By:
Heather Dominski

I had been searching for a dog for about seven months before I finally found my perfect match, a puppy named Darinda at Animal Alliance. I also had the luxury of being able to research different breeds while going through the adoption process. I am a young girl of only 24 years old, loving, laidback, very funny, intelligent, among other positive qualities attributed to me. They are the same qualities I was looking to find in a dog. 

In around October 2006, I started doing research on different breeds of puppies, training puppies, and everything that went along with puppies. After much thought and research, I decided that I could handle a pup. Throughout my research, I had noticed that there were so many Pit Bulls and American Staffordshire terriers out there to be adopted and started looking into both breeds. 

Most of the time when I would mention the type of breed I was thinking of adopting, I would get all sorts of shocking looks and negative reactions from both friends and family. Needless to say, it added more fuel to my fire to get one of these precious dogs to show everyone that they were absolutely amazing dogs if with the right people, and that is what I truly believe. Am Staffs and Pits seem to get so much negative publicity. No one seems to mention the heroic work Am Staffs did during World War 2, or how loyal and affectionate these dogs are, or how great they can be with children. I was ready to prove everyone wrong that had a negative feeling towards this breed.

Finally in November 2006, I went to an adoption day run by Animal Alliance. There were two female Am Staffs that had caught my eye. One of them was at the adoption day, and one was online. I met the one at adoption day; I could tell she was a bit too much puppy for me. I talked to several of the volunteers about Darinda, the other one that caught my eye. Her biography on Petfinders really gave me a good feeling. 

After meeting Darinda and three of her siblings I went home and thought of all the preparations that I needed to make for my new “baby.” People take months to prepare rooms and get everything ready for their new baby. I know a puppy is not exactly a baby, but there is a lot of preparation that goes into making your home puppy friendly. I cleaned the entire house, made sure nothing was on the ground that Darinda would be able to eat or get into, set up her new crate with some toys, got her food and water bowl out, got her tons of toys, and a little bed. 

I was able to bring Darinda home the next night. After shaking the whole car ride home, I got her into the house. She met the pugs again, but didn’t seem too interested in them yet. I had read so many articles that say you should get your dog to sleep in a crate, or at least get used to sleeping in a crate. My heart broke the first couple of nights. I found myself going downstairs every couple of hours to Darinda’s cries. I would sit next to the crate and try and pet her through it until she fell back asleep. Then I would try and creep away back upstairs to bed, most of the time she woke up and started crying. After a couple nights of her crying, I just couldn’t bear it anymore. She had been so used to sleeping with her siblings, that I thought I was being unfair to her. So I set her bed up right next to mine, and that is where she has slept ever since. 

Since I had been able to do so much research on Am Staffs, I had read in several places that the breed could be dog aggressive if not highly socialized. For Darinda there was no option to not socialize her. I found a great training facility around me called the Canine Academy in Penndel, Pa., that has helped us so much. They have a four-week puppy socialization class which I enrolled Darinda in when she was about sixteen weeks old. Unfortunately at our first class Darinda was very aggressive towards the other puppies. She was the only one that had to be kept on her leash and held by the trainer. I was afraid that we weren’t going to be asked to come back. 

The next week when we went back to class, I felt like we were the “bad” kids in class but the trainer showed me how to “correct” Darinda’s behavior with a strong tug on her collar. Ever since that day, she did not show any signs of aggression towards any of the puppies in class, or any dogs in general. After the initial correction, Darinda showed no interest in any of the other puppies in class for a good four weeks so I enrolled her in another session of the socialization class. In about the fifth week she started to run around with the puppies, but not play with them. The sixth week she was letting puppies come around and jump on her, with no aggression what so ever. In the seventh week, she was playing and running around with all the puppies in the class. The eighth week well we’ll see where she goes next. She has come such a long way, and I’m going to make sure that she is highly socialized with all different sizes and types of dogs. 

Darinda surely loves people. She runs up to every one in the socialization class and sits next to or in front of them almost saying, “Aren’t you going to give me a treat for sitting like such a lady?” It’s quite adorable. We have also started obedience class. Darinda knows sit, sit and stay, down, down and stay, shake with her right paw only, come and heel. She is only 23 weeks old at this point and I think it’s amazing how well behaved she is already. She has been around my 7-month-old niece and has never tried to bit or be aggressive towards her. What she does try to do is give her kisses all the time and lick her little hands. 

One thing that I had read about Am Staff’s is that they are not for the passive person. Am I a strong person that thought I could establish myself as her pack leader? No, I did not. I have been able to establish that rank with Darinda. She very much respects me, and tries to please me for the most part. I have seen her act differently with people that are more on the passive side and have not established a rank with her. She absolutely loves to cuddle with me. Since Darinda is not allowed on the furniture, I lay on the floor with her sometimes. She loves to curl up in a little ball when I lay on the floor with her, lay with her neck draped across mine, or rest her head on my shoulder or pillow when she’s really tired. It has to be the cutest thing I have ever experienced. I had also read that Am Staff’s need or want a lot of attention. This has also proven to be true. They say not to get an Am Staff if you don’t want to spend a lot of time and devote a lot of attention to them. Darinda gets a lot of love and attention, which she completely deserves. 

Although we’re still faced with some negativity from certain people, we have and will continue to help them see her and her breed in a positive way. Our plans include a second phase of obedience class, constant socialization, eventually taking the Good Citizen Canine Test, and hopefully eventually becoming a pet therapy dog. I’m so lucky to have found such a loving, laidback, intelligent, and sometimes-funny dog, that I hope I can share that with others.

Darinda and I would like to first thank Animal Alliance for bringing us together. They made it very easy for me to adopt a puppy and they have provided tons of support to Darinda and I, always offering advice if we ever need it. We’d also like to thank Cindy Cook for her big heart. Without her, I’m not so sure Darinda would even be around today. It is truly amazing what caring people are capable of, and I admire everyone that has been or is part of a rescue group.