Two of our favorite people in the area without doubt are Leah Brewer and her therapy dog Elle.

We’ve watched Elle grow up to be a spokesperson for all that is good about a dog breed that still is considered bad by many.

We were fortunate that Brewer this weekend sent us links to updates about what she and Elle have been up to because it’s been a while since we’ve written about her.

Just as we thought, Elle has been busy since we last reported on her and is notching more achievements in her collar.

Elle is approaching 7,000 fans on her Facebook page, a testament not only to her popularity but the strategic alliances Brewer has made in the world of therapy and hero dogs.

“I’m overwhelmed in a good way,” Brewer told us Monday. “I can’t tell you how many times somebody has said that Elle’s an inspiration and has given them courage to do things they wanted to do. It’s humbling there’s so much going on.”

That Brewer is out daily helps get the message across and Elle continues to change hearts and minds one person at a time. “One gentleman went from telling me she looked vicious to not knowing a pit bull could be a therapy dog. “

Said Brewer of the negative comments, “It doesn’t happen much any more. I don’t hit a lot of obstacles as much as we used to.”

Since we last reported on Elle, she has been awarded American Dog Magazine’s Pit Bull Super Hero award as well as The Positive Pit Bull’s Best Breed Ambassador. “That was a huge honor,” Brewer said, “because of what we have done, what she’s done so far. She’s out there trying to change things.”

Impressive to us is that Elle has become a character in a children’s book called My Dog Keifer.

Beyond those accolades, Brewer and Elle continue to visit the Bayberry, read at Chaloner Middle School and Vaughan Elementary School. She also appears at events at Tractor Supply.

In Elle’s journey she has met up with two other pit bulls to form an alliance called Pittie Nation that continues speaking up for a misunderstood breed.

We think, however, with dogs like Elle out there, that misunderstanding is slowly turning to understanding and acceptance. Thanks, Elle and Leah for the update — Editor