Homeless Pit Bull Family

By Jack Leslie,
Volunteer and board member for Karma Rescue
photos courtesy of Karma Rescue

On June 17th, I got an email from a rescuer about puppies living on the golf course. Apparently, someone who worked at the golf course had called a Pit Bull rescue down in San Diego, and they called Ingrid, a rescuer that we all know. Several employees of the course had seen both the parents and the puppies. However, we received conflicting reports as to how many there were. We were told as few as six and as many as ten. Ultimately, we rescued seven puppies.

I went down there by myself on the Thursday night. I spoke to the woman who worked in the clubhouse and she lent me a golf-cart so I could drive over to the woods where the dogs were living. It was obvious that many of the employees and members were worried about the dogs' welfare, and several employees had been putting food and water out for the dogs. When I got to the woods I met a young man and woman, both who worked at the course and were in the process of putting out fresh water for the dogs. They told me that they often saw the dogs during the day when they would sun themselves on the grass. I didn't see any dogs that night and left food and water out for them.

The next day, Friday, I went back out to the course during the day. When I got to the woods, I saw the entire family sleeping in the sun in a glade. As soon as they saw me, the entire family ran into the underbrush, which was very thick and full of vines. I managed to grab one of the puppies, a little blue girl with one blind eye. The other dogs moved so quickly that I couldn't get an accurate count of the puppies. The little girl who we named Kathy cried a lot, and I could tell her parents and siblings were upset. It was amazing how quickly they all disappeared. The mother was quite small, brown and white, and barked at me when she saw me. The father, a big blue brindle, ran off onto the course.

Later that day, I was crawling through the vines and underbrush and managed to catch another puppy who got caught on a branch. He cried bloody murder as well. After all, they were probably all feral, having never been handled by people. He looked completely different from his sister. He was bigger, had thicker fur, and had the coloring of a Swiss Mountain Dog. We named him Heathcliff. After a couple of hours, I couldn't find any more puppies. I came back later that night to leave food but didn't see any more dogs.

On the next day, Saturday, about eight other volunteers showed up to help. It was dirty, sweaty work, crawling on our hands and knees through the thick brush. In addition, there was a stream running through the middle of the woods, and the banks were pretty steep. After several hours, one of the volunteers spotted some puppies hiding in what looked like fox holes. I managed to reach way down into the hole and pull out a screaming puppy - followed by three more. The parents were obviously very distressed by this, but they remained hidden. The four puppies all looked very different from one another. There were two blue females, one of which was very tiny. We named them Tess and Pixie. There was a brown male who was much bigger and looked like a shepherd mix, who we named Brandon. Lastly, there was Nike, who had almost no hair and looked almost pink. We fed and watered the puppies, and then I took them home to my house where they were reunited with their brother and sister. They were all crawling with fleas and were immediately given baths.

The next day, we were set to meet at the course again. I got there a little early and found the parents and another puppy in the same glade. I quickly grabbed the puppy as the parents ran off. This puppy also had very thin fur and a wrinkled face like Nike. We called him Twitch. The other volunteers showed up, and we searched for the other dogs. Although we got glimpses of the parents, we couldn't get close to them, and we couldn't see any more puppies. The puppies were all excited to see each other again, but most of them remained very scared and shy. Their parents had obviously taught them to run and hide whenever they heard a noise. Only Kathy and Heathcliff, the first ones we caught, weren't completely scared of everything. Since I have a big back yard, the puppies liked to venture outside, but they would run and hide in the bushes if they heard any kind of noise.

Our greatest fear was that we would catch the parents and unwittingly leave some puppies behind, where they would surely die. For the next couple of weeks, we left food for the dogs and checked in with the employees, but there were no more sightings.

During this time, we were trying to get our hands on a trap, since we knew we would never get close enough to the parents to catch them. Finally, a rescuer lent me a trap which had seen better days, but still seemed to function.

I set the trap one evening and went back to check it the next morning. The door hadn't shut but the food was all eaten. I set the trap again, and two of our volunteers went back the next morning to check it. Sure enough, there was the dad, waiting quietly. I drove down to meet them, and we got the big guy whom we called Chester into my car. We took him back to my house and gave him a good bath. He seemed to be a really sweet dog, and he showed no aggression towards us. His puppies were also thrilled to see him.

I set the trap again that night, and the next morning another volunteer and I went to check it. We couldn't believe it when we saw the mother sitting quietly in the cage. We named her Birdie. Like the father, she was extremely docile and let us put a leash on her and take her to my car. Back at my house, she got a good bath and was reunited with a very happy Chester and their puppies.

We continued to call the golf-course, but since there were no more dog sightings at the course, we were finally secure that we had rescued all of the dogs. All the rescued dogs had a horrible flea problem, and the vet told us that the fleas had made the puppies anemic. They could have easily died if we left them there. They all had a lot of internal parasites which we cleared up with medications, and a couple of the puppies had skin infections. Also, there was the issue of Kathy's eye. When we rescued her, it was milky white and twice the size of her other eye. We took her to an eye specialist who told us that she might have to have the eye removed, but that we would not know for a while. A week later I got home and Kathy had blood all over her face. Her eye had obviously ruptured. I rushed her to the vet, and it was probably a good thing to have happened since her eye returned to its normal size and looked much better. She went to the eye doctor for regular visits, and there is a good chance she will be able to keep her eye, as long as she doesn't develop glaucoma.

Chester also appeared to have something wrong with his eyes - they were very deep-set and were always full of gunk. As we suspected, he had a condition by which his eyelashes were inside out, so we got him surgery to fix them. Poor Chester also had cuts and scars all over his face and body, but they are gradually healing.

After all the dogs were vetted most of the puppies quickly got great homes. Heathcliff (renamed Wally), and Tess (renamed Mikki), were both adopted by awesome young couples. Brandon (renamed Otis), was adopted by an all-American family in Pacific Palisades. Little Pixie (now called Gracie), was adopted by a lovely senior couple who lives in Big Bear and had just lost their beloved Pit Bull. Kathy now lives in Las Vegas with a really nice couple who is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to save her eye. Nike (now named Ace), lives in the lap of luxury with a family who is working hard to help him overcome his shyness.

That just leaves shy little Twitch. Although he was adopted by a very nice family, the two-year-old child was just too much for Twitch's nerves. He's back in a foster home and waiting for that home that will give him the security he needs. Birdie (the mom), was adopted by a great couple who is good friends with one of our volunteers, and she now lives with two rescued Chihuahuas. And lastly, Chester (the dad), is living with one of our trainers and is getting lots of love and exercise while looking for his forever home.

This rescue has a wonderful ending and it was heart-warming to see how this little family had stayed together. Even though they didn't have much food, Chester and Birdie were great parents who stayed with their puppies and protected them and made sure they were always fed. Although Birdie would stay close to home, Chester would venture off the golf course in order to find food for his family. Furthermore, after being homeless for at least a year, Birdie and Chester could not be sweeter dogs. They love people and are so full of affection.

For more information please visit: www.karmarescue.org