t want to kill them on sight anymore. 

Those pictures are tough to look at though.  Opie was all ribs when we got him and he had worms but he didn’t experience Herbie’s life.  I can’t imagine the thoughts that go through an animals head in situations like that.  That’s what really saddens me. 


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Blown F-150 on June 23, 2021, 06:20:44 PM
All I can say is that I’m glad you have him now. What a horrendous situation and there truly are some horrible people out there.


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on June 26, 2021, 02:06:13 PM
Those mower lines though.  Someone has some skills.


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on June 26, 2021, 07:18:05 PM
Those mower lines though.  Someone has some skills.


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I figured one of you guys would pick that out.   :funny:

Yup, the old OCD problem still rears its ugly head every once in a while. (Like twice a week when I mow.) 
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on June 26, 2021, 08:00:03 PM
Those mower lines though.  Someone has some skills.


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I figured one of you guys would pick that out.   :funny:

Yup, the old OCD problem still rears its ugly head every once in a while. (Like twice a week when I mow.)
I actually noticed it before I even saw Herbie.  I just didn’t want to derail the thread too early.  Haha


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on June 27, 2021, 06:45:49 AM
So they look like pretty narrow lines.  Do you push mow it?  For the life of me I can’t seem to find a good pattern to mow my lawn.  I feel lineim always going over the same spots. 


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on June 27, 2021, 07:56:05 AM
So they look like pretty narrow lines.  Do you push mow it?  For the life of me I can’t seem to find a good pattern to mow my lawn.  I feel lineim always going over the same spots. 


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I use a 22" Honda self propelled mulching mower with a full 50% overlap on each pass. I also use 4 different patterns in rotation. It takes me about an hour and a half to just mow it and another 30 minutes to trim. Herbie seems to enjoy it though.
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on July 03, 2021, 06:44:31 PM
Ok.  Couldn’t resist.  Check out the pictures I came across of our Bowie as a puppy in his life before us.  He had some real cankles on him as a pup.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210703/08679583b140b6a9b735c3ebdc96926c.jpg)


Top, middle.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210703/c818dca5dce410c306cbb74b00514f91.jpg)


Third from left.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210703/ebcbbdb558256303c78957a059c209f9.jpg)


Too, left.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210703/556d67d2f5aa26ce60cd2fd657ab4dca.jpg)



This one kills me.  He had a little boy and probably felt loved at one point and was given up.  It was my understanding the the family gave him back because they had a second child.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210703/f8483fe80318aaec9139c6be4541ffee.jpg)


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Blown F-150 on July 03, 2021, 08:42:53 PM
Cute!!!


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on July 04, 2021, 09:06:47 AM
Now that's cute - and sad. But,, at least he's in a happy loving home now.

Speaking of that, Herbie met our grand daughters for the first time yesterday. I think it went pretty well. They want to take him home with them.

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2157_1_.JPG)
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on July 04, 2021, 09:42:47 AM
Now that's cute - and sad. But,, at least he's in a happy loving home now.

Speaking of that, Herbie met our grand daughters for the first time yesterday. I think it went pretty well. They want to take him home with them.

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/e60/tfwarda/IMG_2157_1_.JPG)
I love it!  Pit bulls love kids and other dogs.  He looks like he’s in his glory getting all the attention!


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: gesfour on July 29, 2021, 10:31:23 AM
Had the opportunity to meet Herbie yesterday. What a great dog!  My 11 year old daughter fell in love! 
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Blown F-150 on July 30, 2021, 01:06:00 PM
Awesome! I really wish that there wasn't so much stigma around that breed. They are outright banned in some cities up here.
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on July 31, 2021, 06:58:18 AM
Full disclosure. Stella, Herbie and I got to spend some quality time with gesfour and his family the other day. As he said, his daughter totally fell in love with Herbie. It was heartwarming to see the two of them together just enjoying each other's company.

