Will Dogs' Systems Help Humans Cure Cancer for Both Species?

Two researchers with personal stakes in the outcome make use of dogs' similarity to people.

Anyone who has loved a dog as part of the family can tell you just how much dogs have in common with humans. The joy that they show when they're rewarded, their shame when they're punished for doing something wrong, the way that they bond with a family and its home -- all these things feel intimately human, and it's why so many of us see dogs as companions more than pets or property.

But like good companions, we share a lot of bad with the good. One of the things that dogs and humans have in common is cancer. Just like us, the cells in a dog's body can mutate and grow into tumors until everything else in the body stops working.

Two scientists in Philadelphia and New Jersey are hoping that something good might come out of that similarity between dogs and humans. Professor Karen Sorenemo studies mammary cancer, the dog equivalent of breast cancer, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Since 2009, she has collaborated with Olga Troanskaya, an oncologist at Princeton, to see what studying cancer in dogs can tell us about cancer in humans.

The two met when Troanskaya brought her own dog, suffering from cancer, to be treated by Sorenemo. Over the next six months, they talked about their work and began to see the benefits of putting their heads together.

At Penn, Sorenemo runs the Shelter Canine Mammary Tumor Program, which cares for shelter dogs that have developed mammary cancer. The project means a lot to her, she told Delaware Online: "It's a feel-good program for me personally because it has provided me the opportunity to care for these more vulnerable dogs who are mistreated and neglected and really need to have their luck turn. ... The dogs receive care, and if we can learn how their mammary cancer evolves we may be able to determine if there are comparisons with humans."

The rate of mammary cancer in shelter animals is extremely high, because so many of the dogs are unspayed. Spaying a dog before she goes into heat for the first time reduces her chances of developing mammary cancer to only 0.5 percent; unspayed adult dogs develop it four times more often than spayed dogs.

From the scientific perspective, the shorter lifespan of dogs also means that the cancer grows and spreads more quickly. It's easier for doctors to see tumors in many different stages of development in dogs as compared with studying human tumors. When Sorenemo removes tumors from the dogs, she freezes the tissue and sends it to Princeton, where Troanskaya and her team performs molecular analysis on them. What they really want is to find what hormones or genetic factors cause a benign tumor to become malignant.

For both women, it's a deeply personal study as well: Sorenemo's mother died of breast cancer, and shortly after she teamed up with Troanskaya, her sister and Troanskaya's mother were diagnosed with the same disease.

As for the dogs themselves, not only do they get the needed medical care, but coming to Penn is an escape from overcrowded shelters. When their treatment is done, the former patients are placed in foster care or with permanent families.

Via Delaware Online

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Deputies Stop a Dog Fight, and a Suspect Is Bitten in the Melee

Eight men are arrested in a South Carolina field -- including one "brought down" by one of the dogs.

In the official taxonomy of boneheadedness, there are two primary types: being boneheaded by virtue of stupidity, and being boneheaded by malice. And then, there are the cases that crank the boneheadedness up to 11 by combining the two.

People who run or attend dog fights usually fall into the last category of boneheads. (At least, that's the language we use when the kids are around.) Dogfighting is a malicious and ugly kind of abuse that requires about three brain cells. And while I'm never happy to be writing up any kind of article about a dog fight, the recent case of a bust in South Carolina at least has the compensation of some charmingly poetic justice.

Early Saturday morning in Effingham, South Carolina, sheriff's deputies came across a dog fight that was about to start in an empty field. A perimeter had already been set up with two Pit Bulls facing off. When the deputies arrived, the organizers and audience immediately tried to flee, heading for the nearby woods. At least one of the dogs didn't seem quite so keen on letting them go: Sheriff Kenney Boone said on his Facebook page that one of the dogs "escaped ... after attacking and bringing down one of the fleeing suspects."

The deputies arrested eight men, and in addition to the remaining dog, deputies seized three guns, some cocaine, marijuana, and a little more than $2,800 in cash.

As of now, there are no reports of the escaped dog being caught. The fate of the dog who was brought in is still uncertain, but for now, he's recovering comfortably at Florence County Environmental Services. Herbie Christmas, of Environmental Services, told SCNow that the dog has lacerations on his face and neck and may have a broken leg, but otherwise is very friendly.

"I saw him at 6 a.m.," Christmas said. "He was wagging his tail and even came to the fence and licked my hand. But actually, animals that are bred to fight don't usually show aggression toward humans, because their handlers have to get in the ring with them. So if they show aggression toward the handlers, they usually don't make the cut. They're trained to be aggressive to other animals, not humans."

The dog who escaped seems to have been willing to make at least one exception for that rule. We hope that both will find happy endings, wherever they wind up.

Via WMBF News and SCNow 

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FDA Reports Almost 600 Dog Deaths Linked to Jerky Treats

Despite testing hundreds of samples and inspecting facilities in China, investigators still can't identify the source of the problem.

According to a new report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there are still plenty of reasons to be careful about giving your dog those jerky treats that they so dearly love. Earlier this year, Joe's Jerky Treats and Dogswell announced recalls of their treats made in China because of contamination with salmonella and antibiotic residue. On Tuesday, the FDA released a progress report stating that reports of illness or death due to jerky treats have declined sharply since the product recalls, but it's still investigating, and it says vets and pet owners should still be cautious.

