American Pit Bull Terrier puppies and dogs in Summit, Illinois

Hi, happy to introduce to you, Chance! A wonderful 8 year old blue pitbull. He loves to lay on the couch, bed or anywhere to have a cuddle. We have had the absolute pleasure of raising this beautiful dog. He loves to play and walks great on leash. Listens well to commands. E collar trained. House trained & hasn’t been in a crate for over 4 years. Great with our other dog, not good with cats. Any other dogs will need to be introduced properly because he hasn’t had the need to be socialized. Recently had his annual vet appointment, and up to date on vaccines. We have two children and he has been the sweetest to them both. It is heartbreaking that we can’t keep our family together, with the upcoming move, we aren’t able to bring our dogs with us. And honestly after having our children we aren’t offering the dogs the best life they could have. Hoping to find him a home where he receives the love and attention he deserves!

Hi, please meet Snoop Dogg. He's a sweet senior dog that we rescued. Unsure of his breed and age. Roughly 11 years old, and breed looks to be a mix of pit, boxer, lab mix. He is a lounger, loves to relax on his bed, couch or comfy corner. Hes great on leash, house trained, and hasn't been in a crate in over 8 years. Listens well to commands and e collar trained. He is scared of storms and has a "storm spray". Great with our other dog, not sure about cats. Any other dog he will need to be introduced properly because he hasn't had the need to be socialized. Recently had his annual vet appointment, and up to date vaccines. We have two children and he has been the sweetest with them. It is heartbreaking that we can't keep our family together, with the upcoming move, we aren't able to bring our dogs with us. And honestly after having our children we aren't offering the dogs the best life they could have. Hoping to find him a home where he receives the love and attention he deserves!

I should have written his bio by now. He’s been with me a month. I have no bio. I have about 27 drafts that just aren’t cutting it. He will have a bio. And the fact that it’s taking this long for me to figure out, means…it’s gonna be a doozie. His name was, Grandpa, at animal control. Luring me in with a “geriatric” pit bull named, Grandpa. They knew that’s how they could get me. Well played, CACC, well played. Straight up, bait and switch! We already had a dog named, Grandpa, up for adoption, so that name wouldn’t work. A new name was in order. While still under the impression I was pulling an old man, I renamed him, Mr. Fredrickson. That name doesn’t work for him at all. While he may appear to be old, he’s the mother effing, Benjamin Button of dogs. He makes no sense. Week 1: He spent his 1st week humping things. This wasn’t your normal, anxious, nervous, excited humping. But rather…lengthy hump sessions. In fact, they were so long and strenuous, panting breaks were necessary. *wakes up to noises at 2am, and wonders what the hell the new dog is doing* *investigates mysterious noises* *realizes new foster is going to town on some blankets he stole off your bed* *sigh* He and I really came to a head when I walked away for 2 minutes and came back to him humping my pillow. My main pillow. The one I put my face on. Luckily, we got past our hump fest phase. Week 2: Imagine a puppy. A terrible, chewing, in anything and everything, kind of puppy. Now, enlarge that puppy, to a 75lb dog. A dog that can open drawers, open the shower door, jump on tables, chairs, desks (GLASS DESKS!), knock down computers, steal the letters off of your keyboard, and when given 45 seconds alone, manages to go in a cabinet, steal a brand new box of tampons, and throw them wherever he sees fit. Do you know how hard it is to type when you’re missing your letter ‘C’? He stole my letter ‘T’ too, but I found that one. Finding my letter ‘T’ was the highlight of that day. I had a funeral for letter ‘C’. I really wish that I had appreciated letter ‘C’ more while he was still with us. Letters on keyboards are far more important than we give them credit for. Week 2 Continued: Benjamin, gets neutered. On that same day, another one of our dogs has a blockage. Benjamin and our other dog are at the same vet. Our dog with the blockage is getting X-rays. Vet calls me to give me an