Happy Tail: A rescued Pit Bull brightens the breed's tarnished reputation

The Pit Bull sat quietly next to the block wall of his kennel, watching as Emily Richardson and her boyfriend visited with dogs at Redlands (CA) Animal Shelter they had seen on Petfinder.com.

It was about a month after Emily's 15-year-old dog had died, and they were looking for a companion for their now lonely dog, Darby.

None of the dogs seemed to click with Darby, however, so Emily, who had never considered adopting a Pit Bull and knew the breed had a bad reputation, suggested they give this quiet guy a chance.

"I was so impressed when the handler took him out and he didn't try to drag her across the yard like all the others did," Emily says. "He was a ball of joy in the play yard -- a little wild, but who can blame a cooped-up pup? He thought we were cool and Darby was fun, so I made up my mind to adopt the 6-month-old pup."

It has worked out better than she ever expected. "Ranger is a real special boy," she says. "He has a level of patience and tolerance that always impresses me and others."

Sometimes Ranger goes to work with his "mom." He goes "from one coworker's desk to another to visit," and as he does so, he changes people's attitudes about Pit Bulls. In March he passed his Canine Good Citizen and TDI therapy dog tests and now will go out in the community and "rub off a little bit of tarnish that clouds the Pit Bull's image," Emily says. "He definitely changed our minds."