Bait Dog Saved After Her Heartbreaking Story Goes Viral On Craigslist

One fateful night, an abused and injured Pit Bull wandered onto the porch of a Christianna Willis’s home. As luck would have it, Christianna works at an animal hospital and when she brought the dog into her home to look at her, her heart broke.

She was so angered and hurt by how bad a condition the female dog was in, that she wrote a passionate and heartfelt letter to “vent her frustrations” and posted it to Craigslist. She named the dog Mama Jade, and in her letter Christianna describes how Jade was used as a “breeding machine” and bait dog. Her tormenters had filed and pulled her teeth so she couldn’t fight back, and she was bitten all over her body. To add to the tragedy of the situation, Jade had breast cancer.

Given her poor health and lack of resources to treat her cancer, the humane thing was to put Mama Jade to sleep, but Christianna wrote that she would ensure that Jade’s final day were surrounded by love. Then something miraculous happened. Her post went viral and soon donations poured in from all over to help pay for the expensive cancer treatment Mama Jade needed to live. Two years on, Mama Jade is still with us. Although her cancer has since returned, the sweet girl has a life full of love.

Here is Christianna’s original letter that not only saved Mama Jade’s life, but shed a much-needed light on the horrors of dog fighting.




“Last Friday night, your dog wandered up onto our porch. Signs of the abuse she had somehow escaped, riddled her body. The fresh bite marks on her muzzle, the scars that covered her body, the exposed pink and purple flesh around her neck, where she was obviously tied up with ropes that cut their way into her skin, over and over again. The obvious signs that she had been bred, relentlessly, time after time. The pressure wounds on her elbows that bled whenever they touched anything, from being tied and forced to lay on cement ground and metal cage mesh.

“None of those things are even the worst part. Upon examining her teeth to gauge her approximate age, I burst into tears. I found that you had pulled the majority of them out and the ones you left, had been filed down. And you did this without anaesthesia, this I am sure of. You did this so she couldn’t fight back. You did this so she couldn’t injure any dogs you had trained to fight, when you threw her in there with them. With each bite of her they took and each yelp she cried, they’d look at you for reassurance. Because all they wanted to do was please you. Loyalty is in their blood. Violence is not.

“The first night she was here, I stayed up with her and only slept for 2 hours. Every time I’d move, she’d get up and look at me with worry stricken eyes. She didn’t want me to leave her.




“Somehow, God must have led this mama to my doorstep, knowing she’d find comfort here. The next morning, I took her to my work on my day off. I work at an animal hospital.

“Upon entering the building, her neck started to bleed. The thick collar which you put on her, had cut into the tender scars on her neck. She didn’t even yelp. I discovered it as I was weighing her and saw blood on the scale. I took the ridiculous thing off of her.

“The amazing people I work with have all fallen head over heels in love with your dog. So when we discovered she has breast cancer, it broke our hearts even more.

“Over the last 3 days, our staff has grown to love this beautiful and broken soul. Skin and bones, we feed her constantly but only foods that are soft enough for her… You know, since you ripped her teeth out and all.

“Mama lets you get right up in her face. In fact, she LOVES it. She’ll give you slobbery kisses and nuzzle your face with love.

“We’re all amazed at how trusting of humans she is. Dogs however, completely terrify her. It doesn’t matter the size, she growls in fear and tucks her tail between her legs. But who can blame her? After what you did to her?

“Tomorrow, Mama will finally feel peace. And when she closes her eyes and takes her last breath, I’ll be there. I’ll hold her big ol head and I’ll tell her how much I love her.

“And when her soul has left her battered body and I’ve dried the tears enough to see, I will document every bruise, every bite, every cut, scrape and gash. I’ll photograph her teeth, or rather, where her teeth used to be. I’ll turn in all the evidence and post it where EVERYONE will see it. I’ll use it to educate kids in heavily crime ridden areas, on the horrors of dog fighting.

“If you could do that to a dog, you should not be allowed in everyday society. And teaching our children right from wrong is the only way to put a stop to this.

“One day, you will be caught. If I ever find out who did this to the dog we all lovingly know as “Mama Jade” I honestly don’t know what I would I do. But it would probably involve contacting your mother and informing her of what a monster she managed to raise. My goal would be to make a mockery out of your pathetic life.




“Mama Jade’s story will not be silenced. She just happened to show up on the doorstep of one extremely persistent, intelligent, respected and now angry human being.”

As of June 16, 2015 Mama Jade was still loving life. Christianna posted the following to Mama Jade’s Facebook page:

“Mama continues to do well, despite the cancer. I’ve noticed in past posts that every time I mention her cancer, some people are unaware that she has it again. I won’t go into all the details right now because writing it makes my heart drop and kind of ruins my entire day. But for those who were unaware, we did discover a while back, our sweet girl has terminal cancer. With that being said, it seems to not be progressing fast at all, although it’s hard to really know for sure. But she isn’t in any pain at all and that is our main concern. She’s enjoying life and living it to the fullest. Her appetite is still strong and her soul is even stronger.

“It warms my heart to know that so many of you care about our sweet girl just as much as we do. Your positive thoughts, prayers and energy really do wonders and no matter what you believe, I do believe it’s helped her stay with us for this long.

“Love is the most powerful thing I have ever known. It breaks sound barriers, crosses oceans, travels thousands of miles and silently holds the power to either completely destroy, heal, support or inspire us. So keep the love flowing because it’s surrounding Mama like a giant hug (or maybe like a sweater or tank top because she’d love that).”

Update: December 31, 2016

Mama Jade passed away on Christmas Day of 2016 to a brain tumor, 3 years after her rescue. Her mom, Christiana, continues to rescue Pit Bulls in her honor.

Share Mama Jade’s inspirational story with your family and friends!