Abby, Search and Rescue Dog Extraordinaire, RIP

It was just a short time ago she was honored.  (See the forth picture down).

From Dog Bless You on Facebook:

ABBY (14) - HERO - 9/11 Search and Rescue Dog - PASSES AWAY - Dear Abby and your handler Debra, please know that at Dog Bless You that your spirit will always have a home here. THIS GOES TO ALL DOGS. Your spirit will always be honored and alive on this site.

My thoughts are with Debra at this time.

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Thank God for Mr. Li in China

This week is becoming International Week. Some good things are happening!

This info is from facebook and I have no way of verifying it. But it's clear these dogs are used to this situation and are not afraid. Here's what accompanied the picture on facebook:

Li Zongwen makes food for the stray dogs at his house!!!!!!!


Mr Li, 59, has become a dog's best friend after adopting a number of stray and abandoned pooches.

Walkies must be a nightmare and dealing with the poop almost unimaginable because Li takes care of over 140 of the animals in his home in China.

Rescued from the streets on the outskirts of the city of Wuhan, they are given a roof over their heads and a meal to eat.

The rescued animals like to sit and watch as the former chef rustles up their grub in a big cauldron using a garden spade.

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K9 Heros of 9-11

Over 100 dogs performed searches in the days and weeks after 9-11.  Of those today just 12 survive. I cannot help but to think while looking at these fine pictures by Dutch  photographer Charlotte Dumas that any of these dogs might be ones we see in animal shelter photos. Who can know what a dog has endured during their life? Perhaps they worked tirelessly to save a human at some point.

Hoke

Scout (and another unidentified dog)

Merlyn

Hard to believe it's been ten years since 9-11. I was in class at Hunter College, taking a masters in Urban Affairs, and we were waiting on a speaker who was hugely late. At some point two other professors rushed into the classroom and said "two planes have hit the World Trade Center." I knew, and probably a lot of people knew that it was no accident. I pictured the towers toppling down, which is not how it happened of course, and said to myself instinctively that such a circumstance would be a tremendous victory "for them."  After the class was over, everyone jumped up and started making calls on cell phones. Down the hallway (we were on the 17th floor,) you could see all the way down Lexington Avenue that smoke was billowing downtown. The towers had not yet fallen. I got downstairs and made my way to my office, some two avenues and three blocks away. On the way I saw a woman making a call; she was in front of the Eddie Bauer store (which is not there anymore) on 68th Street and Third Avenue, and as I walked past her I heard her say, frantically, "Have you heard from Eileen?!" I never, of course, found out if she or the person she was speaking to had heard from Eileen, but her voice and that moment remain with me.

I got to the college where I was working at the time, Marymount Manhattan on East 71st, and I can recall thinking of the freshmen standing out front indulging in their new smoking habit, that they have no idea things are about to change for them and that this will be their JFK moment. The towers still had not fallen down.

I got upstairs and my colleagues were standing around our 85 year-old secretary's transistor radio, listening to what was going on. A plane had gone done in Pennsylvania near where a co-worker was from.  Students started wandering around looking wide-eyed and we began grabbing them and telling them to call their parents on our office phones. They were fine till they got the parents on the phone and then the tears started. The large event room next to our suite of offices was set up for a lecture that included a pair of TVs and many chairs. Someone flipped the sets on and people began trickling in to watch.

Later in the day a group of staff and student workers (we had many working in our office and we were close with them so they instinctively came to hang out during the crisis,) walked to give blood at the 67th Street NY Blood Center. We waited there on line for three hours. Slowly the line snaked around four city blocks and we were finally next to be able to donate. But instead they shuffled us into the high school across the street and we sat on cafeteria table benches that seemed much smaller than the last time I sat on ones like them. The blood center staff began handing out snacks and a guy said aloud (it was completely quiet so we all heard him) "did you ever think when you woke up this morning you would be sitting in Julia Richman High School eating cheese-its?" By this time both towers had fallen. It was inconceivable.

Abigail

Tuff

We never did get to donate. The blood center ran out of supplies. We thought this was good in a way because it meant many people would be getting blood. But that's not what happened.

