Many dogs are adopted from shelters and given a second chance at life . If an animal has a good personality, and is well trained, it’s possible for the creature to develop a bond with a caretaker looking for a pet. Unfortunately, being adopted does not necessarily give that animal a happy ending.
Misty is a 1-year-old pit bull mix. She was adopted by what seemed to be a lovely family who found her at the high-kill Greenville County Pet Rescue in South Carolina. Misty the pit bull might have believed that would be her forever home, but it wasn’t. She was returned just a little while later.
The pit bull mix had a flaw, the adopting family claimed. What was their reason for giving her back to a shelter where she was likely to be killed? She farted too much.
Misty the pit bull didn’t bite, she didn’t growl, she was housebroken and friendly. She was simply returned because she was flatulent.
Greenville County Pet Rescue was already filled to capacity when the pit bull was returned; which meant she had a limited amount of time to be adopted out before they would be forced to put her down. So, the rescue put up a request on their site, looking for someone to take the pit bull in.
The response was immediate. Many of people showed intense anger geared toward the family that returned the dog. Pit bulls have a bad reputation, and finding homes for them is already very difficult. In a shelter that has a dog euthanasia rate of 23.4% (in 2013), comments stated that it was essentially like giving Misty the pit bull a death sentence for passing gas.
Other people began asking questions about the pit bull’s personality and training, or offering advice as to how to help her upset stomach. Not many people actually advertised a desire to adopt Misty, though.
Luckily, they didn’t have to. The case of the flatulent pit bull has a happy ending. The pet rescue found a foster family for Misty, and she has been thriving in the loving environment.
As Susan Bufano, a Greenville County Pet Rescue spokeswoman told the Huffington Post , “We are still evaluating her and have a foster for her. We anticipate finding her a home.”
Perhaps the next family that adopts Misty the pit bull will have more realistic expectations of their new pet.