The Dog Journal

SERVICE DOG “CHOOSES” BOY - “At the training session, the dog chooses the owner. A trainer brings out a group of dogs and watches how they interact with the potential owners, seeing which ones bond best.”

A Black Lab-Retriever mix named Colonel recently chose his new owner during a training session. Colonel will now be assisting an 11-year-old boy in New Mexico who suffers from congenital muscular dystrophy. Colonel was assigned through an organization called Canine Assistants, which has a nation-wide waiting list for service dogs. Colonel knows about 90 commands! Here’s more from the Las Cruces Sun-News:

Father and son spent April 7-19 at a training camp in Georgia before officially receiving Colonel at the end of the two weeks.

The dogs begin training and wearing service vests soon after they are born. Trainers and foster families ensure they are exposed to everything, from elevators to pots and pans.

Colonel already knows about 90 commands, some of which simply require a look and he sits or lays down. He can also pee on command.

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Colonel chose John-Dylan. The black lab and retriever mix turns 2 in May.

“These two were the stars of their class,” John said. “The trainers said they did really well together.”

Now home, the duo work on bonding the first two weeks.

“The only person’ who’s supposed to be treating him or doing anything fun with him is John-Dylan,” mom Jamie Cully said. “They want him to know the good things come from him.”

She and John fill Colonel’s bowl with food, but place it on John-Dylan’s lap for feeding. Colonel licks the bowl clean in a matter of seconds.

Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Click here for the full story and here to learn more about Canine Assistants. (Photo by Robin Zielinski)

THERAPY DOG HELPS STUDENTS DEAL WITH MIDTERM STRESS - “Research has shown that petting a dog helps people relax, as well as elevates their mood and sense of well-being.”

A Black Labrador named Layna has been helping students at UC Santa Cruz deal with stress. Layna is a certified therapy dog and has also passed the Canine Good Citizen certification test. In addition, Layna also participates in a monthly program which allows children to practice reading skills by reading aloud to her. Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

Layna and Hubble spent two hours Thursday evening at the school’s McHenry Library, where Layna was constantly surrounded by smiling students. Many wrote messages to Layna and her handler on a sheet of paper. The phrases “so cute” as well as “this is awesome,” were repeated several times. The majority of the messages, however, urged Hubble to “bring her more often!”

Student Janice Hwang, who is majoring in molecular, cellular and developmental biology took a break from her studies Friday evening to see Layna. The dog lover also had gone to the McHenry Library for a dog fix the night before. That Layna break lasted longer than she had intended.

“It was so hard to say goodbye,” Hwang said. “We need more dogs here.”

Using dogs to help students relieve stress is gaining in popularity at other universities. Other campuses in the UC system have sponsored drop-in stress reduction programs involving therapy dogs. Therapy dogs also provide relief for students at Harvard University Medical School and Yale Law School, Hubble said.

If I had a dog like Layna in my school maybe I would have gotten better grades! Click here for the full story. (Photo by Kevin Johnson)

THERAPY DOG BECOMES MEMBER OF FIRE DEPARTMENT - ”Her name is Madison and she’s the Rock Community Fire Protection District’s specially trained therapy dog. She wears a blue vest and is a badged member of the department.”

A therapy dog named Madison is the latest member of the Rock Community Fire Protection District in Missouri. Madison, a Black Labrador Retriever, was trained through a group called Support Dogs, Inc. by inmates at a federal prison in Illinois. Her role is to help the fire department with public outreach and education. Here’s more from stltoday.com:

“I think this has great potential,” said Rebecca Johnson, president of the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations. “The fear of uniforms could be minimized by having a friendly dog present…”

Support Dogs uses mostly Labs, regarded as friendly dogs, sized well for people in wheelchairs and eager to work for praise…And Madison knows how to handle behavior that would scare most dogs.

“If they’re screaming, she’s fine,” Dahlkamp said. “If they’re beating on the desk, she’s fine.”

