One of the most common misconceptions when it comes to pitbulls is that they are unable to handle being around children. Many families get rid of their pitbulls once they have children and this sort of behavior is not acceptable. Fortunately, the pitbull in this story had a guardian angel that he could call his own. Olena was in the process of clicking through Facebook one day when she saw the titular dog.

The image of this sad dog made her stop dead in her tracks. The wide eyed pup was stuck in a Brooklyn shelter and did not seem to be long for this world. If Olena did not intervene, the pitbull was likely to be killed. She did not want to see any harm come to the dog. There was just something about him that caught her attention. His innate sweetness simply leapt off the page.

His name is Smiley and he is a very friendly dog. He used to love spending time with his family but they decided to surrender him once they had a baby. He needed a home…and fast. Olena cried when she read the comment section of his story and knew that she had to step up. Her husband tried to veto the move but he was eventually overruled.

Olena and her husband were able to provide Smiley with the foster home that he would need while waiting for his next forever home. His arrival was an interesting one. While it was clear to see that he had been house trained, the dog was very skittish and did not like to make any kind of eye contact. He was also tough to walk and would leave Olena with rope burns on her hands after their jaunts.

Once she made the switch to a harness that clips from the front, she found it much easier to walk him. He slowly acclimated to the house and became less shy. After letting Smiley stay with them for awhile, Olena and her husband soon fell head over heels in love. They decided that they would be the ones to adopt him and provide him with the home that he deserved.

We cannot believe that his old family was ready to give him up just because they had a baby. Please share this story to raise awareness. Pitbulls are just as kind as any other breed and deserve to be treated as such.