So, what to do when its the US Thanksgiving Holiday???

....update our blog, thats what! So much work to do, and so little time. Just when HugABull thought it would be slowing down for the holidays, we took in a few more dogs, plus a mother and her 5 puppies! Buttercup (mom) and her babies (Petunia, Morning Glory, Cosmos, Dhalia, and Sunflower) are all doing well in foster care on Vancouver Island. The pups are available now to find their forever homes, and momma will be available very soon. All are as sweet as sweet can be, and will represent this breed well! Along with this gang we've also welcomed Miss Violet into our care. This girl is a stunner, with a personality to match. She too is now ready to find her forever home!

Milo is still waiting for the perfect home, and his foster dad reports he is "killer" as in AMAZING! I've been seeing this boy every weekend at Pit Ed class, and its true, this is one nice dog, and will make someone very lucky... and we hope soon!

Rex is now up for adoption. He is an all around great dog, making friends everywhere he goes, and turning heads with his good looks. Pocoyo pup is ready for applicants as well, and is waiting in a perfect foster home. One that will teach her all the basic commands, as well as a little manners. She is a sassy girl, and will make the perfect pet for the perfect owner.
Last, and certainly not least... sweet old man Dizzy. In fact, he doesn't seem that old, aside from a few gray hairs. This little guy is full of love, and will make anyone a very happy owner!
Other than the busy adoptions, our 2008 Calendar - Playground Bullies is available for order through our store http://www.hugabull.biz/. They are in limited quantity, so make sure to order yours soon! We are also now offering HugABull dog tee's available in all sorts of colours. Those too can be found on our store.

Anywhoo..... just a short update... I suppose I should get back to the paying job... although the dog (non-paying) job is much more fun :^)

Happy Thanksgiving to all our USA friends...... and hope all of you have a super weekend!

~ Shelagh

Long over due...

Holy Cow! am I ever behind. The last few months here in the HugABull camp have been very busy. In August we hosted our 2nd Annual Fundraiser with help from Chris Cory and his Diva Dog Movie; in September we joined the BCSPCA Paws for a Cause, held our 4th Annual Pits in the Park and now our 2008 calendar is available for sale. It has certainly been a fun ride.
Our 2nd Annual fundraiser was a ton of fun and was held at the Fire Fighters Club in Burnaby.

Our guests were treated to our very own doggy fashion show with HugABull Alumni models as well as current adoptable dogs and some non Pit Bull puppy friends. Each of the dogs looked great sporting the latest in doggy fashion provided to us by the Playful Puppy Palace and they strutted their stuff to hippest tracks played by our wicked DJ, DJ Standard. Movie maker Chris Corey joined us all the way from California to showcase his DIVA DOG Pit Bull on Wheels Movie for the first time in British Columbia and we were pleased to have him. Our gift baskets were a hit and our crowd was amazing

We also had a great time at the BCSPCA Paws for a Cause. We decided to host our 4th Annual Pits in the Park right after the Paws for a Cause event and what a great turn out we had.

We also held our first Pit Bull Fun Show and all the dogs and their owners had a great time.

Stay tuned for more HugABull events and don't forget that our 2008 HugABull Calendar is on sale now at http://hugabull.biz/

Kristen

Lot's to update

Well hello everyone! Hope you are all having as much fun with your bullies this summer as we at HugABull are! As it turns out, we've been keeping too busy with the pooches to update here much, so there's a lot to catch up on.

Pit Ed classes are in full swing, and a big hit. Everyone seems to be enjoying the classes, and they're starting to pay off. No more so than in star pupil Merlin, who has gone from a reactive pooch to a well-mannered boy who his owners are rightly very proud of. Shelagh will be sending enrollment for the next session out soon, so stay tuned! Also, a big congratulations to Shelagh, who is now a certified dog trainer. Having a problem with your puppy? Get in touch with Shelagh! She's got the answers, lots of good tips, and is taking in new clients!

Aside from Pit Ed classes, HugABull has been busy showing our PRIDE. Yes, HugABull had the opportunity to participate in this year's Pride Parade in Vancouver, and boy are we glad we did! It was a fantastic day, with perfect weather, and fun was had by all. With nearly 400 000 spectators, it was a great way to let our bullies shine. And shine they did! Sugar, Rhino, Dakota, Stella, Katzie, Brando, and T-Bone all showed Vancouver what these dogs are really about. They were a hit with everyone, including Vancouver's own mayor, who gave Rhino a nice public kiss on his oversized noggin'. A big thanks to everyone and their dogs, and of course to the Pride Society for letting us participate.