update on who I thought was the blockage dog. Vet says we need to do X-rays. Yeah…I know, that’s why he’s there. The vet then informs me she’s not talking about our blockage dog. She’s talking about our dog who is getting neutered. He’s thrown up some strange things (I’m not sure I even want to know what) and she is concerned he has a blockage. Great. We have 2 dogs at the same vet, both appearing to have blockages. Stellar rescuers we are! Clearly! Good news is, he didn’t have a blockage. Just a bunch of random crap that would eventually find its way out. Week 3: We had gotten into a solid routine of me being shocked at the things he would do…and things he would attempt to do…right in front of my face. This routine usually consists of me cleaning up some mess he made, trying to “trade up” and get things away from him, he shouldn’t have, giving him a lecture, and moving my hands, in an animated way, while I speak. I’m animated. Especially while lecturing. During one of these animated, cleaning lectures, Benjamin did some sort of movement. The movement seemed to be in response to a command. Yet, I hadn’t given a command. I was lecture cleaning. Then I realized, he had reacted to one of my hand movements. So, I asked him to sit. Nailed it. Paw. Nailed it. Other paw. Nailed it. Down. Nailed it. Rollover. Nailed it. And although I haven’t quite figured out the words or movements he was trained with originally, he knows to spin in a circle one way, and then the other. I even went out on a limb, put my hand up in the air and yelled “high five!” Dude got on his hind legs, and double paw, high fived me. What the actual f***??? Week 4: I realized, he sharts. He sharts regularly. This was an incredibly disturbing discovery on week 4. One month in, I realized the dog that sleeps next to me in bed, and farts a lot…is actually sharting. What I believed were innocent farts, were actually small puffs, of bedsheet destruction. Peacefully co-existing with me, during my slumber. *dry heaves* Does he have an oral fixation? PICA? Both? Whatever it is, it’s not normal. He must have something in his mouth, and must be chewing something at all times. Appropriate things, and inappropriate things. ALL the things. If you call him over, he gladly comes! But not before he makes sure he’s got the perfect thing to bring with him. What will the perfect thing be? Your guess is as good as mine. It could be a dog toy, or he may come bearing a Q-tip and a used tampon applicator. Options are limitless when you’ve moved garbage cans to every place imaginable, you have lids on them, and he still manages to find a way to get within reach. He steals things. Straight up klepto. Things he steals: $56 bottles of vegan superberry dream mask, $36 bottles of kale and green tea spinach face cleanser, $42 Adaptogen Soothe + Hydrate Activated Mist, toothbrushes, floss, tweezers, and his favorite of ALL the things to steal…my hairbrush. I can’t tell you how elated I am, when I get out of the shower and realize the super awesome new hiding spot for my hairbrush, wasn’t super awesome or hidden. The houseguest from hell found it, and took it. Again. I was already teetering on the edge of natural dreadlocks, due to of lack of time, and length of hair. But now…full on dirty hippie. Bringing dreads back, folks! He’s a food hound. Normal for a dog…of course. But this one is stealthy, fast, and ballsy. You turn your head for one moment, there goes your elote. Who steals someone else’s elote? I’m not playing when it comes to Mexican street corn! And, as if stealing my elote didn’t cut me deep enough…10 minutes later…he vomited. A thousand corn kernels. On. My. Bed. I have so many questions now that Benjamin has entered my life. Who the hell is this dog? Where did he come from? Is there a cure for sharting? Where is my letter ‘C’? How many tampons in that box will be puncture free, and useable? How many times did I unknowingly roll over in bed, right onto a shart? Why does he know a ton of tricks and commands? Do natural dreads just need to be cut out? This was supposed to be a short update on my foster, to explain why I hadn’t written a bio yet. There was just no way I could write a bio and pretend we had a perfect senior for adoption. He’d be returned. During this update, I believe I accidentally wrote his bio. Since I did this process ass