Welcome, kind viewers, to today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants featuring Midwest Area Pit Stop (MAPS), a non-profit American Pit Bull Terrier rescue organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The organization’s goal is to help as many deserving, adoptable, homeless Pit Bull Terriers and Pit Bill cross canines as possible. The animals are carefully placed in homes where they will be loved and well cared for. We recently conducted an interview with MAPS’ executive director Peter Anderson, a vegan, to learn more about the group’s mission.

Greetings, Mr. Anderson.

Hi, there.

Tell us about MAPS (Midwest Area Pit Stop).

Midwest Area Pit Stop started as an organization, on a very small-scale. It was just myself fostering a dog back in the year 2000. Then later in the year, around Christmas time, I went from one dog to six dogs. And at that time, I thought that was just unbelievable, a large number of dogs.

But now between our programs that we have with Foster Your Own, which is people out in the community having their own dogs being able to foster them and Humane Societies throughout the Midwest, we have 32 dogs under foster care right now. And our organization is focused on education for public safety around dogs, and to try to focus on people as the core issue with dog safety, and dogs in family relationships.

Midwest Area Pit Stop works mostly with a breed of dog that has been misunderstood by the public due to inaccurate media coverage. MAPS works hard to dispel myths and tries its best to find these loving animals the best homes possible because they deserve nothing less.

Thirty years ago it was the German Shepherd, and maybe 40 years ago it’s the Doberman Pinscher. So the dogs that end up being maligned by the press are the ones that get a bad name and hence not so good people would want them then and then are not very responsible. So what ends up happening, these dogs are an artifact of people. They’re really the canary of the human condition. They reflect us. And so they are really the indicators of problems with us, and not problems with dogs. That’s one of the key themes as an organization that we want to focus on, is to raise the elevation of awareness of dogs in our lives and how they really elevate us.

Pit Bull Terriers have a strong desire to please and are exceptionally devoted and loving animals bringing much joy through the affection they give to their caregivers.

I think all of us in life are pursuing one thing, and that’s to be loved. And we seek love. We do it in strange ways. Sometimes we do it by drawing attention to ourselves and you say, “Look at me.” And dogs are always there for you, no matter how you are feeling.

Renowned for their courage, intelligence and vitality, these dogs reward their compassionate caregivers with their respect and loyal companionship.

It’s been most important thing I think I’ve ever done and I’ve had a lot of different hats in my life.

And once you work with these dogs, it touches you. And I think you can relate to Jane Goodall, looking at the forest apes. And I think if you follow the plight of animals around the world, we are crushing down on them. And we are turning the animals as the enemy. And the animals really are our friends.

Tell us some stories that have come out of your work over the years.

There’s been so many very promising stories and among those stories there was a dog, his name was Petey. And he was being cared for by his mom and dad guardian. And they had a little boy that was three years old. An elderly couple saw Petey this dog that appeared to be a Pit Bull, and they went to the landlord and said, “If you don’t get rid of this dog, we’re going to report you because these are dangerous dogs,” and even though the animal control officer came over and said this is the most perfect dog they’ve ever met.

So then Petey left there to come to MAPS (Midwest Area Pit Stop) and it was the most heart-wrenching, situation. Then about six months later, there was a couple and they had a little three-year-old boy. So Petey re-immersed himself inside of the same circumstances, and then in his local community, everybody loves Petey.

Mr. Anderson now tells of a little dog named Becky who was saved from euthanasia.

And she was saved within 10 minutes of dying and now she’s with her forever home and has been renamed “Sugar.” And she has brought great joy to the people. And the person that has adopted and has the forever dog, writes us all the time and how the dog has changed them. It’s like having that center of love that draws the family together.

When we return, Peter Anderson will tell us more about the rewards of loving and being loved by the dogs at Midwest Area Pit Stop, and we’ll also talk with the mother of one of MAPS’ youngest supporters, six-year-old Siris Letendre. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television. Today’s program features Midwest Area Pit Stop, a non-profit American Pit Bull Terrier rescue organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. We now continue our interview with Peter Anderson, executive director of the organization to learn more about their efforts to find Pit Bull Terriers and Pit Bull mixes the loving homes they deserve.

