Rose Fitzpatrick got Rivet, her dog who is half Pit Bull, half Whippet 20 months ago through Pet Finder at a Tacoma shelter. "There was a foster mom who rescued two litters of Pit Bull puppies and Rivet was one of those. This lady had like twelve puppies at once in her kitchen if you can imagine it, so she earned her halo."

Rivet's photo was on PetFinder.com and, "The moment I saw her little face I knew she was the right dog." Rivet joins Fitzpatrick's existing family of animals including two bunnies, both from PetFinder and a dove, and they all get along terrific," Fitzpatrick said.

Rivet's Pit Bull heritage sometimes causes people to think she's not approachable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rivet has a large number of human friends. "Just about everybody," Fitzpatrick said, " especially in this neighborhood which is so dog friendly. If all the dog food vanished off the planet she could live indefinitely off the handouts she gets. People love her. They are so good to her."

"Last night my rabbit Dante came snuggling up to her and Rivet was just washing his ears and that's really unusual for most dogs," Fitzpatrick continued, "and she's never met another dog she doesn't like."
When she was first adopted her name with her foster mother was 'Bashful' because she was afraid of everything. "I had to teach her how to be comfortable around human beings. Now I have to train her to hold still because she gets so excited."

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Veterinary Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.