Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Thank You for Making PoppyMart a Success!

The volunteers of Pit Bull Rescue Central (PBRC) would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you who participated in PBRC's PoppyMart! This year's auction raised an awe-inspiring $10,000!
Please be patient with us as we sort through and process the over 600 donated items. We do have a first round of paid-for items going out the end of this week and we hope to have all items paid for via paypal shipped by the end of next week.

If you are paying by personal check, your item(s) will ship once the check has cleared. If you choose to pay by personal check, please send us an e-mail to let us know that the check is on its way.

All of the funds raised will go directly towards helping needy pit bull and pit bull mixes throughout the US and Canada. PBRC receives no government funding, and is staffed solely by volunteers. Our support comes directly from you, and it goes directly to the dogs.

Again, thank you for helping us help the dogs.

Pit Bull Rescue Central
Fundraising Committee

P.S. PBRC's 2008 Happy Endings Calendar featuring rescued pit bulls is almost here! Look for an announcement regarding its availability soon.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

PoppyMart 2007 is Here!

Let the bidding begin!

PBRC's on-line auction, Poppy Mart 2007 is finally here. From today, September 11 through September 18, you can bid on well over 600 exciting items for auction! Dog stuff, people stuff, gifts, jewelry and collectibles. There is something for every taste and wallet.


P
lease visit our sponsor page to support our generous donors. PoppyMart would not be possible without the many retail vendors, volunteers, and friends who donated to PBRC’s auction. Starting at 12:00 midnight PST, on September 11th, 2007, Pit Bull Rescue Central, Inc. (PBRC), a 501(c)3 organization, will be holding its fourth annual on-line auction.

Since last years was such a success we are once again using eBay as our venue.
All proceeds from Poppy Mart will go directly to PBRC's Fund - which finances Pit Bull Spay/Neuter; assists with medical procedures beyond the financial reach of rescuers, caretakers, owners and shelters; and supports the website that enables us to list dogs for adoption and provide educational resources. PBRC is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers.

Before you bid, we ask that you review our Auction Guidelines page, before you bid, which you can find here: http://www.pbrc.net/auction_2007/rules.html
To register for the auction click here. (Note: Everyone bidding needs to register with eBay.)

If you are already registered with eBay, all you need to do is start bidding! Click the link to go directly to PoppyMart! http://stores.ebay.com/PBRC-Poppy-Mart

Please note that the auction ends at 11:59, September 18 – Pacific Standard Time. For those in other time zones – it begins at the following times:

Mountain – 12:59 am
Central – 1:59 am

Eastern – 2:59 am


Feel free to contact us at fundraising@pitbullinfo.net with any questions!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Poppy Mart 2007 Coming Soon!

Can you believe a whole year has passed! PBRC's on-line auction, Poppy Mart 2007, is just about here! Starting September 11th, 2007, Pit Bull Rescue Central, Inc. (PBRC), a 501(c)3 organization, will be holding its fourth on-line auction--Poppy Mart 2007. Since last years was such a success we are once again using eBay as our venue.

All proceeds from Poppy Mart will go directly to
PBRC's Fund - which finances Pit Bull Spay/Neuter; assists with medical procedures beyond the financial reach of rescuers, caretakers, owners and shelters; and supports the website that enables us to list dogs for adoption and provide educational resources. PBRC is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers.

Through the generosity of many retail vendors, volunteers, and friends we will once again be offering lots of exciting items for auction! Dog stuff, people stuff, gifts, jewelry and collectibles. There is something for every taste and wallet.


We encourage you to register now, so you will be ready to bid early and often!
To register for the auction click here.

(Note: Everyone bidding needs to register with eBay.) You will be sent a link directly to our store once the auction starts.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at fundraising@pitbullinfo.net

Sunday, September 2, 2007

The Trials and Tribulations of "Troubles"

(Note: Along with PBRC's News and Views, we'd like to present The Pit Bull Experience as seen through the eyes of our volunteers. Below is the first such story from Nely about her "Troubles.")

The background to the super cage:


Troubles has broken out of 3 crates. One of them was said to be a super strong crate. The manager at the dog supply place assured me it was just the thing for a strong, separation anxiety dog like Troubles. I had it specially ordered and.... about a couple months or so later, she was out of it. *SIGH*

She has either pulled the bars apart (she's so good about finding a "weak" spot) and in one case, she chewed up the pan and then somehow was able to open a space at the bottom (since the pan wasn't there). She has hurt herself numerous times. It's embarrassing - it looks like I have an abused dog or like she has been in a fight. She even broke a tooth.

She drooled and whined and shook and panted and panted. But if she were out, she would be destructive. Not every time but we had lost enough couches, window blinds, etc, etc to take chances! Not to mention how much safer it is for a dog to be in a crate in case someone breaks in or for some reason... you have a boyfriend who doesn't always close the door all the way and then you would worry about the dog getting out.... but I digress...

I was flipping through the PetEdge catalog and saw a crate that was advertised as "the Alcatraz of dog crates" and the picture showed a pit bull inside a crate that looked like you could keep a tiger in -- PERFECT!

It was expensive, but it was SO WORTH IT. If I had only found that before the other crates she destroyed, it would have been much more affordable! This Hannibal Lecter crate is so well built. Super strong and the bars are thick and rounded (Troubles can't hurt herself!). The pan is steel so she can't chew it and it's UNDER another set of rounded bars on the bottom! There are 2 sizes only. The smaller size is appropriate for a pit bull but I had a sneaking suspicion that Troubles was claustrophobic... she was OK in the other crates UNTIL you shut the door. So I got her the bigger size, so it's nice and roomy. She has blankets in there and she can pace and spread out.

It's my fault for waiting until she was an adult to crate train her and I tried for so long that I gave up a couple times and then started again later. It seemed like she would NEVER be crate trained. She is so difficult and anxious. She just freaks out.

But it happened! With time and patience, of course. I went through all the normal crate training and calming routines. The separation anxiety things that I usually do. I also incorporated more training sessions which even though have nothing to do with the crate, helps. More NFL-type of things in normal life. More ignoring the crying and barking. More walks and me getting in the crate non-chalantly to get her interested. Eventually she got to the point that she is today. She will sometimes pant and cry and shake and drool.... only while we are still in the house. And if she can hear us outside. But when she doesn't see or hear us anymore, she is fine. We have snuck back to the house (we leave the radio on for her so she couldn't hear us) and peeked in the window to see her perfectly fine. Sometimes laying down and sleeping, sometimes just sitting there. But fine. No anxiety behavior. Lots of the time, if it's during a normal routine time like me going to work, she's OK when she can still see me. She goes into the crate willingly. She actually seems to like it and she goes to it expectantly because I always put a "surprise" in there for her ( a treat). She goes into it regularly just to get a "good girl" or a treat.