The Conference Coach™

For a number of years, my daughter worked for Copper Conferencing handling everything from trade shows to lead generation.  She’s moved on now to focus on her college career.  A year ago we had a major meltdown over of all things, a dog.

Now, I’m a huge dog lover myself and at one time had 3 dogs living with me until they died of various ailments and old age.  It’s only been just recently that I opened my heart again to Hallie, a shelter dog who was rejected by her first adopted family.  Back to my daughter.  I found out through her roommate that she had acquired a pit bull puppy for her small apartment in Denver.  There was already 2 people and 2 cats living in the small 2-bedroom space. (Not to mention the lease was in my name.)

I did what any mature parent would do – freaked out!  Aside from one more creature to take care of, I was horrified that she had selected a pit bull.  You all have heard the stories on the news.  Pit Bull Mauls 5-year old Child……Pit Bull Attacks Unsuspecting Jogger. When I met her as a 4-month old puppy, the first thing she did was growl when I came into the space unexpectedly.  She was living up to my nightmare expectations.

As time passed and I got to know “Georgia,” I became aware that I had a paradigm of this type of dog that was grounded in media hype and ignorance.  Georgia is a fun and gentle dog that lives to play with you and with others.   She chases sticks, balls and anything you toss for her to retrieve.  She loves dog bones, biscuits and pig’s ears and is respectful when you give them to her.  She’s the most popular dog at the dog park and plays nicely with much bigger and smaller pets.  She’s never bitten anyone or had a mean bone in her body.

On this Friday the 13th of all days, Georgia got out of her fence in Roswell, Georgia and is now missing.  Fortunately she’s micro-chipped and has tags on her collar.  I’ve contacted every vet and shelter in a 25-mile radius and I pray every minute that anyone who sees her will call or turn her into a clinic or shelter.  Life on the street for any dog, especially a pit bull, can be full of danger, especially for some of those ignorant Southern rednecks who think fighting them constitutes a sport, not a criminal activity.

Having said all of this, I think there are some lessons that anyone who accepts responsibility for owning a dog.
•    Consider the breed carefully.  If you live in an apartment and work all day, having a young, big dog that requires a lot of activity is counterproductive.  They get bored, try and get out or get destructive.
•    Keep in mind that not all people will love and accept your dog the way you do.  Unfortunately for Georgia, people are afraid of the breed and will have less tolerance and understanding than you will.
•    Be proactive about protecting your dog in the event they get loose.  Make sure they are spayed or neutered.  Micro-chip the dog and register the chip.  Make sure that the collar fits and that the ID tags are on tight.
•    If they run, call all the clinics and shelters around and email them your dog’s information, chip number and picture in the event they turn up.  Someone may try and pass them off as their dog, but the vets will know better if you keep your name in front of them.
•    Post flyers not only in neighborhoods, but in grocery stores, churches, schools, etc.  My friend lost their bulldog, Herschel, who was picked up by a stranger.  Based on a flyer in grocery store, someone saw the vehicle and the owner kept monitoring the store until the man came back to shop.  Needless to say, Herschel has now been liberated and has been returned to his owners.

I never thought I would grow to love Georgia, but she’s now a part of the family and she’s missing.  I hope people will do the right thing, bring her back or at least take her to a vet or clinic.  I think we’ve done what we can to get the word out in the community.  All we can hope is that Georgia will come home soon.