a pit bull story, dedicated to Trucker

This is Mandy and my latest "grand-dog".  Folks, I LOVE this little pit bull.  I just can't help it.  She's smart and loving; she gets along with my dog, Mandy. 

I got an e-mail from one of my readers that I'd like to share:

" Hi,

I just had to write and tell you the story of TRUCKER.  We own a grading company which explains his name.       Trucker was a present for our daughter's 15th birthday.  We searched the want ads and went to some mighty unsavory places before finding him.  Some of the places we went to had many, many dogs chained to individual houses.  At one place there was a mother dog with 6 or 7 puppies running free around her.  Because the puppies didn't look exactly like the other dogs my husband questioned their lineage and the owner produced a dog that had been chained in a barn as the father of the pups.  The man had to restrain the dog so hard that he walked on his hind legs the entire time he was out.  The dog's eyes had a wild look that I had never seen in a dog before.  There was a set of scales hanging on the porch to weigh the dogs............Needless to say we did not get our puppy there.       Back to our Trucker...... As you said he was a lap dog and stayed that way until he was so large we couldn't hold him anymore.  He was the most intelligent dog I have ever seen and understood every word we said to him.  We (the 4 of us) loved him very much and we often mourn his loss and our neglect that caused it.       When the kids became teenagers they didn't have time for Trucker and my husband and I were just too busy with our business.  He spent a couple of years alone in a pen with only food and water and a few kind words and pats when being fed.  (Tears here)       We thought of trying to get him the home he deserved but all of our family and people we knew had small children.  Trucker could not be trusted with small children.  We think he saw them as small prey.  I don't know if he really would have hurt a child but from his actions it appeared that way and we never gave him the opportunity to see.  We could not advertise in the papers to see him because of the type of people that might fool us.  I'd have died to think of him in a man made dog fight.       One horrible night when my son went to feed Trucker and came back to the house with Trucker beside him.  Trucker's sick he said.  He tried to get him to come up onto the porch so we could see but Trucker refused.  He laid down on the ground with his head on Jason's foot and drew his last breath.  (Sobs now)       I loved him dearly but I would never own another pit bull.    Gotta go   Faye"