The Poodle & Pitbull

By SANDRA ECKSTEIN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/23/07


Like Romeo and Juliet, theirs is a doomed love.
One glance tells you he's from the posh side of life. He's well-bred, well-groomed. She, on the other hand, is from the rough side of the tracks, with an iffy background and an uncertain future.

But from the minute he laid eyes on her, Vincent didn't care about their differences. He was in love and that was that. Sure, some might call it "puppy love." They are, after all, dogs. But Vincent doesn't seem to care that he's a well-coiffed, 12-pound poodle and his love, the object of his adoration, is a 40-pound pit bull mix.

"I brought him home from the shelter, and he just honed in on her and hasn't left her side since," said Stacey Hall, who works for Southern Hope Humane Society, the group that runs Fulton County's animal shelter. "He follows her everywhere. He fights the other dogs to keep them away from her. Because she sleeps on the floor, he does too. He's not happy unless he's near her."

Vincent showed up at the shelter several weeks ago, a well-fed stray with a good haircut. Shelter workers assumed someone would come looking for the 3-year-old poodle. But when no one did, Hall decided to foster him. She'd been fostering Angel for several months, ever since she'd come into the shelter in such bad shape she ended up the poster dog for the shelter's "Don't Get a Dog" campaign aimed at stopping the neglect of animals.

Despite her starvation and broken bones, probably from being kicked, the vet said, Hall describes Angel as a sweet, loving dog who likes all people and animals.
Maybe that's what Vincent sees in her, why he wants to protect her.

"He walks around with a big silly grin on his face like, 'Yep, that's my girlfriend,' " Hall said. "He has it whenever he's with her."

But like Shakespeare's ill-fated lovers, Vincent and Angel are not to be.
"People who want a pit bull don't want a poodle, and people who want a poodle sure don't want a pit bull," Hall said. "It's going to break his heart, but I don't see how we could ever place them together."

Until then, Vincent, it seems, has found his true love. The poodle and the pit bull.

IF ANYONE HAS AN UPDATE ON THIS STORY PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
UPDATE!!!!!!!
Remember Vincent and Angel of Atlanta?

Vincent was a privileged Poodle with a good haircut. When his owner couldn’t be found, Stacey Hall of Southern Hope Humane Society, took him into her home as a foster dog where he immediately fell hopelessly in love with Angel, a formerly abused Pit Bull four times his size.

Hall was concerned that no one would want to adopt a Poodle and a Pit Bull together. After their story appeared in the Atlanta paper, several people stepped forth to adopt them both.

The winners: Elizabeth Dodwell and Alex Markovich of Duluth. They had lost their dog, Muttley, earlier in the year. Vincent’s smile reminded them of Muttley who had been abused like Angel before they got him.

In their new home, both dogs are happily playing tug of war and chase; they curl up together in their extra-large dog bed for naps.

At first Angel was terrified of going beyond the house, but now with love and encouragement from Vincent and her new humans, she jumps in the van and enjoys the ride to the dog park.

"They really are just the most precious things, they've brought so much joy into our lives," Dodwell said.

"We plan to have them for a lot of years to come. They're home."

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