The Pits: life in a shelter

At any given time in the Stray Dog area of the Santa Fe shelter, there are plenty of Pit Bulls. Today is no exception. Against the back wall in the middle block, a well-fed male-female pair with matching leather collars peer at me from behind bars. They were found roaming the streets together, and indeed it makes sense to house them in the same kennel. They are clearly bonded to each other, and judging from the calmness in their eyes, an older couple.

Their next door neighbor is another Pit, a puppy, with enough energy for all three dogs. He knows "sit"--even managed to hold still and do so for a moment while I took his picture. Which leads me to believe he was (is?) somebody's pet. For the life of me, I don't understand how any companion animal spends more than a few hours as a stray. Where are the owners? Isn't the local shelter the first place you'd call if your dog was missing?

And no, the fact that they're Pit Bulls has nothing to do with the story. There are Labs, Chihuahuas, shepherds, mixed breeds of all flavors, and even a Pug in the stray building today. I just feel awful that the Pits will spend more time here, waiting a lot longer to get adopted, and it's by no means their fault.

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