The FDA reported more than 3,000 complaints about illness linked to chicken, duck, or sweet potato jerky treats, including almost 600 deaths since 2007. The problems include gastrointestinal and kidney problems, including Fanconi syndrome.

Bernadette Dunham, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, says that "This is one of the most elusive and mysterious outbreaks we've encountered." The FDA reports that it has tested 1,200 samples and inspected facilities in China, but it still can't find the source of the problems. Dunham says that "Our beloved four-legged companions deserve our best effort, and we are giving it," and that the FDA wants to hear from veterinarians and consumers about any symptoms that might be connected to jerky treats.

So what do you look for if you're afraid that your beloved pet might have gotten a bad treat? A fact sheet released by the FDA says that the most common symptoms include decreased appetite, low energy, increased water consumption, urination, diarrhea, or vomiting within a few hours of eating a jerky treat. Even though reports are declining, for now it might be a good idea to look for alternative tasty rewards for your four-legged friend.

Via Food and Drug Administration Website

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Photography Ban Is the Latest Chapter in a Controversy at a Tennessee Rabies Control Center

Rescuers, who allege harsh conditions at the facility, say the policy hinders adoption efforts.

Sometimes it seems almost a matter of courtesy to take a photo of someone's dog acting adorable and then share it with the rest of the world via Instagram or Twitter. In any case, you rarely hear people objecting to pictures being taken of their pets. Typically, they just stand aside, beaming like proud parents while you immortalize their pet in a high-rez, HDR image on your phone. And when it comes to adoption, rescue groups often use photo-sharing on the Internet to help find animals in shelters homes.

And then, there are people like those at the Jackson-Madison County Rabies Control Center in Tennessee. They would be very happy if you refrained from taking pictures or video of the animals in their facility, thank you very much. They've gone so far as to make an official policy saying so, which has added another layer of controversy around the center, which has already seen its share in the last few months.

The ban is in part a response to some extremely harsh allegations made by local activists about the conditions of animals at the center, including overcrowding, lack of medical care, a high rate of euthanasia, and dirty living conditions. The management has said that all the allegations are false, and it characterizes them as "hysteria." The Jackson-Madison County Health Department says that it has investigated all the claims and come up with nothing. The center says that the "no pictures" policy is at the advice of its attorneys, to prevent false claims of abuse.

But the activist group Reform Jackson Rabies Control sees the new policy as an attempt by the center to suppress criticism. Bridget Gross told local TV station WBBJ, "They want pictures shown of the dogs, but in the good conditions. They don't want the diarrhea, they don't want the bloody parvo pictures, they don't want the cats with the urine or feces floating in their bowls."

Rescuers say that it makes their job harder because if they can't post pictures of the dogs that are up for adoption, it makes the chances of finding homes for them increasingly slim.

"If we can't get the pictures out to the rescues, then we can't find a place for them," rescuer Susan Bell said. "If we can't take pictures then we can't really network."

Workers at the center are still posting pictures of animals on their own website, but photography by non-staff is forbidden.

At a protest against the Center in September, one of reform group's leaders, Rachael Ray (no, not the one with the cooking show) claimed that conditions were so bad that it might be better to consider closing the whole thing down.

"I don't think it's enough for JRC to just start following state law," she told the Jackson Sun. "We need way more than that. As far as the law is concerned, animals really don't have a lot of rights. You can tie a dog up to a tree and make it live that way for 14 years. I'm looking for more than the bare minimum."

One of the most perplexing things about the whole fuss about taking pictures is that there really do seem to be very few pictures available on the Internet chronicling the allegations that the activists are making. Even on the group's Facebook page, there are only three photographs: one of the sign banning photographs, one of a group logo, and one of a dog in a cage with a large red stain on the ground.

The comments claim that the stain is blood caused by the Parvo virus, and that the dog was killed with a heartstick after that. It seems that for all the controversy over photography, pictures don't make up the main thrust of Reform Jackson Rabies Control's case, and the policy probably isn't going to slow down its allegations.

Via WBBJ and Jackson Sun

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Oblio the Dog Has Water on the Brain, But That's His "Point"

Named for a character in Harry Nilsson's "The Point," he shows that dogs can have a good life despite suffering from hydrocephalus.

Let's take a trip in my time machine -- yes, I totally have a time machine!

So let's return to the early 1970s, when Harry Nilsson wrote and recorded The Point. It all happened when the musician was on, uh, human catnip (so to speak), and he was looking at the trees and everything, and, as one is apt to do on the 'nip, he started thinking. Among those thoughts was how everything has a point, and if something doesn't have a point, then that's the point -- The Point!

What does this have to do with dogs? Uh, everything! Because I want to tell you about a dog named Oblio, who is named after the main character of The Point. 

You see, in the album turned cartoon, Oblio is the only one in his village born without a point, which leads the other kids to make fun of him. Similarly, Oblio the dog is a little different than most other dogs -- he was born with hydrocephalus, also known as "water on the brain." Interestingly, it was this defect that got Oblio a free ticket out of the puppy mill he was rescued from; however, his fate is a very rare and lucky one.

Oblio's condition is probably the result of poor breeding, but the little dog wants everyone to know that hydrocephalus isn't a death sentence. Sure, it means that Oblio has a dome-shaped head where the bones on top don't meet; that he's blind in one eye, experiences seizures, has bad coordination, and won't grow as quickly as other dogs, but that doesn't mean he's pointless! The point of Oblio is to prove that other dogs with similar conditions can and do thrive, and also make fabulous pets.