We know there were few survivors from the actual towers that fell. But before we knew that, there were those who were searching the rubble for hours and days on end.

 Anna Edwards from the UK reports.

Travelling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11.

Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved, which is published on Friday, the tenth anniversary of the attacks.

Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted 'Retrieved' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs.

Moxie

Tara

Kaiser

Bretagne

Guinness

Red

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Dogs Helping Humans, Again

In case you needed to be convinced that dogs and humans share a special bond, here is something that brings together two of my loves: Dogs and Soldiers. If you ever doubt or know someone who doubts that Americans rise to the challenge when it's needed, read this story from the Orlando Sentinel.

A man named Dave Cantara (who was a volunteer for the most excellent organization Patriot Guard Riders) formed a group called Patriot Rovers, and he professionally trains dogs to be therapy companions for soldiers suffering from post tramatic stress (I purposefully leave off the word disorder! It's their "new normal."). Kyle Evans, Purple Heart Recipient and Iraq War Veteran, lives in Orlando, Florida with his family and Mr. Cantara trains his dogs in North Carolina. None other than Pilots N Paws flew Marley (a dog trained by Mr. Cantara) to meet his new family.

In the span of one article, three citizen led and run organizations have risen to the challenge before them.
Oh, and Marley was a rescued dog!

(Photo credit:  Jacob Langston, Orlando Sentinel / June 8, 2011 )

Army veteran Kyle Evans stands with his family as he watches "Marley" walk toward them at the Orando Executive Airport on Wednesday afternoon, June 8, 2011. He received the golden retriever service dog from Carolina Patriot Rovers, Inc. The organization provides service dogs to veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Jacob Langston/Orlando Sentinel)

 

"I knew this could be an alternative way to help these soldiers," Cantara said. "This program provides hope for soldiers like Kyle and other wounded warriors. The dogs are a calming influence at their side. They give the constant unconditional love and reassurance the soldiers need."

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Compassion Program in NYC Animal Care and Control (AC&C)... the Yin to the Yang of Emily Tanen Being Fired

These people are hardcore. Take a look. Absolutely admirable. These people go into the "belly of the beast" as far as I'm concerned. But it's not the dogs that are the beasts... it's our national penchant for buying animals when so many die in shelters.

Every night one of nine people show up at the Animal Care and Control center in New York to spend the night, and create a lasting memory for a dog who will be euthanized the following morning. Whether it is a long walk, a special treat, or just time spent cuddling, members of the Compassion Program make it their priority to ensure the dog is happy and loved on his final night.

As a person who never thought she could even walk the dogs at a shelter, and now I (with the help of other volunteers) manage my way through that, this is The Brass Ring -- not only of what needs to be done for shelter dogs but it is truly the hardest thing there is to do. I respect these people so much.

To be clear, NewYork City's Animal Care & Control partners with many non-profits and even spontaneously-started citizen efforts that provide comfort to the system's animals, like the Compassion Program, started four years ago by people who wanted to provide love during an animal's last moments. You can visit the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals to get more info on all the groups and people that partner. It is a truly impressive consortium of organizations working on behalf of the animals in NYC's shelters.

But every good thing has a bad side, right?  Coins have two sides. This week Manhattan Animal Care & Control (AC&C) did something right and they did something wrong.

The Compassion Program and it's fine work does not un-do the recent firing of an animal advocate at NYC's AC&C. Her name is Emily Tanen (from the New Hope Program) and not only did she help partner with local rescue organizations that adopted out the many dogs on the nightly euthanization list at Manhattan's AC&C, but she took beautiful photos of dogs who needed exposure with the public. Those efforts lead to many dogs being adopted. People cannot respond to a dog in need if they don't know she/he exists. I responded to the picture taken of my Mr. Wiggins (from a gassing shelter in Lousiana) and it prompted me to get on a plane to get him. I'll always be grateful to Bonnie E. on Facebook, who "shared" my little guy and pitched for his life to be saved.

