ANIMAL STORIES

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Sweetheart


This is a true story

“SWEETHEART”



By Big Daddy Cash

Preface


The Staffordshire Bull Terrier

The is a powerful and muscular dog, very strong for his size with a broad head and very strong jaws. They are very devoted to a point of giving its own life for its master. Usually adored and adoring within its own family circle. Originally used as a pit-fighting dog, it is usually good with other pets in the household, but may be very combative with dogs outside the family, especially dogs of his breed or related breeds. The Staffordshire needs firm and consistent training to curb its instinct to fight with other dogs. They are persistent and active. As a puppy they tend to chew a great deal. Staffords love children. These dogs are not recommended for most families because they need firm, experienced handling and training. They can be difficult to housebreak. Some can be trained for agility and competitive obedience.

Story

I‘m going to tell you a story of a four legged member of my family. She is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier a breed originally raised as a pit-fighter. She’s small but powerful and muscular with a broad head and very strong jaws. She is one of the most beautiful pit bulls I have ever seen. Her big brown eyes one ear up and one ear down and painted on smile is enough to capture anyone’s heart.

Sweetheart is her name and I named her that because she truly is a sweetheart. When I was writing about Lady and Charley (Two of my other dogs) she climbed up on the upper most part of her lounger with one ear perked up and the other hanging lazy over her cheek. She kept her big brown eyes on me the whole time I was writing. I think that somehow she knew I wasn’t writing about her. It was like she was jealous in wonderment. I had to keep assuring her that her turn was coming.

Just looking at her with those big brown eyes, one ear up and one ear down and big loving smile you can’t help but know that she’s a sweetheart.

She is extremely courageous, obedient, intelligent, affectionate, and has a delightful sense of humor. Her colored is pure gold with a white mask on her face that goes from her snout to her forehead. She’s got what looks like a lazy ear, her tail is shaped like an L and she walks with a slight limp. This is what I’m about to explain…

Sweetheart wasn’t much more then a puppy when she joined my family. She came from the home of a man who raised Staffordshire Bull Terriers to be ferocious fighters. From what I can surmise he started training his dogs to fight from the day they were born.

Let me explain how this whole situation came about and how the Bull Terrier became my little sweetheart. A few years ago I rented one of my apartments to a young couple who raised Pit Bulls. The young man was Steve his wife’s name was Nicole and they had a five year old daughter named Brittney. I’m mentioning this because it will make it easier to tell Sweethearts story.

When I rented the apartment to Steve and his family I lived in the basement of my apartment complex with two of my four legged critters. Since I love animals my rent sign read, ‘FOR RENT Animals OK.’ Most rentals don’t allow animals so my apartments are never vacant for more then a day and since I do things my way I usually judge the animals and not the renters, how ever this time was the exception. I didn’t see their animals before accepting them as tenants. It was their little girl Brittney and her polite well mannered behavior that made my decision. I figured if they had such a sweet daughter their animals must be well natured. By that I mean good!

The next thing that happened should have been a warning to me but because of my trusting nature it wasn’t. Steve started building a large dog run along one side of my building, wire meshed fencing topped with barb wire. My whole yard is surrounded with a grape stake fence seven feet tall so I questioned Steve about his dog run and he said he didn’t want his dogs mingling with the other dogs.

Sweethearts life began with this family and now I am going to reveal the shocking truth.

Sweethearts original name was “ Fighting Bitch”. What I didn’t know when I rented to Steve was that he raised Pit Bulls to be fighters. The meaner he could make them the better fighters they’d become. It turned out that Steve was a drug addict a thief and a liar, but that’s another story.

The “Fighting Bitch” as Sweetheart was called was beaten, starved and chained. The beatings were often and brutal and starving her would make her fight for her food. They called her the Bitch and her life was really a BITCH.

Once in a while when Steve was away Brittney would let the Pit Bulls out of the dog run to play with her and romp in the yard. There were three Pits two were real ugly and mean and wouldn’t leave my dogs alone so when their dogs were out I’d lock my dogs in.

Some times Brittney would come down to my apartment to play on one of my computers. For a five year old she amazed me with her computer savvy. Actually she was better on the computer then I. She taught me how to copy and patch and how to navigate using the keyboard. She used to call me Grand Pappy Cash, she was such a delight and always good company. But she was a sad little girl who had learned how to hide her sadness.

One day she came down to my house in tears and I asked her what was the problem. She replied; “That Bitch just has to fight or else…” I scolded her for swearing and she said; “Daddy Grand Daddy, I’m not swearing my dogs name is Bitch, Fighting Bitch.”

Sweetheart had one professional fight and lost to a larger and meaner Pit Bull. Her ear was almost torn from her head, her tail was broken in the middle and her left hind leg had multiple fractures. Had I known what was going on right under my nose I surely would have stopped it, called the humane society and had Steve arrested for animal abuse.

I knew nothing!!


At least not until a domestic problem surfaced. It appears that Steve had a lot of money bet on the “Fighting Bitches” fight, when she lost Steve celebrated by getting obnoxiously drunk, came home and severely beat is wife and daughter. His neighbor called the police and he was arrested for child abuse. I didn’t see Steve again and Nicole took her daughter Brittney, left in the middle of the night and hasn’t been heard or seen since.

When I went in to clean up the apartment a week later I found Sweetheart chained in a closet more dead then alive. She has been a gift and a pleasure given to us through the mercy of God and a prize member of my family ever since.

She is sitting here beside me looking me right in the eye she’s pleased that I finally told her story. For a dog that was trained to be mean she’s got to be the sweetest most loving creature in all of humanity.

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