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A rehabber in an urban area saw a group of 10 to 12 year old boys playing with a pit bull puppy. The rehabber noticed the boys had a lighter they were using next to the dog and interveened. She discoverd the dog was wearing a ring of gun powder filled M80's that had been tied all around her collar. The boys were just about to light the fuses to the explosive M80's that would have killed the dog.

The dog was saved. But the vet discovered she had an active case of parvo - an often fatal viral disease that attacks the intestines. For $10 the dog could have been vaccinated by its original owner and the disease would have been prevented. Unfortunately, she died during treatment.

Bubba the day of his rescue

Rescued from a bust of fight ring in 1999, Bubba was just 7 months old. The other 12 dogs found in the bust had crooked, broken legs and were in horrible shape. They were euthanized.

When Bubba was rescued, his head had so much fight trauma it was smelly from infected wounds. He was given treatment, even though his head was so crushed the vet thought his brain would swell and he wouldn't live through the night. You can see here how his big swollen head looks too big for his body.

Bubba made a great recovery. His eyes still water today, the result of crushed, collapsed duct work.

Rehabbing pit bulls presents the special challange of social rehabillitation around other dogs. It took about a year for his rehabber to figure out what kinds of situations Bubba could handle. Her dogs got injured in the process because Bubba, like most fighting dogs, can be very aggressive to other dogs while maintaining friendly relations with people. Today he is good around people and the dogs in his house. But his rehabber can only walk him at night in an area where there aren't other dogs. If Bubba sees another dog, he acts like he wants to play, but when he gets close to the other dog, he bites the back of it's neck and starts fighting seriously. His rehabber says, "It's like he's hard wired to fight."

Bubba is now an amazing dog who makes regular educational visits to schools and the juvenile detention centers.