Emily Tanen's story has been told by Penny Eims, nationally-known animal advocate and writer of a column for the National Examiner. You might consider writing a note on her behalf. Penny provides the address of NYC's Mayor and various appropriate parties. Many of us are angry Emily Tanen was fired, and are concerned dogs will now not get enough exposure to get adopted. Remember the slide I posted that showed the rate of euthanization going down in NYC? That success will be in jeopardy now.

Here are two graphs from New Hope's own site. These demonstrate the success that can be had when rescue groups and animal shelters are closely connected, and when animal's stories get told.

Please take a moment and protest Emily's firing.

From Penny's article about Emily Tanen:

If you would like to take part in bringing this situation to the attention of officials in the area, please do one or all of the following:

Sign the petition (there are currently 3,930 signatures on it and the goal is 10,000)... please pass this around!

Email Julie Bank, Director of NY ACC at jbank@nycacc.org

Drop Mayor Bloomberg a note at mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

Send Jane Hoffman (Mayor's Alliance) an email at info@animalalliancenyc.org

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You Heard About This, Right?

Hero Dog Helps Snare Osama

by Laura Caroe of The Sun (in the UK)

And here is another article by the NY Times about it.

 

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Dog Protects Toddler

... and thank God the kid is okay!

via wistv.com:

But during the night, Jacobson's mixed Labrador retriever was keeping watch over his 22-month-old master in temperatures that got down to the 40s. "I just wish I'd have known, I could have warmed him up, called the cops," said Harr.


Now, words of praise for the dog who likely helped save little Tyler's life. "Since he belonged to them, he must have followed them the whole way, so that's very special," said Harr.
And so this story has a happy ending, thanks to the special bond of a child's best friend.

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RIP, Diane Godnek-Knudson

This lady tried to save her drowning dog. She lost her life. She leaves a husband and another dog. I'm very sorry for their terrible loss.

I feel this lady was a hero and I send my sincerest condolences to her grieving family. Many mourn with them.

Penny Eims, of the examiner.com has the story.


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Never Walk Alone -- T-Shirt Drive!

http://www.dogisgood.com/servlet/the-58/Tee-cln---Never-Walk/Detail

Remember Troy and Emmie, walking across the country to raise awareness of our soldiers? Emmie's goal is to sell 40 t-shirts today.  Please give them a hand!

http://drumhike.com/index.html

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Hero Dog Saves Owner From Fire - Goes and Gets the Police!

via the Examiner.com in NY:

Amazing video from the dashboard camera of an Alaska State Trooper's vehicle shows how a dog led the trooper through snowy roads to a fiery blaze that had erupted at his owner's property.

The raw video, distributed by the Associated Press, shows Buddy the German Shepherd dog waiting by the side of a main road on a dark and cold night. As soon as Buddy sees the trooper's headlights, the dog takes off running down a smaller road, leading the trooper's car down the right path at each fork in the road to where the fire is blazing.

The incident occurred on April 4. Buddy and his owner, 23-year-old Ben Heinrichs, were in the family workshop when a heater ignited chemicals and the workshop burst into flames, reports the AP.

"I just told him, 'We need to get help,' and then that's the last time I seen him," Heinrichs told the News-Tribune. "I didn't train him or nothing. He just took off and went and did what he did. ... He was just being a good dog."

...Heinrichs survived the fire with minor flash burns to his face, reports the AP. Buddy will receive a special award today from the Alaska State Troopers: an engraved silver-plated dog bowl.

Full story:

http://www.examiner.com/x-1028-Pet-News-Examiner~y2010m4d23-German-Shepherd-dog-leads-Alaska-State-Troopers-to-fire-Video



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Give a Hand to Champ The Hero Dog

Please cross post this (and contribute if you can), as the rescue that took Champ in is paying his extensive vet bills.

via KTLA:

LOS ANGELES-- "Champ" the four year old German Shepherd mix was shot and badly hurt while protecting his family's home, and was scheduled to be euthanized after weeks of being kept as evidence. Now he needs help.

The shooter lodged several bullets in the dog's body, leaving Champ with a broken jaw bone, nerve problems, a bullet entry under his eye, and wounds covering his neck, shoulder, and abdomen.