All photos via Oblio's Facebook page, which you should go like and tell him Dogster sent you!

Read about other Monday Miracles on Dogster:

About Liz Acosta: Dogster's former Cuteness Correspondent, Liz still manages the site's daily "Awws," only now she also wrangles Dogster's social media. That's why she wants you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and -- her personal favorite -- Instagram. See ya there!

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Can Dogs Help Women Ease the Anxiety of Pregnancy?

Pregnancy is an anxious time, but including all members of the family might alleviate stress.

Pregnancy can be a stressful enough experience on its own, so you can only imagine how lonely and frightening it is for women who are hospitalized on bed rest. Luckily, pregnant women at Denver's Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center are allowed visits from their dogs  to help ease anxiety, according to KCNC-TV.

Jesi Roskop has been at St. Luke's for five weeks now. She is expecting her fourth child, and due to complications, she must be regularly monitored. Her husband, Doug Roskop, stays at the hospital one night a week and brings the kids, including Milo the mini Dachshund, on weekends.

"It makes it feel more like home. It's comforting, you know," said Jesi. "To me, this is one of my kids."

For anxious and worried patients, dogs are the perfect companions at the hospital.

Dr. Angela Gray agrees: "We know that when the body is less stressed, there's less complications in general. And so if an animal can provide decreased stress and happiness, then that would be a bonus for our patients, and us."

Still, patients must get permission to bring their dogs in, and all pups must have recent vet checks and vaccinations. And just like at home, parents must clean up after their pets.

This article first ran on our friend site, Pawnation. See more recent stories from the site:

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Meet Kenny the Double-Dappled, Double-Disabled Dachshund

Kenny is both blind and deaf, but don't call him dumb! Rescued from a hoarder, this Dachshund gets around just fine.

Kenny is not only double-dappled, he's double-disabled. The little Dachshund with a speckled coat is both blind and deaf.

Kenny's lack of sight and sound are a direct result of irresponsible breeding. When two dappled Doxies make puppies, it increases the chances of the dogs being born with a range of disabilities ranging from blindness to deafness, or with no eyes or ears at all. Yet people still take the risk because they want to sell dogs with unique and highly sought-after coats. Not worth it, in Dogster's humble opinion.

Kenny specifically was rescued from a hoarder, so who knows if he's the result of rampant, unchecked mating, or came from some other horrible situation. The point is that he now has a fantastic forever home with a family of humans who were at first anxious about undertaking all the extra responsibility of a special-needs dog, but have stepped up to the challenge. Kenny shares his home with another dappled Dachshund who was rescued from a puppy mill.

Despite being blind and deaf, Kenny is an adventurous pup who can be found scampering all over the house. On his Facebook page, Kenny advocates for the adoption of special needs dogs. Sure it's a little different than owning a "regular" dog, but, as Kenny proves, it is just as rewarding.

There are more photos like these on Kenny's Facebook page -- go say "Hello," and tell him Dogster sent you!

Meet more Monday Miracles on Dogster:

About Liz Acosta: Dogster's former Cuteness Correspondent, Liz still manages the site's daily "Awws," only now she also wrangles Dogster's social media. That's why she wants you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and -- her personal favorite -- Instagram. See ya there!

View the original article here

Hiker Saves Pit Bull Shot and Left for Dead on Arizona Mountainside

Shot and left for dead on an Arizona mountainside, Elijah the pit bull owes his life to the dedication of hiker Andi Davis.

The last thing Arizona native Andi Davis expected as she completed her morning hike was to find a new best friend, but that's exactly what happened. As Ms. Davis reached the summit, she came across a horrific sight: A two-year-old, 40-pound black and white pit bull, shot and left for dead on the mountainside with no collar and no identification. He was barely breathing and didn't have much time left to live.

Despite her fear of the breed, Davis scooped up the dog and carried him down the steep mile and a half trek, taking over an hour to reach the bottom with the critical canine in her arms.

The Davis family rushed the pit bull -- now called Elijah -- to the Arizona Humane Society's Second Chance Animal Hospital. When the team of vets examined the motionless dog on their exam table, they found extensive damage, including a gaping wound on the left side of his chest. Upon X-raying the wound, the veterinary team found bullet fragments in Elijah's shoulder and a bullet in the middle of his neck.

The team decided not to operate as the bullet and fragments were close to Elijah's spine for fear of causing irreparable nerve damage, instead opting to give him pain medication and antibiotics. The vets say he may require surgery in the future as the healing continues and the full extent of his injuries becomes clearer.

As for Elijah? The Davis family has adopted him and is making sure he's living in the lap of luxury with their other three dogs. Jessi Davis, the family's 10-year-old daughter, has been by Elijah's side nonstop since he entered their lives, keeping a close eye on his physical and emotional healing. Elijah's rehabilitation continues to be monitored by the veterinary team at the Arizona Humane Society.

Sources: CBS5AZ.com (Video)

Photographs courtesy of the Arizona Humane Society.

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R.I.P. Boogie: Lab Dies 10 Days After Running a Half-Marathon

"Boogie was a rascal and he went out the way he wanted, by being a little mischievous and not being too shy to soak up the glory."

