PBRC Sends Their Thanks to the Humane Society of Missouri

In July 2009 the largest dog fighting bust in history occurred in Missouri. Over 400 pit bulls were confiscated from several states and taken to an undisclosed temporary shelter in St. Louis. With a number of females in the group already pregnant, the total number of dogs quickly rose to over 500 with the addition of many litters of puppies born at the shelter. In an effort to keep details of the case confidential, only a limited number of rescue groups were allowed to assist in this operation. As a leader in pit bull rescue and welfare, PBRC was one of the select few groups invited to help with the care of these dogs. We at PBRC would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude to the Missouri Humane Society for inviting us to be a part of this enormous operation.

As an internet based group, PBRC’s volunteers are spread out throughout North America however when word came through of the need for assistance in St. Louis, PBRC volunteers did not hesitate to put their own lives on hold and travel across the United States and Canada to St. Louis.

In addition to the many hundreds of volunteer hours required to keep PBRC working smoothly to assist in the education, rescue and welfare of pit bulls, all of our volunteers also maintain full time jobs, families and other volunteer duties. Many also work hands on with pit bull rescue organizations. Despite their busy lives, PBRC volunteers quickly took time off from their regular jobs, called on friends, family and professional pet sitters to look after their own pets so that they could lend a hand to the Missouri Humane Society and give some love and attention to these dogs who needed it desperately. Several volunteers returned a second time as the case dragged on and the dogs waited in their cages.

In the coming weeks several PBRC volunteers will once again assist in this case by opening their homes and their hearts to some of the dogs released for adoption. These dogs will need to learn a great many lessons that our highly experienced volunteers can teach them. These are dogs that have never lived in a house, have never known the love and attention of a family and who have only seen other dogs as adversaries. They will need to learn house manners, leash manners, basic obedience as well as to live in communities filled with other dogs, cats and a variety of other animals.

Many other rescue groups will also be taking in some of these dogs and PBRC encourages each of them to utilize our free web listing service and potential adopter screening service to give these dogs the exposure and help they will need to quickly find loving, permanent homes.
Over the coming weeks and months PBRC’s blog will feature personal stories and experiences written by our volunteers about their involvement with this operation. Volunteers who are fostering these dogs will be describing the individual dogs’ recovery and progress in their homes. Please check our blog regularly to follow the stories of these dogs as they learn to live and love again while they wait for their forever homes.