Champ was kept as evidence while the intrusion case was pending, and was scheduled to be euthanized because his owners declined to get him the costly medical care he needed.

For full story via KTLA:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-champ-the-dog,0,2789359.story

For the update from Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, the rescue who took Champ in:  http://www.coastalgsr.org/

We received a plea from the South LA Shelter about a dog named Champ who was shot 5 times while protecting him home from an intruder. Champ has several bullets lodged in his body and needs medical care. He has been kept as evidence while the case was pending. He has now been released from evidence and will be euthanized if he is not rescued. His owners refused to get Champ the medical care he needs.

Coastal German Shepherd Rescue would like to rescue Champ and get him the medical care that he so desperately needs. His medical care is going to be costly as he has numerous injuries. The injuries that we know of are: bullets lodged behind ear, broken jaw bone, bullet lodged in upper leg causing nerve issues in his leg.

Champ needs to be seen by our wonderful vet team ASAP. We are planning to pick him up tomorrow and begin his care. We need your help though! Our medical bills are huge and we need your generous support to save Champ. Please make a donation to help save Champ today!

Update 3/12/10

Champ is truly a champ! We picked him up today and transported him to our wonderful vet team at Alicia Pet Care Center. He is getting a full body work up and we will know tonight what the medical plan is.

I can tell you this, Champ is one sweetheart of a boy! With the help of two other rescuers, we were able to capture his rescue on video and pictures. Check back soon for those. Champ gave his paw to all that would stop and give him a pet and a hello. He has wounds covering his neck, shoulder, abdomen and a bullet entry under his eye. With all of these wounds he still remained calm and collected! Please help us help Champ get his much needed medical care today! Every donation helps!

If you are interested in more information or if you would be interested in fostering or adopting this wonderful guy, please email Tiffany at tiffanycgsr@sbcglobal.net.

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xoxo (No judgement on Champ's family. We never know someone else's financial circumstance.)

Being There For Joey

I'm back from beautiful San Francisco and Los Angeles, where I traveled for a week for work. While in San Fran I had the pleasure of meeting a newly adopted female black and white pitbull, when I stopped in a pet store for a bone for Renaldo. A woman had adopted the pit from a shelter (and certain death) only five days before. What a sweetie! She was playing with toys in the store, picking out what Mommy was going to buy her. Pitbulls love squeak toys. I cautioned her not to put her dog with little dogs just yet, or even ever. I'm not a fan of pits with little dogs or kids, that is, unless they are raised together and the dog was a puppy or a very young one. I know a lot of pitbull fans probably will think that's an apostasy but 'thems the breaks.' It isn't that the dogs are bad (I love them, and leave in 45 minutes to go walk the babies at Yonkers Animal Shelter) but when they do bite, that bite is catastrophic. My personal feeling is that they are best suited (unless adopted young or as a puppy) by a single person, a couple, or a parent with an older kid. I say this while knowing of numerous families that have kids and pits, and I'm glad those work out. Were it my kid, I would not mix them. There are so many single people, so many childless couples that make suitable homes, and then get the love and companionship that comes from an extremely loyal and silly dog, that that seems the best route to me. They are wonderful animals, but one must exercise caution at all times when putting any dog with kids. Kids do kid things -- running, squeaking, shouting, sometimes crying, and some of these can be triggers for an already unsure dog, especially when left alone with a child.  And then there are the dogs that were never trained to not play-bite (something you can do with some dogs but should never consider doing with a pit!) and they don't know their own strength; this can escalate quickly into a bad situation. So the chance of catastrophy, while maybe not as likely as being in a car accident, is there and it normally ends badly for everyone involved.

While in San Fran, I spotted three other pits who were walking with cool looking people in the city. SF has a tendancy to be a politically correct (ha!) and folks there are pushing back against anti-pitbull forces. Good, they are beautiful and loving dogs and deserve homes.

Anyway, I scan the news for interesting stories all the time, and some I post here. This one happened back here in New York City, and I'm glad Joey is with a group that cares about him now. This kind of neglect is unnecessary, and cruel.  Mange can be treated easily enough; it's just a long treatment.