We heard some very sad news over the weekend: Boogie Butts, the chocolate Labrador who captured a gold medal (and plenty of public affection) earlier this month for finishing a half-marathon in Evanston, Indiana, died last week.

Owner Jerry Butts wrote on Boogie's webpage that the dog had died on Tuesday, Oct. 15, of a heart attack, only 10 days after his run in the Evanston Half-Marathon made him a media star. Anyone who's ever lost a pet knows the sense of grief and loss described in Jerry's announcement:

"You know him as the first dog thought to have completed a half marathon unassisted, but to me and my sons, he was our companion, our watchdog, and a member of our family. Boogie was a rascal and he went out the way he wanted, by being a little mischievous and not being too shy to soak up the glory."

Boogie was 10 years old when he died.

Boogie became an unofficial contestant after he slipped his leash the night before the race. Coming across a large mass of people running down the street, he apparently thought that joining in sounded like good fun, and continued all the way to the finish line.

Boogie ran 13 of the 13.1 miles in two hours and 15 minutes, besting 1,128 human runners. (In defense of the human contestants, having two extra legs may be considered an unfair advantage.) Although he didn't come in first, and wasn't actually an official contestant, Boogie was awarded a medal and got much more press coverage than any other entrant; the attention includd stories by Time and an appearance on Today. Jerry Butts and his family say that they are asking people to make donations to the Vanderburgh Humane Society in Boogie's memory.

On Facebook, Jerry closed Boogie's death announcement by saying, "Don't forget to hug your furry family members a little closer this evening." That's sweet and solid advice.

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A Hero Pit Bull Defends His Friend -- a Cat -- from Coyotes

When two coyotes emerged from the woods to eat the cat, her best friend was there to stop them.

Let's face it: Pit Bulls get bad press. From most media coverage of the breed, Pits sound like they're the dogs that would beat up Cujo and take his lunch money, just for kicks. So when a nice, heartwarming story about a Pit Bull crosses the desk, we have to say something.

Sherree Lewis of Seminole, Florida, has two pets, both rescue animals: her son's Pit Bull, Jack, and a cat named (appropriately enough) Kitty. The two animals not only get along well, but they are best buddies. This week, Jack saved Kitty's life from two coyotes who thought that she was dinner.

The coyotes emerged from the woods behind the Lewis' house and grabbed Kitty in their jaws. One took her by the head, one by the tail, and they started violently shaking her.

"I didn't know Jack could run that fast," Lewis said. "He was on them so fast."

Jack chased the coyotes away from Kitty, and the cat is now in recovery, suffering from a broken tooth and brain swelling. Even now, Jack is still there for his feline friend, Lewis says: "He probably feels like he's the caretaker. He checks on her every day and sniffs her, seeing what kind of shape she is in."

While Kitty recovers, Lewis is working to make sure that this doesn't happen again. She has hired a trapper to lay out traps in the mangroves behind the house, where the coyotes are probably living. In the meantime, Jack is standing guard over Kitty, and he keeps watching for the coyotes to return.

The inherent sweetness of the relationship between Kitty and Jack aside, this is a story that really strikes home for me, as I'm sure it does for a lot of people who have owned pets in rural areas. When I was a kid, my most visceral fear wasn't monsters under the bed, it was coyotes coming for my cat. The hills behind my house were filled with rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and coyotes, and the latter loved to make meals out of the local cats. Very occasionally, you might hear the wild screeching of a cat in the night as it was seized by a hungry coyote. They got one of my cats when I was very young, and when I got another, I was obsessive about always knowing where he was after dark. With more dogs like Jack around, it might have been a less scary time.

FOX 13 News

Via: MyFox, Tampa Bay

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Dogster Shelter Dog Wednesday: Houndy Waited 10 Long Years But Finally Went Home

Rescue group Four Paws stopped bringing him to adoption events but never lost hope.

For Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, we're featuring shelter dogs rescued by members of our Dogster community. Last week we featured Todd, a Pomeranian rescued from a hoarding situation of 40 dogs. Underweight and sick, Todd was at first terrified of his new home, but quickly grew to love it, just as his family grew to love him. You can read the rest of his story here.

This week we have Houndy, a frosted-face senior who waited 10 years to finally go home. 

Houndy entered a local shelter in 2001 when he was only about two years old. Sporting a black coat, which may or may not have affected his adoption prospects, Houndy waited in the shelter, which unfortunately decided to euthanize him on account of overcrowding. That's when Four Paws, a rescue organization that saw potential in Houndy, swept in and took him on as a foster.

However, it would be a long time before Houndy found his fairytale ending. At adoption event after adoption event, Houndy always wound up leaving without a family to call his own. After not just months, but years of this, Four Paws began to lose hope and stopped bringing Houndy to adoption events. They kept one ember alive by leaving his bio online.

Which is how his forever family would finally find him. His human friend began volunteering with Four Paws in 2008, and when she found Houndy's bio online, she was surprised -- she thought she knew all the dogs at Four Paws! Upon meeting him, she found Houndy drastically different from his photo: Taken when the dog was just a youngster, it did not show the white face he had developed after 10 years of waiting.

But that made his human friend love him all the more, so she decided to foster him. It would be almost a year before she finally adopted the dog after a medical scare that made her realize just how much she loved Houndy. It may have been a long, long journey, but Houndy is finally exactly where he needs to be.

