UPDATE: 11/01/2005 8 PM Pacific Well, even though Pasado's Mark Steinway has nothing but praise for TurtleMoon Rescue he is choosing to ignore their advice to send the dog's to Tia's VilaLobos Rescue in California. Turtle Moon, and the entire pit bull community agreed that Tia's was the best place for these dogs. Instead, Pasado chose to post a couple emails from people saying that while the dogs were well cared for, their were "stray looking" people "hanging" around the place. These "stray looking" people were folks who work with Tia as part of her program with the California Department of Corrections for rehabbing inmates...

Sadly, Pasado continues to point fingers, attack those trying to help the dogs, and refuses to do what is best for the dogs. I find this inexcusable. It would be nice to report that Mark Steinway and Pasado staff had learned from their experience, and were using it to educate about how very important it is to do a simple home check before placing dogs. Instead of sending them to Tia, a respected breed expert, they are sending the dogs to someone who admits she has no real experience with the breed. And, despite the statement by Pasado's that these dogs were "friendly, family pet" type dogs, several members of their staff have now been bitten by these unsound dogs.

We can only hope that once these animals get out of Pasado's hands things will look up for them, and the few dogs which are dangerous and likely to give the breed a "black eye" can be humanely euthanized before they become the next headline.

UPDATE: 11/05/2005 9:46 AM Pacific Well, last I heard the Pasado dogs are spread around, some in Alabama , sadly not in as good a facility or situation as they could have had at Tia's in California. Tia was willing to take on the dogs, but Pasado used the dogs as pawns, refusing to send them unless Tia, Kris and myself "signed zee papers" (use German Nazi accent when reading that). The "papers" was just an email with conditions unacceptable to how we think the dogs should be treated. The rest of the dogs were reported to be sent to Washington state, where they are being boarded in an empty kennel, still homeless . I think it is important that the condition of these animals still be kept under scrutiny for their safety. Despite Pasado's claims that the animals were "friendly" the only bites which occurred at EDNAH were six bites to Pasado staff from Pasado "friendly" dogs. So,it would appear either the dogs are not sound or the staff is incompetent. As a pit bull owner, I am very concerned about the possible bad publicity coming from these bites. I know one person was hospitalized. Just what our breed needs.

That, my friends, is why responsible, reputable pit bull rescue groups do not keep man aggressive, unsound dogs alive. It is no good for the dogs or the breed.

UPDATE: November 29th 12:28 PM Pacific: This will be the last update. Sadly, I had hoped that Pasado would learn an important lesson from their mistake. Hey, everyone makes mistakes - what is important is how you handle that mistake.

Pasado was warned and warned not to dump the dogs at a questionable facility which obviously lacked the manpower to care for the dogs. Mark Steinway refused to listen to anyone (even his own volunteers) who asked him not to dump the dogs without DOING A HOME CHECK . A simple home check. The dogs were dumped there, despite the conditions on the two acre site, and they would have been the Forgotten Fifty for sure if not for the hard work and dedication of (primarily) Desiree Bender and Kristine Crawford.

One can only wonder why a "humane" group was so eager to get rid of the dogs they "rescued". One can only wonder why three months after the "rescue" the animals were still not on Petfinder.com. Pasado took (takes) in a LOT of money, but they don't seem to want to spend it to keep these dogs in a humane fashion. I guess those old bulldogs would ruin the image of that beautiful 80 acre site and big cedar lodge that houses the "staff"...

Pasado's had a chance to send the dogs to Tia's Villa Lobo Rescue; she didn't want them, but she stepped up and offered to take them because she knew she was the best place for them. All organizations agreed she was the best location. But Pasado refused to do what was best for the dogs. They packed some off to Alabama, and sent some up to be warehoused in a commercial kennel in Washington state.

The dogs are now being sent off here and there, and are sadly falling off public radar. The only report I have gotten recently was that one of the dogs that they yelped about being so friendly has bitten a man in a foster home and has NOW been shipped off to Tia's. Being "no-kill" of course, they need someone else to do their dirty work. Must be nice to live in a world so devoid of reality.

All I ever wanted from Pasado or Mark Steinway was to simply own up to the fact that they screwed up not doing a home check. Not make excuses. If you can't do a homecheck for 50 pit bulls - DON'T DO RESCUE! Since this began, I have found that Pasado has a history of negativity toward home checks. I guess it is more important to "not kill" an animal than to make sure it goes into a safe, humane and appropriate place. Pasado Safe Haven could have turned this mess into a great humane education experience by saying "hey, we messed up because we didn't do a home check - see, that is why it is SO important". Instead, they chose to point fingers, whine, make excuses and refuse to take responsibility.

They continue to attack those who spoke out about how they handled this situation. They continue to attack those who ask them to "own" their mistake and learn from it - and educate others. They appear to be an organization fighting to save their income - not the animals in their care.