Well, here's the happy-ever-ending of dear Merle, who was born at the wrong place --

-- Merle was born in Ohio, a very difficult place for pit bulls -- he was surrendered at 10 weeks (!!) to the shelter, and shelters can only place pit bulls with rescues in Ohio, by law --

-- with the help of many great people, like Krissi, Jill and Mary, he soon grew wings and never looked back -- !!

Here he is, socializing with my two, Spud and Elvis, and foster Onyx, before his placement --

-- special care must be taken when socializing puppies as small as Merle with bigger dogs -- one quick move can mean the end of his precious life -- thus, no high-value toys are ever down (bones, food, etc.) and there is constant supervision --

Finally, off to the foot-hills of Connecticut, if you can believe it -

-- absolute beauty out here --

-- and a future watering hole that dear Merle might play in --

-- that is, if I don't drop my camera in it -- !!

At the home visit, Merle meets his new momma, Amy, and new sister, Chyna --

-- Amy is a great adopter -- a vet tech and also a keen teacher of obedience --

-- here, Merle begins his "sit" while Chyna says, "newbie" --

!!

Pictures on the wall -- we love 'em -- !!

Chyna is herself a rescue, adopted by Amy as a little pup --

-- and the toys come out --

-- again, Amy knows her pup, Chyna, and that she is not toy aggressive or possessive -- thus, having the toys out is okay --

-- this goes on a case-by-case basis --

After his workout, he rests on the dog-bed with his new poppa --

-- Amy writes --

"Just to let you know, Merle did great last night, no accidents in the house at all!! It was a miracle, he slept w/ us and Chyna on the bed because we didn't have the heart to put him in the crate after his long day. He found my cats, one of them is not too fond of him but the other has really taken a liking to him, and vice versa.

Chyna warned him this morning when she was sleeping as he was nipping her butt with the little razor teeth he has, she wasn't too happy about that, but I think he realizes it now not to do that as she is not a morning dog."

-- and there we have it -- a happy family --

-- Amy concludes --

"Just an update, "Merle" now known as Ramsey (because he is like a bull in a china shop) is now enrolled in his obedience class w/ other puppies. I am friends with the woman who runs it so she is going to do private lessons with Chyna and him."

WE LIKE IT -- !! -- thank you all for making this boy's life a success!!

Well, Merle's flown the coop for a couple of months now -- his name is now Ramsey, and he is doing GREAT!

His momma writes --

"Chyna and he are the best of friends, he is fond of my cats, and loves everyone!!

This was a great match, it didn't seem so at first but in the end Chyna really loves it.

He is 30lbs. now and only 6 months!! Growing very quick!!"

"He was having a hard time with housebreaking as he was able to eliminate in the crate in the shelter.

He is getting better at this because he gets a good boy and a piece of chicken when he goes to the bathroom outside. Just as stubborn as Chyna I think."

Good thinking, Amy!

Here is Ramsey, enjoying a toy with Chyna.

Normally, I would not suggest having two pit bulls around such high-value items (toys), especially when one is clearly stronger than the other, for fear of toy-aggression...

... BUT, Amy knows her pups (both of them) quite well, and closely supervises this playtime --

-- it's like me allowing Thor and Elvis toy-time, whereas with Precious, she plays with them alone -- still supervised!!

Well, there you have it -- he's an every day pea in a pod --

-- just LOOK at his little rhinestone harness here -- !!

THANKS Amy and family for making this boy fit right in, and we look forward to more updates!

Well, here is a welcomed update --

-- little Merle (now Ramsey) and his sister, Chyna, are doing great -- !!

Look at how handsome our boy is becoming, too -- !!

Amy writes --

"Hi Eric,

Just an update on Ramsey (Merle), he is doing great, getting much bigger than his older sister!! He weighs about 50 pounds right now, and he eats like a horse.

We did have a bit of a cancerous tumor scare about a month ago, turns out it was an infection caused by his skin allergy, the vet sent the test to Cornell to make sure."

