Dallas the Pit Bull Goes From Death Row to K9 Cop

Humans love two types of stories, one about someone who pulls themselves out of squalor to become successful, and the other about dogs.   This tale, about a dog who rises above a hopeless early life to become a hero, should be a popular one.

Dallas is a pit bull which was born in Canada and taught only one thing:  How to kill.  From puppyhood, he was part of a dog fighting ring.  He doesn't talk about his past, but he must have been quite accomplished at vicious combat because he is still alive.

When Dallas was found, one of 30 dogs seized from a pit bull farm he, and the other dogs, were chained to the ground.  Some were wearing muzzles.    On the site were training sticks, schedules, steroids, and suture kits.  Every dog showed scars from fighting.  Five people were charged with animal cruelty and weapons violations.  

Rob Scheinberg, co-founder of Dog Tails Rescue in Ontario, vowed to save as many of the dogs as he could.  Twenty-one of the dogs were given a behavioral assessment by OSPCA and were determined to be too dangerous for adoption.  They were scheduled to be euthanized. Dallas was among those dogs.

Scheinberg refused to believe that all these dogs needed to be put down.  He hired a lawyer, and for two years they battled OSPCA’s attornies who insisted the dogs were a danger to society.  Scheinberg began a #Savethe21 social media campaign, and celebrities joined the fight.   During the duration of the case, two of the dogs went to the Bridge, and one was determined to be beyond rehabilitation, but 18 more, including Dallas, were turned over to Dog Tails Rescue to be rehomed.  The Rescue vowed to pay all medical and travel expenses for the dogs.

Dallas was sent to jail but not because he was guilty.  He was given to a prisoner to socialize and train so hopefully he could be adopted.  

Nicholas Ramos, the inmate who worked with Dallas, thought the pup would be a fantastic K9 Dog.  But the training was expensive, and no dog before Dallas had gone from an execution sentence to being a police dog.

Carol Skaziak, whose organization, Throw Away Dogs Project, repurposes unique dogs, heard about Dallas’ potential, and contacted a police K-9 trainer her group worked with, Bruce Myers.  Skaziak sent Myers videotapes of Dallas training which peaked his interest enough for him to make a personal visit. 

When Davis saw Dallas, he knew the pittie would make an excellent sniffer dog.  His trainers began working on this specialty, and they were paid by Scheinberg’s organization.  Meanwhile, in Honaker Virginia, the police needed a K9 to sniff out drugs but did not have the budget to purchase one.  Pet Tales had found a police department in need, and Dallas was the perfect match.  

Dallas is now an officer with the Honaker police department and has a forever home with his partner officer Cody Rowe.

How many souls go from a court-ordered death sentence to becoming a police officer?  Dallas has achieved the impossible, thanks to many caring humans who never gave up on him.

We dogs know there are many good people in the world willing to give us a second chance.


We hope they have the heart to give humans a second chance too.