We thought we’d take some time to show our supporters who makes up Born Again Pit Bull Rescue.  After Angela Adams founded the rescue in 2007, so many long-term supporters have followed her progress so faithfully and it’s much appreciated!  Once the organization became an official non-profit in July 2011, though, a board was formed, which is now helping Angela take the business to the next level and beyond—she doesn’t have to do it all on her own anymore.  Who are these mysterious people and what do they do for BAPBR and why?  This is part 1 of a 9 part series that we’ll be sharing with you, one board member at a time, over the coming weeks, to shed some light on who BAPBR has become as an organization.

Angela Adams:

How did you hear about BAPBR?

I started BAPBR in March of 2007 after buying my first American Pit Bull Terrier(APBT) from a breeder in 2003.  Jasmine was her name and she changed my life.

What drew you to BAPBR?

After I read a statistic that for every 1 pit bull type dog that finds a home, 600 die in various facilities in the US – I had to do something. Something is better than nothing…this was the driving force for me to really start educating myself about everything to do with these dogs and then determine what part I could play in changing the public’s perception of them and helping to save their lives.

How long have you been involved with BAPBR?

Since I founded the rescue in March 2007.

What do you do for BAPBR?

As the Director, I run the daily operations of our organization: Phone calls, emails, processing applications, meet and greets, home-checks, foster and adopter support, transporting dogs from point A to point B (mainly foster homes, adopter homes and vet appointments), updating the website blogs, updating photos and dog profiles via www.Petfinder.com, working on our financial tracking spreadsheets—everything it takes to run a business is what I put into this organization. It’s very important to me that our organization is run on sound and sustainable business practices—we are truly in the business of saving lives and cannot make decisions on passion and emotion alone.

I also network MCAS and other rescue’s and shelter’s dogs via email and Petfinder to continuously help dogs, even when we can’t pull them into the BAPBR program directly.

Why do you support BAPBR – why is it important to you to help this organization?

Seeing these dogs end up with the greatest homes—this video sums it up!

What do you do in your day job (or what have you done if you’re not working at the moment)?

I have a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing, but currently work as a caregiver to an 81 year old WWII and Korean War veteran. I’ve been caring for him since March 2007. Previously, I ran a Real Estate investment firm for 4 years in Lake Oswego, specializing in 1031 exchanges.

Tell us about your personal pets – who you have, names, where they came from, favorite thing about each pet.

Max – aka –”Papa Bear” – aka “The Gobbler” – He was born 12/13/2003 and LOVES his orange Chuck-It balls (he gobbles them). Max came to me from a breeder in Oregon, who originally got him as a pup from a breeder in Southern California.

Berry – is my 3-year old who loves to sit on other dogs.  She is a snugglebug and she loves to sunbathe.  She even has her own Facebook fan page!

Sway –  aka – “Swizzle Sticky” is my 4-year old who originally came from Southwest Washington Humane Society in Vancouver, WA.  He was adopted from Second Chance Companions.

Do you live with someone who supports you or helps you in your BAPBR duties/endeavors? Tell us who it is and how they help you.

I have an awesome roommate who takes great care of my dogs for me while I’m at work and my brother, a 21-year-old college student, walks my dogs everyday.

What is your ultimate goal/dream for BAPBR to accomplish?

To build our network of foster homes, supporters and donors, and someday, conquer the over-population of pit bull type dogs and pass legislation that will forever ban the possibility of Breed Discriminatory Legislation or “ BSL” (breed specific legislation) and would instead hold reckless and irresponsible dog owners responsible for anything their dogs might ever do wrong. A physical BAPBR facility would be nice, too!

You may recall from an early bloggy that I love to twirl for my dinner, but I’ve been adding lots and lots of new things to my repertoire!

BAPBR enrolled me in SCHOOL!  And I LOVE it!  My foster parents have been taking me to this place called “Happy-Go-Lucky” each week and that’s just how it makes me feel—I get so excited when they pull out my Thunder Shirt to get me ready for the car ride there.  I guess I tend to get a little over-excited about going to school, but I can’t help it if I love to learn.

 At first, I was so overly eager around other dogs that I didn’t know what to do with myself—I got so distracted.  I started my classes in a room off to the side from the main room so that everyone could watch me develop my “appropriate” skills and once I did, I got to join the others in the main group!

These are all the lessons I’ve learned over the past couple of months in school—and I do them all with a loose leash because I’m THAT good:

Sit

Down

Off

Come

Wait

Watch Me

Leave It

Stay

Give

Loose Leash Walking (this is where my foster parents said I made the most improvement in class!)

