Pit Bull Reputation Falls Short With Angel, Kiwanian Seeks Home for Pet

Gena Schaffer spent her happy dollar wisely.

At today’s meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon, at Ben’s Family Restaurant in Brandon, Schaffer took advantage of the group’s weekly offer to pay a dollar to share a thought.

Her thought was more of a plea: to find a home for Angel.

Angel is a mixed-breed pit bull, who last year had to leave her owner’s home because the owner, Schaffer's friend, had to move to Miami.

Angel was left with her owner’s elderly parents (“little, bitty frail people,” Schaffer said) who now have more than they can handle tending to a pet.

“Angel’s owner would prefer somebody to foster her until she gets a permanent home, or straight-out adopt her,” said Schaffer, who herself owns a labrador retriever.

“They get along really well,” Schaffer said about the two dogs. Angel, she added, “is easier to walk than my lab."

"Angle walks very well," she added, "and is very easy to handle."

Schaffer continued to sing the praises of Angel, as she showed a picture of the dog, who turns seven-years-old in June.

“Angel is just the sweetest dog,” Schaffer said. “She responds on the first command. She adapts well to being outside but she is a house dog, she’s house-trained. She loves to just sit on the patio."

There’s more: “She doesn’t destroy anything,” Schaffer added. “She really is just well-behaved."

Still, Angle is a pit bull, and there have been contentious debates over the prudence of owning such a dog, which has the strength of a terrier, the athleticism of a bulldog and a reputation for fighting.

But Schaffer said those concerns are not applicable here.

“I’ve been around pit bulls before, and it’s all in how the dog is trained, it doesn’t matter the breed, in my opinion," Shcaffer said.

Angel, she added, “truly is the sweetest dog."

______________

Interested in learning more about Angel? Post a comment below and send an email to linda.chion@patch.com. We’ll forward your information along to Schaffer.