Pit Bull Terrier Dogs Available for Adoption in Rochester, New York

CHANCE is estimated born in Oct of 2025 and is a puppy who captured the community's hearts when he was found wandering around as emaciated as any dog we've ever seen and still alive. He had to be fed tiny meals very close together for the first few weeks by his loving, devoted fosters, and it was 100% touch and go whether he would pull through or not. He's slowly gained some weight and is looking so much better, but he's all heart. He loves his people, and has faith in people, even though he was let down early in life. He is also blind, which may be as a result of his early malnutrition - he's been okay with cats and quieter dogs, but he is unsettled by dogs who are "alarm barkers" in the home. So unless you've got a very chill dog who doesn't bark when they see someone out the window or when someone comes to the door, etc, a dog-free home would probably be best for him. He's now healthy enough we got him fully vetted, and he is ready for his home. He's about 36 lbs right now. (we can show you the before pics, but they're disturbing) ** He's also available as a part of our new Forever Foster program, where we can place her with an approved applicant as a member of their family at no cost, and we will cover all his vetting - regular, emergency, preventatives, vaccines - for life, as well as extra supports like transportation to appointments, and "boarding" if needed for vacations, FOR LIFE! Ask for more details.**

Adoption fee INCLUDES: all vetting to age (including deworming, flea & tick etc), spay/neuter and microchip (if the dog is under 6 months, alter and chip will occur after they're 6 months, covered in full at our clinic or reimbursed partially at a vet of your choosing). If the dog is older than 6 months and not yet altered, we will schedule ASAP (normally within 30 days) at our clinic . We also provide as an incentive a $60 rebate for completion of positive-based training classes. Adoption also includes lifetime support of the rescue.

Please go to www.secondhanddogrescue.com/apply and SELECT THEIR NAME from the dropdown to apply!

APPLICATION PROCESSING: We do most application processing virtually and dog meets will be individually by appointment with ONLY APPROVED APPLICANTS. We are not a shelter and are completely volunteer foster-based, so there is no central place to come see all of the dogs available.

IMPORTANT NOTES: ** Housetraining with rescues is sometimes a work in progress and even if a dog is 100% in a foster's home, it should be expected there will be an adjustment period as a dog adapts to a new environment. This is even more true if the dog has not by chance had their altering appointment at time of adoption. ** Also, we highly recommend some form of 2-week shutdown and decompression for dogs going to a new home for best results. --> Lastly, breed guesses in rescue are just that (GUESSES!!) 99.9% of the time. We do not do DNA testing and our breed guesses are based on appearance and sometimes other traits, but we know the dog breed guessing game is a fool's errand even for those with LOTS of experience.

ADOPTION AREA: several hour radius of Rochester, NY (Canada within 3 hours IS allowed, except that young puppies need to be old enough to have gotten their rabies vaccination to cross the border - usually around 16 weeks)

The Pit Bull Terrier is a resilient and loyal breed known for its muscular build and loving nature. Originally bred for bull baiting and later dog fighting, Pit Bulls today are beloved family pets cherished for their gentle temperament and playful personality. With proper training and socialization, Pit Bull Terriers make affectionate companions that thrive on human interaction. Recognized for their strength and agility, these dogs require regular exercise and mental stimulation to channel their energy positively, reinforcing their reputation as devoted and trainable pets.

The SHDR is a 501c3 and works to help find the right forever home for each dog we rescue. We...