The Dog Journal

MAN AND DOG BEGIN 8,000 MILE WALK AROUND BRITISH COAST FOR CHARITY - “Supermarket worker Scott Andrews, 51, and his German Shepherd, Sam, will take between six and nine months to complete the clockwise hike around the country.”

Sam, a German Shepherd, and his owner Scott Andrews began an 8,000 mile trek around mainland Britain today. They are walking to raise money for Stray Aid, a organization that helps stray animals, and for another group called The Children’s Society. The journey is expected to take 6-9 months. Read more from The Northern Echo:

They will notch up over 8,000 miles around the coastline of mainland Britain and hope to raise at least £200,000 for The Children’s Society and the animal charity Stray Aid.

Mr Andrews, of Ryhope, Sunderland, who works at Asda in Leechmere Road, Grangetown, will visit at least 79 Asda stores during the walk.

He set off from Tonia’s Cafe, in Seaham Hall car park, in Seaham, this morning (Sunday, May 5) to music from The Murton Colliery Band.

Mr Andrews said the supermarket chain is also contributing to the fund-raising he has been offered free accommodation for the duration of his walk.

Good luck to Sam and his owner! You can visit the fundraising page here. Click here for the full story and here for more about Stray Aid. (Photo from Stray Aid Facebook page)

ABANDONED PUPPY RECOVERS AND TRAINS TO BECOME THERAPY DOG - “He had been tied to a tree with no food, shelter or water…He needed a home to get out of the cold.”

A one-year-old German Shepherd named Roscoe was rescued by the Braetzkus family in North Carolina after having been tied to a tree. Fortunately, Roscoe turned out to have a pleasant temperament and is now undergoing training to become a therapy dog. Here’s more from  hpe.com:

With food and medications, Roscoe recovered fairly quickly.
But the black German Shepherd, now about a year old, was a little different.

“He was so sweet, we thought he could be a therapy dog,” said Braetzkus, a former nurse. “He has been evaluated and has the personality for therapy.”

The next step was training.  Roscoe has finished one round of training with veteran trainer Jim Hodges of Winston-Salem.

“Roscoe’s disposition is wonderful,” Hodges said. “He has a loving and caring nature. Not all rescued dogs make good therapy dogs. He’ll be a great therapy dog, but he is not quite ready yet.”

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Once Roscoe is certified, Braetzkus said she will take him to schools and retirement homes for therapy sessions.
“I am his handler and mom,” she said. “This experience is a good example for my children and others too. I want people to know that they can rescue a dog too. Rescue dogs make the best pets. Everybody I have talked to says that.”

Despite his rough beginnings, it looks like Roscoe is on his way to living a great life as a therapy dog. Click here for the full story. (Photo by Don Davis Jr.)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: GERMAN SHEPHERD DRAGS WOMAN FROM CAR WRECK -“[T]he dog…pulled her by her collar off the trunk and dragged her about 50 yards through briars to the edge of a highway and let her lean against him so that she could stand up and flag a passing motorist.”

In 2007, a German Shepherd in Georgia, later named Hero, saved a woman by dragging her out of a car wreck to safety after she crashed her car down an embankment. Hero pulled the woman to the edge of a highway and supported her. Hero was later taken in by the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society to receive training as a rescue dog. Here’s more from Fox News:

A bruised and battered south Georgia woman credits a wayward German Shepherd with rescuing her after her car careened down an embankment, tossing her through the rear window and leaving her sprawled, cut and bleeding, on the vehicle’s trunk.

Thirty-six-year-old Shannon Lorio said the dog, which has since been given the name “Hero,” pulled her by her collar off the trunk and dragged her about 50 yards through briars to the edge of a highway and let her lean against him so that she could stand up and flag a passing motorist.

Officials of the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society, which runs the local animal shelter — now Hero’s temporary home — were so impressed with the victim’s account they have arranged to have Hero evaluated for search and rescue work.

“That dog is always going to have a special place in my heart,” Lorio said Friday during a tearful reunion with the dog. “He’s my hero.”

What an amazing story. Click here for the full story and here to learn more about the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society.

DEAF DOG RESCUED FROM ABUSE HELPS BOY FIGHT CANCER - “Marik had to undergo surgery when they found a tumor in his leg and surgeons amputated his right knee and lower leg. Since Zero loves to catch and fetch balls, he is more than willing to help Marik get some exercise.”

