Fighting Pit-Bull Too Become A Therapy Dog

Our Pack to Transform Missouri Fight Bust Victim into Therapy Dog

Our Pack, a California-based Pit Bull rescue and advocacy group, announced today that Jakob, a dog seized earlier this year in the largest dog fighting raid and rescue in U.S. history, is being released into the organization's care. The dog will be trained by Our Pack founder Marthina McClay for a new career in therapy work. Jakob is one of three dogs that will be rescued by Our Pack from the more than 400 dogs seized in a multi-state raid coordinated by the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) earlier this year.

Our Pack, a California-based Pit Bull rescue and advocacy group, announced today that Jakob, a dog seized earlier this year in the largest dog fighting raid and rescue in U.S. history, is being released into the organization's care. The dog will be trained by Our Pack founder Marthina McClay for a new career in therapy work.

Jakob is one of three dogs that will be rescued by Our Pack from the more than 500 dogs seized in a multi-state raid coordinated by the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) earlier this year. The remaining two dogs are being held at HSMO while they await the results of forfeiture proceedings in federal court. Our Pack's Tracey Cutler is working on-site with Mutts-n-Stuff, a local Missouri rescue group working with HSMO, to help care for and evaluate dogs like Jakob.

Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in need in hospitals, retirement homes, schools and similar situations. Although Jakob comes from a history of abuse, McClay, a certified pet dog trainer who specializes in training Pit Bulls, says the dog is a great candidate for this kind of work. "The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is temperament," explained McClay. "Many people don't realize that Pit Bulls have loving, affectionate natures that often make them perfect for this kind of work. We think Jakob, like many Pit Bulls, is going to be ideally suited for his new job."

This is not the first time that Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff have teamed up to train former fight bust dogs for therapy work. The organization has worked on fight bust cases across the U.S. In 2008, Our Pack trained Leo, a dog rescued in the infamous Michael Vick case. Despite his rough start at Bad Newz Kennels, Leo blossomed under McClay's care and received his therapy certification in just five weeks. His work earned Leo headlines in national media outlets, including the Washington Post; MSNBC.com; Animal Planet's "Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case"; and many others.

Our Pack and Mutts-n-Stuff also worked on a previous HSMO bust case in Stoddard County in 2007. Gale Frey, founder of Mutts-n-Stuff, trained some of the dogs from the Stoddard case to be therapy dogs, and has been helping with the evaluation of Jakob and other dogs held at HSMO in this more recent case. "The dogs from these cases are so resilient and wonderful to work with," said Frey. "We're thrilled to be helping to find them new and loving homes."

About Our Pack
Our Pack is a Pit Bull rescue and advocacy group based in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. For more information visit Our Pack.

About Mutts-n-Stuff
Mutts-n-Stuff is a St. Louis area rescue group that actively rescues bully-type breeds. For more information, visit Mutts-n-Stuff.


Our Pack founder Marthina McClay with former Michael Vick dog Leo.