Rescue dog: Dogs will be dogs. Squirrels beware! Not since Glenn Close stalked Michael Douglas in “Fatal Attraction” (released 25 years ago this week, by the way) have I seen obsession like this. Skip to next paragraph Peter Zheutlin Correspondent Peter Zheutlin is a freelance journalist and author whose work has appeared regularly in the Boston Globe and The Christian Science Monitor.
Recent posts Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS ofThe Christian Science MonitorWeekly Digital Edition Rescue dog follows the trail of a sad little squirrel The other day, Albie, our half yellow Lab, half Golden Retriever rescue dog, spotted a baby squirrel trying to make its way up a tree in our front yard. Top 5 Bullying myths - What you don't know about bullying Then I noticed this tiny squirrel’s hind legs were dangling awkwardly, and it appeared he’d been crippled, either from birth or in some previous, unfortunate encounter.
Back at the ranch, Albie sat by the front door staring intently at the tree, quivering with excitement. Iowa police dog dies after being left in Des Moines patrol car. By Vignesh Ramachandran Officials in Iowa are investigating the cause of death of a police dog that was left in a patrol car on a hot Wednesday afternoon. The Labrador retriever, named Harley, was a 7-year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department, NBC station WHO reported. Officials were unsure whether the car's air conditioning was on, if any windows were rolled down or how long the yellow lab was in the car, The Des Moines Register reported. The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, according to CBS station KCCI. Des Moines' recorded high temperature Wednesday was 95 degrees, according to The Weather Channel. Police say Harley was paired with Officer Brian Mathis on the department's vice and narcotics unit.
"What we know is that when he came back to the car, his partner of seven years had died," Des Moines Police Sgt. Officials said Mathis had no history of handling the dog poorly, according to the Register, and Des Moines police have eight other K-9s. More content from NBCNews.com: Experimental procedure regrows dogs' jawbone. DAVIS, Calif. (KCRA) – Despite having a piece of his diseased jaw removed, Whiskey, an 80-pound Munsterlander, is still able to tug away at chew toys and munch on doggie treats. Using cutting-edge biomedical technology to regrow jawbones, veterinary surgeons and biomedical engineers have also treated seven other dogs -- and also hold the hope of using the information from the new technique to help treat human patients. The procedure works by inserting a titanium plate and screws to replace the removed bone. A piece of scaffolding -- which contains proteins that stimulate bone regrowth -- is also inserted. "Formerly, when we had to remove a portion of the bone we were forced to leave the defect in the jaw because where was no better alternative," said Davis professor Frank Verstraete, in a news release.
Some of the defects are cancerous. With the new procedure, Whiskey and several other dogs that are functioning normally, according to UC Davis. Chance meeting, golden retriever memories. Speeding around a quiet Napa neighborhood on his vastly underused mountain bike, Larry Fiori was enjoying the thrill of a brisk ride when he saw her: Ciara, a beautiful golden retriever. It had been well over a year - maybe two - and he had thought about her often. Was she still taking her morning walks? Still playful and bouncing with energy? And most important, would she still remember him? Hopping off my bike, I stood by the trail for just a moment before she saw me. First, her head turned and she fixed her brown eyes upon me. Then her ears sprang up, followed by the slight, curious twist of her head that seems to be unique with golden retrievers.
Pulling away from her petite owner, Ciara charged at me in full abandonment of any control. I first met Ciara five years ago when I was taking my usual morning walk. Now, still trying to catch my attention, Ciara dropped the piece of paper and replaced it with a short branch, perhaps thinking this was a superior gift to the paper. SF tries to curb panhandling with puppies, stipends. Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Matt Traywick with his dog Charlie as he checks the internet in his Tenderloin home in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
San Francisco, Homeless Director Bevan Dufty, took part in a homeless meeting that addresses a verity of social programs designed to help the beat officer locate shelter for the needy Wednesday, May 16, 2012 in San Francisco Calif. less San Francisco, Homeless Director Bevan Dufty, took part in a homeless meeting that addresses a verity of social programs designed to help the beat officer locate shelter for the needy Wednesday, May 16, 2012 in ... more Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Matt Traywick in the hallway with his dog Charlie after going for a walk in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Matt Traywick plahing with his dog Charlie in his Tenderloin apartment in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. SF tries to curb panhandling with puppies, stipends S.F.' Retail store switches to selling shelter dogs | abc7. LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- One pet store is taking a stand by not selling pets that come from so-called puppy mills.
