I need to get training for a dog I pulled from the Queens ACC so that I don’t need to send her back. At maybe a year and a half, this sweet little pit (45 lbs), who just wants to play, has had a very tough start in life. I tell her what has happened to her was/is not her fault. She came with the name Rock and I didn’t change it, thinking that whoever adopted her would do that.

Rock was a starving stray, and when I first got her, she lunged to the curb when she saw food wrappers there. Also, the first three months I had her, they were repairing my elevator, so we were doing a lot of stairs. She torqued my problem hip with the lunges, and by the time the elevator was fixed, I was using a cane.

She needs to go to the dog run, but the more she pulls, the less mobile I become. I have tried using dog walkers, but in her attempt for a good play wrestle, she jumps up and grabs coat sleeves. Because Rock doesn’t have an outlet for her energy, it can be difficult to walk her, and she has ripped 4 coats so far. People do not want to walk her, and it is becoming impossible for me.

People on the street comment on how sweet/cute/beautiful she is. She is still a baby with very expressive eyes, and her head wrinkles when she thinks. She is healthy as per my vet. She doesn’t have separation anxiety. She is quiet in the apartment and will alert me if someone comes to the door. Rock is good with dogs and people and has not shown aggression to anyone. Cuddling is very important to her, and she tries to get as close to me as possible.

What this little pup has already been through:

She was found tied to a pole in the Bronx.

She was hit hard with something like a shovel over her right eye (I saw the scar as her hair grew in).

She starved as a feral stray puppy. She didn’t know what a box bed was or a squeaky toy.

She went from being feral to being locked in a popup crate 23 hours a day for 7 weeks at the ACC.

She was scheduled to be killed because she was thrashing and crying in her crate.

She came with two large scabs on her knees, and I continue to find scars.

Instead of more walks, play, and enrichment, she was put on three behavior meds which made her sleepy. During this same time, she was given a hysterectomy, probably while she was in heat, as she had a slight vaginal prolapse. I believe that she had a UTI when I got her, probably from sitting in her crate in her own waste for long periods of time.

Simple basic actions help a dog stay mentally and physically healthy to increase their chances of being adopted, but instead, they drugged her.

So far, she has been failed by every human in her short life. I don’t want to be another one.

I took Rock off the euth list, helped her get healthy and strong, house trained her, and taught her basic obedience. She is so close to being OK. As she gets stronger and lunges, the less mobile I become. This morning I could hardly walk at all, even with my cane, so I need to find help for her very soon both a dog walker and training.

She didn’t deserve what happened to her as a baby. She is a sweet, good girl and just needs to get her teenage energy out. I am afraid that any day now I will not be able to walk at all. The way I am feeling, it could be tomorrow. What do I do then? I do not want to send Rock back to the Queens ACC, where they will kill her after 72 hours. Please help me save her by getting her training!