Of course we must update everyone on the mange girls. We're very pleased to announce that all three girls are doing fabulously. Jolie, as previously mentioned, has found her forever home with foster family Amba and Travis, and is looking very pretty now that her hair is growing back. After a rocky start where she was a bit too timid for our liking, Bree has gained confidence and is ready for foster-to-adopt. Stay tuned as she will appear on Petfinder soon. And Gorgeous George, aka Georgie-Porgie, aka Puddin', has found herself a home as well. It's a great home, as she's staying within the HugABull family, but we're not saying with who just yet - it's still a top secret surprise. On the health front, George and Bree both have most of their fur back, and are scheduled for their first skin scrape this coming Saturday. Fingers crossed that it comes back clear!

Speaking of mange girls brings me around to adoptions in general. I'm very happy to be able to tell you that Shylo, who was our featured pet for so long, has been adopted! Yay Shylo! She is now living the pampered lifestyle she deserves as the only pooch of a nice young couple over on the Island. Keep an eye on our Matches Made in Heaven page for updates.
I'm pleased to announce some up and coming adoptables for HugABull.

Rupert, who's been fostered on the Island this past month or so learning some doggy manners will be available for adoption any day now. This handsome pooch is real ambassadog material, and we're certain is headed for great things.

Also coming soon from the Island is "Tater Tot", a pint-sized puppy with a big heart. His foster mom reports he's a very good puppy, with loads of energy. Tater wound up in the shelter and rescue system because he had a leg broken very early in life, which needs to be surgically corrected. However, you'd never guess this pooch had an injury, with the way he tears around. We can only imagine how busy he'll be after his operation!

Chloe just entered our foster-to-adopt program from South Peace SPCA. This sweet gal has pretty much grown up in the shelter, through no fault of her own - she's just had bad luck in owners. The shelter stuck by Chloe, because they recognized a real diamond-in-the-rough. When new owners Jesse and Rebecca contacted us saying they were wanting a bullie to call their own who would excel at therapy work with special needs children, our search quickly led us to this sweet little brindle dog. She arrived by plane to her new family on Tuesday, and they were instantly smitten. A big thank you to Jesse and Rebecca for their patience in this somewhat unconventional adoption, that allowed us to take Chloe into our program!

Part of HugABull's new attempt to reach out to more remote shelters within the Province included taking in two beautiful bullies from the Prince Rupert SPCA. We were a bit unsure what to expect of these boys when they came off the plane, but quickly saw that the shelter staff at Prince Rupert SPCA know how to spot those special dogs. Introducing Stuart, aka "Stuey", and Connery, or "Conner" for short! These boys had a rough start to life, coming from a background of neglect (their lives prior to arriving at the shelter consisted of living in a small room together with no outside exposure), but their stellar temperaments shine through despite this. Affectionate and bright, they're quickly learning all about the world and picking up their manners and basic commands quickly. Stuey is learning the ropes out in Ukee with Carla and Dave (thanks guys!), while Conner is living it up with Angelica, Rob, and their adorable two-legged baby, Cole. You can expect to see these handsome young dogs for adoption in about a month's time.

Stuey:

Conner:

And last, but certainly not least, a reminder to all of you about HugABull's fast-approaching 2nd annual fundraiser! This promises to be a great night, with lots going on. There will be good food, and plenty of entertainment, including the BC premier of Chris Cory's film, Diva Dog, and a wonderful doggy fashion show being put on by Puppy Palace. Tickets are only $20 and it's a great cause, so come on out and show your support!

Around town with HugABull

Well summer is finally here and even though Mother Nature was a little slow getting us started we at HugABull are just happy to see the sun and we know the dogs are happy too. With great weather comes great events and the HugABull team has been very busy over the last few months planning some fun summer events that are definitely worth checking out.

It was with great excitement that we announced our Pit Ed Classes were now in session. Pit Ed was originally created by the founders of BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls) and eventually turned into a successful and well respected program in the California area. The classes aimed to teach dog owners how to handle their reactive dogs in every day situations, with positive reinforcement, easy to understand and learn training techniques and the environment to do so free of judgment. After seeing the results of these classes with our own eyes while attending the 2006 BAD RAP Conference in California, we at HugABull realized that there was a definite need for a class like this back home. Taking BAP RAPs lead we finally were able to get this class in motion here in the Lower Mainland, and with two successful classes under our belts we are excited to continue on and see how our program will progress. To sign up for our Pit Ed classes please email info@hugabull.com


This summer will also mark more firsts for HugABull, as we have been invited to participate on Sunday August 5th in the 29th Annual Vancouver Pride Parade. Starting on Denman Street the Pride Parade makes it way through the heart of Vancouver celebrating the vibrant life and the diversity of the Vancouver queer community. The HugABull team along with volunteers and of course dogs will walk with the parade handing out HugABull tattoos and advocacy material, all the while marching our dogs with PRIDE. For more information please check out http://www.vancouverpride.ca/vancouverpride.ca/

Tickets are also on sale through our website for our 2nd Annual Fundraiser, located this year at the Firefighters Club in Burnaby on Tuesday August 21st http://www.firefightersclub.com/ What makes this fundraiser like no other is that we are pleased to welcome Chris Cory Director & Producer of “Diva Dog” – Pit Bull on Wheels The Movie. Chris has been touring all over the states promoting his movie and will be joining us and our guests at the event to premier for the first time in BC his touching documentary about his dog Coral. Coral was his beloved Pit Bull, who was hit by a car and left paralyzed. Though Coral’s legs had been broken her spirit had not and Coral along with Chris’s help went on to inspire many with her charm and determination to live. We will also be joined by the Playful Puppy Place who will be putting on a doggy fashion show and DJ Standard, who will be mixing up the tracks all night long, for those who like to get up and dance.