It's teaming up with a national pet organization and only offers dogs and cats from animal shelters. For the first time, many shelter dogs will be permanently displayed front and center at a local pet store window in a mall, displacing their commercially bred counterparts who typically get top billing. This pet store will no longer sell commercially bred dogs, and people who avoid shelters because of their stigma will be able to adopt a dog or cat that otherwise might have been euthanized.
It's all thanks to Pet Connections Inc., a national organization that devised the Pet Transport Program. The pilot program went so well, the rescue dogs were so popular, that come March 1 a Barkworks store here in the Westside Pavilion will become an official adoption center for rescues. "The idea is that change is in motion here," said Marlene Walsh, Pet Connections Inc.
Tags: Dogs, But Not Wolves, Use Humans As Tools | The Thoughtful Animal. Sometime between fifteen and thirty thousand years ago, probably in the Middle East, the long, protracted process of domestication began to alter the genetic code of the wolf, eventually leaving us with the animals we know and love as domestic dogs. While there are several different theories as to exactly how dog domestication began, what is clear is that there were some wolves who were less fearful of humans than others.
Over time, those wolves were incorporated into early human settlements. Perhaps humans and early dogs learned to hunt cooperatively – both species hunt primarily by outrunning their prey – or perhaps early dogs instead learned that they could avoid hunting by scavenging on the leftovers of human hunting parties. Whatever the initial reason for the incorporation of wolves into human society, there their descendents still remain.
By sharing an environment with humans, dogs left behind their ancestral environment and found a place in a new one. Marine, dog to reunite after hard journey for both. Ward Van Alstine is a tough U.S. Marine who, after a somewhat troubled life growing up in Santa Rosa, developed a sense of purpose amid the gunfire, bone-rattling explosions and death in Afghanistan. The 22-year-old corporal said he became a man during two tours of duty in the war, but it took a starving, battered dog to help him through the worst of it. One day, as he prepared to go on patrol, a dirty, sad-eyed mutt walked up and touched something in him. The shy, brown-and-white pooch, with a dark patch around the nose, was something precious and good surrounded by poverty, hatred and war.
The two of them formed an inseparable bond. The dog, named Chloe, is one of 14 stray dogs and one cat that were rescued from Afghanistan this month by the Nowzad Dogs charity and brought back to the United States to live with the soldiers who adopted them. Van Alstine and Chloe will be reunited in Santa Barbara today after a long separation and, in many ways, an agonizingly stressful journey. Lengthy interview a clue to dog kennel's precision. Cynthia House Nooney and her 8-year-old twin boys, Jack and Sam, were 15 minutes late when they bounded into the kennel's lobby with their dog, London, a German shepherd mix.
They were greeted by Paul, a slight young man who rushed them into a nearby room. Here, London would be "interviewed" before acceptance at the boarding kennel. This process was new to me but, I was told, unavoidable. As recent transplants to the Bay Area from Southern California, we had no backup plan. If London didn't pass scrutiny, we'd have to scrap our family vacation, which was meant to begin the next day. A number of chores still loomed, so I barely hid my annoyance when Paul explained that the interview would last an hour. Of course, discussing London's eating habits and daily medications (for lupus and arthritic hind legs) was important, but when Paul asked whether her food can be taken away while she's eating, I again questioned the interview's purpose.
I had to give Paul credit for concentration, though. Kelev had epilepsy but also a family's love. In 1973, Evie Groch found a pup in a giveaway box at a Sausalito flea market. He was the only blond in a litter of black mixed labs. Having grown up with parents who feared dogs because of their experiences in pogroms and Nazi-occupied lands, Groch was never allowed to have one. But she felt sorry for the little runt and took him home to join her and her husband at the start of their married life. We named him Kelev (Hebrew for dog), not imagining how difficult it would be for others to remember. He was called Kelly, Caleb and Kellogg, but by any name he was hard to resist. Even dog-fearing souls fell in love with him. He had a way of gently and patiently forcing his love on everyone. When our daughters were born, Kelev adored them and taught them to bark before they could speak.
