Then there are the Oneida Dogs. Sorry, but I can't get a link to work -- that's our local newspaper!!!

Oneida dogs reunited: Adoptive families gather in Boise to share successes

By Michael H. O'Donnell modonnell@journalnet.com | Posted: Sunday, April 20, 2014 2:45 am

    Scarred, starving and neglected just one year ago, pit bull terriers rescued from the scene of a triple-homicide near Holbrook had a big reunion with their new owners in Boise this month. They're called the "Oneida dogs."

    Eighteen of the dogs adopted by families in the Boise area met at the Idaho Humane Society complex April 5 to share stories and take photos.

    "It was amazing," said Hannah Parpart, communications and outreach director for the Idaho Humane Society. "Everyone had a great time."

    Parpart had prepared a slideshow to share with stories about all 18 of the terriers that found homes in western Idaho complete with photos taken by their adoptive families.

    Among those attending were Tracy White and Jenn Graham and their rescued pit bulls, Gilbert and Dottie.

    When Dottie arrived at the Humane Society she was 28 pounds underweight and suffered from a heart murmur due to a congenital defect. Today her weight is good and she is on an exercise and medication regiment to keep her going. When Graham adopted Dottie, she joined three other pit bulls at the Graham home.

    "She loves to play with the other dogs in the home," Graham said. "She's a social butterfly and very sweet."

    Dottie has also been asked to play the role of mother to pit bull puppies that Graham takes in temporarily as foster care for the Humane Society.

    "She was a mom so she does very well with the puppies," Graham said.

    Where Dottie was once limited to the length of a chain on ranch 25 miles west of Malad City, she now takes car rides wherever the Graham clan goes.

    "She loves to go in the car and she gets to go a lot of places," Graham said. "She loves to go to the shelter."

    Parpart said it may surprise people how much the rescued dogs have no fear of the shelter in Boise — a place that made their new lives possible as they were examined, treated and fed.

    "It was so nice seeing the 'Oneida families' and all those dogs together," Graham said about the reunion. "They were so healthy and happy."

    While Dottie was an older adult dog, Gilbert was about two when he was adopted by the Tracy White family. Shannon White works for the Idaho Humane Society and it was her mother who took Gilbert in.

    "He's doing awesome," Shannon White said. "He loves to go camping and has become best friends with mom's miniature schnauzer and coyote mix."

    Gilbert doesn't just socialize well with the other dogs in his adoptive family, he mixes well with other dogs at large family reunions the Whites hold often. And because Tracy White splits time between Grandview, Idaho, and Winnemucca, Nev., Gilbert's world has been expanded tremendously.

    Shannon said the transition wasn't easy for Gilbert and many of the other pit bulls rescued from the ranch in Southeast Idaho.

    "A lot of them became very demanding," she said.

    In the case of Gilbert, he had a habit of grabbing his leash whenever he was anxious.

    "We used that to teach him coping skills," Shannon said. "He was afraid of new stimuli during the night time."

    The Whites discovered that as long has Gilbert had a toy or leash he could hold in his mouth, the anxiety went away.

    "The biggest thing was building trust with these guys," Shannon said about the Oneida dogs.

    Now that Gilbert has found his happy place, he has actually helped raise a litter of kittens at the White household.

    When all the adoptive families gathered at the Boise shelter, they formed a big circle with their rescued dogs. And the owners made plans to repeat the reunion again next year.

    "It was very emotional and nothing short of amazing," Graham said. "It was a new beginning."