More pet shelters and rescues go green!

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NYPD Rescues 47 Pit Bulls from Dogfighting Ring

They would have spent their lives being savagely injured by others of their own species. And those lives would have been brutally short -- ended early either by injuries sustained in those bouts with their would-be companions or by the human beings who trained them to kill or be killed. 

Nearly 50 Pit Bulls were rescued last week from a Bronx basement where they were allegedly being bred, trained, and sold for use in dog-fighting rings, according to the New York Post. 

NYPD officer with rescued Pit Bull pup. Photograph by Howard Simmons for the New York Daily News.

One man was arrested, and "police also seized a loaded .25-caliber handgun, 22 wooden cages, dog treadmills, harnesses, muzzles, syringes, and a shopping cart full of raw chicken parts," according to WABC in New York City.

The 47 rescued Pit Bulls range in age between one and five years "and had various injuries indicative of dog fighting," according to a police spokesperson. The basement in which the dogs were found was windowless, so no one outside could hear the dogs bark, howl, or cry. Located under a six-story apartment building, the basement was partly outfitted as an arena with room for 100 spectators.

As cops brought the dogs out one by one, "many were shaking and timid. Some were bone-thin. Others squinted once outside, never before having seen the light of day. All had sad expressions," reports the New York Daily News.

“It’s pretty horrific inside -- horrible conditions. I couldn’t even describe it,” said NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Favale, as quoted in the Daily News. “The dogs appear to be in various stages of abuse and injury.”

One of the rescued dogs. Photograph by Thomas E. Gaston for the New York Post.

Police arrested 57-year-old Raul Sanchez -- the building's superintendent -- last Thursday on six criminal counts involving animal fighting and cruelty.

A second suspect is being sought for allegedly breeding dogs for fighting purposes after "an extensive investigation" that began last October, when NYPD detectives began tracking the duo.

"Despite a few scars and visible wounds, all the dogs were responsive and in good condition before the ASPCA moved them to a local animal shelter," WABC reports. 

That's a relief. Let's hope these little survivors find loving homes. It's not a cinch, given all the prejudice against their breed. But maybe this case, which reveals the depths to which our species can sink, will at least raise awareness about the horrors of dogfighting.

Thanks as always, NYPD!

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Rescue Dog Rescues Owner by Detecting Her Breast Cancer

Effie, rescued dog turned rescuer (Image: WXYZ)

A mammogram — the gold standard in breast cancer detection — failed to detect Lisa Hulber’s malignant tumor. But Effie, her rescued hound mix, did. The dog whose life Hulber saved helped save hers after she sniffed her to the point where she decided to get double-checked.

This time, doctors found Hulber’s tumor, and did an excisional biopsy. But Effie was ahead of them again. She started sniffing around and apparently detected the only lymph node that had the cancer. Hulber underwent a double mastectomy and 20 weeks of chemotherapy, and will soon start radiation.

“It’s hard to go through cancer and stuff like that,” the Michigan resident said. “I’m not a ‘woe is me’ kind of person and knowing what she did for me, that gift, that’s what makes me cry.”

Hulber thinks Effie got her “medical” training on the family’s kitten, who died of cancer. The dog may have associated the similar scent, and it’s easy to make the leap that Effie was trying to tell her rescuer that something was amiss.

As I wrote in yesterday’s article about the police dog, a dog’s nose can be better than any technology currently available, at least for detecting certain scents.

Way to go, Effie!

Now she has an equally important job: Being there for Hulber as she goes through the treatments, which can be so debilitating. Something tells me she’s already all over that assignment.

Readers, has your dog ever sniffed you in an unusual way and made you wonder if he/she is detecting something you should check out? Do you think rescue dogs sometimes feel an extra need to protect and even “rescue” their owners? Please share your experiences!

Source: WXYZ

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Pit Bull-Lab Mix Rescues Blind Old Dog; Hero Needs a Home

Nala has spent far too long in the shelter. Maybe her heroism will help get her a home of her own.

Nala, a black pit bull-lab mix, has been living at the Humane Society of Redmond (Oregon) since April, with no luck finding a forever home. She has three strikes against her, as far as rapid adoptions go: She’s black, she’s part pit, and she’s a little older — between five and seven years old. But she’s a sweetie. And she just became a genuine hero.

On a walk with shelter volunteer Allen Borland, she refused to continue, contrary to her usually easygoing nature. She finally was able to drag him to a ditch 200 yards away, where they found a dog who wasn’t moving. Borland thought the dog was dead, but then he saw the dog move slightly.. He and a shelter worker rescued the dog, who turned out to be a very dirty, ice-ball-covered cocker spaniel who was 10 years old and blind. Coincidentally the dog, named Chadwick, had been adopted from the shelter a month earlier. It turns out he had escaped from his home a week earlier.

Nala saved Chadwick’s life. A few other dogs had been walked by that very spot earlier, but no one had the reaction Nala did.

“Nala is a big hero — she deserves all this credit. I would have never looked into that ditch if it hadn’t been for her dragging me to it,” Borland said.

Feel like adopting a very deserving dog this holiday season? You could do no better than to knock on Nala’s door. She’s been waiting a long time.

Check out a video of her at the KOHD website. (It’s not embeddable, or you’d be able to see it from the dog blog.)

View the original article here

Pit Bull-Lab Mix Rescues Blind Old Dog; Hero Needs a Home

Nala has spent far too long in the shelter. Maybe her heroism will help get her a home of her own.

Nala, a black pit bull-lab mix, has been living at the Humane Society of Redmond (Oregon) since April, with no luck finding a forever home. She has three strikes against her, as far as rapid adoptions go: She’s black, she’s part pit, and she’s a little older — between five and seven years old. But she’s a sweetie. And she just became a genuine hero.

On a walk with shelter volunteer Allen Borland, she refused to continue, contrary to her usually easygoing nature. She finally was able to drag him to a ditch 200 yards away, where they found a dog who wasn’t moving. Borland thought the dog was dead, but then he saw the dog move slightly.. He and a shelter worker rescued the dog, who turned out to be a very dirty, ice-ball-covered cocker spaniel who was 10 years old and blind. Coincidentally the dog, named Chadwick, had been adopted from the shelter a month earlier. It turns out he had escaped from his home a week earlier.

Nala saved Chadwick’s life. A few other dogs had been walked by that very spot earlier, but no one had the reaction Nala did.

“Nala is a big hero — she deserves all this credit. I would have never looked into that ditch if it hadn’t been for her dragging me to it,” Borland said.

Feel like adopting a very deserving dog this holiday season? You could do no better than to knock on Nala’s door. She’s been waiting a long time.

Check out a video of her at the KOHD website. (It’s not embeddable, or you’d be able to see it from the dog blog.)

View the original article here