For the Love of Pits

The plight of these amazing dogs sometimes seems like a losing battle, but the positivity and resilience of rescues such as For The Love of Pits gives my faith in humanity a boost. They do great and important work.

I have adopted animals from many rescue organizations over the years but I have never experienced the dedication to finding the perfect home for their dogs as I did with For The Love of Pits. When I fell in love with "Norman's" profile online, my husband and I made arrangements to meet him at his foster home. The following week I took 2 of my dogs to meet him. The next 2 weeks Norman came to our house twice to meet our dogs & cats one by one. Then Norman came back with a trainer who spent a couple hours working with me and all my pets to be sure placing Norman with my family would be best for everyone involved. Norman is somewhat of a "special needs" dog and FTLOP could not have been more careful making sure that we were the right fit for his needs. In a perfect world all rescues would have the time and resources to treat every adoption this way. I could not be more impressed with FTLOP and Norman! He is an amazing dog who was very fortunate to have been cared for by them - I honestly don't think there are many rescues who would have spent several years finding his perfect home. I can't say enough wonderful things about FTLOP and thank God every day for having this wonderful dog in my life!!
I also feel that FTLOP has made great progress in NE Ohio changing attitudes toward the bully breeds, by showing people what amazing dogs they can be and that Breed Specific Legislation must be abolished!!

I had known I wanted to be a foster parent for a long time. I began researching rescue groups in the area to see which one matched up with my morals, personality, and other criteria. I had been following a few rescue groups online for about 6 months before I saw For The Love of Pits post a dog. She eventually became our first foster. They were in need of a foster home for her quickly and I remember nervously filling out the foster application. By the time she came to live with us, FTLOPs had already given us an abundance of guidance, knowledge and education on this particular dog and the breed, training, and expectations in general. I am floored by the support we have been given. We have since taken in additional fosters and continue to receive anything we or the dogs need. FTLOPs is more than just a rescue group. They are eager to educate the public, increase awareness of the issues pit lovers face, along with providing top notch care. Although we had a rocky start with one of our fosters medically, FTLOPs has made becoming a foster parent such a wonderful "job" in our lives. I enjoy it very much.

I found my soul dog at For The Love Of Pits, and it will be 6 years tomorrow when I FINALLY was able to bring him home because of Lakewood, Ohio's ridiculous "Pit Bull" ban that was passed earlier in 2008. Took me about 6 months to finally find suitable and friendly rental housing for me and him, since I had to move out of the city I called home to bring him into my family. FTLOP knew how serious I was as an adopter for Preston. I am forever grateful that I found him and have been able to spend the last several years together. My only wish is that I found him sooner. Those first couple years he was there could've been spent relaxing in my home instead of taking a spot another dog could've benefitted from that was/is in a city/county shelter/kennel. Thank you FTLOP, keep up the good work!

When my husband found a pitbull tied to a tree in the woods he brought him home. He was so lovable but the stigma against this breed was more than we expected. We got connected with For the Love of Pits who were more than happy to educate us and give us the tools we needed to make this sweet dog a member of our family.

When my sister told me that she was having trouble owning a Pitbull mix due to prejudices against Pitbulls in her neighborhood, I took action by supporting the end of BSL through writing letters, emailing city governments, etc. Along the way, I met the president of For the Love of Pits at a training class that I enrolled my rescued racing greyhounds in. I was very impressed by the care that this organization took with the training and socialization of the dogs. I am a firm believer that all dogs need training and socialization, but that rescued dogs especially need guidance and love.For the Love of Pits does just that. As a petsitter for the past 12 years, I see many modes of care for all breeds of dog. For the Love of Pits definitely follows a great positive reinforcement path that helps dogs- many of their dogs earn CGC status.This is a fantastic group of dedicated dog lovers.

Two years ago I acquired a Pit Bull that I found on the street. I was looking for a support group and found For the Love of Pits. I have followed them the past year and a half and am amazed at their dedication to this misunderstood breed. The people who run this organization are so committed and do so much to not only rescue, place and fundraise but host events throughout Cuyahoga County to raise awareness on the plight of the Pit Bull, which is a very loving and obedient dog. For the Love of Pits staff give 150% to the dogs they rescue whether or not they have the funds or the capacity. I can't say enough about their work.

Several years ago I was a volunteer at the local humane shelter. 15 pitbulls had been rescued from an abandoned house and were being housed at the shelter. At that time, breed discrimination laws made it very difficult to adopt pitbulls. For the Love of Pits rescued all of the dogs and puppies and eventually found good homes for them. I was incredibly grateful for their support. This is a small rescue but the amount of work they do on behalf of the breed is amazing. I believe For the Love of Pits has single-handedly changed legislation about pitbulls in Ohio. I am so proud to be a volunteer with For the Love of Pits.

I began volunteering For the Love of Pits about two years ago and I have learned so much about the breed through them and how much they truly are misunderstood. When I started volunteering I only had three Pit Bulls and now I currently have four and because of this organization I have a better understanding of my dogs and how to raise them. They are my family and I want to make sure they are happy. FTLOP are great educators as well as supporters! I might not be able to give up as much time as I would like to for them, but I am truly blesses to be apart of this wonderful organization and I can only hope to have more time in the future to help them like they've helped me!