Other commands we always practice at home:

Fetch

Twirl

Stand

Settle

As you can see, I’m extremely smart and I do just LOVE my lessons.  I’m going to make someone very happy when they adopt me because I love to please and I love my people.  So, what do you say?

To learn more about Gidget and her perfect home, click here.

You’re obviously a big dog lover if you’re on our website and reading this blog.  Have you ever wanted to help the BAPBR dogs, but aren’t able to foster a dog, so, not sure how you could?

We had to share this special lady’s ideas—she is a huge supporter of the dogs in our program and makes her contribution in a very talented way!

Meet Debra Butler.  She is a fantastic seamstress, has her own sewing machine—and she’s crafty, to boot!  She and one of our board members, Alysse, came up with the idea to take old blankets, quilts and other newly-purchased materials and turn them into snuggly foster dog blankets, warm jackets –we’ve never met a pit bull type dog who doesn’t get chilly—and even super-cute “Adopt Me” bandanas to help draw attention to them when they’re on outings with their foster families.

It started with the request to have Debra make some bandanas—Debra bought some material at the fabric store and started making the attention-getting little squares.  Alysse then added the letters to spell out “Adopt Me” on them.  Presto – the dogs started getting so much attention on walks, at events and even out and about with their foster families—errand-running.

Now Debra makes seasonal and holiday bandanas on a regular basis throughout the year.  Debra says, “Bandanas and jackets just really make dogs look so extra-friendly and approachable to strangers!”

Next, they moved on to a quilt.  Alysse had just purchased some new bedding for her home and had an old queen-sized quilt she was going to give away.  Instead, they turned it into about 6 kennel blankets of varying sizes.  So Debra started making lots of crate blankets—she takes old quilts and blankets, then she buys fleece to sew to the other side and now each BAPBR foster dog receives a blanket when they go to their foster home.  When they get adopted to the forever family, their blanket goes with them as something familiar for them as they transition into their new home.  What a great idea!

She donates about an hour and a half per night some weeks, just spent sewing, and donates the materials she buys at the fabric store (a nice tax write-off, as well).  Debra loves to sew and she really loves dogs so she’s found this is a great way to make a difference in these dogs’ lives.

Debra’s wish?  “Donate your old blankets or quilts, or buy fleece or cute material that would be cute for a bandana, a jacket or a crate blanket and get in touch with BAPBR to drop it off—they’ll get it into my hands and I’ll sew for the dogs!”

Why is Debra so dedicated to helping the BAPBR dogs?  “I love doing it!  Pit bulls get such a bad rap and I’ve never met a mean pit bull, I really haven’t,” she says.

We’re so glad she does and we couldn’t agree more!

If you’d like to donate material or blankets, contact us at Info@BAPBR.org.  Have a special talent you think you could lend to help the BAPBR dogs?  Email us to share your ideas.

What’s Born Again Pit Bull Rescue doing with a Chihuahua blend, you ask?  While Liam is far from a pit bull type dog, we couldn’t turn our backs on him in his time of need.  This little man was found wandering the streets—that’s right—this wee little boy was out on his own!  When no one claimed him, we decided to bring him into our BAPBR Foster Program.  Liam is our featured “Not-a-Bull” and he’s looking for a family to call his own.

He’s a pretty special boy, we think.  He came to us flea-ridden (with at least 100 fleas covering his tiny little body), dirty as all get up and a mouthful of teeth so covered in plaque, we couldn’t see the white in there.  He clearly had a hard time chewing due to the pain he felt in his mouth—so off he went to get neutered and have a full cleaning and extractions.  The procedure, combined with his 6 baths, flea treatment, de-worming, vaccinations and micro-chip had him feeling all shiny and new.

Just look at him now!  We love his blond and golden glow!

Liam fit right into life on his Pit Stop (should that be “Chi Stop”?) in foster care with 6 other foster brothers and sisters, a couple of cats and some chickens thrown in for fun.  Turns out he is house trained, settles in a crate in just a few minutes, enjoys the company of all the dogs, doesn’t bother the chickens and, well…he may have had some run-ins with outdoor cats while on the streets—he growled a bit at the cats who are twice his size—but he quieted down with just a couple of “hushes”.  Our favorite quality of Liam’s?  He bonds to his people VERY quickly. Who can resist a thimble-sized boy, full of trust and adoration, who will lie on his back cradled in your arms for hours, just throwing kisses your way every so often?

One of his foster sisters is a Bouvier des Flandres with the nickname of “Big Bear”.  Liam, standing next to her so tiny and precious (in a manly sort of way, of course!), has earned the nickname “Little Bear”.  Don’t you want a Little Bear in your life?

 To learn more about Liam and who should take him home, click here.