When one gets to adopt or foster an animal from a kill shelter, just the idea of saving it from potentially having it put to sleep and permanently giving it a loving home is a feeling so incredible that it is difficult to describe.
One day, a one-year-old American Staffordshire mix by the name of Bunny (later renamed Stitch) who was to be euthanized the next day was fortunately taken in as a foster dog by a woman named Millie Sawyer. Millie, Bunny’s foster owner, was happy to take the pup in because she had three decades of animal fostering experience, having fostered over 70 animals.
But then Bunny was later adopted by a loving owner, Kaitlyn Johnson, who renamed her Stitch.
Kaitlyn soon realized that Stitch wasn’t the same dog that both Sawyer and Mineral Wells Animal Shelter in Mineral Wells, Texas described. Stitch was originally said to be a dog who “doesn’t have a high energy,” but Johnson found the pup’s hidden talent not long after taking her in: insanely fast running!
To give Stitch a proper outlet to use her energy and speed, she was placed in the competitive sport, Flyball. That’s when once-sheltered Bunny became Stitch the Super Staffy.
In Flyball, canine teams of four compete with other teams one at a time in a quick relay race. After just a month of training and considerable practice, Stitch was able to complete the relay in a whopping 4 and a half seconds!
But the numbers don’t just stop there; during one Flyball competition, the Staffy flew through the relay in just 4.117 seconds as the fastest dog of her kind! Especially for a Staffy, that is beyond incredible.
From video footage of the canine’s performance, it is clear that Stitch absolutely enjoys what she does, with a smile on her face and all. Both Stitch and Johnson plan to stay involved in Flyball for quite some time.
To think that Stitch could have been euthanized 24 hours before she was fostered, yet ended up becoming one of the speediest canines in competitive Flyball is amazing.
It’s stories like this one that make me want to visit every kill shelter in the world and adopt every single animal they have available! Regardless of a canine’s capabilities, no dog deserves to be put to sleep with the only intent to clear up shelter space and reduce care costs.
Check out Stitch’s winning Flyball performance in the clip at the end of this article!
