Beau's Tombstone Memorial

It pains us to present this message, but it is a reminder of why we work to raise awareness of the pit bull problem. 2 year old Beau Rutledge was mauled to death by a well-behaved family pit bull last year. His mother, Angela Provo Rutledge, speaks about what their family went through, and about the memorial she hopes to build.

On April 24, 2013 We lost both our beautiful son Beau Isaac and our family dog, affectionately known as Kissy Face. Kissy face had been part of our family for 8 years and lived up to her name, for she was compelled to overload you with kisses. Oh she was such a very loving and family oriented dog. Kissy face had been around since her birthdate, November 22, 2005, two years prior to having the first child, Bella. When Bella came into the picture, it was so much fun to have the dog around, because she acted as a companion and protector. Never was she aggressive towards Bella and played generously with other children. Therefore, we felt confident in our family's safety when it came to our family pet.

Then 4 years later Beau Isaac was born on April 4, 2011. Over the next two years Beau and Kissy Face loved on each other compassionately. Until shortly after his 2nd birthday I made a trip to the restroom. Just a few minutes later I came out of the restroom to find my son in a pool of his own blood. It was the most horrific day of my life and a day without warning. Our dog sat next to his body looking confused as if she didn't understand why he wasn't getting up. The screams from my voice were so loud and so terrifying that our neighbors (two doors over) rushed over and joined in with my horrific screams!

Rewinding back to the year 2005, I was told by some random person that pit bulls were aggressive and were bred to fight other dogs to the kill. Then I was also told by another random person at our dogs vet the very opposite. I was told if you raise pit bulls with love and care they are just as gentle, loving, and domesticated as any other household dog breed. Therefore, we truly believed that with love and proper up brining that the nurture factor would override the nature of this breed dog.

Our story is not about hating or loving the pit bull breed. Our story is simply this, any dog can bite and any dog can love like a human being, yes all dogs have the ability to display some strong emotions that resemble those of a human. The downside to a dogs thought and emotional process is simply this, it cannot process the chain reaction that comes of their nature. We regrettably believe, now that it is too late, that there is something extremely untrue to what we had once believed. The truth is this, there is not just this story, but 288 reported stories like ours since 1998 and 30 plus stories reported this year alone. There are countless adult fatalities and countless attacks leaving a person for dead because of this breed of dog and like aggressive breads.

In conclusion, we are not saying to take your dog out back and shoot it. We are not saying not to love your dogs. We are simply saying that even with tons of love and attention that our dog (and many dogs of her breed) still snap ped and killed our son in a matter of moments. Consider this, we as dog lovers, should ponder this one thing, if there was a one and a million chance that your dog could turn on you or your child, would you get rid of it and grieve for a moment or loose a child and grieve for a lifetime?

Love
Angela

Beau's Tombstone Memorial

Please help us raise the funds to give Beau the tombstone he deserves, as well as a beautiful place for his mother, big sister Bella and friends/family to visit and mourn.

News accounts of Beau's untimely death may be found here