Theresa Duginski
Southern Region Event Coordinator
Dogs:
Ninja
Nala
Theresa has grown up with dogs her whole life. Once moving out on her own, she quickly realized that things weren’t the same without a dog in the house. She and her boyfriend Danial got a pit bull/Siberian husky mix puppy, which they named Maya, from a family whose pets had an accidental litter. After having Maya for 2 years. They unfortunately lost her after leaving her with a dog sitter over the holidays in 2013; after devoting all of their time and effort looking for her for several months, they had to face the harsh reality that life had to go on.
The hardest part about losing Maya was coming home to an empty house every day. Theresa and Danial decided that it was time to open up their home, and hearts, to a new dog that was in need of a loving home. After getting Maya they had learned a lot about pit
bulls as a breed and the negativity and stereotypes surrounding them, and knew this was the type of dog they wanted. They went to the Gains St. Animal Shelter in San Diego and ended up adopting Ninja. He immediately filled the emptiness in the house and made himself right at home.
After dealing with the struggle of everyone adapting to a new dog and going through some training with him, they realized what a blessing he was, especially in the painful situation. Unlike with Maya, Ninja has the physical characteristics of a pit bull, which came along with some judgment when taking him out in public. This forced Theresa and Danial to educate themselves even more in order to allow Ninja to be a positive representation for the breed.
After having Ninja for over a year, they discovered San Diego Pittie Parents through Meetup. They decided this was was the perfect group of like-minded people to surround themselves with, and have thoroughly enjoyed being very involved with it. Since being involved with SDPP, they added to their family and adopted a second pittie, named Nala. Theresa loves being involved with SDPP and considers all of the members to be family with a shared passion and goal.