The email describing the 2-year-old pit bull/pointer mix called Suzie made no mention of any behavior problems or serious issues that might make her unadoptable. The dog in the accompanying photos appeared healthy and happy, well-muscled, with a coat of brown and mottled white, candy pink tongue, and dark chocolate eyes. Cropped mostly out of frame in at least one shot was a smiling girl wrapping the dog in a warm and loving hug.

And still, after only three weeks at the shelter, cursed by the public's misconceptions about her breed, an as-yet unclaimed Suzie was scheduled to be destroyed.

Enter George and Vicky, southern California newlyweds alerted to Suzie's predicament by a friend working as a shelter volunteer. George, who has worked developing Cesar Millan, Inc's website since the early days of the company, is no stranger to the bias against pit bulls in America and the plight of rescue animals in general. In the market for a dog, knowing that Suzie had only a week left before her execution, and encouraged by the email's description of her pleasant disposition, George and Vicky traveled from their home in Valley Village to the South Central Los Angeles animal shelter to meet with a representative that would arrange an introduction.

Suzie's balanced energy was an attractive quality from the start. When removed from her kennel, she paid no attention to the dogs barking from neighboring cells, nor was she intimidated by the human attention she received. It seemed like an easy choice for the couple to agree to adopt and care for Suzie - they had already fallen in love with her and were only trying to decide whether the commitment was one that they could realistically make - but the intervention of two other interested parties made things considerably more difficult. With one of their competitors already on-site and another on the way from San Diego but not yet arrived, George and Vicky were forced to take the leap and plead their case to the shelter administrators.

Fast forward three months and Suzie is a happy-go-lucky addition to George and Vicky's life together. George's experience working with Cesar Millan has helped him understand the intimate role that dogs play in the lives of their human pack leaders and has given him the necessary insight to help Suzie integrate easily into their family. Fully embracing her seemingly boundless pit bull energy has made a tremendous impact, not only on her life, but on their own lives. George finds himself riding his bike more, going out to the park, and really enjoying the time he spends with his new addition, for which he says he is incredibly thankful.

"Our relationship to dogs, specifically, and to Mother Nature as a whole, is so important in order to keep balance not just with dogs but within ourselves," he says. "With Suzie in my life now, I realize that the last few years have been preparing me for this - and now that I have a dog of my own I know exactly what to do, but better yet, I understand what I'm getting in return."