Amy Murphy and Gunny
Lovable pit-bull terrier changes minds
March 09, 2011 - By Julie Sabin
Amy Murphy and her pit bull terrier, Gunny made their way through the crowded wine bar to the open couch. As they settled in, the couple across from them noticeably tensed up and pulled their little dog closer.
“Is he OK?” they said, more than once.
Apparently, they were so focused on his breed, missing hind leg and scar-riddled body, they failed to notice his huge grin and wiggling back end.
This sort of reaction is nothing new to Amy and Gunny and they love the opportunity to change minds.
It’s probably safe to say Gunny’s start in life didn’t include outings to dog friendly wine bars. Found lying on the side of a road and taken to a South Carolina pound, Gunny was a nameless, emaciated pit bull terrier with horrific injuries. His mangled hind leg was swollen three times its normal size and dog bite puncture wounds covered his entire body. Most likely coming from a life as “bait” in an illegal dogfighting ring, it seemed he now was destined to leave this world after a 72-hour wait on death row.
That was until Amy Murphy, a volunteer with North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue (NMAR) got involved. Amy learned of the pit bull terrier from a friend, and even though NMAR didn’t have the funds needed to help heal the dog, she decided it would be inhumane to let him suffer through the pound’s required holding period. She had the pit bull terrier delivered to her North Carolina veterinarian who would end his suffering with dignity. But when the vet examined the dog, she called Amy and begged her to allow him to be saved. Hearing about his wonderful demeanor, Amy went to the hospital right away to see for herself. As she listened to the doctor’s offer of reduced medical treatment bills, the pit bull terrier busily licked her fingers. “I remember the doctor saying, ‘He has scars that will never go away, yet he smiles, wags and loves strangers without a second thought,'” says Amy. “She said, ‘This dog is here to be an ambassador.’"
Amy went home and sent an e-mail about the dog she named Gunny to all her friends and something amazing happened. The e-mail went viral and donations poured in from all over the country. Over $3,000 was raised to help pay for Gunny’s leg amputation and subsequent surgeries to repair the crushing injuries to his throat caused by the dog bites. Gunny pulled through his medical crisis and Amy gave him a loving, forever home.
The vet’s prediction of Gunny’s ambassador status has come true. He’s the official spokesdog for NMAR and attends many of their animal rescue awareness and fundraising events. He makes regular Charlotte, North Carolina, appearances at Lebanon Road Elementary School’s character assemblies and assists in handing out perseverance awards to students chosen by their peers for exemplifying the trait. He’s visited the classroom for autistic students, and sits patiently as the class practices their manipulation skills by retrieving notes from the zippered pockets on his homemade vest. Gunny’s work with the children inspired an NMAR program called Pennies for Puppies that teaches school children valuable lessons about compassion towards animals and community service — all while they help raise money for the animal rescue cause.
In addition, he’s won several contests — most notably, “Natural Balance’s World’s Most Amazing Dog 2009,” a result of votes from all around the world. He’s appeared on television several times and was even featured in a USA Today article titled, “True Stories of Heroic Dogs.”
But Gunny’s most important work may just be the most unrecognized — the work he does every time he and Amy leave their home and encounter people who are wary of him because of his breed. “I don’t blame them, as most have never had a personal experience with pit bulls,” says Amy. “All they know is the misinformation and incomplete information that runs rampant in the media.
That’s why Amy and Gunny go out in public as often as they can. People who meet him always comment how amazed they are by his gentle nature and forgiving attitude. “Words can’t change frightened people’s minds, but interacting with a dog like mine makes them think,” she says. “If my dog is kind, gentle and reliable, logical people realize there must be more like him out there and that starts the process of questioning the rhetoric they encounter.”
That’s exactly what happened at the wine bar.
The couple inquired about Gunny’s missing leg and Murphy shared his story. Meanwhile, Gunny made several attempts to love on the couple which included belly crawling across the top of a coffee table every time they smiled at him. Ten minutes into the conversation, their guard came down and the woman confessed to Murphy. She was aware of media reports of two recent tragedies involving pit-bull terriers and children and she had been a supporter of banning the breed. But if Gunny was so sweet, even after all he’d been through, then how could it be a breed issue? He changed her mind. It’s not the breed, and banning them isn’t the answer.
Chalk another one up for Gunny, and in Amy’s own words, “Way to go, Big Guy!”
