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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Aww of the Week: Shih Tzu Saves a Kitten, Nurses Her Until Help Arrives

The little dog in South Carolina took the rescue to heart, even producing milk for the kitty.

Last week, animal control officer Michelle Smith of Anderson, SC, got a call about a dog in a ravine behind a Home Depot. She figured it was a local dog who got stuck -- she's seen that before. She followed the dog's bark through some heavy foliage and down steep embankment. Then her jaw dropped. A little Shih Tzu was curled up in some bushes, but she wasn't alone.

She had a little kitten with her. And the kitten was suckling milk from the dog.

"I didn’t know what to think," she told 10 News. "I was shocked and surprised and then of course, awww."

Smith collected her precious cargo, amazed at what she'd found, amazed at what the dog had done to save the kitten.

"I think it would have been okay for the dog to walk down the hill," she told Fox Carolina. "But it just didn't want to leave the kitten"

Yep, the dog had been barking to alert someone to their location. And once they were safe at the shelter, the Shih Tzu's mothering behavior didn't stop. If anything, it intensified. The pair eat together, nap together, stare into each other's eyes. When the kitten strays to the edge of the opened cage, mama picks her up by the nape of her neck and tucks her back into bed.

And the dog is producing milk. She's going through a pseudo-pregnancy, doing all she can to take care of her little kitty.

"She’s producing some, but not all that (the kitten) will need nutrition-wise," said Jessica Cwynar, director of the shelter. Staff members have been supplementing her diet.

Adding to the bizarre mystery of the whole thing is the dog's condition: freshly groomed, with clean fur and a collar. She's someone's pet -- a pet whose duty to a wayward kitten superseded that of her duty to her owner. This is a pretty amazing pet. 

As for the animal control officer who saved the pair, the little dog made a huge impact in a sometimes trying profession.

"Good things happen all the time, but 'great' happens seldom," Smith said. "This is enough to keep me going the next six or eight months.

"This is one example of why I love my job."

The animals are now at Anderson County P.A.W.S., and the group will hold them for 14 days, waiting for the owner of the dog to come forward -- and hoping that person will adopt the kitten when collecting the dog.

If no owner comes forth, don't worry: Plenty of people are lining up to take them home.

"We have inquiries coming in from across America," Anderson County P.A.W.S. wrote on its Facebook page. "When they are available to be adopted, we will be carefully selecting their new family.

Via 10 News and Fox Carolina

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Hero Dog Saves Her Owner from Choking to Death

Sheba the Akita slammed a paw on her owner's back, saving her life. This dog is simply amazing.

Eighteen-year-old Aysha Perry was home with her Akita named Sheba at her flat in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England, when she choked on a piece of chicken. No one else was home. Sheba was in the other room, asleep. Perry fell to the floor, struggling to breathe and trying to get to her phone. 

"I was at home on my own, and genuinely thought I was going to die," she told the Daily Mail.

Sheba must have thought so, too. Though Sheba had lived with Perry only two weeks, she woke up and knew exactly what to do. The dog heard her choking, bolted into the room, and promptly took action with all the skill and speed of an EMT who'd just completed a refresher course on helping choking victims. 

"I was on the floor trying to get to my phone when she came running in," Perry said. "She whacked me on the back with one of her huge front paws and the piece of chicken flew out."

That's right: A dog performed a life-saving maneuver on her choking owner, and it worked.

And Sheba might know more than many humans. Public health organizations at one time discouraged the back-slap in favor of the abdominal thrust of the Heimlich maneuver, but many now advocate trying a back-slap first.

"It’s a good job she has such big paws, otherwise I don’t think it would have dislodged the chicken," said Perry.  

Perry is fine, and she gives all the credit to her dog. "She could obviously sense I was in distress. After she helped get the chicken out of my throat, she began licking my face to make sure I was okay."

Akitas are known to be smart, loyal companions. In 1931, Japan declared the dog a "national treasure." Perry, who works as a tattoo artist, believes the dog knew that she was choking and knew what she had to do to save her.   