The heroes of this story are Picasso Veterinary Fund

and the

New York Police Department.

In case you don't know who Picasso Veterinary Fund is, here's a quote from their site:

Traditionally, animals with extreme medical needs who are taken in by animal control shelters are euthanized because the funds needed to pay for extensive surgeries and other expensive treatment just haven't been available. But many of these animals would make wonderful, loving pets if only they had access to the medical treatment they need. The Picasso Veterinary Fund was created to give these animals the second chances they deserve. By paying for medical treatment that otherwise would not be available to them, the Fund is saving lives that in the past would have been lost.

And this is the story about Joey, who is now doing well, also from their site:

When NYPD officers found Joey tied up to a bench at a beach in Far Rockaway on a cold February morning, he was more than a sight for sore eyes; he was the picture of the shameful result of neglect, to the point of abuse, that someone had perpetrated against this calm young dog.

Malnourished at 48 pounds and suffering from a horrific case of demodectic mange that had advanced to the point where it ruptured his hair follicles, the year-and-a-half old Pit mix also suffers from a bacterial skin infection secondary to the mange that involves three different types of bacteria. He also has a deep wound on his front left leg.

Here's the full story:

http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/picasso/scrapbook/joey.php

I would encourage support of this great group. Non profits are hard hit these days and even small gifts matter.

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xoxo (Thanks to Picasso Veterinary Fund and the New York Police Department -- truly NY's finest).

Kate Quigley...A True Hero

via LEE HILL KAVANAUGH for The Kansas City Star
photos by DAVID EULITT:

Read the story here:
http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1750734.html

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xoxo (God bless this woman. She's my hero.)

Stray Dog Saves Lives in Afghanistan

via The Times-Herald:

When a man dressed as an Afghanistan policeman came to the camp of Newnan-based National Guard soldiers deployed to the country and blew himself up, things could have been much worse without the efforts of a stray dog -- Rufus -- who had taken up with the soldiers.

Rufus is a true hero in the eyes of the soldiers, says Sgt. Devin Shaner of Newnan who is among those deployed with Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade.


The soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan in summer 2009. The deployment included, among others, soldiers with Georgia National Guard's Bravo Company Second Battalion, based in Newnan at the Jackson-Pless National Guard Armory. The Second Battalion consists of men and women from around this region of the state.

Five soldiers were injured in the blast, Shaner said: Sergeant Chris Duke, Staff Sergeant Charles Lancaster, Staff Sergeant Tony Davis, Staff Sergeant Marty Brownlee and Specialist First Class Garry Ware. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

Shaner, who grew up and has family in Coweta County, sent what he calls "The Rufus Story" via email to The Times-Herald to share with the people back home.
Among several dogs who have come into their base from time to time, the soldiers had somewhat adopted two of them, Shaner said.

Both dogs, the older dog named Rufus and a small puppy named Sasha, the night of the incident were seen barking at and trying to attack the intruder. Two of the five soldiers who were wounded heard the barking right outside their room and yelled at the dogs, Shaner said.

At that point the suicide bomber detonated himself in the doorway of the building, Shaner said. After the attack, witnesses said they saw Rufus and Sasha biting the leg of the intruder -- and the dogs are credited with keeping the attacker from making it no further into the building than the entrance.

"Had the dogs not tried to stop him, no one knows what the outcome would have been or how many more casualties we would have taken," Shaner writes.
The puppy Sasha did not survive the attack, but Rufus was found and treated for his injuries. He's a real survivor.

To show their appreciation to Rufus, three of the soldiers who were injured in the attack but were returning to duty soon are organizing an effort to have Rufus shipped back to the United States, Shaner said, as they plan to adopt him.

"These three soldiers feel that people at home should know 'The Rufus Story' as he is now viewed as a hero in their eyes," Shaner said in his email.
The soldiers of Newnan-based Bravo 2/121 are engaged in various missions during their deployment to Iraq, Shaner explained during a two-week break back home last August.