Back by popular demand will be our 4th Annual Pits in the Park. Stay tuned as the date and location are still to be determined.

Hope to see you there

Kristen
Promotions/Fundraising Coordinator
kristen@hugabull.com

For more inforamation on these and other up coming HugABull Events please go to our website http://www.hugabull.com/

Where does the time go?

Wow, I've been meaning to update this, and just haven't had a chance. Much has been going on with HugABull, between the ongoing care of the mange girls, starting to organize all our summer events, and, biggest of all, launching our new Pit Ed classes! I've only got a few moments, so I'll leave the Pit Ed updates and Summer Events stuff either to the other gals, or a later time. For now, here's the scoop on George, Bree, and Jolie.

The girls are all doing very well. Bree is still with Tasha and Allan, George just moved into a new foster home (since Stephanie's dog Zoe is having cruciate surgery and needs to rest, not play with a lummox like Georgie), and Jolie is being fostered in her happy forever home by Amba and Travis. Bree and George have recently started attending our new Pit Ed classes, where we hope to see Bree develop a bit more confidence (she's more timid than we'd like) and for George to learn to mind her manners and not always be such a loudmouth.

George saw Dr. Mann out at Menzies Pet Hospital yesterday, for a general re-check (he wanted to see at least one of the girls back to see how they're doing), and because we had some concerns about some redness in her skin. George has been put on two weeks worth of Clavamox, to knock out a minor residual bacterial skin infection, which probably flared up due to her being in heat recently (huge kudos to Stephanie for putting up with that - yech!). While she's still obviously got Demodex, her fur is coming back, and she's showing a lot of improvement, as are all three girls. George has a couple of mammary lumps. They may be lingering infection, but it's also quite possible that they're mammary tumors, which are very common, particularly in intact females. We're hoping that if they are tumors, they don't change over the next couple of weeks, and we can wait until George's mange clears up before spaying her and removing them. There's a possibility however, that we will need to take those out right away, thus delaying George's recovery from the mange.

To date, the girls' costs, for vet care, medication, shampoos and supplements (not including food) total about $1200. They all still need to be scraped at least twice (need two clear scrapings before they are "cured"), spayed, and vaccinated, and George will likely need those mammary tumours removed, so we're looking at probably another $500 or so in vet costs for these girls.
So far, we've raised about $450-$500 in donations towards the girls' expenses via direct donation and donation through The Lovely Fund. Our most sincere appreciation to everyone who's donated towards these girls' care!

We are so very grateful to Cora, who has generously offered to support the girls through sale of her Care Collars. You can't lose with this offer - get a beautiful, custom, high-quality collar for your pooch, and 100% of the proceeds go towards helping pay for George, Bree, and Jolie's care. You can visit Cora's website at http://www.carecollars.com/.

Anyhow, here are what everyone no doubt is wanting - pics! Just some of George for now, as I haven't any new ones of Bree or Jolie.

Mange girl update

I am very glad to be able to write that Jolie has made it into her very own foster-to-adopt home. Amba and Travis picked Jolie up from SAINTS on Friday (thanks again to Carol and everyone at SAINTS for taking care of our girls all this time), and report that she's settled in nicely.

By Friday evening, they knew for certain that Jolie is a "keeper", and they will be adopting her, once she's ready to go. Jolie is apparently very sweet and snuggly, and quite a smarty-pants; she's a quick learner. She's coming along on her housebreaking, although having the occasional "woopsie!" in the kitchen area (better the kitchen than a carpeted room I say!). Her foster sister, Mia, is not quite as convinced that Jolie should stay, but is gradually coming around.

Here are a couple quick pics of the oh-so-pretty Jolie (who's looking much better now that she's grown some hair back!)

Showing her milk jug (which she brought all the way from SAINTS) to Travis and foster sister Mia Playing with her favourite toy

still no pics of George (I'm working on it!).

I'd like to take a moment to again thank the generous people who donated towards these girls, be it financially, through food and supplies, or through their time. The total vet bill for these girls wound up being just over $800 (a big thank you to Dr. Mann and all the staff at Menzies Pet Hospital), and $350 of that was covered by direct donation, plus nearly another $100 donated through our website and PayPal.

