About a month ago, my friend Michelle ordered a book for my son.  The night it arrived, my son and I sat down on the couch and started to read.  It's the story of a little pit bull puppy who grows into a big dog with an even bigger heart.  It became an instant favorite.  As the owners of 2 pit bulls, I love to see them portrayed in a positive light in print or on tv, and here is an entire book!  I also love the age old lesson that we should not judge a book by it's cover.  This day and age, it's something that we can't teach our kids enough.  But more than that, the book is well written, fresh, fun and the illustrations are simply amazing and full of detail. 

At the back of the book, I noticed that there was a photo of a dog who looked just like the Demo in the book.  As it turns out, the Demo in the book was based on a real dog.  The real life Demo was rescued after he was born to a junkyard mom.

I'll be the first to admit that I always start to tear up when I read the part when Demo saves the day.  It gets me because I love when the little guy comes up on top, but also because it's so amazing to see the breed that I love portrayed as the hero in a book rather than the villian in the media.  So, it comes as no surprise that I cried when I learned that the real Demo, just 1 month shy of his 16th birthday, passed away. 

Godspeed, Demo.  You are a hero to us all, a poster boy for all of the pit bulls out there who should be looked at as regular dogs and admired for their breeds.  Your book sits on our coffee table and will remain a family favorite. You are this family's Snoopy.