Minnie Pearl

Minnie is a squatty, buff little bundle of sugar that dug her way deep into my husband's heart in just two short days. From the OK cruelty bust, our volunteers originally found Minnie encaged in a small plastic crate filled with her own feces, packed in so hard that it was like a mountain of dirt. She lived in that crate like that for what must have been weeks, maybe months, to get to that level of filth. They immediately made a temporary pen outside for Minnie to be able to run around (in about 4 x 4 feet of space) with her canine sister. This is where my husband found her when MABBR volunteers were called to evaluate and chose dogs to join our program as adoptable bullies. Minnie was afraid at first, but wiggled so hard and wanted so bad to overcome her insecurity that my husband was smitten with her immediately. Unfortunately, Minnie's sister was not able to overcome her fear and insecurity and was not able come into our program.

Minnie is now safe at our house warming up to the idea of being a beloved pet. She has taken her time coming out of her shell and still gets frightened at loud noises and sudden movements. She is a gamey little dog with a lot of spunk and she loves to play with our 150 lb English Mastiff. At a solid 28 lbs, Minnie is the definition of Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She is sweet, exuberant and yet stocky and powerful. When she first gets up in the morning, her bottom wags so hard she nearly snaps herself in half! She gets so excited about being alive and even though she doesn't know where she's going half the time, she runs like a bull in a china shop through the house to get there and bangs into every piece of furniture along the way. Her tail is like a yard stick smacking into every corner as she runs toward the back door. When she goes out onto our back porch, which is a short concrete pad with four steps going down to the yard. Rather than run (or walk, god forbid) down the steps into the yard, she simply springloads and launches herself through the air flying off the back porch and down into the yard about 6 feet out, hitting the ground at a full run. It's hilarious to watch, her powerful hamhocks have some serious torque. She enjoys the company of playful male dogs, but she can get very crabby about sharing attention with other dogs. She has gotten nasty with our female dogs when she thinks another dog is honing in on her people time. This is an issue her new owner would need to be aware of at all times and take proper precautions to keep the harmony.

She likes to destroy things when you are not looking, but has been a pretty easy going foster dog for a dog who obviously never lived inside a house prior to coming here. She is about 95% potty trained, needs to be supervised, but will not go in her crate amazingly. She needs to learn everything and still likes to taste-test random items (rugs, pillows, paper towel rolls, etc) but her favorite item to steal and chew has to be baby toys. Our 8-month old daughter has lost some choice toys to Minnie's chewing delight. We have to keep everything high and out of reach, to our amazement the dining room table is not out of reach, we found that out (and her with all four feet planted on top of it) a few weeks into her stay here. Needless to say, we now keep all dining chairs pushed in and a watchful eye when she is in that room.

Minnie's lack of socialization makes her insecure around new people. When exposed to new people, very active children or excited situations, she is fearful at first, but not aggressive. If you give her time, she will warm up and eventually she will be sleeping in your lap. She makes rat terriers look lazy though, so she definitely will need a family who is active and enjoys going out and playing in this exciting world. Minnie was caged for most of her life, she still crates well, but when she's done being in her crate, she will protest LOUDLY to let you know. Knowing Minnie has been a joy and an experience, we are beginning classes for obediance and training in a few weeks and are eager to see how she will progress with some confidence under her belt.