Shaw PBR is a refuge. Intake is closed. We do not take new dogs — not one more, not a special case, not a dog already on the way.

We are not animal control.
We cannot go onto private property and take a dog. We cannot take a healthy dog someone has found. A stray was sometimes considered when we had openings; that is no longer the case. If a dog belongs to someone, taking it — no matter the condition — can be treated as theft. We will not do it.

We cannot intervene in active abuse.
If a dog is being mistreated, the call is to Animal Control. We are not officers, and we cannot remove a dog from an owner. Even after an animal control officer or another authority decides the dog can no longer stay, we do not take it in. Intake is closed.

We do not take mixes.
People who come to Shaw PBR to adopt have not wanted mixed dogs. We have also found mixed dogs more likely to have behavioral problems and less stable than true pit bulls. This refuge was not built for them.

We cannot make room for “just one more.”
Almost every call asked that. If we had made room each time, it would never have ended. We have housed as many as 69 dogs here and could not give each one the time it deserved. The limit is how we provide real care. We are at the work we can do: the Adopt-a-Bulls already in our charge.

We do not pull from shelters.
We have done so in the past. Our focus moved to abused, abandoned, and neglected dogs, and then to game dogs from fighting cases. We are privately run — no city, county, or government funding. We do not have the turnover of a shelter or a humane society, and we do not have Rescue Waggin’ or Homeward Bound to ship dogs north. Our Adopt-a-Bulls can be with us for life. We are not pulling dogs now.

We cannot fund surgery or other care for your dog.
We receive no government, city, or county funding. Grants we receive are for specific uses, such as spay and neuter or vaccinations. Fundraisers, events, and merchandise pay our own medical bills and daily costs. We do not have the money to cover anyone else’s dog.

We cannot donate supplies.
An adoption includes the dog, a fitted Max and Neo collar and leash, health records, and a personal handmade blanket and pillow. It does not include a kennel, a crate, or other equipment. The adoption fee is $100. That covers spay or neuter, vaccinations including rabies, heartworm preventive and flea treatment while the dog is in our care — the adopter must continue those every month — and microchipping.

We cannot let a dog leave unaltered.
We get these requests, with many reasons attached. The answer is no. There are already too many unwanted dogs and puppies, and we will not add to that. No reason changes this.

We do not dock tails or crop ears.
It should not be done, and we do not condone it. We have occasionally taken in dogs that arrived already cropped. We did not have it done.

We are not a drop-off.
Moving, or having “rescued” a dog you cannot keep, is not a reason to hand it to whoever will take it and call that a home. Any dog that came here could stay for life — feeding, watering, cleaning, medical care — and those bills add up quickly. We are not accepting dogs.

We cannot cross-post your dog.
We have our own dogs to place, and they come first. Post the dog yourself, on several pages and groups, with your contact information.

Guilt does not open the door.
Telling us a dog will die if we do not take it does not work. It does the opposite. We are not the reason the dog is in that condition. The person turning away from it is. The guilt belongs there, not here.

We do not take puppies you have not found homes for.
We do not encourage breeding in any form. When we were still taking dogs, anyone who wanted us to take unwanted puppies was asked to turn over the adult breeding dogs as well — and only if we had room. We do not have room, and we are not taking either.

Dogs are a lifetime commitment.
You are their life. You are what they have. Do not hand the hard part to someone else. You decided you were the right person for that dog. Prove it.

By this point the question is fair: if Shaw PBR is not taking dogs, what are we here for?