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“She has had an incredibly calming effect on the kids,” Bosler said. She watched, surprised and happy, when a little girl who spent much of Madison’s visit away from the group rocking back and forth slowly made her way toward the dog, smiling as she petted Madison.

Sounds like Madison is doing a lot of good work in the community. She even has her own badge. Click here for the full story, and click here to learn more about Support Dogs, Inc. (Photo by Erik M. Lunsford)

13-YEAR-OLD BOY SAVES 14-YEAR-OLD DOG FROM DROWNING - “The dog was under the water by the time John reached him.”

A boy named John Koobatian was visiting the Chatfield Hollow State Park in Connecticut with his family, when he saw Casey, then a 14-year-old Black Labrador, struggling in the water.  Koobatian jumped in and brought the dog to shore. Here’s the story from the Madison Patch:

“In a frantic attempt to reach shore, she misjudged and instead made her way out to the center of the pond. Unable to swim further, she frantically thrashed and then succumbed to the water,” Nadine Koobatian says. “John, watching with his family and friends from the shore, realized that Casey was drowning and her owner was not able to swim out to rescue her.  Without hesitation, John swam out to rescue Casey.”

Casey the dog has hearing and vision problems, but will be able to live out the rest of his life with his owner thanks to the heroism of this boy.  Click here for the full story. (Credit: Pem McNerny)

DOG DEFENDS OWNER FROM SNAKE - “He’s very protective of me, and I’ve noticed this more since this happened,” he said. “I know what could have been if I didn’t have him.”

A Black Labrador named Onex suffered two snake bites to the face after defending his owner against a copperhead. Onex and his owner were walking along a farm in Clarksville, Tennessee, when they suddenly encountered a snake.  Onex is a former military dog who served in Iraq, and he was subsequently adopted by his present owner.  Here’s more from the Citizen-Times:

“This dog was trained in Iraq,” Layne said. “He was trained to sniff ordnance and possibly other things; he was a rescue dog too.”

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When Onex saw the snake threatening Layne, he crouched forward growling, which diverted the snake’s attention. But now the attention was on Onex, and the snake bit the dog twice on the face.

That gave Layne the opportunity to grab a fencepost and kill the snake.

Onex was in bad shape though. Layne had to rush him to the veterinarian, where the dog was treated for two days with fluids and anti-venom.

Unfortunately, there is always a risk of injury when animals encounter each other, and in this case a snake was killed. However, Onex followed his instincts and protected his owner.  Let’s hope Onex recovers soon from his injuries. Click here for the full story.

Submission from mazzietakesmanhattan.  Amazing photo!  Thank you for providing her with a second chance at life.

Meet Mazzie, my 3+ year old Black Lab mix.  Born in rural Georgia, she has lived with me in New York City’s West Village for almost 3 years now. 

As a big, black dog in the South, my girl’s chances of survival, much less finding a loving home, were pretty much nonexistent.  Somehow, she beat the odds and was spared from certain death thanks to the Chattahoochee Veterinary Hospital in Roswell, GA  — the staff there housed, cared for and loved her until they could secure her transport up north — and Puppy Pipeline Rescue of GA, which drove her to Animal Haven, a no-kill shelter in New York City.  I remain so incredibly grateful that these kind and generous people decided that she deserved a second chance.

Adjusting to New York City was not an easy process for Mazzie and she spent most of her early days in a pretty scared and confused state.  But Mazzie is not one to give up and instead of throwing in the proverbial towel, she worked long and hard with a behaviorist to become acclimated to the novel sights, sounds and smells of her new hometown.  As a result, she is now the consummate city girl and a West Village celebrity (you can follow her (mis)adventures atwww.mazzietakesmanhattan.com). 

While she certainly has beauty, brains, charm and wit, the most awesome things about Mazzie are her indomitable will (she can be very hard headed!), spirit and zest for life.  She reminds me every day how important it is to stick to my guns, live in the moment, seize the day and be passionate about my pursuits (although I don’t think I’ll ever be as passionate about anything as she is about stalking squirrels in the city parks).

