Pit Bull-Focused Pilot Program

October 28, 2010

Saving pit bulls and pit bull-type dogs is the goal of a grant from nonprofit PetSmart Charities®, Inc. to Best Friends Animal Society.

PetSmart Charities recently announced a $240,000 grant to Best Friends Animal Society to support a year-long pilot program that encourages responsible ownership of pit bull-type dogs to reduce euthanasia and improve the perception of the breed.

Monica Neal, director of grants at PetSmart Charities, Inc., presented the grant check to Judah Battista, interim director, Community Programs and Services, and Jamie Healy, Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls manager, Pit Bulls:  Saving America's Dog during the Best Friends “No More Homeless Pets” conference in Las Vegas, Nev. on October 15, 2010.

This “Shelter Partners for Pit Bulls Project” will be implemented in Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care and Services Department in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., BARCS – Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter in Baltimore, Md., Washington (D.C.) Humane Society, County of San Diego Department of Animal Services in Carlsbad, Calif. and  Hillsborough County Animal Services in Tampa, Fla.

The grant funding from PetSmart Charities, along with additional funds from Best Friends, will be used to create a work plan in the five selected cities, pay for a shelter coordinator in each city, support marketing/ public relations and other media opportunities in those markets and pay for a Best Friends program coordinator to oversee implementation and reporting in the five shelters.

The program, which is modeled on a successful partnership between Best Friends and Salt Lake County Animal Services in Utah, will offer community education and free/low-cost resources such as training and spay/neuter for pit bull-type dogs. This education will help guardians keep their pets in the family and reduce the number of dogs entering the shelters as strays or as victims of abandonment/owner relinquishment. The program goal is a 10 percent drop in euthanasia of pit bull-type dogs, as well as an increase in the number of these dogs who are adopted.

A strong volunteer base, called the “Pit Crew,” will help showcase dogs for adoption through outreach events, photos and descriptions online as well as foster dogs whose time is up in the participating shelters. The team will also work to create frequent media opportunities to portray pit bull-type dogs in a positive light—to counter the image of the breed often presented in the popular culture and various news mediums.

“PetSmart Charities is proud to partner with Best Friends Animal Society to help change the perception of pit bull-type dogs,” said Susana Della Maddalena, vice president and executive director of PetSmart Charities, Inc. “So many of these dogs are available in shelters and with rescue groups, and our goal is to provide education and outreach that will make a real difference and help each of these dogs find a lifelong, loving home.”