Founder's Testimonial

If you asked me two years ago that I would be kissing a "pit bull", I would have thought you were insane. My feelings towards "pit bulls" were fueled by news reports, word-of-mouth horror stories and an experience where a neighbor's "pit bull" killed my cat. I was angry. Having never owned an APBT, I was one of those people that questioned, "If they are so bad, why aren't they just exterminated? Just get rid of them."

I was wrong.


[November, 2009 Day we brought her home. My husband, Brandon]

Then there was Paige.
Paige changed my world. A friend from work had a litter of APBT puppies and only had 4 left. She had a picture of the babies, and I saw the little blue and white face looking back at me. My Mother and Father-in law got a registered American Staffordshire Terrier with the same color, and I knew if I showed the picture to my husband, he wouldn't think twice. I remember the night I brought the photo home. Standing at his desk, I held out the photo. The first thing he said, with his logical thinking was, "We already have two dogs." He looked at the picture and like I knew he would, he saw the blue and white one. It wasn't a week later we were visiting my friend's house to see the puppy, her given name, "Echo Spirit".

But my fears about "pit bulls" didn't end with the visit. I had a nightmare the night before we planned to pick the puppy up. Even though we met this carefree, easy-going puppy I was afraid of not being strong enough to handle this dog. This was fueled by news reports like "pit bull mauls child". With a son, who was 6 at the time, I was worried he was going to get hurt, or she would hurt my other two dogs or my two cats.

I was still wrong.


[The cats are the boss. Elliot is on the couch, Paige is playing Mountain Goat.]

Paige is the most lovable dog. From her whip-like tail to her clown smile, she is something special. She is a little girl trapped in a dog-suit. I haven't met a person that has met Paige that didn't like her. Not to mention her intelligence is unmatched. Tricks and training went easy, that is, when I was trained properly. She passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen Certification test, June 2010. Since then, she has made appearances at the public school Summer Care program to educate school-age children about dogs and her training to become a therapy dog. [The cats are the pibble's boss, although when they are fighting, she will police their cat-fights, breaking it up].

What is most important about Paige is that One Pibble changed my outlook and the outlook of all those she encounters.

Paige, whose 'spirit echos', is why I Heart Pibbles.
Arica
I Heart Pibbles, Founder