SEEING-EYE DOG WALKS WITH OWNER AT GRADUATION -  “Like any good working dog,the 80-pound black lab stopped to soak in the thunderous applause as he escorted Amanda Davis to receive her diploma.”

A Black Labrador named Ellis recently walked with his owner at her law school graduation ceremony.  Ellis is a seeing-eye dog who constantly accompanied his owner during her studies.  He wore a custom-made graduation gown at the ceremony.  Here’s more from nydailynews.com:

“I couldn’t have done this without Ellis,” said Davis, a beaming New York Law School graduate who credits much of her success to her loyal Seeing-Eye dog…The law school made sure there was room for Ellis in the classroom, and that Amanda’s schedule allowed him proper breaks, said Sally Harding, NYLS senior director of Student Life.

More frustrating were her attempts to hail a cab or get into a restaurant. She hopes to raise awareness that service dogs are allowed in all private and public spaces.

“It’s shocking that people don’t know the law,” said Davis, who plans to take the bar exam next year and begin looking for a job, preferably in financial arbitration.

Meanwhile, when he’s off harness, Ellis is just a regular dog. At home, he loves to sprawl out on the couch and play with squeaky toys.

Ellis also deserves a degree for his hard work in getting his owner safely through law school.  Ellis was part of an organization called The Seeing Eye, which specializes in service dogs. Congratulations to both dog and owner!  Click here for the full story, and click here to learn more about The Seeing Eye (unrelated to Sauron).

BRODY’S STRANGE ADVENTURE

A Black Labrador named Brody is now back with his family in Florida after a series of strange events landed him in a dog pound in Maryland. Brody was playing outside when a woman visiting from New York took him thinking he was a stray. The woman ended up being killed in an accident and an anonymous caller informed Brody’s family that he somehow ended up in a shelter in Cecil County, Maryland. Here’s the story from app.com:

Walking past the rows of forgotten animals at the Cecil County SPCA, Debby Stevens had a sickening thought: What if, after weeks of worry and more than a thousand miles of travel, the dog being housed here was not, in fact, her Brody?

Inside the indicated cage, a black Labrador lay prostrate on the concrete floor.

“Brody?” Stevens asked.

The dog leapt up; Stevens began to cry.

“There was no doubt about it,” recalled the SPCA staff member who took Stevens through the kennel. “That dog just came alive.”

After two-and-a-half weeks Brody is finally back home. Hopefully he can rest easy now. Click here for the full account of this bizarre story.

FULL HOTEL SERVICE FOR DOGS IN SCOTLAND

Hotels in Scotland are starting to offer high-end services to owners who want to travel with their dogs.  Services include gourmet dog meals, dog sitting, luxury dog beds, and something called dog-listening too.  Here’s the story from the scotsman.com:

A “night in the doghouse” at some of Scotland’s top hotels now includes chef- prepared gourmet menus, luxury dog beds, dog-sitting and even a dog-listening service for pampered pooches.

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The Bonham in Edinburgh, offers a Doggy Dreams package which even includes a cooked canine breakfast.

“We have chef come up with a menu for each dog individually,” said Joanne Faulkner, its general manager. “We speak to the owner beforehand and find out what the dogs like, and that can go from plain chicken right up to fillet steak, if that’s what the dog wants. We recently sent up scrambled eggs and milk on room service for one of our doggy guests.”

In Perthshire, the Four Seasons Hotel in St Fillans runs a “dog-listening” service for pet owners, so they can go for a meal at its restaurant safe in the knowledge that reception is monitoring their dogs’ wellbeing.

“It means we can monitor the dog for our guests while they enjoy a meal,” said owner Andrew Low. “We also have a dog-sitter who will come in and look after the dogs if the guests are having a day out and can’t take the dog, so that they don’t get lonely.”

Both hotels also offer trips to grooming parlours.

The dog pictured above certainly looks properly pampered.  I’m pretty sure my dog would love a few nights at such a hotel too.  Click here for the full story.