There was Kelev, friendly as ever, tail wagging, happy to see us. And so began life with an epileptic dog. When my widowed mother moved in with us, Kelev transferred his affections to her. Foster care becomes permanent haven for greyhound. When a greyhound dog ends its professional career at the racetrack, rescue groups such as Golden State Greyhound Adoption ( www.goldengreyhounds.com) find foster homes while the dogs wait to be adopted. Because Ellen Fox boasts a colossal backyard nicknamed Doggie Disneyland, plus a built-in playmate with her own greyhound, B.J., she often volunteers to foster and dog-sit for GSGA greyhounds. Then the Walnut Creek resident fostered an ex-racer named TV Dru Tang, and failed Fostering 101. Born in 1997, TV Dru Tang had started racing in Arizona when he was just 19 months old and moved among several tracks in Colorado. For almost four years he was an active competitor, participating in 251 races.
When his career ended in 2002, Golden State Greyhound Adoption flew TV Dru Tang to its Walnut Creek headquarters to find his "forever home. " Retired racers aren't exposed to things most dogs are accustomed to, such as staircases, windows, cats and other breeds of dogs. Pet memorial. Pain of losing greyhound, joy in adopting again. After losing my greyhound Lucy to a fatal liver disease, I found myself repeating what mourning guardians usually swear after experiencing the trauma of a beloved pet's death: "Never again. " Watching my sweet girl die in my arms was an excruciating experience.
Besides, it's not like I'm lacking for canine companionship; my 12-year-old Elvis may be a little grayer and a lot slower, but he remains my ever-loving sidekick. And I have to admit, life with one dog is easier. The house no longer smells like eau d' canine, but fresh lavender. Guests can sit on my sofa without fear of the 55-pound Lucy trying to nestle onto their laps. I'm spending half the time hosing down the backyard, half the money on vet and food bills, and half the time giving baths, brushing hair and taking walks. I can't stand it. I miss coming home and finding the stuffing from Lucy's massacred toys scattered around the room. I miss hearing her bouncing around upstairs, playing with her toys. He misses her, too. A teary yet cheery send-off for Ollie the bulldog.
While awaiting her call, Ollie's life played like a Super 8mm film reel as I relived my role as his "dogfather. " I recalled how he hated car washes and one time grabbed the vacuum hose and then bolted down the street with the hose clenched between his teeth. During car rides, he never stuck his head out the window like most dogs, but preferred to curl up on his blanket in the backseat. He never cared where he was going, just so long as he was with us. Wherever we went with Ollie, we always made friends because bulldogs are attention-getters. And Ollie was always accommodating, greeting their outstretched hands with a friendly lick. There were the photo shoots where Ollie patiently wore hats and wigs. The times we'd be walking down the street and he'd make an abrupt turn into a restaurant or bar and, to the amusement of most patrons, we'd have to drag him out. And oh, the sound effects: The grunts, gas and snorts that ensured that Ollie could never sneak up on us.
Chance puppy encounter, chance connection. On a beautiful, crisp autumn afternoon, Karen Hobbs was riding her bike through Orinda, enjoying one of those "life is good" moments. She had no idea that a random encounter with a stray pup was about to reinforce her belief that sometimes things happen for a reason. I heard rustling in the bushes and saw an agitated black puppy.
She had no collar and was obviously unattended and lost. I called Animal Control but was warned they might be a while. I tried approaching the skittish pup, but she barked and backed away. I was afraid she might run into the busy street, so I got down on the crunchy bed of leaves and took out the only food I had, a protein bar. After about 20 minutes of cautiously approaching me, she got close enough to sniff the food but quickly backed off. What happened next was the sweetest thing: She curled up in my lap and started making little cooing noises, obviously relieved to feel safe and warm. My next call was to the owner of the business where I had left the pup.