backwards, I’ll place the pertinent info at the bottom, instead of the top. An ass backwards bio, seems perfectly appropriate, for an ass backwards dog. Benjamin Button Breed: Pit Mix Gender: Male Age: NOT GERIATRIC!!! Weight: 75lbs Kid Friendly: Yes Cat Friendly: Unknown Dog Friendly: Probably Potty Trained: Yes Crate Trained: Yes Vaccinated: Yes Neutered: Yes Microchipped: Yes, but do we really want him to find his way back? No. No, we don’t. Location: Benjamin is being fostered in Aurora, IL. Normally we say “no out of state applicants” but I’m hoping to find an adopter as far away from me as possible. Benjamin is a pain in my ass. He’s puzzling. At the same time, he’s a very nice boy. He doesn’t eat people’s faces, he loves to be pet (with something in his mouth), his tail spins in a circle when he’s super excited, he’s amazing in the crate, and he’s a happy guy. He’s so freaking odd. I hate him so much, that I kinda love him a little. Almost forgot our weirdest moment upon his arrival! Sunday. Laundry day. Clean baskets of clothes, placed on the floor. I walk into the room to find him, sitting directly on top of a clean basket of clothes. His tail wasn’t covering his butthole. Butthole was directly touching the clean clothes. There he sat. Probably sharting. Like it was regular. Any takers? Anyone interested in adopting? I won’t hold my breath. Please fill out an app at darkhorsedogs.org if you’re interested.

Roland is back, and he’s more boring than ever. Total snoozefest. His adoption didn’t work out. It happens. We move on. We learn. What we learned, is that Roland needs a home as boring as he is. Roland needs people that are quiet, chill, introverted…boring as fuck. All this dog wants to do is lay next to you on the couch and watch TV. And he actually watches! He hops up onto the couch and whines and stares at me with his soulful little eyes until I sit down next to him. Guess I’m not running the marathon this year. Damn. And he’s not even an overbearing cuddler. Usually he curls up next to us. Sometimes he buries his face in my husband’s crotch. Never mine. I’m not exactly sure what that says about Roland and/or our crotches. He has shown some signs of anxiety, so we have started him on meds. You and Roland can be boring as fuck and medicated, together. Living the dream. Roland’s perfect home would quiet, peaceful and…you guessed it…boring. Remember, it’s not drinking alone if Roland is with you. Idk if you can drink while you’re on anti-anxiety meds, please consult your doctor. You definitely should not take medical advice from us. If you recall, he was found weighing 35lbs, comatose, and “frozen to the touch.” The ER vet said he made it to them with about ten minutes of life left in him. His life may have been traumatic leading up to that point, but now he just wants to chilllllll. Roland wants to retire from the very difficult job of being a dog. Rollie does great in our calm, quiet, structured home. It’s like he never left. So, we hope to find him a forever home that’s similar. A house of nerds. And/or senior citizens. Nerdy ones. Given how much attention he craves, it’d be wonderful to find him a home without another dog. But, we know that’s asking a lot. He has done ok coexisting with equally boring males. He has not done well with two different medium/high energy females. Age: 6 Gender: Male Breed: Pit Mix Weight: 65lbs Crate Trained: Yes Potty Trained: Yes Dog Friendly: Selective Cat Friendly: Unknown Kid Friendly: Yes, older Vaccinated: Yes Neutered: Yes Heartworm: Negative Microchipped: Yes Roland is being fostered in Fox Lake, IL. No out of state applicants, please. If you’re interested in meeting Roland, please fill out an application at the link below and a volunteer will contact you: https://www.shelterluv.com/matchme/adopt/DHDN/Dog

