Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Volunteering your blood, sweat & tears

Our group of dog handlers formerly-known-as Pit Bull Hall team members has been busy getting their bearings at Oakland Animal Services. The OAS Mentors have given everyone a warm welcome and made this transition so comfortable.

This week, we're selecting dogs for the brand new Ambassadog Program. Those lucky pups will get the benefit of focused training, field trips, web exposure, socialization with other dogs and, if all goes as planned, a great home that will continue with the dog's PR work for years to come. After all, being an Ambassador is more about the human than the dog, right?

The hardest part so far is choosing which dogs to wrap ourselves around. With so many great diamonds-in-the-ruff, we're drawn in all different directions. Do we take the ghetto bred goof that needs a LOT of training (above) ? ... the sassy, effusive little gamegirl with energy to spare? ... the over-muscled trophy dog? ... the obnoxious but ever-happy pit/AB mix? ... the gentle lady's dog who's getting swallowed by the chaos of the kennels ...? Stay tuned. We'll highlight our picks as soon as early next week.

In the meantime, please considering volunteering for this project. Anyone who wants to help the dogs of Oakland Animal Services will have the option of applying to do double-duty as a BAD RAP Ambassadog Team Member. This will require two separate trainings. First, the basics to help you decide if OAS is the right place for you. And if it is, then another set of hoops helps segue OAS volunteers into BR's pit bull only program. Did we mention the blood, sweat and tears part yet?

Follow This LINK for info on how to get started. Look for the tab at the top of the page that says Volunteer. And don't forget to donate to this big bad project via the Team Pibble project (blog below). THANK YOU! ... We're so excited.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Take 'em all! :o)

Anonymous said...

I personally feel that any pitbull described as a goof deserves a chance. Who doesn't love a class clown and how could you not fall for that face?

Anonymous said...

I agree Kari!!! That face, oh my goodness he is adorable!

Jen
Dearborn MI

Leila said...

How sweet is that smile? How can you say no? You need one of each to represent each type of pibble hero. Because they will all slay hearts whereever they go!

Anonymous said...

Can I make a request that you put Max into your program and then ship him up here to Alaska? Pretty please? I mean look at that smile!

Anonymous said...

that white boy has been my favorite for awhile. he does the BEST zoomies.

Anonymous said...

Great project it takes so much love to give all this training and make a difference in this way.

Astro Jetson said...

Great blog! Good to see so many Pits doing what they're suppose to do...love and teach. Keep up the good work from a fellow misunderstood breed, Rottweiler. There are no dangerous dogs, just dangerous owners.
Astro, the Rottie with a tail (Heck, even Rottie lovers don't like me..cause I've got my tail).