Potential Bait Dogs Discovered by Local Rescue Group

Vice President of Multiple Breed Rescue, April Boesken received a call about two dogs wandering a neighbors field in Sheffield Village, across from the Carousel Swim Club. When she and her husband arrived, what they found was shocking. Of the two dogs, the female pit bull had severe bite wounds all over her face and ears. Quickly, they rushed her and the American Bull dog she was with to the rescue headquarters in Elyria.

MBR president, Amy Hunt, contacted her vet to have him check the dogs over. Dr. Fox, of Fox Veterinary Hospital Inc. in Elyria, confirmed they were bite wounds conducive with those of a bait dog. They were also fresh, no more than 3-4 days old. Dr. Fox surmised that she was used is a bait dog in preparation for a fight this weekend. While thin and scared, the American Bull dog appears to be unharmed, possibly dumped for lack of fighting.

MBR is urging all locals to be on the watch for anything suspicious and urges everyone to report any suspected dog fighting activity to the authorities.  The Humane Society of the United States offers a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dogfighting. If you have information about illegal animal fighting in your area, you can call HSUS’ animal fighting tip line at 877-TIP-HSUS.

MBR Receives Grant from Petco Foundation

Adopting an animal from a local rescue is exciting for all involved. Each adoption story is unique, for the person or family adopting, and the animal being adopted. During the month of October, Petco Foundation, the philanthropic branch of the national pet store chain, ran a program collecting these special stories. The participants were asked to write an essay about their adoption and why the organization they adopted from should be chosen to receive a grant.

Multiple Breed Rescue (MBR), along with Cleveland APL and Parma Animal Shelter, will be presented with their grant at 3PM EST on Thursday, December 10, 2015 at the Steelyard Commons Petco store. MBR was chosen for this award based on the entry of Loralie Austin.

A Rhode Island resident, Ms. Austin adopted a golden retriever mix in 2015 after finding the group on Facebook. She had tragically lost her young son in 2014 and had been carrying on his legacy of helping animals and animal rescues. When she came across the MBR group, she saw her son had also been a follower and felt it was a sign from him to join. After completing the application and the subsequent adoption, Ms. Austin discovered the dog she adopted (now named Austin) had the same birthday as her late son. As a thank you to the rescue, she shared her story as part of the Holiday Wishes program, and thus MBR was chosen to receive a $5,000 grant.

Man moves to adopt his new best friend

Meet Cleveland, one of the 27 dogs rescued during a dogfighting raid in December 2011.Cleveland had a long journey from his days locked in a cage in a basement. He had to learn how to go to the bathroom outside, about toys and most importantly, learn what love meant. Yet, despite him overcoming these obstacles, his adoption was almost prevented by a case of discrimination.

After meeting Cleveland at the Paws-4-A-Cause event, Phil could not live without him. Multiple Breed Rescue processed his application, but when it came to the landlord portion, Phil’s landlord said “Pit bull? No way.” Without his landlord’s permission, Cleveland could not legally go live with Phil. So he made the decision, he would move. Phil began searching for a place that would allow him to have Cleveland as a part of his home. After searching for about a month, Phil found a new home in Burton, with a landlord who not only accepted Cleveland’s breed, but was thrilled to have a rescue dog coming to his home. Cleveland made the trek on June 30th and the two could not be happier.

Breed Specific Legislation is a very difficult thing for rescues to overcome. While the state of Ohio passed H.B 14, it is now up to individual cities and counties to adjust their laws. Landlords and private owners will always have the right to discriminate, but if more people work to advocate and educate on the danger of BSL and the truths about pit bulls and other bully breeds, more dogs can be saved. You can also look up Nitro’s law for information.

Three Dogs Join MBR after Dogfighting Ring BusT

On December 22nd 2011, Cleveland police searched the home of a local man suspected of running an illegal dog fighting ring. What they found was a filthy, disgusting home filled with 27 neglected and malnourished dogs. The City of Cleveland Kennels brought all of them from the house to their facility for evaluation and care. Most of the dogs were malnourished and had scars all over their bodies.

Multiple Breed Rescue was one of several organizations that stepped up and offered to help place the dogs saved from the home. While originally four dogs were given to MBR, only three were able to be placed. One female had been too abused to be rehabilitated and safely placed in a home. The three brought in to MBR were: Cleveland, Freedom and Blossom.

President and Founder Amy Hunt took in all three at her home initially. She wanted to evaluate and understand each dog prior to placing them in a foster home. All three required work and training. Amy wanted to make sure each dog was stable before she moved them. Her work paid off and Blossom and Cleveland went to their foster homes where they would begin their journey to adoption. Freedom stayed with Amy, as she had developed a particular affection for him.
In each foster home, the dogs were taught house training, basic obedience, and most importantly, what it means to be loved. They quickly flourished and their wonderful personalities emerged. Finally, it was time to place them up for adoption.

After their long journey, Cleveland, Blossom and Freedom all found their forever homes. Knowing what their life could have been, their transformation is truly amazing. All three are well adjusted, loving dogs who luckily learned what a wonderful place the world can be.