Curious the Therapy Dog

I’m proud to share the following update about Curious, a lovely and talented Pit Bull who was rescued by the Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) Humane Law Enforcement team from cruelty/neglect case in Philadelphia. She spent one month at our shelter before going to a rescue group.

“I am the founder of Wet Nose Rescue and the person who pulled Curious from the PSPCA.

One of our volunteers asked to foster her and fell in love. Needless to say, she turned into one of those "failed fosters" and Curious became a permanent member of their family.

It didn't take long for her to learn that Curious was not only sweet, but a very special and gifted dog. She and her husband also had two other dogs in their family, one of which they did not know was ill (Chance).

Curious exhibited some unusual behavior towards Chance, who started having seizures that Curious seemed to recognize prior to them occurring. It was eventually found that Chance had a brain disorder.

Through the remainder of Chance’s life, Curious made herself inseparable from him and was his constant companion and guardian. She would literally lay on top of him during seizures to keep him from falling.

During this time, Curious started her training to be a Therapy Dog, but she always seemed a little distracted. Her owners were not certain Curious would ever be able to complete all the necessary training.

When Chance passed away, they started to see a change in Curious. She seemed less distracted and actually started playing and acting more like a dog, almost as if her job of watching over Chance was complete now.

The owners took Curious back to her Therapy Dog classes and she passed with flying colors!

We are all so proud of this wonderful girl, and what a tribute to all of those wonderful Pitties!”

Does anyone have a tissue? What a touching story!

Curious is one of the many Pit Bulls who once called the PSPCA home: in 2008 we sheltered 7,163 dogs and 1,052 (14%) of them were Pit Bulls.

Sadly, the breed has been misunderstood and maligned for years due to sensational myths perpetuated by the media and advocates of “breed bans.” This means that Pit Bulls often linger in the shelter for months because they are overlooked and unwanted by potential adopters who aren’t aware of their loyal, loving nature.

We can change this. We NEED to change this.

And we need your Pit Bulls to lead the way!

So on Monday, May 11, the PSPCA will offer the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test – and the PSPCA is providing full scholarships to all Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes! That’s right….it’s FREE!

The CGC test is the first step in becoming a Therapy Dog. CGC is a certification program administered by the American Kennel Club that rewards dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. It stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs.

We know there’s no shortage of Pit Bulls who are up for the challenge, so we kindly ask that you schedule an appointment by emailing nlarocco@pspca.org or calling (215) 426-6300 x259.

For more information, check out “DOG-102A: Canine Good Citizen Test” on our website at http://www.pspca.org/services/training_behavior.

Two paws up for Curious for leading the way!