Amazing Sniffer...

There are certain breeds of dogs that seem to be better at Search and Rescue, Police dogs that smell out drugs and even criminals, and are you aware that the Pit bull breeds are one of these fantastic dogs.
Let me tell you about an experience we have had with Shasta. My friend Cindy had a sore on her face and we had a very hard time keeping Shasta away from it. She was determined that she needed to lick it. Now Shasta is an extremely lovable dog, but I can normally get her to settle down once she says her hello's, but when Cindy came over, it was a completely different story. Shasta would try her darndest to lick Cindy's face, but only at the mouth and chin area.
We later found out that Cindy had cancer in that part of her face and needed to have extensive surgery. After she was checked out, they said the surgery was a complete success. Cindy's health continued to faulter though, rather than getting better. Shasta was still acting in the same manner, only now she left her face area's alone.
The doctors kept telling Cindy that it was a long process of recovery and that her feeling weak and lifeless was part of the healing process. It's been quite awhile since she had the surgery and should be showing some signs of recovery, but she continues to be going downwards and Shasta will not leave her alone.
Well, we finally received news that while the surgery was a complete success to her face, the cancer medizised through her blood stream and to her lymph nodes. She will be seeing the cancer doctor in a couple of weeks to see how they will handle it.
The awesomeness though is that Shasta knew something was wrong in her body even prior to the doctors realizing it and again when they told her it was all cleared up. I've heard of cases like this before of dogs reacting strangly and when the person goes to the doctor, they find a medical condition that needs to be treated.
It would be wise for the the medical profession to do some research into this and rather than banning dogs, let them use their talent to good use.
I've already posted before that I was gettig Shasta and myself ready for the St. John's Anbulance Therapy Dog Program, but because when Bill 132 was first proposed, that would alter our course of action and Shasta being under the breed, Pit bull was not allowed to proceed.
I've also noticed with me and my medical conditions that when I am going through a very bad time, Shasta stays close beside me the whole time. To the point that she does not even ask to be taken for walks. She quicky goes outside in the back yard to do her duty and straight back inside to be with me.
If that means I need to sleep day and night for periods of time, she is laying down right next to me and always close enough that she is touching me. She demands nothing from me and senses that I am ill. She's my comfort and although I live alone, I believe if I was in grave danger, she would find a way to bring help to me in some way. She's a very sensitive and truely remarkable dog and very in tune to sickness and disease. Perhaps we were destined to be together.
I've seen when I've been sick with the flu or with a head banging migraine. Shasta will stay quiet and does not vocalize like she normally does with her saying, 'Mom', as I believe she understands Mommy is sick and this is not the time to play or be comical. During those times when I am weak and barely can walk, Shasta comes with me, even if it is to the washroom.
When she was younger and this would happen, she would wine quietly and if I was sick to my stomach, she wanted to clean my face. Of course I put a stop to that and as she's become older, she seems to understand that staying near is what I need rather than her being afraid and trying to clean me off.
If some people that didn't understand, knew the compassion and and the unconditional love these dogs have for their families, they might just change their minds about the animal and not look so closely at what a dogs breed may be.
On another note, the Property Manager of where I live has a fear of dogs. Even more so to large dogs, as she was bit as a child. I asked her if it happened to be a pit and she said no. I was happy to hear that, at least. But what she asked me next made me feel very good. She asked me if I would bring Shasta with me to the office more often, so help her overcome her fears. She knows Shasta is friendly...and yes, she is fully aware of her breed, yet she has asked for me to bring her.
When I went to pay my rent on the first of this month, she was going to get up the courage to come aound from behind the counter and come closer to Shasta. I told Shasta to sit and I honestly believe Shasta knew that this woman had a fear, as rather than being her usual friendly self, instead sat quietly and still while she was being petted by her. She looked up at her with her pretty light brown eyes and let the woman know she enjoyed that by her smile, but she didn't move a muscle.
Dumb, vicious dogs? NOT! Shasta is 'special' to mean, but this is very much simular with her breed as I've talked to other pittie owners, but it's not the owners of this spectacular breed that needs to be convinced, it's the ones that have heard only the horror stories through the media. The ones that won't even 'try' to understand what these dogs are all about.
With me having Shasta though, she has already changed a lot of minds of people who once thought as the others did, so I guess it's a slow process. It's a shame we couldn't reach more people at one time, as it would disspell a lot of the myths that some people have regarding the Pit bull breeds. Walking past them with a halti or muzzle only validates in their minds that the myths are true. What can we do to help change their minds?