We fostered two pit bulls from FTLOP for extended periods of time and third for a week until his foster was ready. FTLOP is very careful in the dogs they rescue to make sure they're have a good temperament, but they attempt to rescue as many dogs as possible while adhering to their standards. They also are very careful in the people they choose to foster and to adopt, to give both dogs and people the best chance to succeed and to have the best experience possible. When we fostered, everything we needed was provided, as well as copious amounts of information and even a dog therapist/psychologist/trainer when needed. Everyone we've met in the organization was friendly and helpful. Any time we needed help, it came almost instantly. We had no previous experience with having a dog or with pit bulls and loved both. The only reason we didn't adopt either dog is that we're moving to a rental house that doesn't allow pets. FTLOP is also very active in trying to get BSL removed and to educating people about how wonderful pit bulls are. They are a quality organization! I can't recommend them highly enough.

I have been in veterinary medicine for 17 years total with 11 1/2 of those years being a registered technician. I have seen many rescue groups and many, many rescued dogs. I have waited and took serious time to find a rescue to be involved with and volunteer for. For The Love Of Pits was recommended by a co-worker who also had rescued a dog through them. Part of the reason I waited so long was because I wanted a group I would be proud to be a part of. The rescue needed to be honest, ethical and morally in-tuned for me to be a part of it. I wanted to find a group who had the dog's best interest at heart. People who made smart and fair choices. For The Love Of Pits is exactly who I was searching for. I can't say enough great things about this group and I am very grateful that I started volunteering for them this year. They are great people for a great cause!

I have been involved in rescue for almost 15 years; I am so fortunate that my path crossed with For the Love of Pits rescue. Being involved in rescue, there are happy times and sad times, but being involved with For the Love of Pits is a huge warm smile in your heart. It is an amazing organization that is doing it right. They are not only involved helping rescue pit bulls in need but they also try to help and keep families and their beloved pets together through educating the public, training of their rescue dogs and training for the public, vaccination clinics to help with the expenses of people experiencing difficult times, consultations with animal behaviorists. I could go on and on about all the wonderful things this wonderful rescue and it’s amazing volunteers do on a regular bases.

I have a pitbull of my own and so I am very dedicated to saving this breed and fighting the injustices that threaten these wonderful dogs. I came across For The Love of Pits and I am sure glad that I did. Shana and her team are so dedicated and have shared a lot of information that I truly found helpful. Their love and generousity for these dogs is truly amazing. I would like to become a volunteer or foster, and help them out more when my schedule permits. In the meantime, I have been and will continue to be a donor to this organization because they are doing great work and are so deserving of the public's help to continue to educate, rescue, foster, and adopt out these wonderful dogs. FTLOP is truly dedicated to the pitbulls of NE Ohio and to the humans who are owned by them.

Thanks to For the Love of Pits, we've added a very sweet pitbull, Dillon, to our family. FTLOP rescued him from a horrible hoarding situation. They helped us with his health, adoption, training, and being responsible dog owners. Dillon is thriving and even received his Canine Good Citizen thanks to FTLOP!!

FLOP is a wonderful organization who saves awesome dogs and provides me up to date information. We are so lucky they saved a pit named Renee who we adopted from FLOP. She's the apple of our eye! FLOP's assessment of Renee provided the right information so we knew she'd be a good match to our life-style and fit in with our family. Renee is silly to make us laugh, but also knows when its time to work and behave. She passed the Canine Good Citizen test with flying colors. We are very sport oriented and Renee fits in nicely with that too - she's always up to give any sport a try. We are very thankful to FLOP for saving her and also accurately describing her so we could be certain she'd be a perfect fit into our family.

For The Love of Pits always sends me e.mail updates concerning current legislation within the state of Ohio concerning breed specific laws that are being considered and negatively effect the pitbull breed and their owners. Attached to these emails are email addresses, phone numbers, etc to the involved law makers and politicians, giving citezens a means of contacting these officials and voicing their concerns. I believe that on many occasions, the voice of the people has made a positive difference for the dogs and their owners. Unfortunately Cleveland, Oh has a policy of not adopting pitbulls the city kennel takes in, regardless of their temperament, all are euthanized. FLOP rescues some of these dogs, places them in foster homes and eventually finds adoptive homes for them. FLOP also raises money for dogs in certain situations where medical treatment or some other assistance is needed. The information they provide is more than most people with busy lives would have time to gain on their own. They motivate and facilitate people to effectively help their mission.