Shaner said he feels that his mission -- mentoring the Afghan Army -- is the most important of all. His team at that time was mentoring an Afghan Army battalion, fresh from basic training.

"It's the most important mission in Afghanistan," he said. "As soon as we get these guys" trained and ready to handle things themselves, "the sooner we can come home."

"Twenty years from now, in the history books, they're going to be writing about the mentoring training teams and how much we changed history," he said.

Shaner last August was filled with praise for the Coweta community and all the support his unit has received. Shaner's colleagues "have been great," said his wife, Christa. "They call and check on me. I got home one day and my grass had been cut," she said. The couple has two young sons.

When he's not fighting in Afghanistan, Shaner is fighting fires in Coweta. He is one of three Coweta County firefighters in Bravo Company.

When the National Guard group left Newnan last April, the soldiers first made a stop at Ruth Hill Elementary School to visit Shaner's mother, who has been a big supporter.



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Money Available to Foster Pets

This will be filed under "Hero"

http://www.hamptons.com/news/neighborhood/9785/rsvp-inc.-offers-stipend-for-pet-foster-care.html

RSVP Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit rescue organization, run entirely by volunteers. In a desperate attempt to help select dogs who have waited extended periods to be adopted, they are offering a $200/month stipend for a suitable foster home. The dogs are good dogs, but are in dire need of a better life beyond the lonely existence in a kennel. If you would like to consider this temporary, foster care arrangement and be a true hero to these innocent animals who long for love and companionship, contact RSVP at 631-728-3524 or visit http://www.rsvpinc.org/


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xoxo

Former Shelter Dog Rescues Three Girls From Rubble

via Mary Bushnell for the St. Louis Pets Examiner:

Search Dog Foundation

A rescue dog and his firefighter handler found three girls alive buried under four feet of concrete five days after the massive earthquake devastated Haiti. Hunter, a border collie, alerted to the girls buried deep in the rubble. They would not have been found otherwise.

Hunter is part of a wonderful group I heard about called the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. What I love about this group, is that they take shelter dogs to train. Some of these dogs are pulled from shelters right before being euthanized. Being killed for lack of a home, these dogs not only get a second chance but prove time and time again that shelter dogs are not only great pets, but that they can also be heroes.

Bill Monahan and Hunter

Photo: Eliot Crowley

Hunter and his handler Bill, continue to search as do all seven of the task forces from the Foundation presently in Haiti. You can keep up with them by going to http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/


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Michael Vick's Former Dog, Leo, is Now a Therapy Dog, and Other Pit Bull Videos That May Surprise You

Former Vick dog, Leo, brings smiles to cancer patients while they are receiving medical treatment.



And here is a story about Dog Town, the place where many of the Vick dogs went to be rehabilitated, successfully, I might add.



And here's one more, about a woman saved by her dog -- a pit bull named Lilly!





xoxo

What Would You Do For A Pigeon?

My friend George is a fellow animal lover. He took in a stray cat, whom he named Kenny, off the street in his neighborhood.  This, after he lost track of the cat and posted signs for it -- the already homeless cat!  I don't think I've ever heard of a person posting signs for a stray cat, but he did and now they are buddies for life.

I hear from George every so often and we share information about what we are both involved in.  Me, it's soldier support and animals. I feed the squirrels in my neighborhood, to the annoyance of pretty much everyone around me.  Something new George is involved in is the effort to preserve a part of the old Yankee Stadium. Here is a link to his recent piece published in the Norwood News about this effort:

http://www.norwoodnews.org/story/?id=1649

And here's his most recent note to me, which told such a funny story I just had to put it here:

Hi Adele-

I love the blog, and am always inspired by the pic of Saint Francis. You're a special person to care so much about animals.

Hey, I'm a special person, too...or a particularly reckless one, I'm not sure which. About a month ago, I was driving northbound on the FDR in the left lane, around 60th Street, when I saw a white pigeon in the sitting in the lane, all the way against the left-hand curb.

I slowed to a stop next to him, and opened my door to get a look at him. I couldn't see any problems, but he wouldn't take off, as most pigeons would do in that situation. Then he walked under my car.

