HugABull has been re-homed!

HugABull has always been run by volunteers, and since 2004 our head office has been the living rooms, home offices, and laptops of our directors. But with the opening of Dizine Canine Training Centre (DCTC) in Vancouver, HugABull finally has a home.

Shelagh Begg is the owner of DCTC and a long-time director of HugABull, When she opened her new space last month, she offered to provide office space, storage and space for HugABull operations. It will be a welcoming (and rain-proof) site for Pit-Ed classes, and we're looking forward to hosting information sessions, adoption days and so much more.

We're celebrating our new home on December 13 with a holiday open house. Join us to see visit the centre, visit with other HugABullers, and have Christmas photos taken with your canine family members. Off-Leash Photography will be lending their amazing photography talents in exchange for donations to HugABull.

Come by with your leashed, well-behaved dogs for fun, celebration, and a tour of the new space we're proud to call home. We're also collecting cash, new and gently used donations for Loki's Christmas Wish Fund, so clean out your closets before you come!

2010 HugABull Calendars

Our 2010 calendars are now available for sale through our online store (hint: they make excellent Christmas gifts!). http://www.hugabull.biz/

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the photographers that worked so hard on this project: Eric Milner from Eric Milner Photography and Melissa McCabe from Unleashed! pet portraits.

We appreciate all that they put into this task: scheduling photo shoots, editing the images and many miles of driving to meet featured dogs and families. We could not have done it without them, and are thrilled to have been able to work with such talented artists.

Thank you also to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, for allowing us to photograph the stunning Tiger against their beautiful backdrop.

Many kudos and much appreciation goes to our brilliant graphic artist Lori West of Fawndog Design. She did an amazing job putting together this calendar and we are thrilled with the results. We think you will be too - buy one while supplies last and enjoy a rescued pit bull every month, with proceeds benefitting HugABull.

UPDATE - Kane found a saviour!

In almost every way, Kane is the perfect dog. He is social with dogs, cats, birds and farm animals. Crate-trained, obedience-trained, easy-going in the house and spectacular with children, he has charmed every family he’s lived with. However, Kane is having trouble finding a forever home because of some challenges that came up during his foster period.

Although he originally came from a wonderful family home, we don’t think he had a lot of socialization with other dogs. He’s friendly but gets extremely excited when he sees another dog and isn’t able to greet it. He loses his focus, strains on his leash, and his normally impeccable manners fall by the wayside. Kane has been attending Pit-Ed and we’ve been seeing progress, but his foster family lives in a very busy area swarming with other dogs and it’s just too much stimulation for him.

Kane's foster family loves him and considered keeping him, but he needs more structure and training than this busy family with young children can provide. This means Kane is looking for a new foster home. We already have a shortage of foster spaces, and sadly we don’t have any current homes who can give Kane the structure he needs. HugABull is willing to provide free one-on-one training, Pit Ed classes and lots of support as we know that with a month or two of “boot camp” he would come a long way.

We are looking for a two-month commitment and a solid routine with opportunities for Kane to practice calm behaviour around new dogs. It will require some dedication and handling skills, but we can tell you that Kane will be a perfect houseguest in every other way.

Kane and HugABull really need your help! If you have every considered fostering or making a profound difference in the life of a deserving dog, this is your chance. Contact hugabull@gmail.com for more information.

UPDATE -----
After canvassing far and wide, we had a wonderful, breed-experienced foster home offer to house and train Kane, helping him to become the stellar dog he was born to be. Watch for his triumphant return to our Adoptables page soon!

Someone called me a pit bull...and sealed my fate in Ontario.

Most of us know that Ontario is home to the most restrictive Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) in North America. A dog deemed to be a "pit bull type" cannot be adopted or imported into the province. It means that countless innocent dogs have been put to death and people have seen their gentle family dogs seized and subject to restrictive muzzling laws.

Despite the death, heartbreak and millions of dollars in legal fees, there has been no evidence of fewer dog bites in Ontario or increased public safety. And with each month that goes by, it becomes more clear that BSL is fundamentally flawed.

Someone posted these puppies for sale online calling them "pit bull mixes" and sealed their fate. The mother dog (a Lab/Shepherd cross) and her litter were seized by Animal Control and her puppies sit on death row.