An 8-year-old German Shepherd named Zero was recently adopted by a family whose son, Marik, is currently undergoing cancer treatments. Marik, like Zero, is also deaf. Zero appears to have had a positive impact on the boy’s life and he appears to be settling in with his new family. Read more from voicesnews.com:

When Marik came to Oxford to meet Barney, they immediately hit it off. The family, which will soon move to Ledyard, adopted him last week and his young owner renamed him Zero.

Marik, a student at the American School for the Deaf who enjoys football, soccer, drums and guitars, is currently undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Kelli Tucker said the reason they rescued Zero was to motivate Marik to move around more…

“He (Zero) was a little shy at the beginning, but now he’s fitting right in with our family,” said Kelli. “We’re so glad we have him.’’

Sounds like Zero was adopted by just the right family. Click here for the full story. Also, click here for the Facebook page set up to help Marik and his family.

ADOPTED DOG RUNS AWAY AND TRAVELS 10 MILES BACK TO SHELTER TO SEE MATE - “Ben and Jade were “visibly happy to see each other, barking and wagging their tales…”

A four-year-old dog named Ben was adopted by a family in Indiana. However, one day Ben ran away and was found 24 hours later and 10 miles away at the Terre Haute Humane Society shelter from which he had been adopted. Jade, a German Shepherd mix and the mother of Ben’s puppies, was still at the shelter. It appears that Ben missed his partner. Read more from tribstar.com:

Ben would do anything for love.

In fact, the 41⁄2 year-old, 70-pound dog ran away from his new, adoptive home in Youngstown Meadows; traversed 10 miles across busy streets, railroad tracks and lonely fields; braved the cold and his own hunger; and somehow, some way, in about 24 hours, found his way back to the Terre Haute Humane Shelter.

And there, he rejoined the love of his life, his soul-mate and the mother of his children, Jade, a 1-year-old German Shepherd mix.

But this love story doesn’t end there.

When Courtney and Jason Lawler, the couple that had adopted Ben, realized the two former strays would not be happy without each other, they adopted both.

May Ben and Jade live happily ever after in their new home together. Click here for the full story and here for more about the Terre Haute Humane Society. 

ADOPTED DOG SAVES WOMAN FROM ASSAULT - “The 19-year-old believes she survived only because her dog leaped on the attacker, biting him on the neck or shoulder.”

A 13-month-old German Shepherd-Greyhound-Border Collie mix in New Zealand saved his owner from a sexual assault by fighting off an armed attacker. The owner was walking near a park when suddenly she was grabbed by a man and dragged into nearby bushes. Her dog leaped on the man, bit him, and tried to pull him away. Fortunately, the woman escaped and is recovering from her injuries. Here’s more from stuff.co.nz:

A Christchurch woman was saved from a vicious sexually motivated attack by the loyal dog she adopted only two months ago.

The 19-year-old believes she survived only because her dog leaped on the attacker, biting him on the neck or shoulder.

The woman told The Press her 13-month-old german-shepherd-greyhound-border-collie cross’s intervening allowed her to run away and flag down a passing car.

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She said he ran over and “leaped on the guy”, biting him and dragging him away.

“I could hear him growling. I didn’t look back. I ran straight to the road.

“I don’t think I’d be here if [he] didn’t do that.”

Police believe the attacker went up a slide to get away from the dog….She believes he had been hiding in the bushes waiting for a potential victim. “I see people cut through [the park] all the time. If it wasn’t me, it would have been some girl without a dog.”

She said her dog has stayed beside her ever since the ordeal.

Thank goodness the dog was able to defend his owner from a potentially life-threatening attack. He is truly a hero. Click here for the full story. (Photo by John Kirk-Anderson)

VIETNAM VETERAN REUNITED WITH STOLEN DOG WHO WAS FORCED TO BECOME A BAIT DOG - “Tears ran from the 71-year-old Air Force veteran’s eyes when he talked about the moment Blackjack walked into the room.”

Approximately ten months ago, a German Shepherd named Blackjack was stolen from the truck of a military veteran named Robert Moreland. Blackjack was discovered in Florida with signs that he had been used as a bait dog in a dog-fighting ring. Fortunately, he was rescued and received treatment thanks to an organization called Big Dog Ranch Rescue. He had serious injuries and will require a few more weeks of recovery time. Blackjack and his owner were recently reunited after ten months apart. Here’s more from The Palm Beach Post:

“I had given up,” Moreland said. “Not because I wanted to, but because I know evil people are in this world, and they don’t care.”

The dog’s neck testified to his claim. Blackjack had worn the same green plastic collar for so long that it had to be cut off with a hacksaw. From his neck hung a chain to which a piece of meat was attached. Under them was a slice-like wound.

