Today's Rescue - South L.A. Staffordshire

If you haven't already surmised, I have a soft spot for bully-breed dogs, especially pit bulls and staffordshire terriers, and when I see a case like this guy at the South L.A. shelter - abused and depressed - it really breaks my heart. Here's what a volunteer had to say about him:

I was shutting a cage door in ISO when I saw this sad boy laying quietly in his cage. Other dogs in the ward run to the doors of their cages for attention when someone comes into the room, but not this guy - he looked totally beat and beaten up and preferred to stay on his mat, looking at me with sad eyes.

I had no food for him, but I scraped the bottom of some cans I had and offered what was left. He gently licked it off my palm. He's a big guy, but so tender in the way he pushed his big head forward to take the food.

His face has so much character, and so many scars. He has one deep gouge on his right cheek, and lots of tiny bite wounds on his head, ears, legs and feet. God knows what kind of horrible life he led until he was caught; he was wearing a collar so he belonged to someone who obviously didn't take care of him if he was allowed to get into this condition. I think he's almost relieved to be in a place where he can lie down and get fed without being challenged and beaten up by people and other dogs.

I'm not posting this because it's a sob story: it happens far too often for that. If you take a stroll down the aisles at South L.A. - or any of the other shelters, for that matter - you'll see dozens and dozens of abandoned pit bulls and staffordshires, many with hack DIY ear jobs, a lot that are severely undernourished or that had obviously been used for breeding or dog fighting, almost all of them doomed to be euthanized. And why? Because pit bulls are like the pickup trucks of the dog world: buy them cheap, treat them like crap and then dump them. No one wants them old and used.

I know I sound like a broken record (and now resorting to really bad analogies), but it's a horrible situation. All dogs deserve to be treated humanely. If even one sad staffordshire can be rescued from the shelter and given a proper home, it will be a good day.

Give this guy a second chance.


Male staffordshire terrier (listed as a pit bull)
5 years old
ID#: A879510
South L.A. shelter

3612 11th Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90018
213.485.0117 (or 0119, 0227, 0303)

Google map

L.A. Animal Services