I run a family Day Care. One morning we heard a call pull up beside our house where the parents park. We heard the door open, a few seconds later, close, and the car speed off. Didn't think anything of it. There is also a high school one block away and cars pull up next to us all the time to drop off or pick up students. A few minutes later I went to open the front door, and sitting on our front porch was a dog. A medium size dog. He looked more like a pup. He also looked like a pit bull. I had a parent standing out there afraid to come in. (Can't say as I blame her.) He was blocking the screen door, but I managed to push him aside
allowing the parent and child to enter. The dog would not move, he would not come to me. He looked confused and depressed. I finally put a rope around his neck and got him to walk with me to the tree in the front yard where I tied him up. The dog was so pitiful. He looked sick. I gave him food and water. He took none of it. His ribs were showing, his stomach was caved in. He did take some water but threw it up. I knew the dog was sick, and I knew he was dumped because of it. We called the humane society, and they said they would come out whenever. We called the rescue societies and they had message machines, and we left our message. No one ever returned our call. My husband came home to this sick dog in the yard. He was not thrilled. He went over to see the animal and right away recognized it to be a pit bull. He was even less thrilled now. You know the reputation these dogs have, and of course people are afraid of them because of the media hype. However, my husband is a softy and went out to comfort the pup. The pup just laid next to him giving him those big soulful eyes. He could barely raise his head. My husband said this was so unfair for the dog to suffer, where was the humane society. We called them back, they will get here when they get here. Finally after sitting with the dog on the grass for 8 hours in our front yard my husband was exasperated. People stopped by, felt sorry for the dog too. No one recognized it. We asked neighbors, he didn't come from our neighborhood. The dog was dying. He was suffering. The difficult part was whether or not he was dying from a disease or hunger. Could he be saved? Was he worth saving? I called up a local Vet. We could bring him in and they could test him and tell us what was wrong with him and take it from there. I was looking at an office visit fee, a stool test and blood test, and if the dog needed putting down that cost as well. We loaded him up in my daughters car, and she took him to the vet. We got a call from the Vet. The pup was very sick, and there was no guarantees. She suspected Parvo. Was going to test him and let us know later. She told us even if we left the pup in the hospital, and was treated for parvo, there was still no guarantee he would live. The decision was ours. We bit our lip, checked the credit line on our credit card, got an estimate and said "go for it". He did test positive for Parvo. A disease I had never heard of. He spent two nights in the hospital and responded well to treatment. So well, that he came home two days sooner than
expected. We brought him home and he was a totally different pup. He ate like there was no tomorrow, he loved everyone he came in contact with. But he wasn't out of the woods. We had to keep an eye on his stool, and appetite and water consumption. His stools, became normal and no more blood. He was being fed small amounts every few hours and swallowed those few little bites in one gulp. He was bouncing off the walls, even though we were supposed to keep him quiet(yeah right). Well that all happened on Tuesday, June 19th. It is now June 30th. He's gaining weight, he clearly owns us now. We have build him a dog run. No one responded to ads or posters, and after $600.00 in medical bills we're claiming him. he vet is so pleased and said it was astonishing given the nature of the Parvo disease. We're now ready to obedience train him in a couple of weeks when the vet gives him the all clear sign to go in public around other dogs again. Right now, he is confined to home. We have not had a dog in 17 years. We always liked big dogs, and powerful dogs. We named this pit bull Sparky, because he hung onto a little spark of life and survived. Who ever dumped him on our door steps did so in order to abandon a sick animal. That was so wrong. However, in their stupidly they did one thing right, they did it on our door step. Otherwise this dog might not have survived. And I guess I owe the humane society some thanks in this too. Thanks for not showing up! I know if they had picked him up the dog would have been put down. He had parvo, and he's a pit bull. Unfortunately not all animals are fortunate enough to find good
samaritans to help them. 11 years ago a stray sickly kitten found it way to our door steps and ended up being saved as well. He's still with us. 
thank you
Pat A