Gemma Zanowski founded Tough Love Pit Bull Rescue after several years working intimately with breed-specific rescues in Arizona. Realizing the critical need for organizations willing to give a second chance to pit bulls and other powerful breeds, she branched out and started combing the high-kill shelters in her area for animals on their euthanasia lists. Susan Friedman joined the Tough Love as a director in 2011 and she operates as the regional liaison and advocate for California operations. Kris Carlson also joined Tough Love as a director in 2011 and he operates as the regional liaison for Arizona operations.
We limit the number of dogs in our care so we have considerable time to devote to socializing, training, and evaluating behavior. As a general rule, Tough Love dogs are trained in basic commands and potty trained (some exceptions for puppies of course.) Each dog is treated as a member of our families and it is our experience that this treatment smooths the transition of our dogs into their new families. Every dog in our program is thoroughly temperament tested and rigorously exposed to every type of social situation imaginable -- from crowds to kids to strange noises to hands in their food dishes. We will not adopt out a dog that has not passed our extensive behavior evaluation. Our dogs are solid family members and good canine citizens. We have a one hundred percent placement rate -- with no single dog returned to us and each still living happily in their forever homes. And we plan to keep it that way!
Before any adoption is approved, the applicant must fill out an application, participate in an interview, and open their home to our inspection. The well-being of each dog is our number-one priority. That being said, we understand the critical importance of the people involved with the rescue process -- both prospective adopters and volunteers. We work hard to make this experience a pleasant one for all beings involved!
