Doobie, Fresno, CA

My name is Doobie. I am one of 2 pit bulls saved by my family. Every dog they own is a rescue — Mom loves the unwanted. 🙂

My story starts with this: I was setup to be a guard dog for a marijuana field. When I broke a plant, I was beaten almost to death with it. Then I was to be a personal attack dog, but I don’t have the heart for that (I am what my mom calls a marshmallow).

I met the new neighbors on October 17th, 2009. I had no idea that they would be my family, much less my saviors. I was maybe 5 months old that sunny morning. I was let out to go potty by the bad man with 2 other pit bulls with no supervision. That’s when I met the girls next door. They called their mom out to come see what they found on the porch. I was a big rolly polly puppy, sitting with a 3-legged dog and a smaller pup. She told the girls not to let us in the house — she didn’t know if her little dog Tazz or their new dog Mary-Jane would be safe around them. She had raised pit bulls in the past and knows what they can be.

She then met the bad man and she always said she was only nice to him for our sakes. We started staying the night over there when it was raining or really cold outside as they had a big house and I lived in a tiny 1-bedroom apartment. When I was six months old, I learned that I could break into the backyard and hide from the bad man (the next door family would hide me all day. 🙂 I loved being over there).

Then I was attacked by the 3-legged dog that I lived with! I was almost killed. The bad man then told everyone that I was in the mountains healing. That’s when he decided he would be injecting me with human steroids to make me big and mean.

I came back to the apartment about a month later. I was BIG but not mean. I spent my days following Mandi around (that’s the oldest daughter to my now-Mom). I was attacked again and came to heal with Mandi. She was asked to train me to be a family dog that could go anywhere so she did. And I learned fast.

When the bad man tried to get me to attack, I would not. So he beat me, slamming my head into the curb in front of Mandi!!

She ran into the house crying, and out came Mom like a rocket and told him that he should be ashamed of himself treating a dog like that. She went on to tell him that he was the reason that pit bulls get a bad name. She asked him how he could see a dog like me and try to make me something I’m not, and if this was how he was going to be then he need not ask for any help with his dogs anymore! She bent down and told me, “Sorry, pal…”

An hour later, I was given to Mandi! 🙂

I thought all my problems were over, but they weren’t. I got into a fight with the little dog that lived there. Tazz was mom’s baby and their first dog, so he bit me and I got tired of it and bit him back one day. Boy oh boy, did I get in trouble!! I was put in time out (which meant being put in the bathroom all alone for a while).

The bad man heard about the fight and took me away saying it was for Tazz’s best interest. I bounced between the two houses and I was attacked again by that 3-legged fighting dog. This time, my family came  to save me with some of the neighbors (9 in all!). My now-Dad freed me from the other dog and told me to run home and I did right into their house.

This is when Mom said, “Enough is enough. Doobie will come to live with us from now on!” And she meant every word. She sat with me cleaning up my bloody wounds. She looked me in the eyes and simply said, “Never again will this happen. I will fight for you and keep you from harm.”

Then the bad man came home and started yelling about how they stole me and he wanted his property back. That really made Mom mad!! She told him that he gave the dog to Mandi and that’s who’s going to keep him. He finally agreed that I was no longer his dog anymore but Mandi’s. This made me happy. I was not allowed to be left alone with Tazz because he would start stuff (Mom said it was little-dog syndrome). This was easily solved — she simply put Tazz in her room and closed the door. 🙂

We were going to move to a better house but that fell through so we were homeless. But my family agreed that us dogs could not be put in the pound as we would be killed, so we went camping till we could find a place (it was summer after all perfect camping weather).

Many of their friends and family told them to just get rid of us dogs and worry about themselves. Well that fell on deaf ears. After a great summer of living outside in tents, Cracker (she’s the other pit bull my family saved from the bad man because he was going to fight her as well!) went into heat and well you all know what happened.

We finally found a place to call home and moved in the day after our 7 puppies were born. Both Cracker and I were fixed soon after so no more Oops puppies!

Last year my mom’s Tazzy Doodles crossed the rainbow bridge after fighting cancer. Mandi gave me to Mom to help replace a bit of her heart. After all, Mom wanted me first (I remind her of her first pit bull Crusher). I can never put into words the way I feel about my family that have sacrificed so much for us.

Oh, before I go, let me share this bit of story. I met a person that was afraid of me: My dad’s mother. She wouldn’t get out of her truck the first time we met. Eventually, I got to go to her house where she learned that all I want is to be loved. We have been friends ever since! (I call her grandma now.)

Mom says that’s what I was put on this earth to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by it cover. My days are now filled with love and happiness with Cracker and our son Demon. We also have Mary-Jane (the lab/Sheppard mix that Mandi found running the streets in Clovis, CA), Mister Kibbles the cat (who thinks he’s a pit bull so don’t tell him he’s a cat), and Coal the bunny. Can you tell my family loves animals?

Every one of us was in need of a home and found one here. To put all the stereotypes to rest: I like cats and other dogs, even rabbits although other pit bulls still scare me. 🙂

And I have the best family in the world.

~Doobie

Parents: Shannon & Kenneth