How I got my first Stafford
by Keelan Belle
It was a dark and stormy night....well, it was dark.
I have had a number of different breeds and mixed breeds throughout my adult life and
was spending a quiet evening, December 21,1992, with my older cockerpoo and my old
bearded collie mix. At 9:47 a knock on the door: there stood a nice-looking girl, and at
her side, sitting politely, a small brown dog.
"Is this your dog?"
"Noooo."
"Is it one of your neighbors?"
"Noooo."
"My boy friend and I were driving, and this dog was wandering in the street. We were
afraid it would get hit."
"I think it might be a pit bull puppy."
"Oh, I'm afraid of pit bulls."
Through this whole exchange, this little, brown dog sat patiently on the door step,
politely and unrestrained. Needless to say, the dog stayed with me. I proceeded to
contact Humane Society, the County Animal Control, and the newspapers to no avail.
My two buddies (more knowledgeable than I) walked into the room and immediately
commented, "Somebody paid good money for that dog," and, "I think its a Staffordshire
Bull Terrier," to which I brilliantly responded, "You're kidding! What's that?".
When no one claimed her, I attempted to find a home for her. I did not need another
dog, and I was planning to get another Afghan.
Many moons pass, and I discover it is indeed an SBT. Soon I am praying that no one will
claim her: for the first time in my life, I have become passionate about a dog breed. She
is loving, extremely smart and, six years later, still very low-maintainance. No "doggy
breath," only an occasional bath (when we've applied "Something Dead #5"), no "doggy
odor.
From there, we worked on her confidence level, which was near zero, when she was four
(my first attempt with any dog), not because I really wanted to, but because people are
so weird about bully breeds I felt I had to do it for her protection.
We now have two legs on our CD (Judge's comment: "The dog is trained, but the owner
needs work."). She is spayed, (came that way!) I don't know if that's why she still seems
to get along with everybody. She got her name from a Veterinary Technician (I was NOT
GOING TO NAME OR KEEP THIS DOG!) who said "Hello, Honey." It didn't hurt that
she's also a brown brindle, dark, honey color.
Because of this dog I am now passionate about a dog breed. I have many new friends and
have broadened my interests. I say "Thank you" to a dark night, a kind stranger, and a
little, brown dog.
Keelan Belle