Photos via Houndy's Dogster page 

Read about other shelter dogs and adoption on Dogster:

About Liz Acosta: Dogster's former Cuteness Correspondent, Liz still manages the site's daily "Awws," only now she also wrangles Dogster's social media. That's why she wants you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and -- her personal favorite -- Instagram. See ya there!

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Two Very Large Dogs Get a Free Plane Ride Across the U.S., Thanks to Wrigley Heiress

Airlines refused to fly a U.S. Marine's Anatolian Shepherds home, so Helen Rosburg stepped in.

It turns out that Wrigley chewing gum is good for more than getting you through excruciating nicotine withdrawal, popping your ears after a long flight, or decorating the underside of your school desk. Well, at least you can say that about the family behind the company. Although this will probably destroy my reputation as a hardened cynic, I have to admit to feeling a little verklempt at the story of how Helen Rosburg, the heiress to the Wrigley family fortune, paid to fly a family's two dogs across the country.

Andrew Morales, a U.S. Marine, rescued two Anatolian Shepherd mixes three years ago while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. The dogs, Dusty and Wyatt, have become part of the Morales family since they came home with Andrew, but it looked like his most recent assignment would tear that family apart. Airline after airline told him that the dogs were too big to fly on commercial planes. It looked like the family members might just have to leave their beloved pets in California while they started a new life in North Carolina.

So the Morales family did what people do in the 21st century: They turned to the Internet for help. The organization that had originally helped to bring the dogs back from Afghanistan put out an online call for people to help Dusty and Wyatt travel with their family. Their plea for help eventually reached Rosburg, a passionate animal lover who founded the On the Wings of Angels rescue organization and raises German Shepherds for service and military training.

"Everybody in my circle knows what I do," Rosburg told ABC News. "If they see an impossible situation, they'll post something to my [Facebook] timeline."

On hearing that the Morales family might have to leave Dusty and Wyatt behind, Rosburg chartered a private plane to take the two dogs from California to North Carolina.

"From the bottom of me and my wife's hearts we really appreciate what she did for us," Morales said.

So not only are members of the Morales family back together with their furry companions, but there's no doubt that a chartered plane was a much more comfortable way for the dogs to travel than your standard commercial flight. Here's hoping that the dogs are settling into their new home.

Via ABC News

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Dogster Hero: The Vet Who Helped Dozens of Dogs Out of a Hoarding Situation

Under Dr. Grace Anne Mengel's lead, veterinary students at Penn Vet stepped in to give the rescued pups a full checkup.

Grace Anne Mengel, Penn Vet staff veterinarian, received an urgent phone call in late July. In a hoarding-like situation, a breeder in Louisiana was found to be housing nearly 150 Magnolia Brittany Spaniels. Sue Spaid, president of the National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network, had made arrangements with local police to have the dogs removed from the horrible conditions. The dogs were then sent to a holding facility, where a team from Louisiana State University’s veterinary school triaged them and administered rabies and DA2PP vaccines.

Following the first stages of treatment, Spaid alerted the Brittany Rescue Network and arranged for professional transport of the dogs. They were sent to rescue chapters around the country to receive shelter and further treatment while awaiting adoption. Twenty-six of the Brittanys were sent to the Country Comfort Kennels in Delta, PA, about two hours from Philadelphia.

Dr. Mengel runs Penn Vet’s Primary Care Service, which gives fourth-year students hands-on preparation for clinical practice. Upon hearing that the Rescue Network needed a physical and behavioral assessment of the dogs, she recognized a unique learning opportunity for her students, and quickly organized a trip to Delta. Seven Primary Care students, as well as Dr. Shannon Kerrigan and Dr. Carlo Siracusa, head of Ryan Hospital’s behavior service, accompanied Dr. Mengel on the visit.

Given the dire conditions in which the dogs had been living, Dr. Mengel and the team were pleasantly surprised by the dogs’ amazing temperaments. “They are a great bunch of dogs who came from a very bad situation and managed to adjust quite well in their new environment,” Mengel said.

Unfortunately, 18 of the 26 dogs tested positive for heartworm. The eight heartworm-negative dogs were brought to Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital for testing and neutering. The following week, the heartworm-positive dogs were brought for chest radiographs for heartworm disease staging. All of the dogs were put on a 90-day heartworm treatment protocol. One of the dogs had such an advanced case that it required surgery.

Not only was this a valuable clinical experience for the students, but it was also a wonderful example of collaboration at Penn Vet. “Lots of people from many services and areas of the hospital stepped up to help treat the Brittanys,” said Dr. Mengel. “The nursing staff, interns, and residents were quick to pitch in. Surgery, pathology, and cardiology all came together to help us with this project.”

Today, the heartworm-positive dogs are continuing their treatment protocol and are still being housed at the Country Comfort Kennels in Delta. Once their heartworm disease is treated and they are neutered/spayed, they will be adopted out to their forever homes. The few dogs that were heartworm-negative are either in foster homes or have been adopted.

Source: Penn Vet, republished with permission.

Do you know of a rescue hero — dog, human, or group — we should profile on Dogster? Write us at dogsterheroes@dogster.com. 

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Should a City Limit Households to Owning Only Three Dogs?

Meridian, Mississippi, did, and people who own more are being told to get rid of some.

