Happy Thursday, ladies and gents!
So today is sort of a special post, as it's about my friend Caroline's Pit Bull pup named Banjo!
You are also looking at the official mascot of our DSL Kickball league team, The Spring Heeled Jacks. (We have had two wins since he's come to our games! <3)
Banjo is about a year and a half, and Caroline and her husband Angus have had him for about six months now. They got him from Delaware Humane Association, where they just went in to, "look":
"So we went to DHA just to get some ideas…and we walked in and all of these dogs were barking and so excited to see us. But when we walked over to Banjo's cage, he was just sitting there very calmly, and looking at us through the corner of his eye. He was the only dog who wasn't barking like crazy. So we kind of fell in love with him at that point. We asked to meet him, and we played with him for a bit and he was great. We took him home a week later!"
Caroline said upon adopting him, DHA didn't have his backstory—but she did note he was very shy and anxious in the beginning. He had separation anxiety when they would go out, and had a few accidents the first few weeks. But Caroline and Angus began working with him a bit, and soon the anxiety started to fade. The more they bonded with him, the more he started to come out of his shell. After just one to two months, he adjusted to his new life, and became the wonderful, sweet and happy pup he is today.
They were, however, nervous when the very first time they took him to the Veterinarian, the doctor gave a scary prognosis for Banjo's future:
"The first Vet we ever took him to was two days after we picked him up from DHA. Banjo was understandably very anxious and nervous in a new setting, and the Vet quickly told me that I had adopted a, "problem", and that this dog, "had a lot of issues". He went on to say Banjo would require A LOT of one-on-one training, and despite that, he would probably NEVER be okay in dog parks or introducing him to strangers. And look how far he's come now! The first time I ever took him to a dog park was just a month after we had him, and he totally came out of his shell. I've never seen him as calm and happy as he is around other dogs, and he does amazingly well with new places and people. The Vet had judged him very quickly…I totally proved him wrong! All he needed was time to adjust and for someone to give him a chance."
These days, they love taking him to the dog park—where he plays very well with others. He does great off leash, and is INCREDIBLY fast (I've seen him whip around the park!). During our Kickball games, he hangs out on the sidelines cheering mom on, and tearing apart tennis balls and any spare kickballs (although not even the DSL Kickball League employee was mad at him when they saw the adorable look on his face).
Name: Banjo
Favorite Food: "He is very food motivated. He loves all food, particularly Frosty Paws and Peanut
Butter!"
Tricks: "He knows sit, kiss, shake, stand on back legs, down, and roll over!"
Accidents Happen: "The first time we ever dropped him off at someone else's house (Angus and I had a wedding), Angus brought him to a dog sitter's house and as soon as they got there she said, "take him off leash and let's see how he does!" And he kind of walked around the house, and then just looked at Angus and started peeing on her hardwood floors. Thankfully, the dog sitter handled it very well…"
