Diamond (now Rue), and adopting a challenging dog

Diamond was rescued after Hurricane Irma in Florida (2017). She moved to New York and stayed in the care of Anima lHaven for months before finding her family. Diamond had behavioral issues, and was not good with other dogs. That would have pushed most adopters away, but once Rachel and Cameron saw her photo, they knew she was theirs (follow their adventures at @ruethepitbull).

“We wanted to get a pit bull because they're so overlooked. We knew a couple that had two and they were the sweetest dogs I'd ever met. We looked at different shelters' webpages, and found a lot of dogs that looked great, but the one that really caught our attention was a little 2-year-old pit named Diamond. We kept coming back to her smiling picture. We were like, "That's our dog!"

“We renamed her because Diamond is also my last name. We chose "Rue." Going to pick her up, we felt like we were headed for a first date! It was disappointing to know that Rue was dog reactive, because my sister has a dog, but we accepted that we'd have to proceed with caution. As of today, they haven't met. 

“Beyond the dog reactivity, which was easy enough to control by crossing the street and avoiding dog parks, we had issues with Rue nipping. She never did it maliciously, but she had strong jaws and no bite inhibition, so it was pretty painful. We contacted Animal Haven's trainer Kate to ask for tips. She suggested time-outs in our bathroom, and they worked like a charm. Soon, Rue was only lightly play-biting and hasn't gone back. 

“I really don't think we understood what we were getting into. Growing up, our dogs were mellow and pretty well behaved. We were a little naive going into dealing with Rue. When we first got her, I worked nights so I was alone with her during the day and I did a lot of crying because I didn't understand why she wouldn't listen to me. It's amazing to see how far she's come. I think when we met Rue and saw how sweet she was, we felt bad that she'd been overlooked BECAUSE of her description. We also knew that as a pit bull, and especially a BLACK pit bull, she would probably only continue to be overlooked.

“In addition to dogs, Rue has a lot of fears, from certain races of people to suitcases to anyone in our building's elevator. We're trying to address each one and slowly show her that there is nothing to be afraid of. There are good days and bad days, and it can be frustrating sometimes. We took Kate's behavioral training class, with a gate in between her and the other furry students. She LOVED the class- she's a very smart girl- and loved coming back to AH and seeing all her old friends. 

“One of Rue's favorite things is going to her grandparents' house in rural PA. Because they have a fence, she's able to be off-leash and has met a few dogs through the fence with success! We're hoping this means one day she'll be able to have doggy friends. But we love her for the pup she is!”

Rue and her dad enjoying some confinement exercise!