Blackjack, his rescuers fear, had been used in dog fighting — a tool to test the fighting instincts of other dogs, risking his life in the process.

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Dogs have long been special to Moreland, a Miramar resident who said he has owned them ever since he was a child and refers to Blackjack as his best friend. He said he loved his animals so much that his wife of 49 years once complained that he never cried when he had to leave her, but being away from his dog brought him to tears.

Moreland said he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since leaving the Air Force in 1981 after 20 years of service. He said that every time things got rough, or something bad happened, the effects of PTSD would overcome him and put a damper on all the other good things that were in his life. But Blackjack helped — until they were separated.

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“It hurt me to my heart,” Moreland said, and his pain lingered. He said he cried and often wandered in hopes of finding the dog. He dealt with health complications, but amid those, he still kept searching for Blackjack.

Despite the evil that he endured, Blackjack is back with his owner where he belongs. Hopefully Blackjack makes a smooth recovery from his injuries. Click here for the full story and here for about Big Dog Ranch Rescue.

SHELTER DOG FROM IRAN FINDS FOSTER HOME IN TEXAS - “Facing possible execution and found wandering the streets of Tehran, Iran, Shellman has found her land of opportunity in Texas.”

A two-year-old German Shepherd mix named Shellman was recently transferred from the Vafa Animal Shelter in Iran to the SPCA of Texas. Dogs in Iran face an uncertain future because of a proposed ban on dogs which may be instituted by the government. The Vafa Animal Shelter, the first dog shelter in Iran, has been trying to transfer its dogs elsewhere and has stopped accepting new dogs into its shelter because of the impending ban. Here’s more about the situation in Iran from dallasnews.com:

In Iran, reports have surfaced of police confiscating dogs from their owners off the street and of shooting wandering strays that the government warns could carry diseases, said Farah Ravon, U.S. representative for Vafa Animal Shelter in Hashtgerd, Iran.

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For the past decade, the Iranian government has tolerated pet ownership, despite its Islamic impurity according to mullahs.

In 2011, the Iranian government proposed a complete ban that would criminalize dog ownership, Ravon said. Although the ban has not yet passed, she said it is difficult for dogs, particularly larger dogs such as Shellman, to be adopted.

Ravon, who’s based in the San Francisco area, said Iranians with pet dogs often walk them at night, fearful their pets will be taken.

In the past few years, she said Vafa has been working to clear its shelter in case the ban passes. Ravon said the shelter has more than 450 dogs and has stopped taking in more.

Shellman is one of 80 dogs who have been transferred out of Iran thanks to the coordinated efforts of volunteers in Iran, Europe, and North America. Here’s her story:

The 2-year-old German shepherd mix recently made the trek from the Middle East to the SPCA of Texas in West Dallas after living in an Iranian shelter for about a year.

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This is the first rescue to cross international borders for the SPCA of Texas, President James Bias said.

“We’ve taken dogs from New Orleans. We’ve taken them from Mississippi. We’ve taken them from Tennessee. We’ve had them come from New York and other parts of the U.S. when there’s been abuse or a natural disaster. But this is the farthest a rescue has come. We’re a global society now,” Bias said.

“All of our pets have a story, but this is a unique story.”

Sponsors for the Vafa Animal Shelter — the country’s first shelter, which is about 90 minutes west of Tehran — paid for and coordinated Shellman’s 22-hour trip to the U.S. with a volunteer traveling from Iran back home to North Texas, Ravon said.

Thanks to dedicated Iranian volunteers and their counterparts abroad, at least some shelter dogs will be taken in by families across the globe. Unfortunately, many other dogs will not be so lucky. Click here for the full story. For more about the Vafa Animal Shelter click here, and for more about the SPCA of Texas, click here.

courtneyclmn:

70 degree weather in January, that’s Dallas. Bella was sure enjoying it

Great looking dog!  Looooong tongue.

DOG CONTINUES TO ATTEND CHURCH AFTER OWNER’S DEATH - “Following her death at San Donaci…a funeral service was held at which Tommy joined mourners and since then he has been a regular at the church arriving on time when the bells ring out to mark the start of services.”

A seven-year-old German Shepherd named Tommy has been attending daily services on his own at a church in Italy. Tommy was allowed to accompany his owner to services, but the owner passed away two months ago. Despite the loss of his owner Tommy has continued to appear at the church on a daily basis. Here’s more from the Daily Mail: