~Janet H.
Harlee is doing well. She still has issues of barking at random noises and some that are imaginary in the middle of the night when she is sound asleep. It is kind of like she has night terrors, it is so odd. I doubt this ever goes away but it is rare now, thank goodness. She LOVES my cat, Riley and she is his best friend. He lives in my shop. We all spend many hours out there most days so the 2 dogs and cat spend a lot of time together in a small shop. Riley cleans her face first thing every morning when she comes out to the shop and he curls up with her on her pillow. Harlee sits nice and lets my grandkids pet her and play ball with her. she loves her tennis balls and must have them wherever she goes.
~Janet H.
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We started looking at block heads after a friend adopted one from SEPR. We started out by researching the breed and following SEPR on Facebook. Yes, we fell in love with their cute faces and videos. Once we decide they were right for us we started dreaming about which one was “the one” since we had a female dog, Simba, half the decision made already. The back ground check scares some potential families off, maybe, but if you truly love these dogs you know it’s for the best. After the background check the next nervous part is the home visit, “would we be good enough and lucky enough” to be able to have one of these loving, goofy, snuggle buddies come be a part of our family. Volunteers came out talked with us and meet Simba and checked things over, we waited for the call. To our delight we got the thumbs up that same night, and then we started looking at all the boys that needed a home. We had our idea what we thought was right for us and picked him out. Well we were a little late and he found a good home, so SEPR helped us out by picking 3 for us to look at, they know the dogs behavior, attitude, and needs so they match them up from what they have learned from talking with us and our application. Well we were not sure about those three but once we met them we couldn’t choose, I had my favorite, Edison, Stacie had hers, Dodger. We were a little slow to pick since the day after we met them we took off for a two week vacation. Well we were in Mexico and after lots of talking we picked Dodger, made the call and he was still waiting for his family. We got home late on a Saturday night and first thing Sunday we had a new family member. After the two week shut down, yes it’s a little stressful, but well worth it. Dodger and Simba had their first play time out in fresh snow, Dodger was not sure why Simba didn’t want to run and play in it. But he sure had a great time, then they warmed up in front of a warm fire. Simba has learned a lot from Dodger, in truth we learned a lot from Dodger and the support from SEPR is amazing. We never felt alone, if we had a question on why he was doing something we had an “owner’s manual” to look in and see why he was doing something or how to get him to do it. The foster moms or dads that take these dogs in do an outstanding job working with them and teaching them how to become good family members. They are also just a phone call away if you need them. Dodger has become such a big part of our life. When he wakes up in the morning he is so happy we can’t help but have a smile on our faces. From his happy dance before he sits down to get fed to his goofy beagle like howl he is always making us smile. When we go to work all we have to do is open up the freezer and get out his SunButter filled Kong and he runs to is kennel and waits for us to give him one of his favorite treats. Mom gets home first, so she gets to see his happy dance when she lets him out of his kennel. He is always so happy to have us home. When dad gets home it does not matter what the weather is he wants to have some dad time and we head out to play ball or just walk around the yard. Other times he gives you the “look” and off he goes doing his zoomies around the yard. He has learned the word “walk” and runs to the door sits down and waits for us to take him out for a walk. One of his other favorite words is “ride” he will tilt his head give you his pity smile and off he goes to wait for you by the door. Dodger loves to jump up in the truck and head out for a ride it may have to do with us ending up at Renner Corner for a beef jerky treat, yes we spoil him. He truly just wants to be with us and be wherever we are. He is also always up for a snuggle on the couch, or he loves to stretch out in front of the fireplace on cold winter nights. He will even snuggle up with his feline brothers. He also now has a foster sister who he loves to play with and relax on the couch. He has told her all about his time with his foster mom and that someday she will be as lucky as he was and find her forever family. In truth I don’t know how to put it into words on how much more fulfilling Dodger has made our home, we love him so much and he loves being part of our family. ~ Ryan & Stacie B. Percie is a perfect fit for my family. It has been a blessing to have him in my life and he is loved by many of my family (especially grandma and grandpa), and also my friends son who calls him “Perciechu”. He has made a great impact on 6 teen boys from my work - who have special or behavioral needs. They love when I get to bring him to work and he loves being with all of them. Just like with me, he can tell when they need some emotional comfort. I couldn't image my life with out him and can't wait to see what our future holds. ~ Anne R. So, it’s been 3 months since Brinley; formerly known as Brinkley, joined our family. I swear, she’s the missing family member we didn’t even know was missing. She has been such a wonderful addition and acts like she’s been here forever. She’s very much a talker when she wants to be. I’ve never known a dog who’d “talk” to you when they wanted attention. It’s the funniest thing and always a great source of entertainment at our house! She took to our three kids as if they were her own pack. Brin loves to play in the backyard. Her favorite is fetch. That dog will chase anything round for hours…even snowballs! We found this out one day as Shane and the boys were playing with her outside. She would eat the snowballs. The poor thing got so cold she had to come in the house long enough to “barrow” a hoodie from her brother Dillon so she could keep playing. Our boys played baseball this summer and she LOVED going to the games. She would sit or lay down politely beside me and just watch. It was a great training tool, even if she didn’t know that’s what we were doing. Getting her to sit quietly while balls were being thrown around was huge and not something that happens at home very often. I guess she was too busy watching her brothers! On cool evenings, she always drew in some comments and chuckles. She’d typically be curled up in the blanket I brought for myself because she was cold! :) Everyone loved her! Definitely going to need to invest in some cool weather clothing for her before football season starts! Brinners has been such a blessing to us. She is a true sweetheart and I’m so glad she’s a part of our family. From her love of the flirt pole to her major dislike of mornings…she has been one of the best things to come into our family. We’re so glad she’s ours! ~Randi and Shane Giovonni has been adjusting very well here. He loves his hiking, fishing, and playing in the lake. He has been working on his basic manners because sometimes he forgets....but repetition helps. We have been working with his crowd reactivity-see attached pictures-and he is wonderful. He loves to have people come and talk to him and scratch his chin! He even puts up with other dogs if they happen to come to the same place or even walk by. We have discovered that he has a specific bunny radar even though he hasn't caught one yet. Ground squirrels who live in the woodpile have much to fear as he is very good at digging till he finds them....not something his daddy appreciates as he's stacking the same wood for the fifth time...lol. Gio LOVES fish also but doesn't want to eat them, just lick the water off (yuck). He watches the bobber and when it jumps he jumps....it's incredibly cute! After you've caught the fish and put them on a stringer, he watches them like he's babysitting and barks at them every time they splash. There is so much to tell as we have discovered who we are as a little family, but the main thing is that we LOVE Gio. He follows his daddy everywhere because you never know when a ride will be involved and he pouts when he's gone. He comes to me at night and stares at me until I let him get in my lap and curl up. He is just a part of our lives that we can't imagine not having. I want to let you know that as a rescue you all are obviously doing so much more than just saving these fuzzy babies, you are training them to be a part of someones life and family. We are so very thankful you are there and doing the work you do and so are the dogs you care so much about. ~Shay and David I would highly recommend adopting from Sioux Empire Pit Rescue. One and a big one is they didn’t automatically rule out our family because we lived in Montana. There are a lot of other pit rescues that will not adopt dogs to people who live outside their state. But SEPR was great about this process and let us supply photos to them of our home and yard, and by doing a Skype Interview. Also, all of the dogs are in foster care, so the foster families have a lot of great insight to each of their dogs.
I have to say I wanted to adopt one specific dog, and they were really patience and explained why we should select three to choose from. It's all true - you get there and you meet these three great dogs and then have to decide which is best for your family. SEPR is also a great resource going through the first two weeks of shutdown and then the first month. Having owned pits in the past and already having a senior pit in the home, it was a trying and challenging first six weeks, and I learned so much more than I actually knew. Again, I cannot say how important their support has been. They are always there to answers questions and offer advice. We love Loki he is the sweetest boy and a joy to have in our lives, as well as a wonderful addition to our family. ~Sandi and Family! SEPR believes in having a great canine ambassador while out and about in our communities. Each of the SEPR foster dogs are trained to use gentle leader head collars. They are wonderful for small, medium, and large dog breeds. Enjoy safer, stress-free walks with the Gentle Leader® Headcollar. More than 5 million dog owners have found the secret to controlling their dogs on walks. Imagine if each time your dog tugged on the leash, it turned him around. He just might find that he's not getting anywhere. That's the whole idea. The Gentle Leader headcollar fits securely over your dog's nose. The nose loop redirects his head towards you when he pulls forward, preventing pulling and giving you his full attention. It's been a huge year for us at Sioux Empire Pit Rescue. More events, more volunteers, more education and more community outreach. Slowly but surely the vision of SEPR's founders is coming to fruition!
