AWF takes in abandoned rare pitbull breed

     It should be no coincidence that a couple of weeks ago, the Animal Welfare Friends (AWF) shelter in Monticello was notified of 10 stray dogs all seen within a roughly 1-mile radius of each other.

     AWF Board President Cindy Bagge said typically when the weather turns nicer, the shelter expects to see an increase in stray dogs and/or cats that owners dump throughout the county.

     “With the nicer weather, we see an increase in dumped or abandoned animals during the day,” Bagge said. “These abandoned animals are more work and more expensive for the shelter.”

     Typically, pet owners wishing to abandon their pets pay a $50 relinquishing (surrender) fee to the shelter. When left on the side of the road, and shelter is notified and does not see any of that money.

     That fee, while minimal, helps the shelter pay for vaccinations, food, and whether they have to spay or neuter the animal.

     “By law, they have to be spayed or neuter before they can leave the shelter,” Bagge shared.

     But during the latter part of the first week in March, picking up 10 strays was unusual.

     “This past week has surpassed anything we have seen in the past,” Bagge said.

     Out of the 10 stays dogs two were reclaimed by their owners. The eight that remained were all of the same breed: pocket pitbulls.

     Bagge said the pocket pitbulls were all picked up around the Morley area between March 6 and Match 7.

     “We received calls for pickups,” she said.

     The shelter has a stray/abandon dog pickup agreement with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office and Monticello and Anamosa police departments. When people see a stray, they are encouraged to contact law enforcement, who then notifies the shelter.

     “We always hope they find a home,” Bagge said of the dogs and cats that are abandoned.

     Any dog/cat that arrives at the shelter is also microchipped. Bagge said, unfortunately, 75 percent of the strays that they take in are not microchipped, and therefore the owners cannot be found.

     In May, AWF and the Monticello Vet Clinic will host a microchip event.

     Pocket pitbulls are an unusual breed. The fact that eight were found within a short distance of one another in a short period of time, leads Bagge to suspect something suspicious.

     “Not a lot of people own pocket pitbulls,” she said. “And we haven’t had a single phone call saying someone is missing a dog (eight dogs).”

     Luckily, the pocket pitbulls showed no signs of abuse or neglect, and since the story aired on KCRG-TV9 News, AWF received several inquiries for adoption.

     At the time, AWF was not at capacity in terms of sheltering the dogs. Bagge explained they plan to take in a certain number of abandoned dogs during this time, so they make sure to have the room. However, the shelter’s isolation area is over capacity. This is there they hold the dogs for seven days to be reclaimed and to make sure they aren’t sick.

     “These pocket pitbulls are not vicious animals,” Bagge said as one nuzzled against her. “We don’t take vicious dogs due to liability reasons for our employees and volunteers.”

     You could tell that the pocket pitbulls craved socialization; the minute Bagge opened a cage, one ran out and started sniffing around the other kennels.

     “It’s a security thing,” she said of the dog wanting affection.

     While pitbulls are banned in city limits in Monticello, Bagge said they are in demand in other areas such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Des Moines.

     In 2020, 25 percent of all the shelter’s dogs and cats stayed in Monticello, meaning they were adopted locally. Seventy-five percent were adopted throughout northeast Iowa, and even out of state.

     Beginning in 2020, and continuing forward, AWF is quantifying where their animals are adopted on a monthly basis.

     “Very few stay in Monticello,” Bagge said.

     As of Monday morning, March 15, no one contacted the shelter to reclaim the pocket pitbulls. The shelter will move forward with the adopt process.

     “Due to the specialty of the breed, it is expected the dogs will be adopted quickly,” noted Bagge. “Interested people should fill out an adoption application at animalwelfarefriends.org as soon as possible.”

     AWF is located at 22407 Business Highway 151 in Monticello. Their hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6:30 p.m.