The Dog Journal: Archive

A special dog show was held at a hospice in Massachusetts in response to a request from one of the hospice residents. The patriotledger.com explains:

The show was held through the Care Alternatives Hospice as a sort of “Make-A-Wish” event to grant her final wish. Other residents also were brought in to enjoy the festivities.

“Albina wished for a dog show, so her guardian set it up with Care Alternatives,” said Cheryl Hayes, director of admissions and marketing at Cedar Hill.

Lindsay Coe, volunteer supervisor for Care Alternatives Hospice, said the event is similar to the Dreamcatchers program, designed to grant the final wish of patients in their last days. Coe said this was the first dog show for Care Alternatives.

“Albina only responds to dogs,” Coe said. “When dogs come her way she lights up, so we knew a dog show would be a good idea.”

Sabaitis got to vote for winners of best trick, cutest dog, most obedient, and best costume - the last generating some creative entries. All winners were rewarded with a chew toy and plastic medallion.

Many of the dogs were from an organization called Dog B.O.N.E.S. Therapy Dogs of Massachusetts, which has a website here. Sounds like it was a great event, and it’s yet another example of how much of an impact dogs can have on our lives.

Mar 30, 20117 notes

#dog #canine #dog show #therapy dogs

Pit Bull Therapy Dogs

Despite some controversy over pit bulls and whether or not the breed is inherently vicious, an organization called The Pit Crew has a program where they train pit bulls to be therapy dogs. This article from kxan.com explains:

Type “pit bull attacks” into Google and you’ll be deluged with over 2,000,000 hits. Pit bull owner Lydia Zaidman begs to differ.

“They love people; they’re extremely tolerant of people.” Zaidman said. “Of course, each individual one has to be temperament tested and each one is an individual like any other dog. But in general, they temperament test very high. They really love people; they like to be around people and so they do really well.”

Zaidman is president of “Love-A-Bull,” a nonprofit group that sticks up for the pit bull breed. She also runs the “Pit Crew,” thought to be the only program in the country that trains only pit bulls for therapy work.

Pit bulls seem to have a tragic history due to their use in dog fighting rings and the public perception that they are inherently vicious:

So how does all this jive with the never-ending stream of news stories about pit bulls running amok, attacking everything from other dogs to children, even adults? And what about all the stories about dog-fighting rings that send pit bulls into a pit for a bloody fight to the death?

“They are the number one most abused dog in this country,”

said Zaidman. “Abuse is going to lead to a problem, no question. Unfortunately, there are a lot of irresponsible owners out there and that’s going to lead to a problem, but they have to use everything from amphetamines to abuse to get them to fight. So the idea that they are meant to fight is a falsity.

We don’t often read about pit bulls in the context of a therapy dog program, so it will be interesting to see how successful this program can be. Click the link for the full story and a related video.

Mar 29, 201110 notes

#dog #pit bull #therapy dogs

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Mar 25, 20112 notes

#schnauzer #dog #canine

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Mar 25, 2011

#dog

The Acting Dog

A lab mix named Sandy was rescued from an animal shelter and will soon appear in a Virginia school’s stage production of “Annie.” You can read all about it at hamptonroads.com:

Life wasn’t always so heady for Sandy.

Several months ago, she was up for adoption at the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center.

When Kellam drama teacher Tammy Smith announced that “Annie” would be the school’s spring musical, Jon Joyce, a 1990 Kellam graduate who volunteers with the drama department, suggested adopting a dog from a local shelter to train for the play.

Smith liked the idea, and the search began in November.

Joyce, an animal trainer with Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, visited multiple shelters to look for a dog that was sandy-colored and could be trained quickly.

He stumbled upon Sandy while on the way to fill out adoption papers for another dog at the Virginia Beach adoption center. Like the dog Joyce was about to adopt, the Lab mix was the right color. But unlike the other dogs in the pound, she was calm- and a quick learner.

This is a great second chance for Sandy who will soon be in the spotlight, literally!

Mar 24, 20111 note

#dog #canine #labrador mix #acting dog

For those of you in the Wisconsin area, there will be a dog walk for charity this coming Saturday, March 26th. theracquet.net explains further:

March 26 marks the third annual Coulee Chase. It is a 5k Fun Run and 3k Family and Dog walk that is organized by the Coulee Region Humane Society, the UW-La Crosse Athletic Training Association and their affiliation, the National Athletic Training Association.