Was the father a pit bull? We don't know for sure. He may have been a mastiff, a boxer, or another Lab. But because a backyard breeder decided to type the dreaded "P-word" these otherwise highly adoptable puppies may die.

These puppies drew the attention of MonStars Mastiff Rescue, who is desperately looking for a way to have them transported out of the province, where they can be adopted and undergo a breed identification from a professional. Ironically, an organization like HugABull would normally not accept these puppies because they appear to have minimal or no pit bull in them!

Although HugABull cannot take puppies at this time, a local all-breed rescue, The Penny Foundation, has stepped up and offered foster care to the eight little ones. Now we wait to see if the red tape can be unravelled and if these dogs can be released out of the province - and survive. As healthy, social, cute-as-a-button puppies they will have no trouble finding homes in Vancouver. But in Ontario they may die, because one person at one time uttered "pit bull."

Please send your thoughts and wishes to these little guys, and remember that these are just one litter of many slated for death row because of BSL. Share this story with your friends, and help us open eyes to why we are so passionate about ending discriminatory legislation.

Pit Bull Awareness Day

Channel your Halloween spirit and bring your leashed, well-behaved dog to march with us in pit bull solidarity!

HugABull is organizing Vancouver's first Pit Bull Awareness Day Walk with a Halloween theme. We welcome all breeds and all people with crowd manners to help us show off our pit bulls as the well-behaved, fun-loving family members they are.

We'll be dispensing special treats along the way to put extra emphasis on the sweet side of pit bulls.



Creative Halloween costumes are encouraged...!

Details
Saturday, October 24
Starting at Science World (1455 Quebec Street) in Vancouver. Meet us on the grassed side of the parking lot.
3:30 meetup
4:00 walk

Click here for the background and history of Pit Bull Awareness Day, and email info@hugabull.com for more information or to RSVP.

We are thankful for our many supporters...

Thanks to our many friends and fans, our Giggle Dam fundraiser was another success. We had a great turnout of 118 people, and our preliminary calculations indicate that over $3,000 was raised. These funds will directly benefit our rescue and advocacy activities over the coming year.

It was a fun night, made especially memorable by seeing certain HugABullers on-stage in costume...in addition to being dog advocates, they're also very good sports.

Thanks again for joining us, supporting us and laughing with us!

A special thank you to everyone that contributed to our silent auction:
Black Rock Resort
Bow Wow Haus
Dog & Hydrant Photography and Boutique
Don Osborne
Forever My Friend Pet Gifts and Custom Framing
In the Raw Foods for Dogs and Cats
International Year of the Tiger Foundation
Makoa Leather
Modern Dog Magazine
Off-Leash Dog Photography
PNE Pacific National Exhibition
S.I.T. Bits
Urban Pets
Vancouver Canadians
Venom Motorworks & Automotive Detailing
West Coast Tails Professional Pet Services

A very special thank you to the Coquitlam Now for this wonderful article on HugABull Director Arlene, with Mr. Beefcake and Cocoa Bean. It was great coverage and we were thrilled with it (though Beef and Beans were worried that the photo made their heads look big...)

Buy your Giggle Dam tickets today!

As many of you know, our Giggle Dam fundraiser is just over a week away! It's a fun night of food, entertainment, and great company, all in support of a good cause.

The Giggle Dam is a great supporter and is hosting this event for the second year in a row. All they ask of us is to sell a minimum number of tickets, and unfortunately sales are a bit slower than expected. We need your help!

If you are thinking of going, please order your tickets today so we can make sure this night is as big and spectacular as it can be. Here are some options:

- Call the Giggle Dam box office 604-944-4453 where you can pay by credit card

- Email info@hugabull.com to reserve a ticket (please note that reservations are binding and you will be accountable for payment!).

- Use the HugABull Paypal account. Click here.

Do you want to support the event but aren't able to attend? Consider sponsoring a ticket so we can invite a special foster family, volunteer or supporter who otherwise wouldn't be able to participate.

Event details
October 4, 2009 (doors open at 4:30)
Giggle Dam Dinner Theatre
2616 Shaughnessy Street, Port Coquitlam, BC
Tickets are $48 (plus GST) with a portion going to HugABull

More info on our blog:
http://hugabull.blogspot.com/2009/09/get-ready-to-giggle-with-hugabull.html

We hope to see you there!