Ignoring all the horns blaring behind me, I slowly backed up to expose the bird, and then got out of my car. The guy who had been forced to come to a stop behind me started cursing at me. "You crazy. You very crazy. You stop on highway," he was shouting.

"But didn't you see the bird?," I asked innocently. "Have a nice day."

Anyway, I was able to pick up the bird and put him in my car. He wasn't visibly injured, but didn't seem to be able to fly, and didn't have much energy to fight me as I picked him up (I'm saying "he" for convenience, but could have been a girl).

Now where to go? I took the bird to the Animal Medical Center, which is nearby, a facility I recall as a group of money-grubbing incompetents from when I used to take my dog there.

The woman at the counter looked at the patient with distaste. "Is it a bird or a pigeon?," she inquired.

"I'm pretty sure both," I replied.

She explained that they don't take pigeons there--especially pigeons without credit cards--but gave me the name of a facility on the West Side that accepts and rehabilitates injured pigeons (I don't remember the name, but I have their card around here someplace). In any case, I took the bird there and dropped him off, and they seemed glad to be able to help...I made a donation while I was there. I never called to ask how the bird made out, but God willing he's currently pooping on the windshield of someone who works at the Animal Medical Center.

A couple of weeks later, an update:

Unfortunately, I called to ask how the bird made out, and they said the records from two months ago "have moved on," and they don't remember the case, so they can't tell me. That doesn't sound good, and it seems odd that such recent records would not be available...but no matter what happened, it's still better to have died in a warm place surrounded by caring people, rather than on the highway.

The place I dropped off the bird is called the Wild Bird Fund, www.wildbirdfund.com, if you want to give them a plug.

______________________________________________________

I thought that was very sweet.  I loved the line "I'm pretty sure both."

Me, I don't mind the pigeons and to feed the little birds you end up feeding the pigeons. My super has a fit when they come to visit near my window. I have a small balcony that overlooks the front of my pretty landscaped building and there are lots of birds. Don't be fooled, it's not high falutin, but it does have a lot of character. And pigeons. They sit above my window waiting for the squirrels to come by and wave their little arms at me.  I throw out a handful of peanuts, then another, and sometimes freshen the water in the old pot I keep on the balcony.  That's the pigeons signal to start circling. Occasionally a person parking in the driveway swoops because a bird gets a little close. But everyone lives, so what the hey, says me.

Anyway, every so often my attempt at evasive feeding of the squirrels and birds fails and causes the super to notice. He then asks me nicely to please not feed them.  Because he is so nice to me and not grumpy like he is to other people, I make a resolution to listen to him, and employ another plan. I have a couple of U.S. flags on sticks hanging on my kitchen window, and I used them to wave the pigeons away and then throw some food into the bushes for the sparrows and their babies. Anyone looking at this spectacle would have believed me to be a very patriotic American, every single morning.  More recently, I have figured out that the morning doves like an afternoon feeding, so after work, when the pigeons are off somewhere else, I throw some food out.  The squirrels come by again in the afternoon, too, and I toss some sunflower seeds out to them (they are not as fond of almonds, though I am not sure why).  Some weeks I spend as much in the wild pet food aisle as I do in the rest of the supermarket.  After regular super-working hours, I sneak the 20lb. bag of bird seed upstairs and no one can pin it on me for sure. 

I have pulled over for dogs, an aligator, a coyote, and squirrels who looked hurt, but I cannot recall pulling over for a pigeon.  I find that impressive!


xoxo

Dog Saves Family From Fire

via WAPT

Dog (named Monster) Jumps On Door To Alert Family Of Fire

See this article for another Hero Dog. He woke the family up by jumping on the sliding glass door (he was outside) while they were asleep.

http://www.wapt.com/family/21286935/detail.html



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Hero Dog Saves Toddler -- YES! He was once a homeless dog!

When a young British Columbia family stopped to make camp in the Yukon wilderness they were surprised to see a scruffy dog that looked a bit like a coyote come out of the bush.

