On July 6, 2006, Preston and two other dogs were taken by humane investigators from a home in Akron, Ohio during a drug bust under the suspicion they were being used for dogfighting.
The (estimated) one year-old dogs were brought to the local humane society where they were kept as evidence, in a state that had laws restricting the ownership of pit bull dogs statewide since 1987.
The earliest known image of Preston was taken on July 7, 2006 for his intake photo at the shelter. If you look closely, you can see lacerations on each arm, as well as other visible injuries.
Once Preston’s health improved and was deemed safe and suitable to have visitors, Shana Klein – founder of the Cleveland-based dog rescue For the Love of Pits, frequently spent time with him, knowing there was a strong possibility that he’d be euthanized at the conclusion of the case.
This was a typical outcome at the time for dogs who came from these type of environment…and especially here in Ohio.
Then one week Shana was notified the other two dogs he came in with were put to sleep. This only reinforced her belief that this would ultimately be Preston’s inevitable fate as well.
And, on Friday, July 28, 2006, her suspicions were about to come true, as she received a courtesy call about 2 o’clock in the afternoon from a member of the shelter staff, informing her that Preston was scheduled to be euthanized at 4 p.m. that day.
Shana hung up the phone, drove to the shelter, and begged the Executive Director to give her one more day to find a foster home. Thankfully, her plea worked.
Read the farewell to Preston blog entry, originally published days after his passing in March 2020 on the blog PrestonsPerch.
I began my blog – “Preston’s Perch” in the spring of 2011. I got the idea one day as I watched my dog Preston sit atop the backside of our couch to look out the window. It became a regular perching place he’d go to get a clearer view of the outside world.
Preston in the lobby of the humane society on the evening of Friday, July 28th (2006) after Shana was able to negotiate picking him up the following morning and bring him into her rescue.
I was a year into production of a documentary investigating dogfighting (titled “Fighting For Their Lives“) when I began reaching out to Cleveland area dog rescues seeking credible information from those in my region who had experience with pit bull dogs.
One of those rescues was For the Love of Pits.
Sometime in early May (2008), I sent an email to Shana, and after a couple lengthy phone calls she invited me over to discuss more about my project and possible ways she could help.
When I pulled in to her driveway on May 15, 2008, it never occurred to me that I would be steps away from meeting a dog who would go on to influence the rest of my foreseeable life.
From the moment our eyes met, I instantly fell madly in love with Preston. So much so that before leaving that afternoon I spontaneously blurted out “I’m going to adopt this dog!”
I would soon find out that would be easier said than done. Just four days later, on May 19, 2008, Lakewood City Council proposed a pit bull ban, and as a resident of Lakewood at the time this severely hindered my ability to bring him home.
After Council fulfilled their obligatory three readings of the proposed bill, Lakewood City Council almost unanimously passed the ban at the end of July. By the end of 2008, it was officially in effect.
From that point on, the focus for the documentary quickly pivoted from examining dogfighting to dissecting the effectiveness of breed specific legislation, titling the project – “Guilty Til Proven Innocent“.
On October 4, 2008, after several months searching for a rental property outside of Lakewood, Preston was finally able to come home. Our home.
Listen to the inaugural season of the “I Am Human, This Is My Dog” podcast, which retells the story of Preston.
One month after the adoption of Preston on November 8th (2008) at a neighborhood baseball field we would visit.
For the next couple years we were inseparable. If we weren’t on one of our lengthy daily walks, he was curled up on the couch right next to me while I researched breed specific legislation and scheduled interviews for the film.
Along the way two more dogs found their way into our home – both from the Cleveland City Kennel who were pulled by rescues and came into our home as foster dogs, but never left.
First it was a six month old puppy named Era, who arrived on June 30, 2011. She was supposed to be on a transport bus a couple weeks later to somewhere in the New England states, but Preston and her hit it off from minute one, and it seemed there was no need to make her find a loving home when she already had it.
Part of the Guilty Til Proven Innocent documentary collection, “Introducing Preston” was originally released on September 26, 2011.
The following year, on August 11, 2012, Fergie came to us. To be honest, I didn’t really want a 3rd dog, but she was heartworm positive, and had zero interest from rescues to pull her, so I offered our home to be a temporary situation while she received her treatments and got back to being a healthy dog so she can find her own home.
I’ll admit I was worried that bringing in a 3rd dog would break the peace, but it as it turned out – three would not be a crowd. Fergie fit right in.
Browse through Preston inspired merchandise.
A common sight in our home – Preston, Era and Fergie cuddling close or in a dog pile.
After six years of extensive research and production, Guilty ‘Til Proven Innocent made its premiere in front of a sold out audience in our hometown of Cleveland, Ohio at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre.
From there, it went on to be screened twenty-some more times around the country, including two official film featival selections – the 2013 St. Louis International Film Festival and the 2014 Kansas City Film Fest.
It was also shown in at least three law school universities as part of their animal law curriculum, among other accomplishments. And, Preston’s face graced the cover of the DVD cover, movie poster and any other promotional materials used to promote the film.
On January 7, 2019, Preston – at the elderly age of 14, suffered his first known seizure. After bloodwork and other tests were run, he was referred to a specialist after experiencing another seizure.
Since this happened on a Friday, he stayed for the entire weekend to be monitored for improvement, and was discharged that Monday evening to continue his treatments at home.
From the time he had his first seizure until the day he passed, Preston shockingly lived fourteen months before his health deteriorated to the point where it was time to make that hard decision to relieve him from his pain.
At the age of 15 years old, on the evening of March 16, 2020 at about 9:20pm, Preston took his final breath.
Part of the Once In A Lifetime docu-series collection, “October 4th” was released on September 18, 2021.
During that grieving process, I decided to begin production on a documentary film series titled – “Once In A Lifetime“, to honor that special once-in-a-lifetime human-canine relationship, told through the complicated lens of the pit bull dog debate.