75 percent of the proceeds will go to the National Athletic Training Association Research and Education Fund. The run is to celebrate National Athletic Training Month, which is March. It will help provide the ability to gain knowledge of the athletic training profession and continuation of research and communication between athletic trainers. They are trying to raise money for future education and research.

The other 25 percent of the proceeds go to the Coulee Region Humane Society. The Humane Society is trying to raise awareness about animals that need homes. They also want to try to educate the community on the health benefits of having a pet. There will be a drop box for additional donations at the race.

This is a great opportunity for your dog (and you) to get some exercise and help out some folks at the same time. Good luck to all the participants!

Mar 23, 2011

#dog #canine #dog walk

A dachshund named Lola was believed to have run away after a fire gutted a house in February. However, when the owner returned after one month, Lola was still in the house! This article from boston.com says:

Terisa Acevedo initially thought that Lola, her year-old long-haired dachshund, escaped the blaze and was wandering through the neighborhood. In the days after the fire, the 24-year-old EMT and Northeastern University student posted fliers on telephone poles and walked the neighborhood hoping to find her dog. But as the days turned into weeks, Acevedo began to think that Lola perished in the fire.

But on Monday Acevedo returned to the house to shut off the alarm on a truck she was keeping parked there, and she heard a scratching noise at the boarded-up front door. She immediately knew it was Lola.

Amazing story of survival. Click here for a video about this story from the Boston Globe. It is thought that Lola survived on toilet water and scraps of soot-covered food. Glad to hear that this tough little dog has been reunited safely with her owner.

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Canine Survivors

A family in Japan was forced to leave their two dogs, a sheltie named Towa and a golden retriever named Melody, behind when they fled the tsunami. The dogs were tied to a shed in the yard. The daughter tried to go back for the dogs, but the police did not let her back into the tsunami area. They feared for the worse as the tsunami hit…but then a miracle happened:

But Towa and Melody had other ideas. They somehow broke free from the ropes tying them to the shed and ran up outdoor stairs to the second floor of Mr. Kikuchi’s house. And then they waited and waited. “I don’t know how they survived,” said Mr. Kikuchi.

Two days after the earthquake, Mr. Kikuchi ventured out from the evacuation center where his family had reunited unharmed. He walked in rubber boots on the debris-covered roads still covered in floodwater with his feet sinking in the thick mud below.

When he finally got to the house, sidestepping a car that had shifted to block the entrance to the driveway, he could hear the barking.

“I was happy to see them because I had felt badly about leaving them behind,” said Mr. Kikuchi. He gave them water, food and brought them inside after cleaning them up.

It must have been heartbreaking for this family to leave the dog behind. I don’t know what I would do in that situation. Most likely, I would put my own life at risk before leaving my beloved dog behind. Glad to hear Towa and Melody survived! Watch a video and read the whole story here at the Wall Street Journal.

Mar 16, 2011

#tsunami #dog #golden retriever #sheltie

Rescued Dog Becomes the Rescuer

Pearl was a homeless dog who was rescued from a shelter. She later became a rescue dog through the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. Now, she is helping with the rescue efforts in Japan. Pearl’s story was made into a book called “A New Job for Pearl.” Proceeds from the sale of the book go to help the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation to train a new rescue dog. The book website says:

A New Job for Pearl was written by Allyn Lee and illustrated by students in Connie Forslind’s second grade class. This is the true story of Pearl, a homeless dog that became part of a search and rescue team through the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. Pearl traveled to Haiti with Fire Captain Ron Horetski and the California Task Force 2 team. The highly-trained dogs located survivors who could not have been found by humans. Our book was created to raise $10,000 to sponsor the training of a search dog through the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation in Ojai, California.

This is a great story about how a dog who was rescued is now doing her best to rescue others in need. Dogs from all over the world are being deployed to Japan to aid in the search and rescue operations. Six canine disaster teams from Los Angeles County Task Force Two were amongst the teams sent to Japan. Let’s hope the dogs stay healthy and safe during their time over there.

Mar 15, 2011

#dog #National Search Dog Foundation #tsunami

Mar 13, 20117 notes

#disaster preparedness #dogs #tsunami

Mar 12, 20111 note

#schnauzer

Yale Law School is apparently going to start a program for its students to check out a border terrier mix named Monty for 30 minute periods from its law library. The article from nymag.com includes the memo sent from the law school describing the program:

The law library intends to run a three day pilot program starting on March 28, 2011 during which students will be able to “check out” our certified library therapy dog, Monty for thirty minute periods. We hope that making a therapy dog available to our students will prove to be a positive addition to current services offered by the library. It is well documented that visits from therapy dogs have resulted in increased happiness, calmness, and overall emotional well-being.