They saw the mongrel had porcupine quills sticking out of its face and tried to help, not knowing that simple act of kindness would be repaid in the most remarkable way – with the deliverance of their son from a life-threatening ordeal.

Two-year-old Kale disappeared into the bush wearing only a T-shirt on a cool and rainy night late last week. More than 24 hours later, search-and-rescue authorities found him alive, thanks in part to Koda, the yellow mutt with the quill-covered snout who protected the toddler and kept him warm overnight.

“A bear could have got him. Anything could have happened,” said Mike Bondarchuk, a local hotel owner who volunteered in the search for Kale. “What we do know is the dog stuck with him, all night and all the next day.”

Kale and Koda will now be able to stick together for good – Koda's owner has given the dog to the toddler's family.

“He was meant to be there at that time,” said Kim Dolan, the owner of Koda, who had been missing for about a week before meeting the boy.

“It was tough to give him away. I was in tears … but it was the right thing to do,” she said.

The toddler, whose last name has not been released, disappeared at about 6 p.m. Thursday while his parents set up their trailer near where North Canol Road crosses the Tay River, about 50 kilometres north of the Ross River, Yukon.

The parents, who asked authorities not to release their names, are experienced in the outdoors and had driven from Kamloops for the camping trip

The Tay River area is about as wild as it gets, with dense forest interspersed with willow thickets, marshes and rushing streams.

After the RCMP in Ross River – population 400 – were notified the boy was missing, a full-scale operation began, with search-and-rescue teams and volunteers responding from three Yukon communities.
But darkness fell with no sign of Kale, who had vanished into the dense bush.

Among the volunteers to arrive were Mr. Bondarchuk, who co-owns the Canol Road Hotel and Koda's owner Ms. Dolan, the daughter of his business partner. Ms. Dolan said Sunday that when she heard the mother of the missing boy describe the yellow dog that had been hanging around, she knew instantly it was her mutt, Koda, who is also called Squeak.

“She said the dog was kind of coyote looking and he had a face full of porcupine quills … I thought what are the chances? It's probably my dog,” said Ms. Dolan.

“He's a total mutt. A total kid dog … he just wants to be loved,” she said of Koda, an abandoned dog she adopted from the streets of Ross River several months earlier. Koda had wandered off before and often came home from the bush with porcupine quills in his face.

As the mother of two sons, Ms. Dolan said she knew what Kale's mother was going through, and comforted her by saying: “That's my dog out there. He won't leave your son.”

Mr. Bondarchuk, who joined the ground search, said he was told the father of the missing boy had pulled some porcupine quills out of the dog's face before his son had vanished. Keiser Sterriah, 14, was getting ready to go hunting with his father, Norman, when news about the missing boy spread through Ross River. They were among a group of about 25 volunteers who responded, along with search and rescue specialists from Faro and Whitehorse.

“They told us we were looking for a little boy in a T-shirt, he had no jacket, and he was last seen with a yellow dog,” Keiser said. “They told us to look under logs because he might be curled up there. And we just started going through the bush … it's very dense there, lots of marshes … there were grizzly tracks nearby,” he said.

“I can only imagine what was going through the mother's mind at the time,” Michael Pealow, a member of the Whitehorse District Search and Rescue Society team wrote in blog posted on the weekend.

“The night was cold and wet and the terrain in the area is rough. . . Most adults wouldn't make it through the night before succumbing to hypothermia, let alone a two-year-old child.”

At 6:40 Friday evening – nearly 25 hours after Kale vanished – a helicopter using forward-looking infrared radar picked up a heat image on the ground, about two kilometres from the camp site. The pilot saw a dog running for cover.

Bill Wood, of the Faro Search and Rescue team, said a ground crew working nearby went to the scene and found the boy, about 40 metres off the gravel road.  They later recovered Koda, who had been scared by the helicopter. He was still stuck with porcupine quills, which the rescuers removed.

“I'm sure it definitely helped [the boy survive],” said Mr. Wood of the dog.

“Overnight they would have been able to cuddle for warmth and a companion makes a world of difference – it doesn't matter if you're a little boy or an adult.”


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