'All creatures dream....only dogs dream of us.'
It began with this picture, of one of Michael Vicks former 'dog-fight' pit bull terriers, Squeaker, being comforted by her caretaker at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah.
Here was this loving, very gentle dog, frightened by the media who had come up to see how things were progressing with the Pitts, who many other Humane Organizations had rejected.
It put, for me, a final picture....because pictures are worth a thousand words, after all, on Pitts. This was no fearsome creature, bruised and mistreated, though she was, but a fellow creature, curled close to her only comfort she had, her 'person' at Best Friends.
When I worked at Humane, there was an 'unspoken' belief on Pitts. It was that they were dogs that were dangerous, vicious, that would turn on you in an instant.
The honest truth is that I've met many more vicious and 'dangerous' Chihuahas than I have of Pitties. Pitties are often the victim of scary folks, people who, like the Rotties, German Shepards and Mastiffs before them are used as weapons by those who are too cowardly to tackle things without a loyal dog by their side. And dogs, being who they are, live and breathe to please humans, even though they be undeserving.
Pitties appear in most of 'Our Gang' comedy series, because they were so gentle, and because they represented the 'average american family pet'. Petey was loved by most of us who grew up watching him with the kids, sliding through adventures with them. He was trustworthy and an American Icon.
Squeakers, in the shadow of her caretaker, is a Survivor of a fate that no animal should have happen to them. She has become the symbol of triumph in the face of ignorance, pain and cruelty. She symbolizes, maybe, the best in all of us, and our bond to our canine friends. And perhaps, in this picture, bespeaks as no other picture could, the spirit of this time of year.
Have a wonderful holiday, my friends!
