Seven of Michael Vick's Rescued Dogs Reunited

The dogs had the time of their lives. So did the adopters. The photographer had a rougher go of it!

Five years ago, the Pit Bull advocacy group BAD RAP left Virginia with 10 of Michael Vick's dogs "secreted" in the back of its RV, according to ABC News. The group had worked with prosecutors on the case to identify which dogs could be rehabilitated.

All of them went to good homes, and all are doing well. Last month, seven of the dogs were reunited for a photo shoot and a celebration. 

They have a lot to celebrate. If there was any question in the public's mind that Vick's abused dogs -- trained to fight -- could not only be rehabilitated but turned into loving, happy dogs, it's gone. 

All seven have Canine Good Citizen Certificates. Three work as therapy dogs in hospitals and children’s literacy programs. One, Jonny Justice, appeared on the Rachel Ray Show and won GUND's Top Dog contest -- his likeness will soon show up as one of GUND's famous stuffed dogs. 

“They’re very forgiving, and they all really enjoy other dogs, which is probably the other big surprise that came out of the case,” said Donna Reynolds, director of BAD RAP. “In fact, dogs were a comfort to them.”

“Dogs live in the moment; they don’t dwell on the past,” she continued. “Once they have enough positive experiences to draw on, they just run right into the present.”

And the present is a fun place. At the reunion, the dogs had the time of their lives -- what dog wouldn't, surrounded by a pack of well-adjusted, happy dogs, all of whom happened to look a lot alike?

“There were lots of hugs, kisses, lots of crying. When people meet these dogs, they cry,” Reynolds said. “They understand that they are little pieces of positive history.”

The only one who had trouble was the photographer, Mark Rogers. Imagine trying to wrangle seven wiggly dogs and their adopters to one good picture. 

Actually, you don't have to imagine it. Watch the wiggly wiggliness of the photo shoot right here:

Getting the Shot! from BADRAP.org on Vimeo.

Via ABC News

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A Trucker and His Lost Pup Are Reunited in Missouri

Rambo might seem like too big and brave a name for a sweet little nine-month-old Yorkshire Terrier. But in the case of a dog who stood his ground and waited patiently after being left behind by his owner at a Missouri rest stop two weeks ago, it fits.

Rambo the left-behind Yorkie. Photograph by Dominic Genetti for the Hannibal Courier-Post.

Arkansas-based truck driver Michael Siau was driving through Missouri when he stopped at a rest area. After stretching his legs and visiting the restroom, he returned to his vehicle.

“Didn’t even cross my mind that [the dog] might jump out; he never has before,” Siau told the Hannibal Courier-Post. “I jumped back in the truck, put it in gear, and drove off. And I just thought he was in the back asleep.”

But he wasn't. Rambo had followed Siau out of the truck -- probably to perform his own version of visiting the restroom -- and had not yet returned when Siau unwittingly drove off without him.

But hey. If you were traveling with a fellow human -- say, your spouse or child -- and this person happened to be so small as to not be immediately visible in the vehicle after you'd left it for a few minutes, would you simply rev up and hit the road without confirming that he or she was there? Or would you assume, upon slipping back into your vehicle and not immediately seeing your companion, that he or she was hiding? Crouching deep in the recesses of the backseat, or on the floor? Wouldn't at least a basic verbal check -- "Hello?" -- be prudent?

Siau drove 170 miles before realizing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he had left Rambo behind. 

"He couldn’t turn the company truck he was driving around; his time would have been thrown off and he would’ve lost his job. The thought of not seeing Rambo again was devastating," the Courier-Post reports.

Siau isn't a mean guy. Last fall, he took several months off work to deal with his grief after Rambo's father, Ollie, was struck by a car and killed. Following in his father's pawprints, Rambo became Siau's new companion on road trips.

Michael Siau and Rambo. Photograph by Dominic Genetti for the Hannibal Courier-Post.

Upon realizing his error, "I was freaking out. I had to calm down and think about how he could have possibly gotten out. And it came to me that [the rest stop] was the only time that I could have got out and I wouldn’t have seen him. I was just sure he was there," Siau told the Courier-Post.

Siau called the police department nearest to the rest stop, then waited on pins and needles -- "in tears, sobbing" -- for two days. Sent to look for Rambo at the rest stop, Hannibal animal-control officer Tim Ledbetter found the Yorkie there, "sitting patiently." 

What timing! Ledbetter arrived just as a family that had stopped at the rest area was about to adopt the apparently lost puppy," the Post reports.

“In about 60 seconds, he would have been gone,” Ledbetter said.

Siau was reunited last Tuesday with Rambo, who was being cared for at an animal shelter.

When a shelter worker brought out the Yorkie, Rambo heard Siau's voice and "began to whimper, tremble and squirm. Once in Siau’s arms, Rambo climbed up his shoulder and began kissing the back of his neck."

“You’ve never been this excited,” Siau said.

Siau told the Post that he will "always make sure Rambo is on board."

Well, yeah -- now that his nearly disastrous forgetfulness has become national news!

Sources: Hannibal Courier-Post

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Dog Survives 53 Days in Wild After Accident, Reunited with Owner After Losing More Than Half of Bodyweight

A Shetland sheepdog/sheltie, like Dooley

A car accident in December on I-80 in Nevada claimed the life of Barbara Bagley’s husband and one of their two Shetland sheepdogs, and left Bagley in critical condition. But she never gave up hope that their other Sheltie, Dooley, was still alive after he bolted from the tragic scene.

“Something inside me told me Dooley was still alive out there. I wasn’t 100 percent sure, but I didn’t grieve for Dooley like I did for my husband and our other dog,” Bagley told the Associated Press.

There were occasional potential sightings of the 4-year-old dog, but the desert is a harsh environment any time of year, and it was hard to imagine Dooley was still alive as the weeks went by. But volunteers persevered in their quest to reunite Bagley and Dooley, just in case her intuition was right. Something that meant so much to her could not be given up on just because it didn’t look good.

Four  weeks after the accident, Bagley heard of a “Lassie-like” dog spotted very close to the scene of the accident, but the dog could not be found. Weeks later, a railroad crew sighted a lookalike dog, but it kept evading his rescuers, too skittish and quick for their maneuvers. It took someone on horseback working with someone in a Jeep to outmaneuver the dog and capture him.

It was Dooley all right. Bagley was overjoyed. The poor dog had gone from 44 pounds down to 20, and had apparently survived by eating roadkill, like a dead coyote along the road, and drinking from occasional puddles. Bagley herself was well enough, though, to start taking care of him again.”He couldn’t have survived much longer out there,” she said.

And as you have probably guessed, Dooley has been the best medicine for Bagley.

“He’s the physical and mental affection that I need to recover,” she said. “I owe him so much for the hope I have now and the renewed faith I have in prayer. Dogs are so great because of their unconditional love.”

Bagley believes her husband had a role in Dooley’s safe return home. “It’s a message from my husband who was looking out for him,” she said. “It was a miracle.”

What a great story to illustrate the power of hope. If Bagley hadn’t had hope, it probably would have been too late when, and if, Dooley was ever found. Welcome back, Dooley, and eat lots and lots of food, and keep Bagley very good company, please. She needs you now more than ever.

Source: Associated Press, via SFGate

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