The stereotype of the "crazy cat lady" who keeps scores of cats is so well-worn that it's now little more than an offensive punchline. But in the city of Meridian, Mississippi, the authorities are more worried about people who own too many dogs. The City Council just passed an ordinance limiting residents to no more than three dogs apiece.

Although the council in the city of about 41,000 insists that the ordinance is for the benefit of  dogs and humans, it's being vigorously attacked by owners and shelters alike. The penalty for violating the ordinance is a fine from $50 to $1,000, with as long as 90 days in jail. Every day that a household exceeds the limit, it will be prosecuted as a separate misdemeanor, just as if every day someone were caught burgling a different house.

The ordinance doesn't make allowances for owners who already have more than three dogs, which means that some people are going to have to start making some hard choices if the ordinance remains. Councilman Randy Hammon says that those people will just have to cope with it.

"They are going to have to grow up, get fewer pets," Hammon told the Meridian Star. "We are not in a city where people need to be raising dogs."

Whoa, Mr. Hammon. Just, whoa.

Ashley Owen Hill of Lucky Dog Rescue offered a different perspective: "For a lot of people, dogs are their children, and this is basically asking them to get rid of some of their children, pick and choose between which children they can keep, and without any warning or real reason."

But to Hammon and other supporters of the ordinance, they're protecting the community from pet owners who have no consideration for either their pets or their neighbors. In one recent case, a single person was keeping 38 dogs on one piece of property; when animal control came in, officers took away only six of the dogs. 

"You need to have your neighbors' best interests at heart as well as your own," Hammon says. "If you want to raise them or sell them, go out in the county, get a pen and set yourself up."

Cats aren't included in the law. Meridian residents can continue to have as many cats -- or any other domestic animal -- as they want because the city doesn't see them causing as many problems in terms of noise and crowding. The ordinance was inspired by residents who complained about their neighbors keeping large numbers of dogs, such as the one that Hammon mentioned.

Councilwoman Kim Houston made a similar argument: "To have 10 or 20 dogs in one tight spot in a fence without the ability to really move around is really not good for the animal, the owner, or the neighbors."

No doubt, and we advocate against this type of hoarding. But a limit of three? Even if the dogs are happy and healthy with all the space they need? And did we mention that people who'll have to get rid of animals they love?

The extra dogs will eventually have to go somewhere, and that means that a lot of them will probably wind up in shelters, perhaps being killed before they can find a family. It's hard to argue that someone should be keeping 38 dogs in an urban area, but the strict limit might be going after the problem with an awfully big stick, especially when you consider how much people love their dogs.

Hill acknowledges the problem of overcrowding in homes and shelters, but she believes that the ordinance is the wrong solution. She favors promoting spaying and neutering of dogs.

"That cuts down on the overpopulation," she says. "That cuts down on the issues with overcrowding as well, so I think that's where the focus should be instead of on limiting the number of pets people can have."

Via Meridian Star and WTOK

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Sad News: Leaf the Rescue Greyhound Is Gone

The dog who spent her life breeding puppies at a dog-racing track crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

Today is a sad day for us at Dogster. A rescue Greyhound named Leaf, who bred puppies at an Oklahoma dog-racing track for years and whose dog mom, Teresa King, we talked with just last week, has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Teresa lives in California, and she fell in love with Leaf,who had spent her entire life in the racetrack kennel. For Teresa it was love at first sight when she saw a picture of Leaf online. She spent the next three years adopting three of Leaf's puppies, but never forgot that mama dog whose picture she had fallen in love with. Finally just this summer Tereasa was able to bring Leaf home to California.

As Leaf was settling into her much deserved retirement, and for the first time had a home of her own complete with walks, squishy dog beds, and peanut butter, she was diagnosed with cancer. This morning Dogster got the sad news that Leaf had peacefully passed away. It seems impossibly cruel that this story of faith and love could end so soon. But maybe it hasn't. Although Leaf didn't live long after rescue to enjoy her newfound freedom, she made the most out of every moment she was given, and her story and legacy continues to live on.

All of us here at Dogster want to express our condolences to Leaf's mom, Teresa, the rest of her canine pack, and the dedicated folks of Golden State Greyhound Adoption, who worked tirelessly to save Leaf, her puppies and countless other Greyhounds.

About the author: Sassafras Lowrey is a dog-obsessed author based in Brooklyn. She is the winner of the 2013 Berzon Emerging Writer Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation, and the editor of two anthologies and one novel. Sassafras is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor, and she assists with dog agility classes. She lives with her partner, two dogs of dramatically different sizes, and two bossy cats. She is always on the lookout for adventures with her canine pack. Learn more at her website.

Read more by Sassafras Lowrey:

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Monument for Military Dogs Is Set to Open in San Antonio

The Lackland Air Force Base structure honors the four breeds used most often in the military.

The United States government has no shortage of military monuments, but until now, there have been no national monuments commemorating dogs who have served alongside the soldiers. On Monday (Oct. 28) at an Air Force base in San Antonio, that changes.

A dedication ceremony for the U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument, whose backers we interviewed earlier this year, will be held at Lackland Air Force Base, which has been home to the Military Work Dogs program since 1958. The program trains dogs for a variety of jobs including patrolling and detection of drugs or explosives. Right now, the U.S. armed forces have about 2,300 active working dogs in their ranks.

