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Please read the story of our amazing dog Ginger! We acheived our goal of $500 last year and would like to raise over $600 this year. Thanks everyone for supporting us!

Krystina & Roland

By Kenn Stark
Town Talk Reporter

Roland Rivera's American Pit Bull Terrier "Ginger" recently won the title of Aston Township’s 2009 Pet of the Year by a landslide vote of readers of the township’s newsletter. The photo contest crown was just another laurel for these two inseparable friends.

Rivera rescued Ginger from the SPCA in 2007. She is now paying the kindness forward by serving as a pet therapy dog at Bryn Mawr Hospital. By sharing the joy of a dog's endless love, the dynamic duo is improving patients' lives.

Volunteer hospital work is only part of the picture, however. Rivera's other mission is to prove that Pit Bulls are not vicious natural-born killers.

Rivera believes in "nurture over nature." He contends that any highly-intelligent breed will become whatever you train them to be. In Ginger's case, that training created a lover, not a fighter.

The love story starts with Ginger coming to the Delaware County SPCA in May 2007 as a stray, found wandering the streets of Chester. She came in as a two-year-old, emaciated refugee with patches of fur missing. She was lactating, so it was apparent that she had recently had pups.

Exhibiting a shy and timid personality, the abandoned breeding dog quickly became a SPCA staff favorite. Shelter workers had no problems keeping Ginger in the office to help socialize and rehabilitate her.

Roland Rivera began working at the SPCA shelter in June 2007, taking a summer position between semesters of study at Temple University. Born in Chester, Rivera had graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School in 2004.

While performing his duties as a kennel attendant, Roland took an immediate liking to Ginger. He knew the negative reputation of Pit Bulls -- a favored breed among illegal dog-fighters, because of their strength and tenacity -- but Rivera was drawn to this particular dog, just the same.

Rivera recalls how Ginger would put her paw up on fencing in response to his similar greeting, creating a high-five through the fence. Like everyone else at the SPCA, Rivera soon fell in love with "Gingy,” as he calls her, and the feelings were obviously mutual.

In August 2007, the shelter worker adopted his favorite charge and took her home to start a new life.

The 23-year-old Rivera lives with his parents in Aston, so he needed to get their permission to adopt Ginger.

Roland told his parents that he was "bringing home a girl for dinner." His traditional Filipino parents took the message literally, dressing up and preparing a dinner to welcome their son's girlfriend. After a couple hours of stunned silence, the shock wore off and Ginger's personality ultimately won a welcome from the parents.

The circle of love was not yet complete, however, as Ginger also helped bring together Roland and fellow shelter worker Krystina Weinblatt. Together, the couple brought Ginger back to full health and gave her the socialization that she desperately wanted and needed.

Group activities with Ginger included teaching her how to play with a toy and taking her out in public for human and canine interaction. The transition was truly an "underdog to wonderdog story," Weinblatt notes.

Roland and Ginger were recently able to repay the SPCA for bringing them together. By earning the title of Perfect Match from the Animal Farm Foundation, the pair won a $500 donation to the SPCA.

Motivated by a psychology lecture on therapy dogs, Rivera saw an opportunity to perform a valuable service, while promoting his special dog. About a month of specialized training went into the preparation for obtaining a K-9 Good Citizens Certification.

Last January, Rivera took Ginger to an interview at Bryn Mawr Hospital, hoping to win approval for Ginger to serve as a pet therapy dog.

Getting such approval for a Pit Bull would seem to be a long-shot at best, since therapy dogs must be highly-trained, calm, gentle, and obedient. Therapy dogs help hospital patients speed up the recovery process through the simple interaction of petting, displaying the healing power of an animal's unconditional love.

Like the true champ she is, Ginger passed the interview tests with ease and soon started volunteering as a therapy dog. Her visits to Bryn Mawr Hospital are now a welcomed breath of fresh air.

"It's great to see the patients smile and to have them say, 'Thanks, you made my day!'" says Rivera.

But that's not to say there are no detractors.

"Sometimes I still hear, 'Is that a Pit Bull? What's she doing in the hospital?' then they'll back up and act real tentative," Rivera said.

Undaunted, Rivera is determined to break down the stereotypes that hound his gentle Ginger.

"I want to present Ginger as a positive role model of the breed, to prove that Pit Bulls can be just as great a dog as any other breed," says Rivera. "But you can't change everybody's opinion," he concedes.

Roland and Ginger recently took part in filming a television commercial for Pet Kraze. The chain store's Aston location has been a favorite socialization stop for Ginger over the last two years.

Ginger's gregarious nature extends to other animals, including Krystina's pet Yorkshire Terrier "Emmy.” Since Emmy is also a Delco SPCA rescue dog, it is Karma that these two terriers became best friends.

The sight of a tiny, fluffy Yorkie palling around with a stout American Pit Bull is eye-catching. In fact, Ginger and Emmy recently teamed up to place second for Best Pair at a Swarthmore dog show, after Ginger took first place in the Red Dog category.

Last October, Ginger and Emmy joined forces again to help raise money for the SPCA. With Roland and Krystina tagging along on the end of a leash, the canine tandem participated in a Bark In The Park fundraiser by walking a mile and collecting $585 from numerous sponsors.

After earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from Temple, Rivera is now employed as a community inclusion coordinator on Elwyn's main campus. Roland regrets that his working prevents Ginger from visiting Bryn Mawr Hospital as often as when he was a student.

Rivera is hoping to launch a program that would include Elwyn residents in his pet therapy endeavors at Bryn Mawr Hospital, adding another therapeutic element to each visit.

Rivera's goals for his canine companion as much simpler: "For Gingy, I just want her to live a long, happy life filled with fun activities."

Rivera and Weinblatt would eventually like to marry and live with their pets near their jobs. Unfortunately, the couple has found that many apartments in the area will not allow Pit Bulls.

Apparently, Roland and Ginger's joint mission to change public perception of American Pit Bull Terriers still has rivers to cross and mountains to climb. It may bear repeating that Ginger's breed is known for tenacity.
 

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