Rita

We met Rita in April of 2025, after she was adopted from Lancaster Shelter. The woman who adopted her needed help rehoming her, so we stepped in. We didn't formally bring her into the rescue, but we did bring her to multiple adoption events, we got her on our podcast, and when there was a very expensive emergency in the home, Real Good Rescue paid for it.<br/><br/>At every single event she was amazing. Good with strangers, good with kids, good with other dogs. We never saw a single red flag.<br/><br/>In December of 2025, the woman who adopted her told us she could no longer keep her and was going to place her with a friend who claimed to be a trainer. That trainer told her Rita could never be re-homed because she wasn't able to be rehabilitated and would just live out her life with him. That seemed very odd to us. This was a highly adoptable dog. She was just young and needed someone to take the time and patience to work on the management and training every dog needs and deserves.<br/><br/>In April of 2026, she turned up at Devore Shelter after being found out in the desert, emaciated, with lacerations all over her body. The woman called us again asking for help. We told her the only thing to do was go pick up her dog from the shelter. We also asked her for the trainer's information, which she refused to give us. We did some googling on our own, and what came up was horrific. When we asked her directly if this was her friend, she confirmed it, saying that's exactly why she hadn't wanted to tell us who he was, because he'd already told her the allegations online were false. Despite everything, she gave the shelter permission for him to pick Rita back up, and Rita went right back into his care. We asked for photo and video updates. We offered to go with her to check on Rita ourselves. It never happened. All we ever got was a text saying she was doing much better.<br/><br/>Then in June of 2026, she was found again, dumped in another area known for it, by a good Samaritan out at Three Points. The vet who took her in confirmed she hadn't eaten in at least two months, and she now had a noticeable head tilt and facial paralysis that she never had before.<br/><br/>From there we got her in front of a neurologist for an MRI and CT scan, and that's when the full extent of it came out. Multiple skull fractures. Brain trauma. A healed break in her neck. Bullet fragments still sitting in her skull.<br/><br/>Rita is officially with Real Good Rescue. Some of this she'll carry forever. The head tilt isn't going anywhere. Neither are the old fractures or the fragments. That's just part of her now.<br/><br/>And somehow, she's still sweet, goofy, way too forgiving for what she's been through. Amazing with every person she's met so far, great with kids, great with other dogs as long as they're calm and her size or bigger. Small dogs and cats are a hard no.<br/><br/>She's 22 months old, about 45 pounds, a pittie mix, spayed, crate trained and house trained. She deserves a home where she will receive all the love, devotion, care and more.<br/><br/>Real Good Rescue is a foster-based rescue in Los Angeles, CA. Learn more at www.realgood.dog.

We met Rita in April of 2025, after she was adopted from Lancaster Shelter. The woman who adopted her needed help rehoming her, so we stepped in. We didn't formally bring her into the rescue, but we did bring her to multiple adoption events, we got her on our podcast, and when there was a very expensive emergency in the home, Real Good Rescue paid for it.

At every single event she was amazing. Good with strangers, good with kids, good with other dogs. We never saw a single red flag.

In December of 2025, the woman who adopted her told us she could no longer keep her and was going to place her with a friend who claimed to be a trainer. That trainer told her Rita could never be re-homed because she wasn't able to be rehabilitated and would just live out her life with him. That seemed very odd to us. This was a highly adoptable dog. She was just young and needed someone to take the time and patience to work on the management and training every dog needs and deserves.

In April of 2026, she turned up at

We met Rita in April of 2025, after she was adopted from Lancaster Shelter. The woman who adopted her needed help rehoming her, so we stepped in. We didn't formally bring her into the rescue, but we did bring her to multiple adoption events, we got her on our podcast, and when there was a very expensive emergency in the home, Real Good Rescue paid for it.

At every single event she was amazing. Good with strangers, good with kids, good with other dogs. We never saw a single red flag.

In December of 2025, the woman who adopted her told us she could no longer keep her and was going to place her with a friend who claimed to be a trainer. That trainer told her Rita could never be re-homed because she wasn't able to be rehabilitated and would just live out her life with him. That seemed very odd to us. This was a highly adoptable dog. She was just young and needed someone to take the time and patience to work on the management and training every dog needs and deserves.

In April of 2026, she turned up at Devore Shelter after being found out in the desert, emaciated, with lacerations all over her body. The woman called us again asking for help. We told her the only thing to do was go pick up her dog from the shelter. We also asked her for the trainer's information, which she refused to give us. We did some googling on our own, and what came up was horrific. When we asked her directly if this was he