New Intro

[J-Glide]

Hi, my name is John and I live in California. I've currently own a male mutt named Akuma, I've had him since Feb. of 1997. He was given to me by my uncle and I'm not sure what kind/kinds of dog he is except that it looks like he has some pit in him. But what kind of dog he is didnt matter to me and he's family now.

The reason why I joined is I recently came across a female pitbull stray in front of my house. She has no ID and I doubt she's microchipped. She was really friendly towards me and my family and she loves to be patted and rubbed. She has a submissive behavor and responds to simple commands. Some of the physical things I noticed about her was that she had a lot of scars on her face and hind leg, she's young (probably somewhere between one to two years old), she's had a litter before but not lactating, she's skinny (you can see her ribcage and lower portion of her spine and hind quarters), she has a forked tongue and wounds on each ear. Based on these observations I'm pretty sure she was a fight dog of some sort. Being a dog person I naturally felt bad and decided to take her in for now.

Some conscerns I have though is what to do now, since I have never taken up a stray before and one that is most likely a fight dog. I'm a bit reluctant to post-up flyers cause I dont want her to be mistreated if she was a fight dog. I'm also reluctant to contact the SPCA because majority of the shelters will put her down due to the history of the dog and because it's a pitbull.

She seems to get along with Akuma and I'd like to keep her, but I would like some guidence on the proper way to go about this.

Here's a couple of pictures of her the night we met her.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25632411@N05/2412698114/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25632411@N05/2412698116/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25632411@N05/2412698124/

My current dog, Akuma, seems to approve of her staying.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25632411@N05/2412698128/

Sorry for the lengthy introduction posting.

[iluvk9]

Welcome to the forum.

Akuma is really sweet looking!

I hope you are able to keep the newbie dog. That would be great.

My only advice is to crate the newbie. And when you have them together, keep the newbie on a leash.
Other than that, you will have to wait for the trainers on PBT to give good advice.

[Marinepits]

Welcome to the forum! Akuma seems very happy to have a new house-guest.

I agree with crating/separating the newbie at first and do supervised playtimes/socialization. Also keep food and high value items (toys, treats, etc) separate. Don't let them "share" until you know the new girl better -- you never know what may or may not set-off a fight.

Do you have any pit bull experience?

[madremissy]

Welcome to the forum.
Good luck with the new one. She is very pretty. I hope you can really take in all the advice here so that if you are able you can take this pretty girl in. She looks like she has had a pretty rough life so far. Read all the threads as much as possible. Very good info.

[Marinepits]

Feel free to go to the Training and Behaviour section and ask all the questions you'd like to ask.

[Scout]

Hello and welcome to PBT!!

Akuma is soo handsome! Even if he looks silly in that last photo

The newbie girl is quite beautiful...and I'm very happy to hear that she may be a permanent part of your family!!

Definitely look through past threads and please feel free to ask questions in the Training and Behavior section. We have lots of members who foster and rescue dogs so just ask away!

Good luck with the pretty girl...please keep us updated on how she does with her new family and you must post more pictures of your handsome guy Akuma!

[katiek0417]

Hi Welcome to PBT! Akuma is quite the looker...

Keep the dogs on drag leash while they are together for now...and dont give high value items to either unless they are crated...feed in crates, etc...

[pitbullmamaliz]

Welcome!

[gayrghts]

My dogs don't wear tags because their siblings chew them off....

However theyd' be microchipped.....

I'd suggest that you take the new visitor to be scanned before you make a definate decison to keep her.

[J-Glide]

The newbie is doing great, she has a lot of energy, a good appitite, and very curious. Akuma and her have their own portion of the backyard, thanks to my dad who built her, her own area with some left over fencing material. I plan on stopping by the County Animal Shelter this week to find out some more info on my situation. In the meantime, I took some photos of her scars/injuries which led me to believe she was used for fighting. I also hope these photos will be used as some kind of evidence to prosecute whoever done this to her, just in case someone tries to claim her. FYI, dont mind the "brown stuff" on her nose in the first pic, she just got done eating.

[Marinepits]

I'm not sure how your County animal laws work in Cali, but in CT if you were to show up at my shelter and said you found a dog, by law I would have to take the dog and impound it. I would then have to advertise the dog in the local paper to try and find the owner and keep the dog for seven days in case the owner tries to claim the dog. After those seven days, the dog legally becomes the "property" of the State of CT and I can either adopt the dog out, send it to the local Humane Society, send it to rescue, or have it euthanized.

Just be prepared that Cali law may be similar and you'll have to give her up. Of course, you could always call them instead of stopping by in person. Just be careful about how much personal info you give them and what phone you use in case they have caller ID.

You might want to bring her to the vet instead and have her scanned for a microchip -- most vet offices have the scanning devices.

[pitbullmamaliz]

If you have a Petsmart by you with a Banfield in it, they can scan her too.