By Michelle Sathe

Reprinted from Cesar’s Way magazine

Erica Daniel had driven to the animal shelter in Seminole County, Florida, to rescue an injured pit bull. But the staff had just gotten another pit, a tiny female puppy who had been discarded in a trash bag by a breeder. Lying on her stomach, unable to stand or walk, a victim of a condition called swimmer puppy syndrome, she was in much greater need of Erica’s help.

“She was flat as a board, like a turtle, with her legs splayed out,” Erica, 27, says. “Our vet told us she had a heart murmur, possibly brain damage, and probably wouldn’t walk again or even survive.”

Erica, however, didn’t give up. The founder of Dolly’s Foundation, a nonprofit pit bull rescue, education, and advocacy organization in Sanford, Florida, she was used to fighting for the most desperate of dogs.

It helped that the puppy, now named Harper (pictured above), had a persevering spirit. The first signs of hope started after Erica began massaging Harper. The puppy stretched her toes and lifted her head. Encouraged, Erica sought more medical attention and intensive hydrotherapy for Harper.

At three months old, despite some slight neurological issues as result of the syndrome, Harper was walking and running about, even navigating stairs. “Her legs are out, and she looks a little goofy, but she’s a perfectly normal dog,” Erica says proudly.

Since it broke in September, Harper’s story has gained national attention. She and Erica appeared on the Today show, where the puppy charmingly chewed on Matt Lauer’s shoelaces. And artist Ron Burns has created a limited-edition Harper poster and will donate 40 percent of sales to Dolly’s Foundation.

“The attention has been jaw-dropping,” says Erica. “We’ve received literally thousands of emails from people who wanted to adopt Harper, and donations, too. A lot of people just wrote to say thanks for doing what you do.”

Erica knew what she wanted to do as a child. Inspired by a trip to the Orlando Science Center and volunteering at shelters, she went on to earn a degree in zoology and worked at a zoo for several years before becoming a kennel attendant at an animal shelter. “My heart,” she says, “led me back to rescue.”

It was at the same Seminole County shelter that Erica met Dolly, a snow-white pit bull who had been picked up as a stray. She had clearly been used as a bait dog by fighters, but Erica saw beyond Dolly’s frightening scars and injuries to the gentle soul beneath.

She adopted Dolly in 2010, tending to her injuries and training her to become an AKC Canine Good Citizen. Inspired, she also created Dolly’s Foundation, which she now operates full-time. The foundation has rescued dozens of pit bulls, placing them in qualified foster homes prior to adoption and providing low-cost spay and neuter services to pit owners in the area.

Erica and Dolly regularly visit Florida schools and hospitals to educate the public on pit bulls and dispel prejudice against them. In April, Erica was invited by Best Friends Animal Society to speak to the state legislature in Tallahassee on behalf of a bill that would overturn Florida’s “dangerous dog” law and allow shelters to evaluate and rehabilitate dogs used in fighting rings rather than automatically euthanizing them.

“Several of the representatives were on the fence and asked me for my opinion,” Erica says. “I said, ‘Look at my dog.’ I showed them the before and after pictures of Dolly, told them that she was a Canine Good Citizen and a therapy dog, that she does wonderful things for her breed.”

The bill was unanimously passed, and Governor Rick Scott signed it into law.

“People ask me what my goal is, and I always say global domination,” says Erica. “Pit bulls get such a crappy rap, but they’re just dogs. I want to teach everyone what there is to know about these dogs that I know and love so much.”

With a series of children’s books based on Dolly coming out, she is well on her way. Targeted to nine-to-12-year-old readers, the books will focus on such social issues as bullying.

“I want someone to read these books and want to rescue a dog like Dolly or Harper, to be compassionate toward animals,” Erica says. “Kids are the future. There was something in me as a kid that made me who I am today. I want to be that for a lot of kids.”

For more information on Dolly’s Foundation, visit dollysfoundation.org. To order a signed Harper print by Ron Burns, visit ronburns.com/harper.

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