Traffic Dogs!

Traffic Dog Dos!

Traffic Dog “Uno”
About a year and a half ago, I was driving down Raleigh Blvd on my way
to a chemistry tutoring session when the car next to me swerved,
almost hitting the side of my car.  I swerved to avoid the car and saw
what they were swerving to avoid—a pit bull puppy! I continued driving
until I reached the next traffic light and turned around as fast as I
could.  Luckily, there was a house with a large driveway on the side
of the busy four lane road, and I pulled over and parked in the
driveway.  I patted my legs and the puppy came running toward me, he
looked to be about four or five months old.  I picked up the little
puppy and noticed he smelled strongly of trash and figured he must
have been fending for himself for some time. I wanted to keep the
puppy and try to find a home for him myself, but my previous landlady
was adamantly opposed to another dog living in the house, so I made
the decision to call animal control and report to them that I had
found a young dog.  They asked for my location and stated they would
be there in 15 minutes to pick the puppy up and take him to a shelter.
 I talked to the animal control agents and they assured me that they
would find a home for such a young and sweet little puppy.

Traffic Dog “Dos”
I discovered “Dos” when I was running with my dog on the Raleigh
Greenway.  I was almost done with my run when I saw a pit bull mix run
out of the woods and head right into traffic.  I panicked, thinking of
the dog getting hit by a car on the busy road that the trail was off
of, and I ran into the street after her.  I waved my arms to signal
the car approaching me to stop and luckily, the woman driving stopped.
 I asked her to help me by holding my dog while I grabbed Dos.  I had
an extra collar with me, and after I got my hands on her, I slipped
the collar over her head, thanked the kind woman, and took both dogs
home, walking back to my house with one dog on each arm.  When I got
home, I kept the dogs separate, leaving Dos in the back yard and
keeping my dog in the house.  After I gave her food and water, I
called the animal control, requesting the agent I have worked with
before who I know to have a special interest in pit bulls, and asked
her to scan the dog for a microchip.  Amazingly, Dos did have a
microchip, and the animal control agent was able to take her back to
her owners, who had been giving her a bath when she bolted out the
door as their son returned home from the school bus.  They had been
worried to death about their family pet, and were so grateful they had
the animal control agent call me to thank me for my role in reuniting
them with their dog!

My First Rescue

Mama was my first rescue. 

She was an adorable, sweet red nosed pit bull. I found her walking behind my fence. When I opened the gate, she danced right in like she owned the place. She had no collar, so we gave her some food and water. She was skinny and very eager to eat. I noticed as I pet her that she had some scratches and long unkempt toenails. I waited for an owner, but no one seemed to be searching the neighborhood for her. So I took her to my vet where we discovered she had no microchip. We gave her dewormer and some flea medicine so that it would be safe for me to take her home to my dog Luna. 

That night, the owner was calling for her, so I gave her back. When I returned her, the lady's boyfriend started yelling at her and went to hit her, and she cowered. I went home concerned but I was afraid to get too involved.


Every couple of days, Mama would be right back in my yard. It happened at least five times. The last time this happened, it was the middle of the night, and it had been a month since she had been to my house, so I gave her more Frontline flea protection and I let her sleep with me in the guest bedroom while my boyfriend slept with Luna in my bed. 


The next day I offered Mama's owners $100 for Mama and they excepted it. I was suppose to get her the next day, but it turned out that she had escaped her owner's yard again and was on someones porch, frightened and scared. The people whose porch she was on didn't know what to do with a strange dog, and they decided to call animal control. Mama's owner told us in the morning that she had been taken to the Pound. She said she was moving and couldn't help me get Mama out of the pound because it was her boyfriends dog, and since animal control had been called before, the paper work was in his name.

I figured she would find a good home at the pound, but I called to check on her and see how she was doing, to make sure she was going to be adopted. They said the pound was full, they had no kennels left at the adoption center and as a result she would be put down in seven days if she was not claimed. 


I didn't know what to do, so I waited as long as I could as her execution date approached, but no one was coming to pick her up and with no other options, I went to bail her out. Since she had been there a few days, the fee had gone up to $160. Mama's owner gave me her boyfriends I.D. and I found someone to pose as her boyfriend. We tried to find a pit bull adoption agency to take her such as Annabelle's Second Chance (http://www.ascpbr.com/Home.html ) but they were full and in desperate need of foster homes, So I asked Dr. Driscoll, the vet that I work for at Six Forks Animal Hospital ( 919-847-5854 they offer full veterinary services and they also accept SPCA spay and neuter vouchers.) if he knew anyone locally that could help. He referred me to  Paige Burris a well known pit bull rescuer in Raleigh NC, Check her work out at:

(http://www.thepositivepitbull.org and find her on facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Positive-Pit-Bull/282575600129) 


Paige's rescue was full and my landlord would not allow a second dog in my home at the time. The best we could find was the upstairs neighbors of Mama's original owners.  I told him I would give him all the help I could but he took advantage of the offer and was constantly hitting me up for food and money for her. He refused to provide food, toys or medical care with his money, and was constantly asking me for mine, but I had had no other option because pit bulls are so hard to get adopted. People who want them usually have landlords who don't want to risk the liability of having dogs that they have been seen portrayed in the media so negatively.

While I was away in California, the guy called and said that the land lord wouldn't let him keep Mama after all, even though she had been living in his house for four months. I begged him to hold on to her for just three days until I got back, but when I got back, she was gone. He apparently had given her to a guy named "Berry" who's last name was a mystery and had no contact for him. I was so heart broken at the time and had no place to put her even if I found her that I resigned myself for the time...but that isn't the end of this story!

The Pit Crew

I am new to blogging, and as a newbie, I have been trying to seek out other animal lovers, especially people interested in bully breeds.  If you stumble across this blog, and you love dogs, especially pit bulls as much as I do, please contact me, add me, follow me, or email me! (pitcrewpitbullrescue@gmail.com)

I would like to share some pictures of the Pit Crew!

me, Luna and loyal Pit Crew team member Lisa on Halloween!

me and my sweet Lu!!

Me and Luna on a late night break from my pre-vet studying...she is always on the same page as me...unless she is eating the page I am reading :)

-Lauren and The Pit Crew

Hello World!

Hi- My name is Lauren and I have started this blog to help connect with other pit bull owners, discuss problems, find solutions, save pit bulls from the streets or shelters, and over all help change the public's perception of pit bull type dogs.  I believe that these dogs are incredible and have a lot of love to give, they just need to be given a chance.