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Andre
updated: Sep 24, 2011, 9:00 AM

Hi, I'm Andre. I'm a 4 yr old choc lab/pit mix. I'm strong, healthy, smart, and love the water and tennis balls. Many people tell me I'm handsome and the volunteers @ K9PALS voted me the Most Athletic at the shelter. I've been to the beach, hiking, and to many of the off-site events and people always come up to greet me and tell me how great I am, so I can't figure out why I'm still at the shelter. Come see me at K9PALS or on our website (k9pals.org) and leave with a best buddy for life. I promise.

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Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

SUMMERTIME	2011-09-24 09:19 AM
What a happy smiley face - if I was in a position to adopt a dog - I'd adopt Andre.....
COMMENT 216936P	2011-09-24 10:54 AM
"can't figure out why I'm still at the shelter" Uh, because you're a pit bull . . . .
COMMENT 216955P	2011-09-24 11:42 AM
936P - Pits were not originally bred to be aggressive and not all pits are aggressive. My current dog is part pit and my previous dog was part pit. It is not pits that are bad, it is some pit owners. I hate to see any breed of dog stereotyped because of problems with some of the breed owners!
COMMENT 216980	2011-09-24 12:46 PM
My insurance company won't allow us to have a Pit and still have coverage. Why would that be.
COMMENT 216981P	2011-09-24 12:49 PM
@955 I mostly agree with you and some of the nicest, friendliest dogs I have known were pits or pit mixes. Unfortunately, pits are the current dog of choice for bad people. (remember when it was German shepherds and doberman's) This means that many of them are now bred for their aggressive traits and encouraged to act that way. This makes it hard for many of us to adopt one without knowing the pedigree/owner history and how it ended up in the shelter. It can be an issue with some home insurance policies. This particular dog seems to have been well socialized but I would still hesitate to adopt this dog if I had a lot of young children around.
COMMENT 216983P	2011-09-24 12:51 PM
@lifesighs - actuarial tables :) Pits are not the only dogs that some insurance companies don't like. But, it is all based on numbers. I think you already knew that.
COMMENT 216997P	2011-09-24 02:07 PM
Gee, I wonder what it is about the breed that makes it attractive to your stereotypical "bad people?" If there weren't some consistent factors about the breed that were attractive to them, why would it be the dog of choice . . . ? Regarding good pedigree/history - if you think that they exist, do you think those from "good" homes end up at the pound much?
COMMENT 216999P	2011-09-24 02:14 PM
"Bad" people's dogs aren't the only ones who cause problems either. Plenty of attacks have been the fault of well meaning owners in denial that they have more dog than they can handle, whether they raised it themselves or adopted someone else's problem.
COMMENT 217031	2011-09-24 06:03 PM
There are a insurance companies that will cover pits and other bully breeds: State Farm Contact: Thomas Woodard 211 East Victoria #C. SB 962-9146 There's also liability insurance available by Farmers.
COMMENT 217039	2011-09-24 06:44 PM
Andre can't be seen at K9 Pals. K9 Pals is no longer part of the shelter where he is at. They packed up and left when J Ward was asked to leave for being a disruptive prescence. GO see Andre at the Santa Barbara County Shelter. He really is a good boy and deserves being Dog of the Week!
COMMENT 217126	2011-09-25 10:33 AM
I'm a letter carrier and I personally met Andre , I fell in live with him the moment we met. I have two dogs and it would not be fair to bring Andre home. Please please adopt this handsome boy, he is a keeper!
COMMENT 217167	2011-09-25 12:52 PM
936P, yes, dogs from "good" owners end up at the pound. When people can't rent a home or get insurance, the dog must go. Do you know all the reasons dogs end up at the pound? People move in with someone who can't take a dog, people have babies and freak out about pets (very common), people get sick and can't care for a dog, people just get tired of the responsibility... For insurance, it's not just the number of pit bull injuries but the fact that settlements will likely be higher purely because the bite came from a pit bull, irrespective of the injury. My daughter is a poster child (literally) for the campaign against breed-specific legislation. Not only does it harm dogs and good owners, it neglects to enforce proper standards for other breeds.
COMMENT 217396	2011-09-26 02:50 PM
I feel so horrible for the reputations Pit-Bulls have. It is all up to the owner to socialize, to teach, to exercise, and to LOVE their pet! Tons of idiot owners out there want a "pet" but they lack the knowledge, experience, education one needs before owing a dog! These are not fish! You cannot get one and keep it in a bowl expecting it to flourish and be happy! And for the owners who BREED dogs...GET REAL! SPEND time at a shelter! We are overpopulated with animals! Adopt a animal help your local city!
COMMENT 223753	2011-10-18 11:01 AM
Andre is a great ball dog, and very easy to exercise because of this. Built like a choc lab (pit is just in his face) so won't scare your neighbors or insurance company. He has passed stringent aggression testing to be allowed to become an adoptable dog at the shelter so you know he will be a good dog.
COMMENT 223813	2011-10-18 12:45 PM
If K-9 PALS is not longer a "prescence" (sic) at the County shelter, then why are most of the volunteers at the shelter still K-9 PALS members? Why has K-9 spent more than $20,000 in the last 3 months on special food and medical attention for the shelter dogs, including 3 expensive orthopedic surgeries? The County volunteers are not assisting in raising the money for this but love to criticize the people that are, and don't seem to mind spending the money. Talk about disruptive!
COMMENT 223892	2011-10-18 04:03 PM
223753 is so RIGHT. The disruptiveness was and is continuing from a handful of disgruntled volunteers who are not K-9 PALS volunteers. 217039, this is a nice story about a nice dog, if you can't keep it to that, don't say nothing at all.

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