Life with Leonidas (Leo)

Most people know my sister Savannah for her RBF (“resting bitch face”) but she really is so much more than that and a great big sister…once she warmed up to Maximus and I. LOL. Below is the story of her rescue that my mom wrote a little while back. Hope you enjoy it! – LEO 🐶🐾💙

Savannah coming into our lives was by complete accident. Originally, we were looking for a chocolate lab because of how smart they are and good with children. However, after a failed attempt at a meeting with a breeder (yes, a breeder) we walked into a rescue one afternoon not knowing what we would find or even if we would find anything at all. My daughter was immediately drawn to this underweight smelly puppy and she said to me I want this one. I even looked at her and asked her, are you sure this is the one you want? Yep. I had no idea at this time how much our lives were about to be changed. As my daughter was sitting in the pen with Savannah getting to know her, I remember looking at this puppy that was said by the rescue to be Boxer/German Shepherd and thinking to myself…she looks kind of like a Pitbull. I asked the lady “Is there any Pitbull in her?” The lady asked me back, “Why you don’t want a Pitbull?” Not having the proper knowledge like so many and thinking that they were not good to have around children, I (embarrassed to admit now🤦🏼‍♀️) replied to her, no. Now, I’m not sure if this lady lied to me that day or really believed when she replied back to me and said…” No, there is no Pitbull in that dog.” but either way I’m grateful every day that this was her response.

We brought Savannah home at only 3 months old but we already knew she had been found as a stray in Alabama (her original rescue name was “Bama” and her sister was “Ala”) I have spent her entire lifetime wondering what she must have seen and been through in those three short months of life. She has about a two-inch scar on her abdomen that we have no clue where she got it and for her entire life has had been very timid. Till this day she will not let you physically roll her over on her back for a belly rub and does not like when there is too much going on around her, she gets very nervous.

Aside from that, she has to be one of the sweetest most loving dogs I have ever been around. After a few months of having her, I would literally look at her almost every day as she morphed into a different breed, trying to figure out, what exactly is this dog mixed with? The one thing I could not stop seeing though was that Big Bully smile. I told my parents, I think she might be a Pitbull… Look at her when she pants…So after obsessing over it, I decided to finally do a DNA test on her. I swabbed her cheeks and sent them to the lab. A few weeks later the results were back…and wouldn’t you know it, one of her parents, 100% American Staffordshire Terrier. Her other parent is said to be half Akita, which till this day, I still do not see that and the other half mixed with several breeds, mostly terrier.
After finding out she was, in fact, half pit and knowing how much I loved her, it was at that point I decided to really educate myself on the breed. I was completely BLOWN away. I have never been around a smarter, loving, loyal breed. It is so sad that as what is supposed to be one of the “most intelligent” species, we are so easily manipulated by what we hear and see without taking the time to actually learn for ourselves and from our own experiences. I say this not only with Pitbulls and similar breeds but also with each other (but that’s for another time). It makes me sad to walk down the street with her or any of my dogs and to see the looks they get b/c of how they look or to watch people cross the street to avoid them and I just want to stop them and tell them how good they are and how loving they are and to not be scared. That the only thing they have to worry about is being licked to death or beaten with a tail. But I just continue to walk and feel sad for them but I also feel sad for those people who will never experience the endless entertainment of how AMUSING and LOVING these dogs are or wake up to eyes that look at you and without saying a word tell say “thank you.”

I know it’s cliché to say it, but not only did I rescue Savannah the day we brought her home. She definitely rescued me. I was in a relationship that was over years before bringing her home. I didn’t even know what I was fighting for anymore and I completely had lost touch with who I was as a person. Somehow bringing her into my life changed all that. She totally saved me. She saved her brothers too, Leonidas and Maximus. If it wasn’t for her being such a great advocate for the breed, we never would have brought two more Pitbulls into our home. Can you believe I have 3 Pitbulls?!!! I wouldn’t change it for the world though! All 3 of these dogs are so unique in their ways and personalities but the one thing they all have in common is their big hearts and their ability to love unconditionally. I’m so grateful for them.