The Happy Endings in this video start from the second week of December in 2014 (just after the last compilation video was published) but here are some stats from January 1, 2015 to December 4, 2015: 42 dogs pulled from 13 facilities in 8 states 36 successful adoptions and only 3 dogs returned We did our first ever community outreach offering free vaccinations, spay/neuter/city license to pit bull owners in Sioux Falls. We held more than 25 events including the Poker Run, Purchase For Pit Bulls online auction, 5K Walk/Run, Meet and Greets, Pride Festival, Bark In The Park and more. A HUGE thank you to the amazing Volunteers, Fosters and Donors that have made this year possible! We pushed super hard and made it through it all! You have all stepped up in amazing ways to bring untold gifts to the Sioux Empire Pit Rescue family, dogs and our community. Here's to you and to a great 2016! Music in this video: 'Seasons of Love' - From the Motion Picture 'RENT' 'Pray' - Justin Beiber 'Pumpin' Blood' - Peter Hollens 'Born This Way - From the Glee Cast Crates. Kennels. Manufactured Dens. Whatever you call them, some people love them, some hate them. Same with our canine friends - some love them, some hate them! At SEPR we love our crates. Crates mean safe places for our dogs to chew peacefully on a bone or take a nap. They also mean that you can be 99% certain that both your dog AND your home are in good condition when you return home! Dogs that love their crates are a walk in the park. Crate setup is as easy as unfold, snap together, line with blankets and give your dog a bone! But for the rest of us - those just starting crate training or those who have dogs that fall into the 1% above - crate setup takes just a little more effort and a touch of ingenuity. We've made an art of Houdini-proofing wire kennels over the years. Lucky for you, we're able to share some of the tricks we've learned so you can jump past the multiple jail breaks and (hopefully) be quickly on your way to a secure crate. It's a little long but we promise there is a TON of great info and step by step instructions to make your life a lot easier. I want to let anyone considering SEPR out there to know about my experience about adopting from SEPR and what you can expect as well. It was truly an amazing experience. Now I wasn't the easiest pet mama to deal with. I can't begin to tell to you how happy I am that I adopted my guy Jake aka Scotland. He wasn't my first choice but that was only because I wasn't really honest with myself and my other dogs needs. With the many conversations, emails and texts with Ray we are able to narrow down the dogs. I was at first dazzled by what Ray called "pretty window dressings," I fell head over heels for Atlas. I thought that a puppy is what I had to have...... well in reality I needed an adult. I was worried that the adult would not bond with me or would be tough to train. By the way not the case. I have had an experience with a rescue pit bull puppy from the my local humane society. Let me tell you I was not prepared or given the tools to handle her as she grew up. I had two other Dobermans in my house and understood the bigger breeds and their personalities. The dobies were 6 years old and the rescue Pitt Bella was 4 months old. Before she was 6months old I had some nasty bloody fights that involved stitches and hard feelings. It progressed for years with me trying to manage them all in separate rooms and gates......it finally came to a head and I had the very last fight that nearly ended a life....Bella's life. I finally gave up and went to the vet to put her down. I was getting worried that her dog aggressiveness was headed towards human aggression. A behaviorist talked to me and gave me some much needed support and insight into Bella. I never had a fight again in my home and Bella now gets along great with her siblings. Bella just turned 4. SEPR and Ray helped me to narrow down my list to three dogs but they also said that I should look at all of the dogs when I came to the adoption event. I read up on all of my choices and I truly narrowed it down to two before I arrived. I was given a lot of information as a potential adopter before I arrived. From the type of kennel to the food I would need. I drove 5 hours to the event to find a new boy for my family. I was kind of crazy. I had over 30 questions to ask the foster dad. I sat down and started in on my questions.....I just watched Scotland as we talked. His foster dad was very open and honest. I bet we talked for 40mins. He was calm and relaxed and everything Bella needed. I got up and was going to go talk to Ray about Scotland. As I walked away Scotland jumped up and started to follow me and looked after me like he knew I was his mom. All of the foster families around us exclaimed "he wants to go with you!" I just knew he was absolutely my new boy! The adoption process was easy and before I knew it we were headed home. Our trip home was awesome as we bonded. It's been over 5 months and he is my love buddy. He has integrated so beautifully. Everything that SEPR prepared me for was what I expected. Ray checked on us that night, the next day and monthly either through texts, phone calls or facebook. I never felt alone or unprepared. I would highly recommend adopting from SEPR and please adopt an older dog! Participate in the SEPR facebook group. Follow their recommendations. ....they know their dogs and your needs better than you do. The dogs are in foster homes and socialized. They know their dogs personalities. Adopting from your humane society is a risk because you just don't know the dogs history or their temperament. I will be adopting again in the near future from SEPR. I love love love my Jake! ~ Bernadette C. |
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