Main fundraiser photo

Abandoned Princess' spay & rehoming

This is Princess, a 3 yr old pitbull who is in urgent need of help!  (Scroll down for adoption info!)

She belonged to a medical aide for my my wife (she has MS). Due to a personal situation, on which we are not comfortable publically elaborating, the aide suddenly had to relocate, leaving her dog behind. The person who was left in charge of Princess was going to take her to a pound/kill shelter; knowing the poor chances a pitty has in such a place, I offered to take her instead. We were able to get back in touch with Princess' original human, but her current residence doesn’t permit dogs. She was relieved that Princess was safe, and asked that we find her a good home. 
Although we used to be active in rescue, it was 15+ years ago, when we were both in better health.  We have since realised we were ill-prepared to foster Princess. To start with, she is intact, and we already have an intact female, and the two do *not* get along.  Princess was previously bred at a young age and this apparently had a negative emotional effect on her, because she likewise hates our intact male (who likes her very much, in the platonic sense).  Finally, we have a neutered male, and he is *terrified* of her- a giant Pyrenees who ran and hid under the stairs, whimpering and shaking because a dog about the same size as Princess attacked him when he was a puppy.   Our other dogs are disability service dogs and need access to my wife and the house to do their jobs.

Princess just wants attention and to be loved, and jumps up for attention.... as with pulling when walking, an able bodied person could train her out of this common doggie behaviour; unfortunately, because of our disabilities, especially my wife who usually walks with a cane or stroller, her behaviour can cause us to fall, injuring joints, back or head. Thus, to keep everyone safe, Princess is stuck in the guest bedroom. This only intensifies her confusion and lonliness, and she has taken to sucking on her tail which is not a good sign. I am beginning to fear that if we cannot find an rescue group or forever home to take her, and cannot raise funds for a dogwalker, that rescuing her from being put to sleep only for her to go through this emotional trauma, may have been the more cruel thing to have done :(

Due to her MS (What is Multiple Sclerosis), my wife is unable to help with Princess' care. I’m not much better off, as I’m also disabled (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disease resulting in premature arthritis, frequent joint dislocations and debilitating musculoskeletal pain. (What is Ehlers Danlos Syndrom, 'EDS' )) Our other dogs are trained disability service dogs; the older male has public access, and the difference in temperament and training is enormous. Princess is not a bad dog; she is a *typical* dog in an atypical situation, desperate for attention, and completely unaware of how her energetic playfulness accidently causes us injury.

here's a pic of one of our other disabilty service dogs at work:

I have contacted local pit bull rescue/foster groups and am hoping to hear back soon.  For the wellbeing of everyone involved, canine and human, Princess needs a new home ASAP, either by way of one of these groups, or by direct placement.

Please help however you can.  Princess is only 3 yrs old.  Although we we were able to save her life, this is not enough. She is confused, scared and sad, unable to understand her situation; but sweet-tempered, very eager to please and desperate to be someone’s “baby” again. She needs a refresher course on leash-walking; when I walk her, she pulls hard, tries to runs in several directions at once (although this may simply be joy at being out of the guest room), and my attempts at walking her have already resulted in a shoulder and hip dislocation due to my EDS disease. I am sure a more able-bodied person could handle her, and re-train her to heel and so on. She has lived with cats and as well as small caged animals/birds, although I’d advise keeping them caged, just in case! Judging by her reaction to our neutered male (whom she liked very much, it’s a pity this wasn’t mutual!) she’d benefit emotionally  from being spayed.

You can help us help Princess by:

1. signal boosting... share the link- friends, family, online communities, local rescues (esp. pitbull focused ones- if we can't get her into a Chicago area one, maybe we can get her to another one that has the room)... maybe YOU will help connect Princess to her future 'furrever' home!

2. donate. If we cannot find a rescue group to take her right away, we may need to rehoming her ourselves, and we will not do this without getting her spayed first.  She has a rabies tag, but i don’t know when it expires so she may need vaccines. There is also the cost of food. she came to us with only a leash and food dish, so she needs a doggie bed, toys, etc.  Finally, until her new home is found, i would like to hire someone to walk her since my disability prevents me. If you can donate items/services, please contact me.  We set up a gofund me account in expectation of having to pay for these things.  If we can get a rescue group to take her, we will pass the unused funds and supplies on to them, for her care.

I am estimating the following.... $100 low cost spay assuming no complications, $15 rabies if needed, $20 food plus training treats per week, $140(+tax???) for dog walking 2x day for 1 week (https://ineedpetcare.com/ ), $50 dog bed, $50 dog toys (kong etc)... She can use a nail trim too, which i'm not sure on the cost of.  As we are both disabled, our income is limitted, and this is a huge sum of money for us.  Im starting the GoFundMe for a 2 week estimate rounded up to $600 - I dearly hope we can have her in a rescue before that, with funds to donate.

3. Adoption. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ADOPTING HER, PLEASE EMAIL ME at AGangi((AT))rodentfancy.com - there will be a reasonable adoption fee and she must be spayed before going to a new home.

Organizer

Alan DiGangi
Organizer
Wheaton, IL

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