"There’s no doubt that she knew what she had done," Perry said. "She knew she had saved my life. I could tell by the way she looked and wouldn’t let me go ... I think she deserves some recognition because it was a very heroic act. I don’t know anyone else whose dog would do something like that.

“I just feel so lucky to have her. This has all happened in such a short space of time. I’ve only had her a couple of weeks and already she has saved my life."

Via the Daily Mail 

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Rocket Dog Rescue Saves Nine Chihuahuas from Hoarders

Volunteers from San Francisco nonprofit Rocket Dog Rescue are preparing for a second trip to Bakersfield after traveling there last weekend to rescue nine Chihuahuas from a dog-hoarding situation.

Rocket Dog founder Pali Boucher says that two of the dogs have already found new homes, two are in foster homes that might become permanent, and the others are being fostered.

About 50 dogs were in the home, which she described as “awful living conditions.”

“They are all around a year old, and extremely sweet and loving despite what they have been through,” Boucher wrote on Rocket Dog Rescue’s Facebook page.

She says she is not sure how many dogs she and other volunteers will bring back from Bakersfield when they return.

Despite the horrific environment the dogs were found in, Boucher says, the woman who was keeping the dogs is working with Rocket and other rescue groups. “That’s the way I like to help,” Boucher says, “before animal control steps in, as long as we have a system in place and the person is willing to work with us.”

Asked to describe the Bakersfield site, she says, “Whenever you have 50 animals in one given place, you’re going to have a very cluttered and very dirty environment -- it’s going to look pretty harsh.”

The woman holding the dogs called Rocket Dog Rescue directly; Boucher says she believes the woman was trying to help the dogs, but somehow the situation got out of hand. Unfortunately, this is all too common in dog-hoarding situations.

The health problems in this group of Chihuahuas include cases of demodectic mange and some pneumonia. “We’re pretty good at trouble-shooting some pretty serious illnesses,” Boucher says, adding that just getting a large group of rescue animals spayed and neutered can cost thousands of dollars.

The first group of dogs taken by Rocket Dog were mostly in good health -- and that was intentional. Boucher says when there are a lot of animals to be rescued, she’ll take the ones in better condition first because they can find foster and permanent homes more readily. Volunteers will return to get dogs with more serious medical needs and behavioral problems who could take longer to rehabilitate. Older dogs, which are also harder to place, are also included in the later rounds of rescue.

Late last week Rocket received the call and coordinated with other rescue groups in California, including Nuts’n Bolts Animal Advocates in the city of Madera. 

“We really believe in working together as a team,” Boucher says. “We’re not territorial.” The first phone call indicated that about 25 animals were at the site, whereas 50 were discovered.

Small dogs such as Chihuahuas used to be relatively rare in shelters, Boucher says, but now they are among the most common. A recent case involved 16 Chihuahuas in a small apartment in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. The animals' owner moved to the Philippines, simply leaving the animals behind.

The situation in Bakersfield and surrounding Kern County is indeed dire, Boucher says. Statistics from the Kern County Animal Control website reflect this. In 2011, slightly more than 1,800 dogs were adopted from the shelter, whereas around 10,000 were euthanized. The numbers for cats are lower but the adoption-to-death ration is worse. About 500 cats were adopted from the shelter, while more than 7,800 were put to death.

Asked the reason for this, Boucher cites overpopulation. “There’s just no place to put these guys,” she says.

To adopt one of the rescued Chihuahuas, donate toward the cost of the dogs' care, or offer volunteer services, visit the Rocket Dog Rescue website.

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Unlikely Canine Hero of the Day: Choking Dog Saves His Own Life By Dialing Police Hotline

"We still don't know how he managed it. He's not usually very smart."

When police dispatchers in England heard the desperate heavy breathing from someone who had called 999 (the British equivalent of our 911), they sent four cops to the West Yorkshire home stat to check on what seemed to be a dire emergency.

The police were about to break down the door when a neighbor ran up and let them in with the key the family had given him. While the officers sprinted through the house searching the rooms for someone who had collapsed or been injured, the neighbor ran into the living room to find the family's enormous Bassett hound, George, choking because the phone wire had a death grip on his neck. He ripped the phone apart to free the "absolutely terrified" dog.

