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This Dog Went to Heaven: In memory of Sarge 1994-2011


You won’t find his death notice on the Obituary Page of the Philadelphia Daily News, but our City lost one of its finest (and four legged) citizens the last week of July when Sarge Wolf-Stringer passed away at the age of 16.

The last years of his life were his happiest and he touched more hearts and souls in his doggie years than many humans do in a lifetime.

When I first met Sarge the Pit Bull, I committed the ultimate faux pas by judging a book by its cover and making up my mind about him before I even set eyes on this big brown bomber baby. But as you read on, you will see that it was one of life’s biggest learning lessons.

I volunteer at the Rizzo Police Athletic League on Monday nights for the Positive Images program. Under the supervision of PAL Officer Ernie Rehr and director Laura Kelly, we run one of the biggest programs in self confidence building and positive image for girls ages 11-17. Part of my duties is to book special guests to come in and talk to the girls on a variety of subjects.

(I really wanted to have a session dedicated to animal abuse after adopting one of the most flatulent Dalmatians in SPCA history with my dog, Fonzarelli, who was beaten and abused until we rescued him and made him part couch pillow/part meatball taste tester.)

I was put in contact with wife and husband Kim Wolf and Thad Stringer who immediately accepted my invitation to bring Sarge out to the PAL Center and talk to the girls. With 80 teenage girls waiting in our gymnasium I stood before them and asked, “Who’s afraid of pit bull dogs?”

It was like I asked, “Who wants to marry Justin Bieber?” because almost all the hands shot up. I told them to sit at the back of the gym so they wouldn’t be so close to the dog, assuming he would be a vicious monster on a choker chain leash, foaming at the mouth and ready to rip into anything that moved or breathed.

Lying on a wooly fleece blanket with his four legs dangling and his head resting on Thad Stringer’s shoulder, Sarge the Pit Bull was carried into the PAL gym like a giant chocolate Faberge egg. Kim laid another blanket on the floor and his water dish and the dog was placed down in front of the girls where he shifted to his side, let out a yawn with a pink curled tongue and let out a poof of gas. (Which we quickly blamed on Officer Ernie).

With severe arthritis, Sarge could no longer walk-the pain was too much to bear. His teeth were grinded down to the gums, a bunch of nubs that prevented him from chewing but he loved a new treat called Philly Cream Cheese. He was a dead ringer for a giant Tootsie Roll with clickety clackety toenails.

It was back in 2008 when the Pennsylvania SPCA raided a home in South Philadelphia and found over 30 animals in a row house that were abused, neglected and living in deplorable conditions.

This raid was also aired on the cable television channel, Animal Planet. The humane officers brought the dogs to SPCA headquarters on Erie Avenue and tried to save as many animals as they could but the years of abuse had taken its toll. However, one of these dogs was a survivor and strived for a better life-our Sarge.

After months in protective custody, Sarge was miraculously adopted by Kim and Thad who did not see a vicious monster prone to violent attacks; they saw their brown baby boy who at 14 years old had a golf ball sized lump protruding from his back due to an unattended and ignored injury when he was bitten by another dog and an abscess formed, uneven ears that were cut off and scratch marks on his head and face from previous fights and beatings as well as limbs with patches of worn away hair. Used as a “bait” dog, one of Sarge’s shoulders was dislocated and never healed properly.

Kim and Thad got right to work with Sarge making sure he had a better life and by the time Spring rolled around, Sarge was certified with “Pals to Life” to do pet visitations at nursing homes, rehab centers hospitals and libraries. He quickly became one of the favorites of the program as his story was told in newspapers, television and the internet. (Check out his story at www.elderbulls.blog.com).

One of the things that Kim Wolf told the PAL girls that day was about people making negative and mean comments not only about Sarge being a Pit Bull but also about her being a Pit Bull owner. At the time, she was a social worker at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging and she made it her priority to travel all over with Sarge to schools and nursing homes and community events to teach kindness not only to animals but to our elders as well.

Sarge became such an inspiration that he won the 2010 Philadelphia Barking Beauty Pageant–the first time in pageant history it was ever awarded to a Pit Bull. His Facebook Page (Sarge Wolf-Stringer) has almost 5,000 friends and Mayor Michael Nutter named him the 2010 Humane Educator of the Year in the City of Philadelphia.

And as he lay on the PAL gym floor, basking in the glory of 80 hands rubbing his belly and scratching his chin and ears it was unbelievable that Sarge would allow any human hand even near him after all the pain and suffering that happened to him in his first 14 years of life. But again, what’s that old saying, “never judge a book by its cover….”.

“Too often people look at victims of abuse and only see our scars, not our hearts,” Kim told our PAL kids. “And too often people look at Pit Bull type dogs and only see labels, see stereotypes, but not the individual dog. Sarge is the most peaceful, happy and forgiving dog you’ll ever meet.”
The last week of July, Sarge died at age 16 of a seizure. But instead of passing away at the hands of his abuser or being euthanized because he was labeled a dangerous, violent breed, he closed his eyes surrounded by his mom and dad, his Pug girlfriend, Mary Todd Lincoln and his other doggy siblings in a house full of unconditional love and squeaky toys.

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