Sitting with a pittie abandoned in the night drop!

With two years at the shelter already under her belt, it’s a wonder how Avery stays so playful and positive! But her friends at the Marion County Humane Society in Knoxville, Iowa, have nothing but love for this resilient young dog. There’s no doubt that she will make someone a very happy dog owner!

Escaping a Harmful Home

Avery first arrived at the Iowa no-kill shelter in 2022 following a family’s falling out. An estranged family member surrendered the dog after finding her with “many marks on her as if she were beaten with a stick.” While the specifics of the encounter are unknown, everyone is relieved that someone took Avery out of an abusive situation when she couldn’t leave herself.

Despite suddenly finding herself in the shelter at one year old, Avery was also in the most safe environment she had known so far. The managers of the Marion County Humane Society remember that, even though she was scared at first, it didn’t take long before she “learned to be loved.”

Struggling in the Shelter

Even though Avery was safe now, her rescuers uncovered a few major challenges while helping her adjust to the shelter life. Not long after he was surrendered, veterinarians found a low-grade heart murmur that requires medication and regular monitoring. For this, she takes two medications twice per day, though some lifestyle adjustments may be necessary as she gets older.

The resilient young dog also deals with frequent allergies on her paws and her skin. She takes an additional daily medication for this, though her rescuers hope these problems will subside when she’s in a home instead of a shelter. The poor pup also experiences frequent UTIs, which may also stop when she’s out of the shelter. Currently, the humane society pays about $100 per month for her medications.

In 2023, Avery had a traumatic incident in the shelter that isn’t all that rare. To no fault of her own, she was severely attacked by another female Pit Bull while being given a cookie.

“She took a long time to heal from her injuries,” the humane society explains, “but gets along with other dogs.” The shelter staff has never witnessed Avery being the aggressor, but they have noticed that girl-on-girl aggression is more common in shelter Pit Bulls than any other demographic.

Advocating for Avery’s Adoption

Even though Avery is still a happy dog in the shelter environment she calls home, there’s no doubt she would reach her full potential in a forever home. Her rescuers even thought she was about to leave the shelter for good when she was briefly adopted early in her shelter stay, but she was sadly returned the very same day.

Even though this Pittie princess is friendly with people and other dogs, she is not a friend to cats. The person who adopted her was informed of this, but they still chose to bring her home despite already having a cat. When Avery’s instincts kicked in and she chased the cat, the adopter wasted no time bringing her back to the shelter.

Luckily, Avery didn’t mind! The humane society is the most stable and loving home she’s known, and this failed adoption didn’t throw off her groove one bit. Besides, there’s a much better home for her out there and her rescuers are committed to helping her find it.

This silly girl loves playing tug of war, crunching on ice cubes, and cleaning up any spare pieces of kibble that other shelter dogs leave behind. She’d make a wonderful companion for an individual, couple, or family, so don’t hesitate to reach out to the Marion County Humane Society if you want to learn more about her.