Can you say something about personalities in these Pit Bulls?

They are the most tuned in to you. They hold you at night with their paws, when you move, they move and they hold you. And they stare into your eyes and their natural tendency is to lean into you, and to always feel you. And you always feel like you’re the star. You are their idol. And there’s nothing else that they would want to be than with you. And that’s their personality, their most profound love of people. And that’s the core.

The core is love.

Yes. The core is love with these. And they are just trying to love and they hurt so bad if you holler at them.

Recently Midwest Area Pit Stop received a US$175 donation from six-year-old vegan Siris Letendre. We’ll now hear from Mia Letendre, Siris’ mom, to find out how it was that Siris was moved to donate his birthday money to help the dogs at the Pit Stop.

Can you tell us how Siris got involved with the (MAPS) rescue?

Well, for his 6th birthday he really wanted to adopt his own dog. But we are not in a position that we could do that. So since he was set on saving a dog for his birthday, we decided to collect donations to give to a dog rescue instead of adopting. So he invited all of his friends and classmates and asked for cash donations instead of presents.

So he gave up presents just to contribute to the rescue? (Yes.) How did that make you feel as a mum?

Wonderful. He has been raised vegan since he was born. And animals have always been important to him.

Is there anything you would like to tell the community about Pit Bulls and your experience, and how they relate to children?

They are wonderful with children. I would say just give them a chance. They are great dogs. They are gentle, loving creatures.

You raised Siris as a vegan. What brought that decision about?

Well, I had been vegetarian for about 15 years when I got pregnant with Siris. And I just realized that it wasn’t enough. I wanted to take it all the way. And especially with a new person to be bringing into this world, to raise them how I felt was the most ethical way.

We asked Mr. Anderson for his reaction to Siris’s benevolent gift.

Well, that was pretty amazing, and I know that as a child that would have been my hero. And he didn’t want any presents for himself. He just wanted money donations to the Pit Bull Rescue. And you can imagine how that made all of us feel, and through that donation, the local television station came and they said immediately, “We’re going to film this.”

And it was one of the most memorable events, because it’s very tiring to deal with the negativity, and then when you have somebody that rises above all of the pettiness and focuses at age five turning six, that these are the people, I think, that the future of our country should be built upon, in terms of our heroes. So that was a major deal for us.

In recognition of the compassion of Peter Anderson and Midwest Area Pit Stop volunteers, Supreme Master Ching Hai has provided more than 450 kilograms of vegan dog food for the dogs at MAPS to enjoy. MAPS has also been presented with a selection of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s CDs and DVDs along with books such as her #1 international best sellers, “The Birds in My Life,” “The Dogs in My Life,” and “The Noble Wilds.”

Oh, it’s immeasurable, it’s unbelievable how much this is going to help. This can be many weeks to a few months of extra dog food for all the dogs because everything is so important. I want to thank Supreme Master Ching Hai very much for this donation.

After learning more about their praiseworthy activities, Master is also kindly offering US$5,000 in Siris Letendre’s name to MAPS to further their work.

Here are some closing thoughts from Peter Anderson on how dogs help elevate humanity.

And the dogs are always looking to you, “How are you feeling?” And I can tell you if you have ever seen a therapy dog that visits the elderly at nursing homes or visits children with cancer, there is an immediate gravitation; you don’t have to say the title of the dog, people immediately connect. And they connect through the rhythm, and the serenity of the dog. And it’s a synergistic thing.

We would like to deeply thank Midwest Area Pit Stop for their loving efforts and executive director and vegan Peter Anderson for speaking with us about his work. Finally, we salute little vegan hero Siris Letendre for his touching desire to help dogs in need. May all the rescued canines of MAPS soon find wonderful new homes.

For more details on Midwest Area Pit Stop please visit

Thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May all life on our planet be cherished and respected.