I agree, I get so tired of seeing heartbreaking news stories about neglected and abused dogs. Wish I could help them all but of course, I can't. I also wish the law would come down harder on people who abuse, neglect or abandon pets.
Bless you, bless you for trying to help the little guys find homes. You may be the only one who has ever shown them any kindness.

Perhaps they were put in your yard because of who you are. Many people don't know what to do, which is a pity that there is so much ignorance around. You obviously do and that is why you are doing what you are doing. Thank you for that. These little ones could have been left on the street or worse, in the street!

I'm so sorry that we live in a society where many treat animals as property or commodities.
Know in your heart that you are not one of those people. :)

Ginny

They really are adorable, one is a deep brown color with a lighter brown color for eyes. I have decided to call him Kodiak, and the other is a mixture of black, grey and white, I have decided to call him Grizzly. Kodiak loves having his belly rubbed, but Grizzly still won't let me near him. I'm fairly certain they were starving. And possibly even abused, neglected definitely. I am trying to get them used to being around people and I am hoping that once that happens it will be easier to find them a home. but, they definitely have some pit bull mixed in with whatever else they are, and I am afraid that the stigma associated with pits will make it hard to find them a home.

Perhaps you could find a pitbull rescue in you area. Or even just A rescue group in your area. Glad to hear you still have them though.

Have you tried feeding Grizzly by hand? Puppies will usually come around with consistent contact and encouragement. I hope you will keep us up to date. Good luck. :)

Ginny

Unhomed and unloved animals somehow (through the grace of God sometimes) seem to find their way to the people that can help them the most.

Ask your local shelter if they can help you out with a spay/neuter for the two new dumpees you were graced with. Hopefully they can do you a solid for being a kind soul. If you explain the situation as you described to us to the Manager, she might cut you a break. She'd probably rather it be your problem to find them a home than to have to deal with it herself -- but give you a spay/neuter for free for taking them on.

cindyandmocha, I will definitely check into that, I'm also looking into this program that adopts/rescues pit bulls and trains them as service dogs for wounded soldiers. I live in a town where pit bulls, whether they are full blooded or mixed, are frowned upon because they think pits are vicious. I just wish that people who cant afford to have animals wouldn't get them, or at least make having them fixed and vaccinations the number one concern. At least if they had them fixed they wouldn't have to worry about finding a yard/street/whatever, to dump the pups in.

I asked my vet once why so many people let their pets breed when there are so many being abandoned and euthanized in shelters and pounds. He looked at me for a minute, and told me most people who have pets are idiots. I haven't found much reason to dispute that assessment.

I was recently given a 5 week old kitten that someone found in their yard. My vet found one in a box at his office the same day. Fortunately, I was able to connect with a rescue, and she found a home pretty quickly.

When I was in high school(early 60s), my life plan included becoming a vet. To determine if I really could do that kind of job, I went to work for a vet, figuring starting out on the lowest rung of the ladder would tell me if I really wanted to do that much schooling/work.

Turns out I loved even the nasty parts.

But, my desire to become a vet was shelved.

Why? Because I could not stand half or more of the owners. And the good owners could not over come my aversion to the idiots.

Bad news all. It seems the pup I dubbed Grizzly, turned on the brother pup. They had had small scuffles over food, nothing serious, but I started separating them when they ate, letting Kodiak come into the back porch and Griz stay out with his food. Well, I don't know exactly what happened, I was inside the house after letting Kodiak back outside after eating, a few minutes go by and I hear a horrible ruckus going on outside. I went running out to see what was going on and try and separate them. When I got out there Kodiaks throat was ripped open and Griz lunged toward me. I don't know if he was rabid, or if he just turned on the other pup. I took the poor pup to the vet, where he ended up bleeding out and died. I was afraid to go back into the back yard with the other pup so I ended up calling the animal control center. I feel so very bad for doing it, but I have no idea if he would have attacked me. Those poor pups......

I am so sorry you had to experience that. It is just so traumatic. I hope you know you did the best you could for these poor pups. Sadly, our best efforts don't always end up the way we would like them to. You did the right thing and it just turned out badly. Please do not blame yourself. Dogs will be dogs and you are not responsible for what those pups went through before coming to you. And please be easy on yourself. Time will help to ease the intensity of this event. So sorry for you.

Ginny

Dogs will be dogs? Don't think I have heard of one dog ripping the throat out of another dog unless pit bulls trained to fight. This is not normal behavior so don't give that crap about dogs being dogs!

And dogs aren't typically aggressive with each other. Wonder if Grizzly was still eating when Kodiak was 'let out.' So two dogs end up dead. Very sad.

And here is the bottom line. No, this is not typical but God only knows what these animals experienced prior to being dumped. What happened almost certainly reflected some of that imprinting, and a rescuer would be ill equipped to be a mind-reader and know before the fact this would happen. You really didn't say how old these pups were, but they might have been rejects from a dog fight breeder who weren't sufficiently aggressive. I can't see such a breeder making the effort to even dump them, but it could be someone else with a heart did it, hoping they'd get a real life.

It's very sad and I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience. I can't even consider taking in even a part bred pit, although I know a few really good ones. Our insurance company makes us reveal the breeds of dogs we own, and if they don't outright exclude pit owners, you can take it to the bank, they'll make your policy so expensive, you will want to drop it.

