Pitbull Saloon ~ Bikes, Bikers, Pitbulls & Pals

Sundance's Page

Harry Alonzo Longbaugh (a.k.a. The Sundance Kid; MONSTER; Sundance; A Christmas Miracle)

October 17, 2006

Sundance arrived at our house December 11, 2006. It's with great regret that non of his littermates survived. They were all stricken with the Parvovirus, which unfortunately got the better of them, no matter what their foster mom desperately tried in order to save them.

We are so VERY grateful that our Sundance Kid survived, unfortunately, the only one. It was a true 'Christmas Miracle' for us. His mom, Sedona is doing well , and has found a loving home and family to call her own.

Sedona was a stray found wandering, pregnant, around New Haven with a white male Pit Bull (they think) when picked up by a New Haven ACO. We never got a chance to see the presumed father, as he was euthanized for aggressive behavior :(. But a wonderful volunteer, Jeannie, of "The Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter" took her into foster care so that Sedona could have her babies in a warm and safe environment.

When we first met Sedona, just after the puppies opened their eyes, we thought she was a perfect size (50 lbs+) and had a perfect temperament. We were expecting the puppies would turn out the same or close to. All the puppies of course were just two freakin' sweet and charming for words. Then, we came across Sundance, and just fell in love. At only 2 1/2 weeks old, I think he picked us (notice his tongue sticking out below?).

When I kissed him on his little button nose, his tail began to wag like a little maniac and he kissed me back! Mind you, he was only 2 1/2 weeks old! "We would like to adopt this one when he's ready please!"

At 3 weeks old, I helped Jeannie transport the pups and Mommy Sedona to Fur Babies Rescue in Long Island. Boy those babies were chunky and HEAVY!

This is Sunny at 3 weeks old in his new foster home.

Sunny at 4 Weeks old

Sunny at 5 Weeks old (notice his nose is getting Blacker?)

Sunny at 6 Weeks old

Sunny at 6 1/2 weeks

We don't have any 7 week old pics as that is the week that the parvovirus spread through his littermates, and rather quickly, causing chaos and insurmountable heartache. May all those beautiful babies Rest In Peace.

The Foster Mom from Fur Babies Rescue tried contacting us on a Thur. and throughout the weekend through e-mail to see if we could go get Sundance out of the contaminated home before he became infected. I didn't get the e-mail until that Sunday night, which to my horror, discovered that at a few of the babies had already expired. Frantic, I called every number I had, only to get a voicemail. We had lost all hope and figured there was no way he could've made it out of there. The next day, Monday morning, I received the call I've been waiting for. He was still testing negative and appearing healthy!!! I was in tears, of both joy, to know our boy was still OK, and of sadness, to learn that the rest of his littermates were not so lucky. :(

Of course we were there that day to get him.

At just about 8 Weeks, the night we brought him home!

And "home" is exactly what he made himself! He came out swinging like a little ruffian.

That next day of course, he was brought directly to the Vet for a full exam to make sure he had NO signs of Parvo. His bill of health wasn't 100% clean, but just about 85%. He had Coccidia, intestinal parasites, and a concerning amount of Demodectic mange, more so than most dogs (all dogs have it, his body was just not fighting it as well). But these were easily treatable.