Opening your heart to others means accepting them just the way they are. Looks might attract us initially, but love means looking past the physical and getting to know the personality and spirit of another. This is true in human love connections, but it’s also true for human-animal bonds.
Tasia lives in Tennessee with her family. They’re all passionate about animal rescue, specifically pit bull rescue, and they consider themselves advocates for the often-maligned breed. Tasia’s kids were browsing the NorCal Bully Breed Rescue social media feed when they saw a face they simply couldn’t resist.
BamBam is a pit bull who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Clefts make nursing nearly impossible for puppies like Bam, so his breeder immediately surrendered him to a shelter in California. NorCal Bully Breed Rescue stepped in and saved him from euthanasia, which is how Tasia’s kids stumbled across his adoption profile.
The kids fell head-over-heels in love with the puppy’s sweet face. They had already been holding lemonade stands to raise money for shelter dogs, but now they approached fundraising with a new purpose. Tasia’s 10-year-old daughter even wrote an essay about why they’re the perfect family to adopt a special needs puppy like Bam.
Bam spent his first few weeks of life being tube-fed in an incubator. The rescue worked day and night to keep him thriving, but he proved to be a strong little guy! By the time he was ready to go to his forever home, Tasia’s kids had raised enough cash to cover his adoption fee and airfare to bring him home. Tasia flew to California and back in the same day and returned with their sweet family addition.
“He was just extra cute and had a really sweet personality,” she remarked.
“When I first saw him, he just made me smile, and I thought he was the cutest puppy I had ever seen,” said Tasia’s daughter. “I was just so happy and I just felt like I wanted to hold him all the time.”
Bam fit into their pack right away. Aside from his human siblings, Bam now has two adult pit bull pals named Oso and Koa. It took some time for them to figure out their dynamic, but now they all get along famously.
“BamBam wants to be the boss of everybody,” said Tasia.
Bam is now living a happy, healthy life. He’s not just surviving; he’s thriving!
“We have to be careful about what Bam eats, as of now his cleft is no issue for him, and if it becomes an issue surgery is an option – other than that, he lives just like any other puppy!” Tasia wrote on Instagram. “Rescue matters, no matter how small the pup, no matter the cost…”
Tasia wants her kids, and everybody who hears his story, to remember that, “every dog really deserves a chance!” We couldn’t agree more. Welcome home, sweet BamBam!
You can find the sources of this article’s featured image here and here.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.