A sad end but definitely not normal behavior. My dogs eat beside each other , know their boundaries, and get the exact treats. Occasionally one may try to hone in but the other one gives a little growl and that's it. I can't imagine them going for each others throats.

Sad but unfortunately not unusual behavior for pitts.....I'll never in my life understand the attraction to owning them. They're disproportionally responsible for attacks, maiming & killing other animals, kids, elderly & adult humans. You didn't know their bloodlines, or prior treatment which one or both must have been pretty bad.

Sorry you had to witness it though, and were becoming attached to them.

Bigotry and prejudice is more frightening than any dog could ever be.

So are two pitts of unknown history invited into a home. Glad it wasn't a kid this time.

Pitt Bulls are fantastic animals.
They keep squirrels out of the yard.
Scare the tar out of the neighbors when they accidentally get loose in the neighborhood.
They are always good for that good old Friday night dog fight.
I have never owned any as pets and probabblly never will.

Wow. Some of the comments here are very surprising indeed. While I'm not a fan of the breed, let us not forget that these animals are INNOCENT and it is people who have bred this breed to be what it is. Shame on us!

I can't stand it either. I don't understand why people breed them so much when there are so many that need homes at shelters!

lukkirish, what you say may be partially true, but....by now the breed has been so badly overbred for violence, and there's the 'lion tamer' mentality that the owner can fix or control the propensity to violence in these bully breeds, that it's a very unsafe breed.

Not all pitts bite/kill, but when there's a severe attack/killing of another animal, or sadly often child, its more often than not, a bully breed. What does this say about the breed? Consider also that maybe 10% of dogs owned are pitts/bully breeds, yet they're responsible for 60-75% of severe maulings/killings? Those are some scary facts that don't speak well for the breeds.

I don't hate the breed, but I'm risk averse to it, and know the power/strength they have and inherent fighting trait they carry in their very genes. Sad all the way around. Here in Detroit, the Humane Society has a blanket policy of not adopting ANY pitts out, why? you ask, because of the liability in case that dog attacks after they give it to someone. This isn't a preventative policy either, its in response to attacks that happened after they gave some out.

Breed bigotry? Prejudice? Sorry folks this is the reality of the breed.

Thank you all for the responses. I have recently found out that the pups were not pits, but were some sort of Akita/lab mix. I have no idea how old they were or what kind of life they had before they appeared in my yard. I don't understand why one dog would turn on the other like that....it was a horrible sight....

Animallover32, This experience must have been devastating to you. So unfortunate. I am glad that neither you or friends or family were hurt. Akita's can also be aggressive. Depends on the dog. Former neighbors or ours had one that was a total love bug. Her brother from the same litter: completely different story. These are huge dogs and very powerful. I am sorry for your loss.

"lukkirish, what you say may be partially true, but....by now the breed has been so badly over bred for violence, and there's the 'lion tamer' mentality that the owner can fix or control the propensity to violence in these bully breeds, that it's a very unsafe breed."

I understand fully that the breed is dangerous, my point is that we should be looking at a bigger picture here. Why are they dangerous? Because of the terrible breeding practices done by breeders. Again, it's just my opinion but these animals are only doing what they've been bred to do, "by us" (as in humans) and as a society we need to take responsibility for that and find a solution that goes beyond just destroying these dogs. First we inbreed them to be naturally aggressive and then we expect them to ignore that same natural tendency we're guilty of in breeding into them. Breeders and owners who unwisely believe they can retrain this animal to be a family pet are really the ones responsible for their maiming people or other animals. Why owners? Because they knowingly put them in a situation that is impossible for the this breed to contend with. Again it's just my opinion but just as there are laws about housing wild animals that are knowingly dangerous, these animals deserve the same care and protection. We keep breeding and then destroying them. It doesn't make sense to me.

I'm not arguing with the fact that they don't make a good family pet at all. What I'm saying is we blame them when the way I see it, they are innocent. They absolutely require a special environment but in my opinion, it's the breeders and pet owners who are really at fault for all the destruction and harm these animals have caused, not the dogs themselves. And while we are busy destroying these dogs, we are turning a blind eye to the breeders who are the source of the problem to begin with. We should put some focus on who is really at fault and their poor breeding tactics.

lukkirish, I can't believe we're having a civilized discussion about this topic that makes some feel the need to lash out so emotionally. Thanks for being considerate of others opinions, I appreciate it.

To OP, breed aside, sorry you witnessed such a traumatic event.

Jomuir, no problem, I think we all have the same motive in common, we love animals.

Animallover, I didn't see your last post about the breed, I just wonder what those poor puppies had to endure before they were left in your yard. The whole situation is just horrible.

We recently had a pitbull attack the dog in the yard next door to it. The police were called and the dog then went on to attack the police officer.

The people that had the pit had said that they took the dog in because it needed a home and they were going to try to "rehab" it.

They also had a two year old child, so were fortunate that the pit went after another dog and not their child.

Recently while watching the Westminister Dog Show, there was much discussion about perfecting and protecting the breeding of dogs for show and to be companions. Often the anouncer mentioned that a particular breed is not for the first time dog owner, especially those breeds that are known to be very protective of their owners.

Also, good breeders will insist that their pups must be neutered or spayed and you sign agreements to that effect. The animal shelters in our area will not allow a dog or a cat to be adopted until they are "fixed". They will not allow the adoptiion of any dog that shows agressive actions and under no circumstance will they allow a pit bull of pit bull mix to be adopted. these dogs without exception are put down.