Meet our new furbaby, Bailee!

[Haven]

We met her at a local shelter on Saturday, went back to visit Sunday, and filled out the paperwork yesterday to officially adopt her. The shelter took her to the vet to get her checked out this morning, she got a clean bill of health and came home with us this afternoon!

She''s around 8 months old, and another couple adopted her in April but brought her back to the shelter two months later because they were divorcing.

That''s okay, though, because now she''s a part of our family and we love her very much and we''re happy to be her forever family.

She''s really sweet and affectionate, she loves to cuddle. We worked on learning "sit" and "go to your spot" tonight. She goes for a walk like a pro, no pulling at all, so we''re doing pretty well thus far. We brought her to the groomer before coming home because she was filthy, and the groomer said Bailee was a dream and she wanted to take her home with her. I''m a proud mama already.

She''s doing very well with the cats, she basically ignores them. Vince and Manny (cats) are very interested in her, and keep following her around. Geddy (cat) puffs up like a huge fuzzball and hisses and growls, so we''re going to let him take his time and they''ll slowly get comfortable with each other. We''ve sectioned off half of the house from Bailee so the cats have a lot of space to be dog-free until they''re all comfortable.

Bailee already knew her name, so we didn''t want to change it on her. We decided to let her on the sofa in the family room, where we watch TV, and she''s sprawled out next to hubby and me as I type this right now. I think she''s already feeling very comfortable in her new home. She''s such a lovebug!

We have no idea what breed she is, but she looks like a pit bull to us. If anyone has any ideas, let''s hear ''em!

Okay, enough talk. Here are the photos.

This is a great shot of her oh-so-pouty lower lip:

 

[Haven]

She looks so tiny and young in this shot:

 

[Haven]

Our little cutey-patootie:

 

[Haven]

This is a good shot of her build:

 

[FrekeChild]

Oh she''s beautiful Haven!!!! Congratulations on getting your new furbaby!!!

 

[Haven]

Cuddle bug:

 

[Haven]

Thanks Freke! I love her. I''m already smitten. Heck, I was smitten the minute we met.

This was our little guy Geddy''s reaction to Bailee. I feel like he''s sitting there thinking "Come ON mama, seriously. Seriously?"

He was rocking some major back-arching, fur fluffing action, too. I hope this doesn''t stress him out too much. We''re working on keeping him calm and soothed as much as possible. (He''s the sweetie in my avatar, too.)

 

[Linda W]

Oh Haven she is adorable!!!!! I am so happy that you adopted her and are giving her a loving home. She just fits right in doesn''t she??

Bailee is just too darling for words. I love to hear stories like this, it just makes my heart melt.


Linda

 

[Skippy123]

Ah, how sweet! I love that you rescued Bailee from your local shelter!!! What a sweet dog and beautiful face! Glad the kitties and Bailee are getting along! You have the sweetest babies, love them

I can't believe that couple gave her up, thank goodness she is going to a good loving home

Please give her a big hug for me!

 

[Kaleigh]

Haven, bless you and your Hubby for adopting sweet Bailee. She does look like quite the cuddle bug!!! She''s going to have the best home with you two. That''s really awesome, it warms my heart. Wishing you many years of happiness with Miss Baileee!!!

 

[Deelight]

OMG she is beautiful

look at those ears

To me she either looks like an English Staffy, American Staffy or a Pit bull my money is on her being an American Staffy as someone who has had the immense pleasure an Am Staff (my sister also had an English Staffy) they IMHO are the most adorable loveable wonderful dogs ever. The main difference between the 3 breeds is the size with the English being the smallest and the Pit bull being the largest. In my experience they are total lovebugs and love people and children ours loved everyone and anything even the cats and other dogs, he would cry if he saw a child and couldn''t play with it. They can be a little unsocial towards other dogs as they are more people dogs but if they are socialised well as pups that is not usually a problem.

Congratulations on your new addition she is just beautiful.

 

[Haven]

Thanks, guys!

Deelight--I just looked up Am Staffs and she DOES look like one! Here''s another shot of Bailee:

 

[Haven]

And here's an Am Staff I found online (Petey! Such a cute name.)
ETA: Wait! Petey is a mix of Am Staff and Pit Bull, so maybe he's no the best picture to compare. He sure is adorable though!)

 

[Deelight]

They are seriously adorable without a doubt my favourite dog breed ever, very eager to please but they are also physically really strong we had to walk ours with a halti because he was just too strong without one. They have such beautiful sleek muscular bodies as they mature and are very built.

You going to have so much fun with her

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Look at that baby, I

her!!! So cute she is lucky to have a happy home!

 

[arjunajane]

Oh she is so beautiful, congrats on the new baby!
I''m with Dee on the breed, this is also Fi and mine'' fave breed, his family dog is a staffy and thats what we will hopefully get one day

Love the pics Haven!

 

[bee*]

Bailee is beautiful!! What a gorgeous pup!

 

[Lorelei]

She is gorgeous, congratulations Haven!!