If you’re into dogs with more heart than brains, then Callum is the dog for you. He is a handsome brindle boy who may not be the smartest tool in the shed, but he loves life, dogs, and people, and will keep you laughing…everyday. Callum is a wonderful balance of energy & chill. He is happy to play & zoom around the yard, but also enjoys cuddling on the couch & licking a Kong. He currently spends 8 hours of the day in a crate while his foster mom is at work. The crate has become his calm, safe place. He goes in there to relax on his own & when he is left in the crate he will sleep or nibble on his stuffies. Cal’s manners have improved significantly in his foster home, and he aims to please. He is very, very food motivated and even waits patiently in his crate when he knows it’s breakfast & dinner time. An ideal home for Callum would include another dog that won’t mind some rough play & can keep up with him. Cal is happiest when he is playing with another dog. So far, Callum has loved everyone he’s met & treats every person like they are his favorite person. Cal is best described in 3 terms: goofy, happy go lucky & emotionally in tune. He is ALWAYS doing something endearingly stupid, whether that is pressing his nose up to the crate to show his white teeth, falling off the couch onto his head, sprinting away with his pjs half off or running into things. Cal appreciates the small stuff. Everyday is his best day yet. Cal is very in tune with his people. He may look big & tough, but really he is quite sensitive & loving. He will cheer you up after a long work day by resting his head on your lap & shows you how excited he is every time he sees you. Age: 2 Gender: Male Breed: Pit Mix Weight: 60lbs Crate Trained: Yes Potty Trained: Yes Dog Friendly: Yes Cat Friendly: No Kid Friendly: Yes - older Vaccinated: Yes Neutered: Yes Heartworm: Negative Microchipped: Yes Energy level: Medium to high Callum is currently being fostered in Hometown, IL. No out of state applicants please. If you'd like to meet him, the first step is to fill out an application: https://darkhorsedogs.org/adoption-application

If you want the easiest dog on the planet, Gary is your man. Gary isn’t fresh out of fucks. Gary never had any fucks to give in the first place. Gary has never given one single fuck. Gary was born with a fuck inventory of precisely zero. He is so low maintenance and doesn’t take the little things for granted. Give him a comfy bed/blanket, regular meals, trees to poop on and maybe a few bones/toys to destroy and he is happy as a clam. Bonus points for a head scratch every now and then. He has a sneeze that makes him sound like a cartoon character. He never barks, unless you try to give him eye drops one too many times. He may or may not be able to hear, so you might have to physically drag a blanket he’s laying on for a couple feet before he wakes up. He walks in slow motion until he decides to turn the turbo jets on for a few feet before it’s back to moving at a glacial pace. He doesn’t require much exercise. A few trips around the block per day will suffice. Sometimes, he just wants to go out and do his business and then go right back inside, especially first thing in the morning when he is PUMPED to eat breakfast. Gary lives in busy Wicker Park and does just fine in that environment. Gary likes to poop ON trees. Not near them, on them. He is very independent and will often resort to his crate for a deep sleep, even if the rest of the family is in another room. He likes to say hi to other dogs, but gets a little too excited and has been known to attempt to hump them like the creepy old man that he is, so he’ll need to work on finding some chill. Gary could thrive in any home because he doesn’t give a shit about anything. That said, a home with older kids who understand that he can’t see or hear super well, which means he can startle easy at times, would be best. While he might take a minute to fully trust you/give a shit about you, there’s nothing better than when he sits by you and just stares at you with his crusty eyes while wagging his tail or when he chooses your foot to lay on when there are so many other perfectly comfortable options available. Speaking of which, he requires eye medication, but really doesn’t like when it’s applied and will let you know, so an adopter who is comfortable with that would be a plus. Name: Gary Age: 8ish Gender: Male Breed: Pit mix Weight: 60lbs Crate trained: Yes Potty trained: Yes Dog friendly: Yes Cat friendly: Unknown Kid friendly: Yes, older Vaccinated: Yes Spayed/Neutered: Yes Heartworm: Negative Microchipped: Yes Energy level: Low Medical: will need heart and eye medication for the rest of his life Gary is currently being fostered in Chicago, Illinois. No out of state applicants, please. If you’re interested in meeting Gary, please fill out an application: https://darkhorsedogs.org/adoption-application