The monument is the passion of 65-year-old John Burnam, who served as a scout dog handler in Vietnam.

"I experienced firsthand how valuable these dogs are at saving soldiers' lives," Burnam said in a press statement. "Yet, despite their value, when we pulled out of Vietnam the dogs were left behind. They were fellow soldiers and they were our best friends. They were heroes and they were left to die. So I was determined to get the dogs, of all wars, recognized at the highest level of our nation's government and then build them a magnificent national monument to ensure they would never be forgotten again."

The monument that is the culmination of Burnam's effort depicts a modern military dog handler, surrounded by four dogs, representing the breeds that have been most commonly used in the military: a Doberman Pinscher, a German Shepherd, a Labrador Retriever, and a Belgian Malinois. Today, the majority of dogs serving with the armed forces are Shepherds.

Dogs have been used in the U.S. military in various capacities for more than a century: During World War I, they were used to clear rats and other vermin from the trenches. It was during World War II that the military started training them in mass quantities. More than 10,000 dogs were trained and deployed in World War II, mostly as sentries.

The training that dogs go through today is far more sophisticated than it was in the 1940s, and dogs go almost everywhere that humans do. Training for military dogs can include learning to jump out of helicopters, or even remaining calm in free fall while parachuting with a human handler.

While so much is becoming virtualized and remote-controlled, dogs are becoming more a part of the military than ever. Most of them might not be able to appreciate the big bronze monument that Burnam worked to get them, but hopefully it will make humans appreciate them a little more.

Via Huffington Post

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Friends and Family Use Social Media to Fight for Phineas the Dog's Life

The death-row Labrador, accused of biting a girl, went missing days before an appeal hearing.

Amber and Patrick Sanders have been fighting for 16 months to save their yellow Labrador, Phineas, from being euthanized. Mayor Gary Brown of Salem, Missouri, declared Phineas to be "vicious" after the dog was accused of biting 7-year-old Kendall Woolman in June 2012 while she was visiting for a play date. On Thursday, Oct. 17, the Sanders had a hearing before the Missouri Court of Appeals, and brought a dog-bite expert to testify that the teeth marks on the girl's skin couldn't have been made by a dog. The judge is expected to bring a verdict within a week, but the decision might be moot at this point: the Saturday before the long-awaited hearing, Phineas disappeared from the veterinary office where he was being held.

The question of whether Phineas lives or dies has brought up a lot of bad blood in the town of 5,000. There have been allegations of threats and abuse on both sides, and one woman was charged with third-degree assault and harassment for allegedly threatening Wayna Woolman, the mother of the girl who was bitten. Woolman told a local reporter, "My life and my family's life have been turned upside down because of threats from Phineas supporters." The mayor, who made the original decision to have Phineas put down as "vicious," also says he's been threatened. Patrick Sanders says that although his family hasn't been threatened, friends of theirs have.

Phineas has become a cause célebrè with dog lovers far beyond Missouri. He has his own website, Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Change.org petition that has garnered 75,000 signatures. There is virtually no part of the social web that the Sanders family has not used to spread the word about their dog.

Jim Crosby, an expert on dog bites and canine aggression, testified that the bite marks left on the Woolman girl's skin were the wrong size and shape to have been made by Phineas. Crosby used a canine skull and jawbone to show how the long canines would have punctured the skin before the front teeth even made a mark.

The immediate assumption after Phineas disappeared was that his abductors killed him. Even the family's own lawyer, Joe Simon, told the press that "there's a 95 percent chance the dog is dead." However, on Saturday, Sanders family members announced on the Save Phineas Facebook page that they'd received a letter signed "Friend of Phineas," from someone claiming to have taken the dog. The letter is in part a manifesto about animal rights and vegetarianism. It concludes:

Help one friend like Phineas every chance you get.

Thanks for all you do for our fellow earthlings. And shame to the selfish.

If I were on death row I wouldn't want my fate in the hands of a judge. So Phineas is now safe and happy playing with friends.

More to come -- Friend of Phineas

Now on their second attempt to have the mayor's kill order overturned, the Sanders family is obviously hoping that the letter is genuine. However, there aren't any photos or other evidence of its authenticity, or at least none that have been made public. For now, all anyone can do is wait: not only for the court's decision, but also to find out whether someone has made that decision irrelevant.

Via: Fox2Now

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Do Dog Owners Really Look Like Their Pets? Judge for Yourself

See photos of people and dogs who appeared on "Today" to test the doggie doppelganger theory.

When you and your dog start to look like each other, is that the sign of a close, healthy relationship? Or does it just mean that the two of you are spending way too much time together?

Whichever way you lean on the issue, it's clear that it happens. According to The Atlantic Magazine, there's even science behind it. In an article covering the phenomenon, Sarah Yager wrote this week that "Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that strangers can match photos of dogs with photos of their owners at a rate well above chance."

The Today show took the idea and turned science into something cute and charming by bringing five owners and their pets to New York to model their similarities for the nation. David Frei, who co-hosts the USA Network's broadcast of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, did the judging of which owner and pet looked most alike. You have to admire their moxie; while most people think that other people start to look like their pets, very few are willing to admit that they have started to share physical characteristics with their beloved Labradoodle. Even in dog-loving circles, telling someone that they look like their dog may very well be a faux pas.

