Name: Dempsey - approx. 9 y/o
Family Member: Rosemary
How long has Dempsey been in the family? 6 1/2 years
Profession: Production Tech for Medical Device Company (Alcon)
Location: Milton, GA.
Nicknames: Demps, Dempster, Chunky Monkey
5 words/phrases that best describe Dempsey?
Anxious
Hungry
Drooler
Line of Sight
Car Rides Rock
What makes Dempsey unique? He’s a survivor. He clearly had injuries prior to coming to me and has the scars/xrays to show. Demps appears more Lab than pittie, so most people don’t even realize that he’s a danger to society (wink)
Run Demps Run!
Rescue Story: Dempsey was pulled from a shelter in Cobb County (after being dumped by owner) by Atlanta Dog Squad in 2012. My niece was volunteering there and was asked (in early 2013) to take him in for a weekend while the foster mom went out of town. She brought him over to my parent’s house and told me his brief story. I had just lost my job so, of course, it was a great time to adopt a dog! I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but so glad I took the leap.
Settling in to his forever home quickly
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Well it’s a pretty boring life we lead. Demps does not like other dogs or any animal, so daily walks are quite the adventure. After speaking to a few trainers, I realized that I had to change my attitude and behavior as he was going to feed off my reactions. Some days are ruff some not so bad…the point is we live pretty isolated because of his anxiety being around other animals. He loves people though and as long as he has me in his line of sight (including showers), has food and car rides….it’s a good life.
What is life like since you rescued Dempsey? Well, he’s in heaven. He’s a bit spoiled and I think he’s grateful to have someone that tolerates his being. I’m the one who has been changed. He is my life and he has opened my eyes to the horrors so many bully breeds have endured and continue to endure. Most importantly, I’ve discovered that there are good people out there who are leading a revolution to bring awareness of these beautiful, docile breeds while bringing to the light the continued horrors that humans inflict on these dogs and, really, all animals. The misperception and ignorance must change as well as the laws.
Photographers Notes: So many things for me to comment on related to this lovely little family. First of all, Rosemary actually found Shine A Light via a post the Stand up for Pits Foundation shared (they are based in CA, for those who don’t know that). I absolutely loved that she found us this way. We also were both decked out in our Stand up For Pits gear (for those familiar with the org, I was Team Sally and she was Team Todd- photo on our Instagram account) and talked about all the same organizations and dogs that we follow on Instagram! She is a kindred spirit in the changing of perceptions about these amazing dogs.
Now to sweet and adorable Dempsey. Rosemary had us meet up at a friends horse farm, which was just perfect. It was wooded and had plenty of room for Dempsey to run around. In fact, Rose mentioned this was really the first time she had seen him really be able to run freely. He was in heaven. When you look at Dempsey, you definitely see a lot of lab but his labby head is on this short squatty body that is built like a bully breed. Watching him with his adorable MOM sweater on and that happy smile (photo evidence above) was just cuteness overload. Then to top it off, when he would come over to me for a check in, his fur is like petting a rabbit. Sooo incredibly soft! We even had an audience for the shoot, two donkey’s and a horse!