I had the pleasure of seeing this organization in action when the animal welfare league in my area did a raid that seized 162 dogs and a lot of other animals. Most of the dogs were pit bull. For the Love of Pits were there very day evaluating and working with the dogs in order to get them adopted or to help find shelters that would take some of them. They would interact with each dog and teach them commands and how to interact with people. They treated each dog as if they were their own. They were there every day even though the drive was an hour away for them. They took many videos of the dogs for future use. When we had the experience to have one of the dogs put down that many of us got close to Shana and Tish went out of their way to tell the animal shelter that they would take him to their vet and stay with him. They went even as far to ask my husband and I to go with them. Under the circumstances we said "no" and they took him and were with him to the end. This, I felt, was over and above what they had to do. We looked to this group to help us till the end of getting these dogs homes or other shelters-they gave us, as volunteers, a lot of support. When we were down to 29 dogs and they were taken to a kennel, which was donated by the owners, we still looked to For the Love of Pits for help and their knowledge of how to teach and show us how to teach these dogs things which maybe as volunteers did not know how to do. They continued to travel to help us out which was greatly appreciated. There was also one of the dogs, Helen, who was deaf, that my husband and I got so attached to. Shana helped us get her into the shelter CODA in Brooklyn Ohio who only take deaf and blind dogs where she is being taken care of and given the love she so deserves. This was so personally grateful for my husband and myself because we needed to know that Helen would be taken good care of and tended to in a different way because of her handicap. Without Shana's help I don't know what we would have done. For the Love of Pits have gone out of their way to educate the public that pit bulls are very loving dogs and can be trusted in ways some of the public would never think of. They are gentle with children and not of "bad rap" some people label them as. For the Love of Pits have given of their time, personal experience, and their love to the many dogs they have rescued, each of them equally. This is one group that should be commended for what they do for these dogs and I for one will always hold them to the highest gratitude. This is one group that I hope will get the many thanks they so deserve. They have more then a 5 star rating as far as i am concerned!!!! Thank you FOR THE LOVE OF PITS!!!!!!!

For the Love of Pits is an incredibly hard working and dedicated organization. They have saved, trained and brought back to health many amazing dogs who are now loving companions and a great joy to the families lucky enough to adopt them.

We are extremely lucky to have For The Love of Pits here in NE Ohio. My daughter has rescued 2 pitt bull dogs and they are wonderful companions.

I initially met Shana and For the Love of Pits when I volunteered at my local shelter. She would rescue our hard to place pit bulls, and work with them on socialization and behavior. I saw the amazing things that she did. I eventually fostered for her. And, saw first hand how much she and her organization does to help these great dogs. I had so much support while I was fostering for her. And, would highly recommend it. She is truly working to end BSL in our state and educate the public on how amazing they really are. She is one person who is working to get rid of the horrid stereotypes.

For the Love of Pits works very hard to educate the public as to what is going on in legislature that is detrimental to pit bulls. They communicate constantly to keep us all informed as to what is going on.

In addition to that, they have the time to find homes for abused and abandoned pit bulls. These animals would be euthanized if it wasn't for this hard working group. And they do it out of love for the breed and for dogs who are abused only because they are a dog.

A few months ago I had a problem with my boys who are pit mixed. My boys are 8 and 9 years and neutered. My youngest was sold as an Am Staff but I found out from these people he must be mixed with something as he was to big. The problem had to do with middle of the night fighting on my bed which was getting more serious. I contacted For the Love of Pitts for help and advice. We talked on the phone and a decision was made that helped me keep both my boys and stopped the aggression. It seems my youngest has a sleep disorder so moving them to the floor at bed time solved the entire problem. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude go out to this group how helped keep my pack together with their knowledge and compassion.

I have 5 rescues. A found a dog deemed a pit-bull mix and could not keep him. Turned him into our local "dog shelter" - not realizing they would NOT put him up for adoption. They would KILL him unless someone claimed him. I posted my frantic plea on facebook and emails and Shana (God Bless Her!!) responded immediately with help. She got it moving... thru her networking, this beautiful dog was saved, fostered and adopted by his foster mom and is doing great..... Every chance I get, I spread the good word about "For the Love of Pits", Shana Klein, and all her wonderful volunteers and fosters. GOD BLESS THEM ALL!! Melissa Klawon, Painesville OH.

I am a registered veterinary technician, and the proud parent of three dogs, two of them are Boston Terriers and our recent addition is a Pit Bull. I have worked with MANY rescue organizations over the course of my career and I feel that For The Love of Pits rescue is the MOST phenomenal group I have ever seen. They face more adversities than the other rescues around, yet still move on with their vision of providing better lives for the dogs. I also raise awareness to everyone I can and I hope that more businesses in Ohio begin to donate as well! My Pit Bull has been a true joy in our family and we couldn't imagine our lives without him.....please donate to these excellent dogs!!

This organization is incredibly supportive and cares most about the dogs and their well-being and placement. Talk about being on top of their game. Highest recommendation.

For the Love of Pits is an active, engaged organization dedicated to rescuing pit bulls from neglect, abuse, and abandonment. The organization also works hard to impact and remove Breed Specific Legislation from Ohio courts and communities.

For the Love of Pits is breed specific dog rescue and 501 non-profit organization in Ohio, USA. They are specialized in making people aware that pit bulls are gentle family pets, as opposed to the dog fighters as they are portraied by the media.
The president of For the Love of Pits Shana Klein is a lawyer and has pit bulls herself. Especially her beloved pit bull Jake should be mentioned here.
More up to date information should be provided by For the Love of Pits.