Pit bulls struggle to trust after horrific abuse

One month after officials rescued two badly mauled pit bulls from a Dorchester dog-fighting dungeon, the Animal Rescue League of Boston is struggling to rehabilitate one of the traumatized canines, an anxiety-stricken puppy named Raven.

“He doesn’t know how to sit or how to play - he doesn’t know how to be a dog,” said veterinarian and licensed dog trainer Amy Marder, Director of the Center for Shelter Dogs at the rescue league. “He’s pretty damaged.”

Estimated to be eight months old, Raven’s handsome gray coat is ravaged by bite marks. He suffers from a jaw injury and a heart murmur - but those were the least of his problems when authorities removed him from what they described as a “filthy, blood- and urine-soaked” cage in a pitch-black basement on April 11. Full story