Tofu!
http://www.facebook.com/SaveTofu
Tofu is a red-haired, red-nose 1 year-old pittie with an incredible story to tell. Found in an abandoned apartment building in upper Manhattan, Tofu had been used as “bait” for dog fighting. Dog fighters throw untrained, innocent puppies like him into the ring with trained fighting dogs to be used as practice. As a result, when he had the further misfortune of arriving at the ultra-high-kill city shelter in Manhattan, he had recent deep bite wounds all over his neck, and older bite scars throughout his body. And he weighed 35lbs, with five broken teeth from being hit. Today, nearly three months later, he weighs over 60lbs, and as you can see from his pictures, looks like an entirely different dog.
After Project Pet rescued him from the shelter and sent him to the hospital, we were terrified to learn that Tofu’s white blood cell count was plummeting, and standard treatment for anemia was ineffective. With Tofu getting sicker by the day, a test revealed he had a blood disease found primarily in fighting dogs – including some of Michael Vick’s canine victims. After lifesaving treatment, Tofu is now living happily in a loving foster home where he’s receiving a rigorous training regimen and sleeping on his back with all four paws stretched in different directions.
Rehabilitating Tofu has been a transformative experience, watching him see life as a dog for really the first time. The first few days of walks in a cheery Queens neighborhood was such a sea change for him that he was simply amazed, bumping into things on the sidewalk in awed fascination at trees, birds, anything. Within a week, Tofu was walking calmly by our side – still goofy and curious, but calmer and aware of his boundaries. Training a 1 year-old pittie like Tofu who was abused for much of his life always requires a careful touch, which is why our boy is looking for an adopter with experience training dogs, and preferably someone with the privilege of knowing the pittie breeds. He is loving and affectionate and will chase tennis balls for you until eventually plopping down, his enormous tongue hanging out the side of his mouth where his teeth were removed. Tofu is so thankful for his new life, and he’s looking for a forever family to share it with.
Email us if you are interested in Tofu!
