Update: The Great Eight arrived in St. Louis Missouri safe and sound and with some fanfare. Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue on 18th Street in St. Louis, welcomed Jeff, Sherry and their precious cargo, the Great Eight.
Read their story here . . . .
A summer deadline had been set to euthanize the “Great Eight.”
Instead, Chewie, Rita, Zeta, Fatty, Gorda, Callie, Hope and Justice are aboard a Best Friends air-conditioned van on their way to new lives in Missouri. Accompanying them aboard the “Freedom Express” are Sherry Woodard, Best Friends animal behavior specialist, and Jeff Popowich, Best Friends animal care operations manager.
The eight pit bulls were seized last year from a dog-fighting ring in Spokane Valley, Washington, by animal control officers and held as evidence in a case that led in February to Washington state’s first felony dog-fighting convictions. After the trial, the dogs were released to the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS), which desperately tried to find rescue groups to take them before the summer deadline.
Thanks to SCRAPS and Best Friends, along with Carmel Travis, a real estate agent from Pullman, Washington, who organized the rescue and collected donations, the dogs now have a second chance at life.
Working closely with SCRAPS director Nancy Hill and Carmel, Best Friends located Stray Rescue in St. Louis, Missouri, which offered to take the Great Eight and place them in foster homes where experienced trainers will help the dogs learn how to just be dogs again. Best Friends also offered to transport the dogs. “It was a godsend when Best Friends offered to provide the transportation,” says Nancy.
A news conference was held Wednesday at SCRAPS to bid farewell to the dogs before they took off with Sherry and Jeff for Missouri. “Everyone is doing great,” Sherry said Thursday from the road. “They’re wonderful. We couldn’t be more pleased with how well they’re traveling.”
Pit bulls are some of the most misunderstood dogs on the planet. The widespread myths about pit bulls have led some communities to ban them entirely. Sherry, who has worked wonders with the most challenging of dogs, says each and every dog is different.
“No dog should be judged by what he or she looks like,” Sherry says. “We should look at every dog as an individual.” Sherry says two of the Great Eight dogs have some fear issues, but the other six “are really wiggly and sweet.”
Sherry has been working with 22 of the dogs seized from former NFL quarterback Michael Vick. The former fighting dogs are now at Best Friends getting the love, care and rehabilitation they need to help them heal their emotional wounds. The Vicktory dogs, as they’re now called, will be featured in an upcoming episode of the National Geographic Channel series, “Dogtown.”
As for the folks at SCRAPS, saying goodbye to the Great Eight was bittersweet.
“Everyone was moping around this morning because it seemed so empty without our Great Eight,” Nancy said Thursday. “Our staff has formed some real bonds with the dogs because they’ve been here over a year. It’s kind of like sending your child off to college. They’re moving to the next chapter in their lives – a positive one, but you still miss having them around.”
Still, Nancy was on Cloud Nine knowing the dogs’ future is looking good. “It’s great,” she says. “I’m riding the wave of the Great Eight’s escape.”
Read the media coverage.
Story by Sandy Miller
Photos courtesy of Jennie L. Foster, Director of Operations, Stray Rescue of St. Louis
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Media Links
Best Friends News Release on the Great Eight.
KREM Fighting Dogs Leave for New Home - Spokane, Wash. - Eight dogs involved in Washington's first dog fighting case were packed up in kennels and moved to a rescue operation in Missouri Wednesday afternoon.
Great Eight Video - KHQ.com
MSNBC Spokane, Wash. - The "Great Eight," victims of Washington's first dog fighting case, will soon be transported to a rescue operation in Missouri, thanks to the efforts of Spokane County Regional Animal Proctions Service (SCRAPS), a businessowman in Pullman, and the Best Friends Animal Society of Utah.
St. Louis Post Dispatch - Eight pit bulls seized in a 2007 raid on a Spokane, Wash., dog-fighting operation are on their way to St. Louis to be rehabilitated and, if all goes well, find new homes.
Spokesman Review - It was a twisted plot with a happy ending.
KXLY Video Link in the story.
KXLY Online Story - SPOKANE VALLEY -- Eight pit bulls rescued from a dog fighting ring in Spokane Valley are on the open road headed to St. Louis, Missouri, where they'll start new lives.
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