So how true is the Doggie Doppleganger theory? The Today broadcast at least gives us a chance to do some casual testing. The website includes pictures of all five owner-dog pairings and gives you the chance to vote for the one that you think looks the most alike.

And then, there's the important questions: Do you think that you and your dog look alike? Do you think that you will, given time? And if so, is it something you'd admit in public?

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Twitter Exec Insults Dobermans and BART Workers in One Tweet

Ben Grossman suggests turning dogs on striking workers -- and lots of people turn on him.

There's a lot of tension and frustration in the San Francisco Bay Area this week as hundreds of thousands of commuters are finding their transportation disrupted by striking workers on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, known to locals as BART. That means that a lot of people are either telecommuting or commuting very, very slowly -- sitting in a car or bus on a highway choked with traffic.

And while everyone in the Bay Area can identify with the frustrations caused by the strike, some people handle those frustrations with grace and patience, while some just allow it to show what jerks they are at heart. Twitter Head of Global Operations Ben Grossman (@grossman) flaunted his worse nature via his company's own product on Friday when he tweeted:

"What's brown and black and looks great on someone involved in causing the #bartstrike?

"A Doberman."

The tweet is long-since deleted, but it hasn't stopped circulating: search his Twitter handle, and even now you find people passing the words back and forth. Grossman was careful to say "someone involved" in the BART strike, so he wasn't aiming his words only at workers, but it didn't matter. One of the chief sources of outrage is that the BART unions have many African-American members, and for many, Grossman's suggestion evoked Bull Connor unleashing dogs on marchers during the 1960s civil rights movement. Here are some examples:

    What's white & rich & suggests setting dogs on workers? Twitter's Head of Global Ops (@grossman) #racism #UniteBlue
    — Theophilus Punoval (@Samosata) October 20, 2013

    .@grossman is pretty gross, man. Setting Dobermans on strikers? What is this, 1886?
    — Samuel Sukaton (@spsook) October 20, 2013

    Also, @grossman, pls learn how attack dogs were used against ppl of color who were advocating for their rights. http://t.co/WY7mHrK60T #BART
    — Melissa Green (@ProfCritic) October 20, 2013

For dog lovers, Grossman's tweet managed to be doubly insulting: in Grossman's eyes, Dobermans have about the same worth and purpose as a 9mm handgun. It's a reputation that Dobermans have had to live down for years: The first time I ever heard of Dobermans as a kid, the breed was cast as bank robbers in a third-rate movie called The Doberman Gang that (along with its two sequels) seemed to be constantly running on our local cable channels. For years, they've been the breed of choice for film directors who want their Nazi mastermind, psychotic maniac, or other villain to have a pet. (The exception, as all Bond fans will know, is Ernst Stavros Blofeld, who keeps a stock of white cats nearby to stroke while springing his deathtraps.)

While it's true that you can't please everyone, it does seem that if you work at it, you can make everyone very angry, using only 140 characters or less.

(Via: Valleywag)

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Worst Owner Ever Attempts to Euthanize His "Gay" Dog

Really? Yes, really. And his stupidity went viral. The dog is safe and sound in a new home, thank Dog.

Have you seen the news? It's a tale beyond belief: A Tennessee dog owner surrendered his dog -- a Pit Bull-Bulldog mix -- to the Jackson Rabies Control Animal Shelter, to be killed. What was the dog's crime? The owner saw the dog mounting another male dog. To the owner, this meant his dog is gay, and in that small, broken brain of his, that meant the dog had to be killed.

What a world.

Luckily, word of this travesty erupted into the Internet, because it had to. Someone who keeps tabs on the dogs being euthanized at the Jackson Rabies Control Animal Shelter -- a high-kill shelter -- made it so, when he wrote up the circumstances on his Facebook page, Jackson TN Euthanasia:

This guy [the dog] was signed over to [Rabies Control], not [because] he's mean or [because] he tears things up, but because ... his owner says he's gay! He hunched another male dog so his owner threw him away [because] he refuses to have a "gay" dog! Even if that weren't the most asinine thing I've ever heard, it's still discrimination! Don't let this gorgeous dog die [because] his owner is ignorant of normal dog behavior! He's in kennel 10L and he WILL be put down tomorrow [because] there is no room at the inn!

Naturally, this thing took off. Adoption offers poured in. According to a shelter worker who prefers to be unnamed, “I have had about 10 million calls this morning. It has been adopted already. It is gone. He’s in good hands.”

Whose hands? Stephanie Fryns, a veterinary tech from Jackson, who adopted the dog and named him Elton John. Elton John is going to a good home; Fryns already has four happy dogs.

She told ABC News that the dog “was pretty friendly so far. He’s pretty scared of everything, which is understandable. But he loved the car ride.”

As for the stupidity of the former owner, let's return to that for a sec. Animal expert Stanley Coren told the Daily News, “A male mounting another male is thus not displaying homosexual tendencies, but is simply saying, ‘I'm boss around here.’” 

Or, as that unnamed shelter worker put it, “You know, those dogs get on top of each other sometimes.”

You don't say. 

As for all those people who wanted to adopt the poor dog, well, there's no shortage of dogs facing death at the Jackson Rabies Control Animal Shelter. Just check the Facebook page of the guy who broke the story. He calls himself Jackson Madison Rabies Control Stalker, and his page is full of photos of dogs who are to be put to death within days. They deserve as much attention as Elton John.

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