GivingGatorA2ndChanceInLife

Meet Gator 🥰 he was brought to my attention when a gentleman noticed a stray dog hanging around. He gave him some food, the dog stuck around but unfortunately on day 4 the dog, who I have named Gator, killed a couple of chickens so the dog had to go. My plan is/was to foster him but as the story goes, my husband and i fell in love with him and so did our 4 children, ages 18 months to 10 years old. On day 1 he was petrified and timid; I knew a shelter would see a scared timid pit bull with the scars of fighting and I was afraid he would be put down. I decided I would try to give him a chance, see how he does in a stable environment. I saw the scars from fighting but with the way he was acting, wasn't right. He was either a bait dog for other pits, or someone just outright abused him, so I took a chance. So much was new to him that it broke my heart 💔. The first night when he saw his and my shadow, he got scared and barked. The first time he saw himself in the mirror, while hilarious, he growled and barked. The first time he stepped on mulch, he didn't know what to do and was freaking out until I got him off of the mulch. The first night he heard TV, he had to figure out where the sound was coming from. With each new thing he discovers, it breaks my heart a little more because most of these things should be normal to him but they aren't. He wasn't leash trained, potty trained or crate trained and I am currently on day 5 and he is  doing phenomenal in every aspect. He surprisingly is NOT food aggressive and no longer eats all of his food like he doesn't know when he will eat next. He is the perfect dog for my kiddos, as they can run, play, lay, "decorate" 😂 and pet him. I believe he is 16-18 months old, so still a puppy, but he's calm. I do currently already have 2 little chiweenies  (Chihuahua/dachshund mix) that are 13 years old and not kid friendly-meaning they don't want the kids petting them nor run and play with them. I didn't realize what my kids and I were missing until Gator started coming out of his shell and showing us his love, affection, protection and patience. I don't know what all he has been through but I want to do everything possible to make sure he gets his loving forever home. I also want him to get the proper care he needs though. He sits odd, goes down the stairs odd and couldn't go on a very long walk before sitting down. My guess is, he was clipped by a car at some point so he should have x rays to make sure he's not in pain constantly or just to know what's going on with his hips and leg. He is still in tact so will need to be neutered. He has worms, I have done a de-worming on him I got from the store but he has so many that he needs de-wormer from the vet. His teeth are immaculate, which is encouraging. He was covered in fleas when I got him and I have since got those under control. He started off with really bad diarrhea as well so I rushed to the store to get ingredients to make him a "bland diet" since i knew his stomach would be messed up from just simply getting to eat dog food everyday. He will need to be tested for Parvo, vaccinated and have blood work done to make sure everything is working correctly, along with heartworm tested. The only thing holding our family back from keeping him forever is "how much are the vet bills going to be?" So I started calling around, getting prices on things and it adds up quickly and that alone starts off expensive and if anything comes up wrong, the vet bill gets much higher. So I thought I would do something I have never done before...a spotfund to help with his initial vet bills. Today's economy is expensive and everybody is on a tight budget but anything helps. Prayers help that all is well with Gator and he continues in the direction he is going. Prayers he ends up with the family he was meant to be here for ❤️