Tumors and masses are very common on bull-breeds, and it is ALWAYS prudent to take your pup to the vet to have them analyzed --

-- most vets can take a sample (aspirate) the mass and view it under a microscope, making a decision to leave the mass or remove it -- usually, they are removed.

In more tricky cases, vets will send the sample to a veterinary school, where a specialist (usually a pathologist) will give the sample a look.

Amy continues --

"He is so very playful and strong-minded, much more than Chyna was. He loves his raw beef ribs he gets as an outdoor treat, and is quite fond of a pig ear every now and again.

Along w/ Chyna he seems to have a new friend his name is Chancellor, he is my sisters cat she brought w/ her when she moved in. "

"They LOVE each other, they actually play like 2 dogs, one running after another all night long. I think Chyna gets a bit jealous because she always wants to play w/ Ramsey.

Here are some pictures one of which he is pouncing, another trait the cat taught him!!!"

Well now, if stories like this don't put my mind at ease -- !!

I often have random thoughts (and dreams!) like "I wonder how Coal is doing, I wonder how Onyx is doing, I wonder how Ebony is doing" --

-- well, stories like this certainly help assure me that they're a-o-kay -- !!

Inside, you can see Chyna and Ramsey are quite at home, having free-run of the furniture --

-- spoiling is GOOD, in my eyes, and even recommended -- to a point -- !!

Now they get down to business --

-- striking poses in their newest winter wear --

"Mr. Ramsey, are you from a high-kill shelter in Ohio?"

Mr. Ramsey: "Um, I don't know what you're talking about -- I am from the Handsome Boy Modeling School" --

-- and that we let him have.

To see these dogs come this far and then have the final success of a perfect home, is everything.

So, Ramsey is well, and Chyna is too --

-- this is from responsible, caring ownership by Amy and her husband --

THANK YOU all, from Krissi at the shelter to Amy's watchful eye, for giving this boy the life he deserves!

Well, here is our boy -- handsome and happy -- and I am proud as a peacock -- !!

His momma, Amy, writes --

"Hi Eric -- I just wanted to give you an update about little Ramsey!!  Well as you can see in this picture he is FAR from little.  He is now about 1.5 inches taller than Chyna our 6 year old Pit.  He also out weighs her by 5 lbs.

The Vet thinks he will gain more weight as he approaches maturity.  He is such a good boy, and we all LOVE HIM!!!"

"He had an excellent Christmas he actually had Christmas from the 2nd week until the day as he ripped open presents every day and tried to hide them (very smart). 

Mike and I had gotten their pictures taken for Christmas and will have to forward you a copy, they look great in their matching “Coach” collars, which he hates because he cannot wear any collars w/ tags because it scares him when it hits something.  We have started to walk them around town he seems better w/ a harness because he gets a little excited and I am afraid he may slip his collar, but everyone cannot help but come up to them and just tell him how handsome he is, he just loves the attention.  Well I will forward you more pictures but if you look back to the first ones we sent of him on this couch he is TINY!!! 

Thanks so much for everything you do!!!!!"

"Here are the Christmas pictures we got done by this TERRIFIC woman in Massachusetts.  I called around to see if while we were getting our family pictures done if we could bring the dogs in and of course i got "what breed are the ma'am" and alot of NO'S, so this woman Penny said she would LOVE to do them as she did Chyna's pictures in 2004.  She is absolutely wonderful as well as the pictures.  It is sad that alot of people are so biased about the breed, but she actually welcomed them into her home w/ her own dog, which Chyna and Rams just loved!!

I know i always say thank you but really Eric you are great person for doing what you do on a daily basis and if we had more people like you in this world we would not have those biased people who are anti-pit bull!!!"

Well, now, this is a perfect ending -- and I couldn't be happier. Nothing gives me more joy than to see these loves thriving in their homes a year after their placement --

-- THANK YOU, Amy and Mike for giving this boy a wonderful life!