I agree that dogs contribute to our well-being, but this is certainly one of the most unique programs I have ever heard of. I hope Monty enjoys the sessions and he does not get overworked from all those stressed-out law students. We can all use a “Monty” in our lives!

Mar 11, 2011

#therapy dog #dog #library dog #canine

DOGS OF VALOR AWARDS

The Humane Society of the United States is currently hosting its Fourth Annual Dogs of Valor Awards. They have chosen ten finalists out of 70 canines and posted individual bios of them here. A panel of celebrity judges will choose the winner, but you can vote for the People’s Hero winner - vote soon because voting ends on March 11th! The Humane Society explains the Dogs of Valor Awards as:

Poring over the extraordinary stories of nearly 70 heroic hounds, we struggled to select the Top 10 finalists for our Fourth Annual Dogs of Valor Awards. But after reading the stories time and time again, we finally did it! Now we’re honored to share their inspiring tales with you. If you’ve ever questioned the idea of a dog being man’s best friend, your doubt will be erased by reading these accounts of the human-animal bond in action.

Our panel of celebrity judges, including Charlotte Ross, Chris Riggi, and Jon Prescott, has been challenged by the exceptionally difficult task of choosing the Valor Dog of the Year. Before we reveal who they have chosen though, we offer you the chance to choose this year’s People’s Hero winner!

This is a great opportunity to celebrate the dogs the heroes amongst them. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading news stories about how some dogs save their owners in some way or another!

Mar 10, 20111 note

#dogs #Dogs of Valor #Humane Society

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Mar 9, 2011

#dog #Dog CPR

Here’s an interesting article from the montrealgazette.com that addresses the effect on dogs of being left alone for hours at a time by their owners. The article references a UK study which measured the amount of time owners said they left their dog alone.

“Different dogs tend to have different social needs. Hounds, for example, are extremely social… . But you take your working breeds and guarding dogs and they’re perfectly happy for 10, 12 hours by themselves.”

Nicholas Dodman, of thepetdocs.com, contrarily believes that to leave any dog alone for a 40-hour workweek is “a travesty.”

“It’s perfectly reasonable to expect your dog to remain alone for three to five hours,” says Dodman, director of the animal behaviour clinic at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. “But it’s certainly not ideal to have a dog alone in the house every workday for eight hours — especially if no efforts have been made to enrich the environment or there’s no canine company.”

I don’t like to leave my dog at home alone, but because of work, etc., it is inevitable. I try to leave toys and such to keep his mind occupied. In the mornings I take him for a long walk so he can take a long nap, which hopefully will make the day go by quickly for him.

Mar 9, 2011

#dogs separation anxiety

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Mar 6, 2011

#miniature schnauzer #dog #lamb rib

Police chased a man across state lines from Iowa into Nebraska, and the ordeal ended after a brief standoff in a parking lot. During the chase, the man’s wife, who was also in the car, called authorities to report that the man was threatening her and their “child” with harm. This story from omaha.com explains what happened next:

The wife told police that the family was on the way to Immanuel Medical Center. When police arrived in the parking lot outside the emergency room, the report said, a standoff followed. After 25 minutes of negotiations, the man surrendered, turned over his keys and was placed in emergency protective custody.

Police went to help the passengers, discovering the man’s wife and — the family dog.

The woman later explained that the dog is a like a child to her and her husband.

Somewhat strange story, but you know what? I complete understand where this woman was coming from. I think of my own dog as my child, as I suspect many dog owners do!

Mar 4, 2011

#dog

In contrast to the many stories we hear of dogs and mail carriers not getting along, this dog in Arkansas apparently has taken a liking to the local mail carrier:

It started about four years ago.
Four blocks from her home, Suzie one day showed up at the post office, quickly latching on to Robert Ross the mail man.

Unexpectedly, though, her beloved friend passed away.
“After we lost Robert, almost a year ago, she just decided to take up with the rest of us,” says Tarpley.

So there they are - Sally and Suzie in zip code 71743 - delivering mail to folks in Gurdon, Arkansas.
Their eight mile walk though is not complete without a stop or two to visit with folks.

Click the link above for the full story and a video. Nice to hear that dogs and mail carriers get along sometimes!

Mar 2, 20113 notes

The Dog Journal

April 2011

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March 2011

22 posts