Watching Itty Bitty roll around in her little doggie wheelchair, it’s hard not to fall in love with her.
Those expressive eyes. Those attentive ears. That tail wagging away at a mile a minute. She’s so eager to meet new people.
Hard to believe this 2 ?-year-old pit bull started her life so horribly abused and neglected in Flint.
But these days, life is good for Itty Bitty. She’s got a safe home in Oxford Township full of people who love and care for her.
‘She’s the most grateful dog you’ll ever meet,? said owner Tara Guerrieri, a member of the Michigan Pit Bull Education Project. ‘This is my baby. Everyone who meets her, loves her. She’s so sweet.?
The public will have two opportunities to meet Itty Bitty when Harvest Time Farm Market and Pet Stuff, located at 1125 S. Lapeer Rd. in Oxford Township, hosts fund-raisers for the Michigan Pit Bull Education Project on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 12. Both events will run from noon to 4 p.m.
Folks are asked to bring and donate their returnable bottles and cans. Monetary contributions will be accepted as well.
Tickets will also be available for a Thursday, June 16 fund-raiser at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle in Royal Oak. It will feature comedian David Dyer. Tickets are $25 each and the show begins at 8 p.m.
Officially established in March 2013, the Michigan Pit Bull Education Project engages in a variety of activities to help pit bulls and their owners. The group rescues pit bulls and finds foster/adoptive homes for them. It provides medical treatment for dogs and gets them spayed/neutered. It provides legal assistance to pit bull owners fighting to keep their dogs. The group educates landlords, apartment owners and insurance companies to help prevent breed discrimination. It fights breed specific legislation in communities that prohibit people from owning pit bulls and other types of dogs.
‘We just do so much,? Guerrieri said. ‘There’s nothing we don’t do.?
Proceeds from the fund-raisers at Harvest Time and the Comedy Castle will go toward the Friends of Flint, a pet retention program designed to help pit bulls and their owners in Flint with whatever they may need.
The program was initiated by the Michigan Pit Bull Education Project and the goal is to have it become a coalition that includes other rescue groups.
‘It’s a team effort,? Guerrieri said. ‘In order to be effective, it’s got to take an army of rescues.?
According to Guerrieri, pit bulls in Flint suffer from a variety of problems including abuse, neglect, sickness, abandonment, homelessness and a lack of basic necessities and medical care. Friends of Flint plans to tackle them all and then some.
For example, part of the program will involve getting yards fenced in, so pit bulls don’t have to spend all day confined by a heavy chain.
‘Our goal is to get those dogs off the chain, so they can (run around and) be a dog,? Guerrieri said. ‘It’s heartbreaking to see the dogs that live like that.?
She said pit bulls are ‘hot to sell on the street? in Flint because there are people who want a dog that makes them ‘look tough.?
Unfortunately, many pit bulls end up being either mistreated or dumped on the street when owners can no longer afford to feed and care for them. Guerrieri said many of them end up at the Genesee County Animal Control facility.
‘It’s a huge problem and there’s so little help (in Flint),? she said. ‘It’s heartbreaking.?
Hence, the need for the Friends of Flint program. One of the goals will be helping people who can’t afford to keep their pets.
Itty Bitty has become a mascot for the program because of the rough start she had in Flint. She’s been shot twice, infected with stage three heartworm and left permanently disabled by rickets.
Rickets is a disease that results in soft and deformed bones. It’s commonly caused by insufficient amounts of phosphorus or vitamin D in a young, growing animal’s diet.
Rickets has left Itty Bitty with a deformed spine, a loss of bone and muscle mass in her hind legs and bowed front legs, according to Guerrieri. That’s why she has a dog wheelchair that was custom-made for her by Eddie’s Wheels, a company based in Massachusetts.
Itty Bitty was rescued from Genesee County Animal Control last September. Guerrieri started out as her foster mom, then decided to adopt her.
‘When you see the pain in their eyes, you just want to give them that chance,? she said. ‘I just wanted to make her life better. I really wanted to give her that opportunity to be a dog and be happy.?
Guerrieri did just that and today, Itty Bitty is living the high life.
‘She’s very spoiled, very loved,? she said.