As for pit bulls having a bad rap, I agree. It's very sad and generally untrue. Herbie is a great ambassador for the breed and has changed more than a few people's minds about how mean pit bulls supposedly are. He's quite possibly the sweetest dog I've ever met.
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Blown F-150 on July 31, 2021, 01:32:32 PM
I grew up with Rottweilers and totally understand. One of my Sisters used to show them and since I was quite a bit younger than her, she would always invite me along to help out.


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on August 04, 2021, 07:15:35 PM
So I got a call from Cassie while I was at work on Monday.  She said she was taking Opie to the vet because she walked in to what looked like a murder scene.  Blood all over the house and all over his face and on Bowie.  I had just gotten back to our shop from Philadelphia and booked it out of there and met her at the vet.  Opie somehow managed to slice his ear clean through about an inch and a half long.  Looked kind of like a snakes tongue.  There was blood the length of the house and chest height up the walls and cabinet.  The refrigerator.  The doors.  Put him under, stitched him up and sent him back home.  Eleven stitches and he gets to wear a cone for 3 weeks.  He had a rough first day and a half but he’s back to playing and plowing through the house with zero Fs to give.  I’ll see if I can post the video of him in the yard. 

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210805/00db0c4e10b15c16e609aacebd036a7f.dng)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210805/16fa4d4ad3d94525a2feecdf94ab9e56.dng)


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on August 04, 2021, 07:21:28 PM
https://vimeo.com/583166267


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on August 05, 2021, 12:32:31 PM
Ouch! Both the ear and your nuts after he ran into you. (Herbie does the same thing to me.) Any idea what he cut it on?
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on August 05, 2021, 06:48:01 PM
Ouch! Both the ear and your nuts after he ran into you. (Herbie does the same thing to me.) Any idea what he cut it on?
No idea what caused it.  We immediately assumed Opie and Bowie got in to a fight while we were gone but the vet said she highly doubts it as it looks like a slice and not from a tooth.  It also didn’t appear that he was bleeding long before Cassie got home because there wasn’t any in the living room where they spend a good chunk of their time.  Between that and the fact that when Cassie got home, Bowie was outside on the side porch for a while while Opie was inside (saw it on the cameras), means it likely happened as he got excited and got up to greet Cassie.  Vet said it would have bled a lot and instantly.  Doggie door is one suspect.  The bottom is magnetic with a strip of metal but to me it’s too smooth with rounded corners to have done that.  We did find an exposed nail in the trim near the basement door which is a favorite spot for Opie to lay.  So maybe Bowie barked when he hears Cassie and Opie jumped up and snagged his ear?  Those are best guesses. 


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Blown F-150 on August 06, 2021, 06:41:01 PM
Glad he is on the mend! Sounds like you guys had a mess to clean up!


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on August 06, 2021, 07:05:43 PM
Glad he is on the mend! Sounds like you guys had a mess to clean up!


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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210807/f62f307fbe43985219bb3f4c6028cffa.dng)

That’s the mud room.  Half of the damn house looked like that.  I was the lucky one who got to clean it up while Cassie waited at her moms house for Opie to come out of his procedure.


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on August 07, 2021, 08:09:23 AM
Good thing JP wasn't there to help you clean up. All of that blood would be replaced with Hyperdressing.  :funny:
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Kitzy on August 07, 2021, 04:03:11 PM
You can’t keep this dog down.  He’s so annoying if he doesn’t get his play time.  Cassie ordered him a special donut to use instead of the cone when we are home.  He’s destroying the cone anyway because he’s insanely reckless and doesn’t seem to care if he destroys the house every time he moves anywhere in the house.  I zoomed in on one of the pics because you can see his stitches pretty clear.  Atleast how long the cut was. 

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210807/b82fcbcb5b00ff8fb05489016ce95117.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210807/eef7d06e863231d2a70aa77c80d35141.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210807/a9094632b4b8a749fc2ee5d24d4b2143.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210807/d3940a2a2e3a29d3891c31ec86fdfba3.dng)


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Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Too Stroked on August 07, 2021, 04:43:17 PM
Ouch! That hurts just to look at it!
Title: Re: Herbie the Rescue Pit Bull
Post by: Rollingrock on August 16, 2021, 02:16:37 PM
Great thread Tom

Good to see a lotto win!!
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