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Description
Ahhhh, my dearest one, my darling dear. Her name is Athena, and boy, do I have a story about this dog. Strap in, this is a long one, but I think it's very wholesome.

TL;DR: My neighbor's scared, abused rescue pitbull became my best friend, and I really love pitbulls.

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When I got my very first apartment in Los Angeles, my next door neighbor informed me that she would be bringing home a rescue pitbull, and she wanted me to know right away, because I also had a large dog. We were not sure if them meeting would be dangerous or not.

She was a small pitbull, very obviously abused and malnourished. She had been living in a crate, locked in a bathroom, and then later, she basically lived in the back of a car. The dog was extremely nervous, and while she was not outwardly aggressive, if you made eye contact, or reached to her, she'd give you VERY serious side eye and her lip would curl a little. Each evening, my neighbor and I got home around the same time, and every single day, I would sit calmly on the steps and let the dog walk by me. I'd say hello to her, but I wouldn't dare touch her or anything like that.

We did this for about a month, and the dog finally broke. She gave me a kiss on the face for the first time, and asked me to pet her.

After that, we were completely inseparable. My neighbor was actually jealous sometimes, because if she got home first, her dog would still be waiting at the door for ME to get home. I would dogsit Athena all the time, and I had keys to their apartment. If ever they weren't home yet, I would just text them, and be like, "I'm taking Athena." It was that kind of amazing neighbor situation. They were my best friends.

I called her Teeny Theenie (she is rather small!) and she actually became my dog Fred's girlfriend. They were obsessed with each other and would nap in the same dog bed, or in the bed with ME if I let them.

I often let them:

I love telling the story about Athena, because she has been the most successful transformation of a dog that I've ever seen in my life. She just needed a calm space, love, and patience. This dog goes to work with her mama in LA every day, and she is the most spoiled Diva you'd ever want to meet. I miss her terribly, but we live on opposite sides of the planet now. My friend still texts me updates.

I am definitely a pitbull advocate, and I am on the adamant side of destigmatizing them. It makes me feel ill that they are banned in some places, and from apartments and such. If they are raised to fight, they can be very dangerous dogs, but that really shouldn't be happening. People really don't deserve dogs. And since I've been putting in my own personal opinions, if I had the ability to have a dog again, a pitbull is probably my number one choice. They are such loveball dorks.

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One last funny story about this time in my life: I had just gotten hired to do some character animation on a female white pitbull character named Athena for a feature film called Dawgtown. Once Athena and I were friends, I'd have her by my animation desk very often so I could reference her while I was animating a similar looking dog of the same name. Sometimes life is just serendipitous like that.

I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED MY ATHENA STORY!

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Clip Studio Paint // Procreate

Description
Ahhhh, my dearest one, my darling dear. Her name is Athena, and boy, do I have a story about this dog. Strap in, this is a long one, but I think it's very wholesome.

TL;DR: My neighbor's scared, abused rescue pitbull became my best friend, and I really love pitbulls.

------------------------------------------------------

When I got my very first apartment in Los Angeles, my next door neighbor informed me that she would be bringing home a rescue pitbull, and she wanted me to know right away, because I also had a large dog. We were not sure if them meeting would be dangerous or not.

She was a small pitbull, very obviously abused and malnourished. She had been living in a crate, locked in a bathroom, and then later, she basically lived in the back of a car. The dog was extremely nervous, and while she was not outwardly aggressive, if you made eye contact, or reached to her, she'd give you VERY serious side eye and her lip would curl a little. Each evening, my neighbor and I got home around the same time, and every single day, I would sit calmly on the steps and let the dog walk by me. I'd say hello to her, but I wouldn't dare touch her or anything like that.

We did this for about a month, and the dog finally broke. She gave me a kiss on the face for the first time, and asked me to pet her.

After that, we were completely inseparable. My neighbor was actually jealous sometimes, because if she got home first, her dog would still be waiting at the door for ME to get home. I would dogsit Athena all the time, and I had keys to their apartment. If ever they weren't home yet, I would just text them, and be like, "I'm taking Athena." It was that kind of amazing neighbor situation. They were my best friends.

I called her Teeny Theenie (she is rather small!) and she actually became my dog Fred's girlfriend. They were obsessed with each other and would nap in the same dog bed, or in the bed with ME if I let them.

I often let them:

I love telling the story about Athena, because she has been the most successful transformation of a dog that I've ever seen in my life. She just needed a calm space, love, and patience. This dog goes to work with her mama in LA every day, and she is the most spoiled Diva you'd ever want to meet. I miss her terribly, but we live on opposite sides of the planet now. My friend still texts me updates.

I am definitely a pitbull advocate, and I am on the adamant side of destigmatizing them. It makes me feel ill that they are banned in some places, and from apartments and such. If they are raised to fight, they can be very dangerous dogs, but that really shouldn't be happening. People really don't deserve dogs. And since I've been putting in my own personal opinions, if I had the ability to have a dog again, a pitbull is probably my number one choice. They are such loveball dorks.

------------------------------------------------------

One last funny story about this time in my life: I had just gotten hired to do some character animation on a female white pitbull character named Athena for a feature film called Dawgtown. Once Athena and I were friends, I'd have her by my animation desk very often so I could reference her while I was animating a similar looking dog of the same name. Sometimes life is just serendipitous like that.

I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED MY ATHENA STORY!

------------------------------------------------------
Clip Studio Paint // Procreate