We purchased the girls' medication seperately (cheaper), and it came to just under $100, plus the shampoos bringing that cost to around $160. We are still accepting donations towards the girls' care, via The Lovely Fund. Any extraneous funds raised will go towards the future care of other dogs like Lovely, Bree, George, and Jolie.

Thank you,

Danielle

Another day, another post

Oof! What a day, what a week! Between Hug stuff and life stuff, it's been hard to find time to write here.

Anyhow, good news - Jolie has found a foster home! A warm welcome to Amba and Travis, her new foster parents, who will be meeting her and bringing her home on Friday. Jolie will have a cute and cranky Peke girl, also a rescue, to keep her in line in her foster home. If all goes well, this might be one of those fosters that just doesn't leave...

The other girls are doing well also:
Gorgeous George is full of beans on her walks as always, but, as it turns out, is somewhat of a couch potato (or bed potato I suppose) inside now that she's settled in. She's also in heat - yuck! Huge credit to her poor foster mom for putting up with that. Georgie will of course be spayed, but not until her mange clears up. No pictures of George yet, but her foster mom promises to send some soon.

Bree just got back from a trip up to Kamloops, where she had a blast running around with her doggy foster brothers. Her foster family provided some wonderful pics (thanks guys!):
I'm also happy to announce that Ozzy/Pig has found his forever home...with Shelagh! His new name is Otis, and he's promising to shape into a lovely little ambassadog. Congratulations Shelagh and Otis, and a big thanks to Brenda and family for fostering this little gem.










Other news: HugABull's Pit Ed classes are finally getting up and rolling, with classes set to start in Vancouver the first week of July, and registration filling up quickly. Chilliwack classes set to start within the next few weeks also, we're just trying to pin down a day that works for both instructors. We're very excited about the Pit Ed classes, and will be sure to post about them here once they're underway.

And finally, some food for thought, that, while not directly Hug related, is definitely breed related... As you may or may not know, my husband Owen and I are foster parents to special needs children. We also have three dogs that are all considered "Pit Bulls" for legislative purposes (two are pit mixes, but breed bylaws, where they exist, target mixes as well). While this has raised a few eyebrows throughout the course of our fostering, historically, social workers have always been won over upon meeting our dogs, and seeing them interact with the children. That is, until recently. In response to a growing concern for the safety issues surrounding children in dogs, sparked by numerous biting incidents involving children in care or under protection investigations, MCFD and CLBC, two of the agencies responsible for overseeing the care and safety of BC's children, have drafted a new policy to address the issue. The new policy aims to evaluate the risks posed by dogs in foster homes or homes with child protection concerns, and to reduce the risks.

The policy is good, in essence. It provides guidelines for families, such as keeping children's toys and dogs' toys seperate, feeding dogs away from children, not tethering dogs, and never leaving a child under 3 unsupervised with a dog, even for a moment. There's plenty of useful information around child development as it pertains to safety around dogs, and ways to reduce the risk of a bite. Where the policy falls short is in that it is left to the discretion of each individual social worker whether or not to implement it with the homes on their caseload. In other words, while the policy itself is not breed specific, because it's not uniformly and mandatorily applied, it leads to breed discrimination.

In our case, the worker who's caseload we fall under admittedly has a breed bias. She is uncomfortable with large dogs in general, and has a strong fear and dislike of Pit Bulls. Meeting my dogs, and reviewing the literature I provided her with (HugABull's pamphlet and the book "Dogs bite but Balloons and Bedroom Slippers are More Dangerous") did little to alleviate her concerns. Due to her apprehensions about Pit Bulls, our worker is asking that Owen and I complete and submit the risk assessment, along with an information package on each of our dogs, extolling their virtues (basically trying to make up for the fact that they are *gasp* Pit Bulls). This package is to include a letter of reference from a veterinarian, testifying to each of our dogs' temperament, as well as proof of their being current on vaccinations, licensing, etc. Basically, if I can somehow magically transform my dogs into any breed other than that which they are, my life will become infinitely easier...

Now really, I don't mind doing this. Discrimination always sucks, no two ways about it, but, being a bullie enthusiast, owner, and advocate, I'm pretty used to it by now. However, it does rankle me that this policy isn't being uniformly applied. I think it has so much potential to protect children from dog bites, but it needs to be implemented in EVERY home with a dog, whether that dog is a Chihuahua or a Rottweiler. I also think there's room to do more with this policy - I believe that for foster families with dogs, a basic obedience course should be mandatory. A simple 8 week basic obedience course reduces the risk of that dog biting someone by 85%!
Here's the good news: HugABull has the opportunity to draft a package/proposal to the creator of this policy, putting forth our own recommendations. Now, there's no guarantee they'll be followed, but I say it's worth a shot!

Danielle