The cats will be fine, that saying familiarity breeds contempt is so true, in a few days Bailee will be part of the gang!

 

[Lill_The_Thrill]

Date: 7/31/2008 1:11:52 AM
Author: Haven
And here's an Am Staff I found online (Petey! Such a cute name.)
ETA: Wait! Petey is a mix of Am Staff and Pit Bull, so maybe he's no the best picture to compare. He sure is adorable though!)

What a sweeetie!!!!

I think pitbulls usually have shorter legs, and their bodies are "wider", if that makes any sense. But he sure looks like some kind of an Amstaff-mix...

 

[dani13]

Ohhh...Haven..Congrats!!! I love her!!! MH and I always say that if we got a dog, we would get an AmStaff or a Pit. She looks a little like both breeds to me, so maybe a mix?...Whatever, she's absolutely a cutie!!! You guys were so sweet to adopt her from the shelter...She is going to have an awesome home with you and your DH!!!

Congrats again, and enjoy her!!!!

 

[Delster]

Ooohhhh I have such a soft spot for muscly little dogs, she''s gorgeous!!!

Hope she''s settling in well with you Haven and wishing you years and years of love together

 

[Maisie]

She is gorgeous!!! How exciting for you!! I wish you lots of joy filled years!!!

 

[geckodani]

Awww! Congrats on your new furbaby. He looks like total sweetie.

 

[Lauren8211]

Awww! Bailee is ADORABLE!!! My heart is melting!!

And props to you for getting a shelter dog. That makes me happy.

 

[indypitty]

Haven,

Okay, I have total puppy lust right now! Bailee is a doll! I am soooo glad that you guys rescued her rather than buying from a store or a breeder. I am passionate about dog rescue, particulary pit bull-type dogs, so your post really made my day today!

She is definitely a bully breed. There is so much confusing and contradictory information about pit bulls out there. Actually, pit bull is NOT a breed. It's a generic term used to describe all dogs with similar traits and characteristics often known by the public as "pit bulls". Considering she was a rescue, she is most likely a mix of two or more of these breeds. It's hard telling with bully-type dogs! The "low and wide" image people have about pit bulls is based on poorly-bred pits that are bred by backyard breeders, most likely as fighting dogs (don't even get me started on this...

) They are not supposed to look like that!

We adopted Piper (see avatar) almost 5 years ago. The humane society said she was a boxer-shepherd mix (yeah, right!). The boxer part is possible, as she has the playful, silly boxer personality. She definitely has pit in her. DH and I love her to pieces, and having her in our life has convinced us to only ever have rescued pits or pit-mixes. Seriously, there are so many of them in shelters, they need as much help as they can get.

If Bailee is anything like most pits, she will be extremely loyal, very attached to her "people", and a total clown! Have fun with her! I look forward to reading about your adventures with her and seeing more pics.

Here are some sites with good info:

http://www.pbrc.net/
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/breed.cfm
http://www.pitbullforum.com/


Here is Piper ~ cute pitty face!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

She looks like a staffy x boxer....

ADORABLE!!! Both of mine are shelter pups, they are fantastic!

 

[Haven]

Thanks for your kind words, everyone!

indypitty--Thank you for all of the great info! Hubby and I are always shocked by the huge numbers of bully breeds we see in the shelters. I'd say that 80% of the dogs we see have some bulldog in them, and that number might even be a bit low. Shelters really break my heart, we go to visit every once in a while and they are always flooded with dogs and cats who need and deserve homes. In fact, I just read about how shelters are reaching capacity all over the place because people are feeling the economic crunch and either getting rid of their dogs, losing their homes and giving them up, or things like that. It's heartbreaking.

After we met Bailee on Saturday we launched a little bully breed research campaign. Everything we found supported what you said--they are sweet, loyal, courageous, and they get a bad reputation because of backyard breeders and people who raise them to be fighters. We've definitely found Bailee to be a little sweetheart so far. We were nervous about leaving her with the groomer yesterday since we don't know her disposition that well, but the after the groomer met her she said we had nothing to worry about.

So, we adopted her.

It's hard to not feel guilty because we met an adorable little lab mix, too, and I really fell for him as well. Hubby didn't want a lab, though, so that's how we met Bailee. (Don't even ask me why ANYONE wouldn't want a lab, it beats me. They are the most darling dogs.)

Anyway, I'm going to read through those websites, thank you so much!

ETA: Piper is a beauty!!!! What a sweet face. Oh, she is a sweetie pie.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Haven, she''s ADORABLE!!! What a sweet little face!

One of our three dogs was adopted from a shelter, and he''s half black lab and half pit bull (as best we can tell). He has that wide pit bull head like Bailee does. He is just the SWEETEST dog! He''s a total a love bug, and SO well behaved! I think Bailee is going to make a great dog for your family! (Great name, BTW!)

 

[Haven]

I have more pictures!

I can''t get enough of her pouty lip. She just looks so . . . disgruntled. I love it. I love her.

 

[Haven]

Sweet pea.