What do you think?
Rate this book
Pit Stops: Crossing the Country with Loren the Rescue Bully
A journalist and animal-welfare advocate exposes the brutal tragedies and prejudice inflicted upon pit bulls in this insightful travel narrative. Upon turning 40, Michelle Sathe bypassed a midlife crisis by embarking on a great American road trip—accompanied by Loren, a young rescued pit bull. The two set out to explore 29 states in 50 days for a whirlwind sampling of regional cuisine, historic landmarks, and just plain fun, including locations such as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, New York City, and Savannah’s scenic waterfront. But along the way, they come face to face with the sad reality confronting beleaguered pit bull prejudice and the sad reality facing beleaguered “bully” breeds in America’s shelters and in places like Virginia, where Michael Vick ran a gruesome dog-fighting ring, and Pittsburgh, where bullies are routinely kept as enforcement in a dangerous underworld. Mile by mile, as the duo forge a stronger and stronger bond, the spotlight is also turned on the incredible humane workers, volunteers, and advocates across the country who work tirelessly to give bullies a second chance.
- GenresAnimals
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
44 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Sathe
2 books3 followersThe author of "Pit Stops: Crossing the Country with Loren the Rescue Bully" is also a features writer with the Santa Clarita Valley Signal in Southern California, specializing in dog issues. As a journalist, Sathe has covered hard-hitting news stories on local shelters and profiled many animal welfare organizations and highly-regarded members of the Los Angeles rescue community. Sathe is a board member of The Brittany Foundation, a no-kill dog rescue, and Bow-Wows & Meows, Inc., a non-profit organization that adopts out Los Angeles County Shelter animals through an annual pet fair. She is the proud dog mom of Sam and Buster, two rescued bully mixes, and lives in Pine Mountain Club, California."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 10, 2012
Wonderful book about Michelle and Loren's adventure across the US.
Loren is a beautiful example of the pit bull breed and Michelle is
a true advocate! Looking forward to Pit Stops 2!
Loren is a beautiful example of the pit bull breed and Michelle is
a true advocate! Looking forward to Pit Stops 2!
February 22, 2011
The Short of It:
Pit Stops is the kind of cozy read that you can curl-up with. There’s some sadness yes, but ultimately a lot of hope and stories guaranteed to warm your heart.
The Rest of It:
Sathe is a journalist for my town’s local paper. When she hit the big 4-0, she decided to head out on a road trip across the country to help promote animal rescue, specifically for the “bully” breeds that tend to get a lot of bad press. To do this, she had to pick the perfect companion for the trip. That lucky girl was Loren, a homeless pit bull/staffordshire/bulldog mix who was living at The Brittany Foundation, a rescue sanctuary very close to my home. Sathe, also a volunteer and board member for the foundation, was hoping that at the end of the trip, Loren would find her forever home.
As short as this book is, it packs quite a punch. As Sathe visits with animal rescues across the country, she encounters folks from all walks of life who volunteer their time to help animals in need. As she spends time with Loren, she see first hand how people react to bully breeds. Even though Loren is an absolute love, people are often hesitant to come up to her unless they are familiar with the breed or have big dogs of their own. In addition to this reaction, some towns have legislation in place that prevents the adoption of such breeds. What this means is that many of the animals are destroyed because agencies are not able to adopt them out.
As Sathe treks across the country, she continually asks herself why some dogs find homes when others do not. What makes a family go for one dog over another? And why is it that when some dogs find homes, they just don’t work out in the long run? As frustrating as it was for Sathe to address this in the book, I have to say that it comes down to confidence. A potential owner has to have the confidence to handle a particular dog. Sometimes, this is a learning process and some are more willing to give into that gray area (where they admit that they have no confidence) in order to gain the knowledge needed to care for a particular breed, and others simply cave to their lack of confidence and end up bringing the animal back.
Having had an adoption experience that did not go well, many years ago, I can honestly say that I’ve been that person. The person that completely loses confidence and suddenly realizes that she’s completely out of her league. It’s a very humbling and life-changing experience to think that in all manners of life, you are quite successful yet you cannot care for a dog who wants nothing more than to be with you. Now, I am not the type of person to give up easily and I refused to take the dog back so we went forward with training only for the poor thing to have a heart attack at the vet. Needless to say, he didn’t make it, but we learned so much from that experience. Now, several years later we decided to rescue a puppy from the shelter and it’s been a completely different experience. Not perfect, but everyone in the family is confident this time around which I feel really makes a difference.
