Blueberry, New York, NY

Hello, I’m Blueberry, a 4-year-old ‘Pitbull’ dog living in NYC. It’s hard to type a life story without opposable thumbs, but my mom is insisting I try. So, here we go:

Before I met my mom I had three different dads from the ages of 5 weeks to 2 years old. Dad #1 was the best and took great care of me, but unfortunately had to move to a building which didn’t allow pets that look like me, so that’s when I moved in with his friend, Dad #2.

Things started out well at Dad #2’s but soon I became too much for him to handle (I was pretty energetic back then), he tried tying me to the radiator during the day but that didn’t help, so that’s when I went to the shelter and was intercepted by Dad #3.

Dad #3 meant well but had some problems with drugs and alcohol that made it hard for him to take care of me properly. I was home alone a lot (like for 3-4 days at a time) and even ended up going to the shelter again when he had to go to jail.

For all of Dad #3’s bad qualities, he had a great taste in women, and that’s how I met my mom! 🙂

I know I look like a little angel in these pictures, but when I first came to my mom’s house, I was a bit of a wild child! I thought it was really fun to pee on her bed, pull really hard on the leash, hump people on the street, and knock people down the stairs in our building. I was always a good boy, but my behavior had really deteriorated during my time with Dads #2 and #3.

My mom researched dog training and worked with different trainers to teach me better behavior. Who would have thought, but I am REALLY good at training!

My mom is in the rescue community and her friends at Project Pet, Inc. allowed her to foster me for them, and also paid for a very expensive jaw surgery I needed. I had a gross metal plate in my jaw from when Dad #2 let me outside with no leash on and I got hit by a car and broke my jaw, and now the plate had become infected. It was very painful and made my breath smell like dead people, which made me loose out on some pretty awesome make out sessions.

I was lucky to have surgery before the infection spread to my brain and heart because I could have died! Lots of people who didn’t even know me donated towards the costs of the surgery, which was super nice of them!

My mom tried to adopt me out but realized that there was no one awesome enough on earth to be worthy of adopting me, so now she’s my real mom and not just my foster mom. 🙂

We had been together a long time and had gone through a lot of stuff together; a lot of loss and a lot of changes. My trainers all said I was craving consistency, and I think my mom was too. A lot of people told her that she would never be able to give me away from the very beginning, so she’s a little embarrassed of admitting it now. I’m not going to lie, my mom is kind of a neurotic psycho, but she’s lucky to have great friends, rescue colleagues and me, who are always supportive of her, even when she’s acting a little crazy.

My mom and I are very different: She can be shy with new people and can sometimes be sad, while I’m always happy and love to make out with strangers on the street! So I’m a big help to her with my social butterfly and cuddlebug nature; She likes to take me everywhere with her and I can always make her laugh. I also help her with fostering other dogs and cats who are homeless like I once was, and am her photography ‘muse’.

Most people I meet love me and welcome my snuggles, but sometimes people can be scared of me or even say rude things. I’ve even been called a ‘monster’ if you can believe it!

My mom tries to be polite and educate people, but sometimes she rolls her eyes and gets annoyed. Being the more mature of the two of us, I usually just roll on my back for belly rubs while moving my legs like I’m riding a bike. I’ve found this is can cure even the most awkward of situations, like when my mom comes home and finds the garbage has been eaten and strewn about the apartment. (I highly recommend this to all my doggie friends, though I’m not sure it would have the same effect if a human were to do it.)

I wish I could tell you that I am a certified therapy dog, or had saved my mom from a burning building, but I’m pretty much a normal doggie with a normal doggie life now — walks, playdates, kongs, cuddling, and jumping on mailboxes! (Maybe that last one isn’t so normal, but it’s really, really fun!)

We still keep in touch with all of my dads, because they all still love me (who wouldn’t?) and want to make sure I’m doing OK.

So, in conclusion, here are a few life lessons I’ve learned along the way which I’d like to pass along to all humans and dogs who may be reading this:

First, be friendly and well behaved! I cannot tell you how much this has helped me in life and convinced a lot of people who were skeptical of giving me kisses that it’s really OK, and landlords who didn’t want to rent apartments to my mom that they wouldn’t have to be worried about having a tenant who looks like me.

Second, humans are awesome! You may not expect something like that coming from me but I have so many amazing aunts and uncles in my life who have helped me and my mom with my surgery costs, babysitting me when my mom is away, and helping me get trained. Sometimes (especially when you are involved in animal welfare, like I am) it’s easy to become bitter towards humans, but the majority of them are pretty awesome.

And lastly, don’t judge! I am an awesome example of what some might think looks like a monster, but I’m a total mushmush! Words hurt, and be careful how you use them with dogs or humans. Most ‘monsters’ are really not monsters at all if you take the time to get to know them.

Thanks for reading my story! And follow me on Instagram: @thebluebies where you can catch me lounging around with my cat, Willie Nelson.

~Blueberry

Parent: Sabrina