Walter's Behavior

One of the things that makes me sad for Walter is that he’s such a well-behaved dog, but a lot of people can’t seem to get beyond the fact that he is a pit bull. Out of the three puppies we’ve had - Tom, a Guide Dog Foundation puppy; Rusty, an abandoned dog that we fostered before he was adopted in November; and now Walter - Walter is by far the calmest and least prone to mischief. He’s just happy hanging out, whereas Tom really only took a break in his crate, and Rusty liked to chase cats and had terrible separation anxiety. Walter lets us take his big cone on and off, even though he hates it, and is a pretty good sport about being left upstairs if we go out. He has also been sweet to everyone we’ve met, and once people spend some time with him, he charms them.
He never chews on anything he is not supposed to or runs around the house, and he’s had all of two accidents since he’s been here, which is an excellent track record given his age, previous illness and tough beginnings.

My parents will be the first to say that Walter’s appearance scares them, but by the end of their visit last week my mom had Walter doing tricks - and she is most definitely a cat person. My mother also has some Sarah Palin - pit bull jokes she’s working on, although rest assured I do in fact think Walter would look awesome in lipstick.

Our Halloween party is days away, and while I am confident that some people are coming to see the Newmans, an equal number are coming to see Walter. Perhaps someone will fall in love with him - keep your fingers crossed!