No matter where you stand on “bully” breeds, Pit Stops will appeal to many readers. Sathe is a foodie, so all of her stops center around must-visit restaurants and let me tell you, the food is to-die for! She had me drooling more than once. The moments she shares with Loren are truly special because Loren is such a character. A loyal companion but a bit of a comedian, too. Although, I do not know the author personally, I sure feel as if I do after reading the book. Oh, and I’ll forgive her for saying that “Safety Dance” is the stupidest 80′s song ever made. How can she not love Men Without Hats?? She obviously did not dress-up in a black trench coat and rock the Mod look during that time. Ha!
Pit Stops is the kind of cozy read that you can curl-up with. There’s some sadness yes, but ultimately a lot of hope and stories guaranteed to warm your heart.
The Rest of It:
Sathe is a journalist for my town’s local paper. When she hit the big 4-0, she decided to head out on a road trip across the country to help promote animal rescue, specifically for the “bully” breeds that tend to get a lot of bad press. To do this, she had to pick the perfect companion for the trip. That lucky girl was Loren, a homeless pit bull/staffordshire/bulldog mix who was living at The Brittany Foundation, a rescue sanctuary very close to my home. Sathe, also a volunteer and board member for the foundation, was hoping that at the end of the trip, Loren would find her forever home.
As short as this book is, it packs quite a punch. As Sathe visits with animal rescues across the country, she encounters folks from all walks of life who volunteer their time to help animals in need. As she spends time with Loren, she see first hand how people react to bully breeds. Even though Loren is an absolute love, people are often hesitant to come up to her unless they are familiar with the breed or have big dogs of their own. In addition to this reaction, some towns have legislation in place that prevents the adoption of such breeds. What this means is that many of the animals are destroyed because agencies are not able to adopt them out.
As Sathe treks across the country, she continually asks herself why some dogs find homes when others do not. What makes a family go for one dog over another? And why is it that when some dogs find homes, they just don’t work out in the long run? As frustrating as it was for Sathe to address this in the book, I have to say that it comes down to confidence. A potential owner has to have the confidence to handle a particular dog. Sometimes, this is a learning process and some are more willing to give into that gray area (where they admit that they have no confidence) in order to gain the knowledge needed to care for a particular breed, and others simply cave to their lack of confidence and end up bringing the animal back.
Having had an adoption experience that did not go well, many years ago, I can honestly say that I’ve been that person. The person that completely loses confidence and suddenly realizes that she’s completely out of her league. It’s a very humbling and life-changing experience to think that in all manners of life, you are quite successful yet you cannot care for a dog who wants nothing more than to be with you. Now, I am not the type of person to give up easily and I refused to take the dog back so we went forward with training only for the poor thing to have a heart attack at the vet. Needless to say, he didn’t make it, but we learned so much from that experience. Now, several years later we decided to rescue a puppy from the shelter and it’s been a completely different experience. Not perfect, but everyone in the family is confident this time around which I feel really makes a difference.
No matter where you stand on “bully” breeds, Pit Stops will appeal to many readers. Sathe is a foodie, so all of her stops center around must-visit restaurants and let me tell you, the food is to-die for! She had me drooling more than once. The moments she shares with Loren are truly special because Loren is such a character. A loyal companion but a bit of a comedian, too. Although, I do not know the author personally, I sure feel as if I do after reading the book. Oh, and I’ll forgive her for saying that “Safety Dance” is the stupidest 80′s song ever made. How can she not love Men Without Hats?? She obviously did not dress-up in a black trench coat and rock the Mod look during that time. Ha!
July 3, 2011
I loved this book! Having a rescue dog that people often assume is a pit bull, as opposed to a mutt, Michelle articulates a lot of the adversity that you feel as an owner to a culturally misunderstood breed of dog.
The only reason I didn't give it all stars was because I met the author and she gave me some clues as to how the book would end, as opposed to not knowing,because I grew to love Loren and so many other dogs in the book (Loren's story is happy-I promise!), so it made me sadder than I expected to be.
But my main takeaway was actually something Michelle wrote in my copy, 'One dog at a time....' I can't save or change all dog's lives, but I can be the best for our dog. So that's what we are doing. :)
The only reason I didn't give it all stars was because I met the author and she gave me some clues as to how the book would end, as opposed to not knowing,because I grew to love Loren and so many other dogs in the book (Loren's story is happy-I promise!), so it made me sadder than I expected to be.
But my main takeaway was actually something Michelle wrote in my copy, 'One dog at a time....' I can't save or change all dog's lives, but I can be the best for our dog. So that's what we are doing. :)
July 19, 2012
Sathe's cause is incredible, and this book truly inspired me and gave me the resources to get involved in preventing BSL! And of course, I completely fell in love with Loren by the end of the first chapter. However, since I'm a vegetarian, the food descriptions got to be a little much sometimes.
July 5, 2012
Part travelogue, part homeless animal advocacy - this was a pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews