Man moves to adopt his new best friend

Meet Cleveland, one of the 27 dogs rescued during a dogfighting raid in December 2011.Cleveland had a long journey from his days locked in a cage in a basement. He had to learn how to go to the bathroom outside, about toys and most importantly, learn what love meant. Yet, despite him overcoming these obstacles, his adoption was almost prevented by a case of discrimination.

After meeting Cleveland at the Paws-4-A-Cause event, Phil could not live without him. Multiple Breed Rescue processed his application, but when it came to the landlord portion, Phil’s landlord said “Pit bull? No way.” Without his landlord’s permission, Cleveland could not legally go live with Phil. So he made the decision, he would move. Phil began searching for a place that would allow him to have Cleveland as a part of his home. After searching for about a month, Phil found a new home in Burton, with a landlord who not only accepted Cleveland’s breed, but was thrilled to have a rescue dog coming to his home. Cleveland made the trek on June 30th and the two could not be happier.

Breed Specific Legislation is a very difficult thing for rescues to overcome. While the state of Ohio passed H.B 14, it is now up to individual cities and counties to adjust their laws. Landlords and private owners will always have the right to discriminate, but if more people work to advocate and educate on the danger of BSL and the truths about pit bulls and other bully breeds, more dogs can be saved. You can also look up Nitro’s law for information.