Georgina, Queens, NY

Hi everybody! I’m an orange pit bull girl named Georgina Ursuline Wentworth. My Mommy gave me a fancy name cause she said I went from rags to riches and thinking back on it…. I guess I did! You may just know me as Georgina the Pretty Orange Pittie. Here is my story.

About 3 and a half years ago when I was one and a half, some people found me wandering the Bronx and brought me to the Manhattan ACC. I was happy to be inside at first but I really hated it there. People kept talking about how I’d had babies and it embarrassed me. They kept saying something about “the List” and I didn’t like the sound of that at all. They took a few pictures of me to show to folks who might want to adopt me but they were such terrible pics. I looked ugly and kind of grumpy! I tried to ask for a re-do but it was too late. I thought I’d be stuck there forever!

I was at ACC about 10 days when a nice volunteer took me out of my cage and told me I was going to meet a “foster.” I had no idea what that meant but was feeling really sick and scared so I thought, let’s give it a whirl! We went downtown in the volunteer’s car, all the way to street 10!! When we got out onto the street, I saw the most handsome person with the most colorful and varied markings all over his body, something called “tattoos.” I could hardly believe my generously proportioned ears when the volunteer told me who this person was — it was my “foster” DAD!!! I ran over and wagged my tail as fast as I could to show that I was a really nice dog who loved people more than anything. We took to each other right away, partly because, as you can see, I am also quite colorfully marked, but mostly because I just knew in my heart this was a great person who would be nice to me.

My foster dad took me up in an elevator to a small crate that I now know is called a “studio apartment” and people pay a lot of money for them! He put me inside another crate with some snacks and a “toy” so I wouldn’t be scared when he left. I wanted to try and use the toy but since no one had ever given me one before I didn’t know how. I sat there by myself wondering what was next and getting a little nervous as time went by. I tried sleeping a little but it was hard with my bad cough and upset stomach. I’d gotten real skinny while I was a stray so I didn’t have a lot of padding to keep me comfortable.

Finally, a person came in (a totally new one) and it was a girl like me! She came over and put her fingers up to my crate. She seemed a little sad. I guess she saw that I wasn’t in the best shape and that I was feeling a little insecure. I was excited when she opened my crate but I came out slowly. There weren’t many places to go in the small apartment but I made the most logical choice — what they call the bed! While I settled in, she picked up her phone and called my foster dad. I knew she was talking about me because I heard her say, “You’re right! She’s a perfect ORANGE pumpkin, just in time for Halloween.” It was October 31st and this was my foster MOM!

In the early days, I admit, I had a couple problems. I’m embarrassed to say it but I had accidents all over the house. I just didn’t know any better and my stomach was always upset. The vet told us that in addition to kennel cough I also had Giardia, a common parasite among dogs in shelters. Going on walks was nice but people wanted me to learn to go to the bathroom outside AND walk on a leash. It was just so overwhelming for an anxious dog like me. Before my foster parents could schedule the surgery to have me fixed, they noticed I was acting really strange. I was having these crazed episodes, acting really manic, and they didn’t know what to make of it. then they realized — I was going into heat! Boy, was that a big mess!

Through all this I bonded almost instantly with my foster dad. Within days, I couldn’t be apart from him and soon after I felt the same way about my foster mom, and just about anyone else I met. Whenever someone left the apartment I would get so upset that I would have terrible tantrums — I’d jump up and down in front of the door screaming. Sometimes I did this for hours and my nails left marks on the door as high as 5 and a half feet! Because I wasn’t trained yet and having accidents in the house, I’d often step in my poop during these fits and wind up smearing it all over the door like a doodle Jackson Pollock painting. I can’t believe I did these things but I was just so excited and trying to fit in. No one had ever taught me anything about how to behave before. I felt so safe with my new people and each time they left I feared they were leaving me forever. Little did I know they would be KEEPING ME FOREVER! 🙂

Me and my new family had a few bumps in the road at the beginning. We had all the “problems” that people talk about — the asthma and allergies problem, the landlords kicking us out problem, the dog doesn’t like the other dog problem, the dog has anxiety and destroys the house problem—the list goes on and on! Sometimes I don’t know how I got so lucky but my family never once made me feel like I didn’t deserve them 110%.

My wish is that all dogs could have a story like me, with people who are there for them no matter what, whether they went to their family as a baby or had to wait a few years to find them.

Kisses,
Georgie

Some additional facts about me!
Age: 5.5 estimated, Mommy got me at 1.5 our anniversary is coming up — Halloween

My Name:
Mommy added my middle name just last year when I was 4.5! She had a long list of names but selected Ursuline because it means “baby bear” — one of my nicknames!

My Nicknames:
Georgie, orange baby, baby bear, wubbykins, ham, Hamela Anderson, pumpkarina, worm, gator girl, teeny Houdini (I could not be crate-trained — I escape from the kennel at the vet the night of my spay surgery and I escaped almost every day during the period mommy was trying to crate train me. We went through 3 different crates with padlocks and zip-ties all over them and I would still manage to escape from them! :-))

My Favorite People:
Anyone! I love people more than anything. I get so excited. But first is mommy! Then daddy. Then mommy’s mommy, tom (the man who comes to walk me every day), Aunt Celia, all of mommy’s friends, Caroline (she is my 85-yr-old neighbor who sits on the stoop and plays with me every day — we are about the same size. Hee!)

My Favorite Events:
Car trips, mommy’s parties so I can be a hostess and greet and entertain everyone, our family’s yearly tag sale where I stand in the driveway and greet everyone

Where I’m From:
The Bronx. It has been called the place where pit bulls go to die. they are bred like rats either for use in fighting or for profit or simply out of irresponsibility. There are way more of them than any shelter can take in even if funding and space were not an issue. My daddy works for NYC Dept of Sanitation and sees strays day and night emaciated and scrounging for food on a daily basis.

Where I Live:
I first lived with mommy in Manhattan for about 6 months before we had to move. Mommy never intended to ever ever have a dog (she has very bad allergies and severe asthma so it is not recommended) so when she signed her lease, she didn’t even worry about the no pets clause. After having me for about 6 months, the management company put us on notice that we were in violation of our lease and mommy could either get rid of me or move within 2 weeks. So we got in a bit of a panic (the NYC rental situation not being the easiest to navigate or afford), got our things together and found a new place in Queens! Daddy lives in a different part of Queens with my brother Judas (from North Shore Animal League), my half-sister Daisy (abandoned in Brooklyn then pulled from ACC by Daddy) and their new foster brother, Oscar (found abandoned in Bronx and taken home by Daddy a few weeks ago).

Where I Sleep:
In mommy’s or another human’s bed every night. I will never be comfortable sleeping without a human. I ask to go under the covers by standing on top and giving the human “the look.” When they lift the covers, I crawl under, line up as close to them as possible, then flop down. If I am not close enough, I get up and try again until it’s perfect! If mommy has guests staying over on the couch, even if I just met them, I will ditch mommy and sleep with them for the night. I want them to feel welcome!

Parent: Deirdre