Strays to the Rescue
Grace
"Grace spent the first two years of her life tied to a tow chain in some guy's backyard. During that time, she had at least one litter of puppies. She was involved in organized dogfights where one of her ears was ripped completely off and the other partly severed. She has numerous scars on her head and front legs. Fortunately, there was a raid, and Grace and the other dogs were taken to a shelter ... I worked for many years with Out of the Pits, a pit-bull-rescue organization. I wanted a rough-looking dog for my work, and her injuries and scars tell a compelling story. I wanted a dog that had been used in fights to help me explain that dogs should be considered individuals. They should not be routinely killed simply because they have come from a dog-fighting situation ... Grace passed her Canine Good Citizen test, and she just recently received her Therapy Dog International certification. She accomplished all this in just one year and one month from the time I got her. Pretty impressive ... Grace is sweet and outgoing. She attracts people wherever we go. Since everyone wants to pet her, she believes that is the reason she exists. She is my official working partner for humane education. I teach children about safe ways to interact with dogs and about how to treat animals. We talk about empathy and compassion, about the responsibility involved when you have a dog or a cat."
— Cyd Cross, animal behaviorist