Photo via The Sun. See more of their amazing photos over here.

"Incredibly you could see where his paw print was on the phone to ring 999 — he literally saved his own life," neighbor Paul Walker said in an article in the Sun.

"When the police came into the room and realized what had happened they burst out laughing," he said. George recovered quickly and seemed no worse the wear, fortunately.

What's especially amazing about this story is that the phone had an old-fashioned dial. So it wasn't as if he just got lucky and pressed "9" three times in his panic. He had to really dial with his large paws.

Owner Lydia Brown says her beloved Bassett would probably have died if he hadn't dialed 999. But what might seem like a Lassie or Rin Tin Tin feat of cleverness and cunning was probably just luck, she thinks.

"We still don't know how he managed it. He's not usually very smart," she says. "He's really dopey and just likes to chew socks."

Whatever the case - luck, miracle, or stunning know-how - it's a pretty awesome story. We are sooo happy Brown did not have to come home to what could have been a very bad, sad scene. Maybe it's time for a cordless phone with a key pad.  (I just hope George figures out how to use it if he ever needs help again.)

Source: The Sun

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Big Dog Saves Her Little Pal from Clutches of Hungry Owl

Sadie (left) ran to the aid of her 7-pound friend when the little dog was attacked by an owl. Shown here with the family's rottie, Eli. (Photo: Michael Smart, Sun-Times Media)

When a 70-pound boxer named Sadie saw a great horned owl drop out of the sky and sink its talons into her 7-pound Shih-Tzu/miniature poodle mix friend, Ramadi, she leapt into action to try to save the tiny pooch from the owl’s clutches.

The dogs’ owners heard barking in the backyard and went to see what was going on. It was dark, but they could see that Sadie was on top of something. Then Ramadi came running inside, dragging that something, with Sadie chasing after it. When they got near enough, their owners could see the odd parade up close:

There was little Ramadi, and attached to her was an owl. And attached to the owl was Sadie, who was trying to help get the owl off her friend. They pried Sadie off the owl, and someone pinned the owl to the floor with a foot while someone else ran to get some thick gloves.

It took some work to detach the owl from the dog, but miraculously the dog was not injured. Her owners think her thick coat kept her safe. That and Sadie, who probably prevented the owl from really digging in. Then they shut the owl outside.

Amy Evans, who had just gotten back from an Army tour in Iraq, holds her dog, Ramadi. (Photo courtesy Patrick Evans, via the Chicago Sun-Times)

But it was not the last they would see of the raptor.

“The owl stood outside the sliding-glass door looking at the smaller dog as if he wasn’t leaving without it,” said Pingree Grove (Ill.)Police Sgt. Rich Blair. That could be pretty creepy for the little dog.

The officers were able to capture the bird in a fishing net and turn it over to a rehab center. Sadly, it turned out that the bird had significant injuries consistent with trauma from a car accident. Rehab veterinarians said the bird was extremely thin and its eye was terribly infected. It was euthanized the owl because vets said there was no hope for rehabilitation.

The owl’s injuries could have explained why it went after a dog.

“Most of the time they want nothing to do with humans or dogs,” said Sandy Fejt, education site manager at Willowbrook Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. “With its sight impaired, it was probably very hungry and looking for easy prey.” Poor owl.

Ramadi was not the only canine victim of owl attacks in the town recently. It was the third time in three days that an owl had gone after a dog; one dog died. It was likely the same bird.

The dogs of Pingree Grove can probably breathe a little easier now. But it would have been a happier ending if the owl had lived and would be back to its normal, canine-free cuisine after healing.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

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Former Mexican Cowboy Lassos Drowning Dogs, Saves Lives

Farmworker Jesus Villanueva saved two dogs from drowning by using long-dormant lassoing skills (Photo: Andy Sawyer, Yakima Herald-Republic)

Jesus Villanueva hadn’t brought out a lasso since he worked in a cattle ranch in Jalisco, Mexico, 30 years ago. But you couldn’t tell he was out of practice when he took over a deputy’s failed attempts to rope two dogs being carried swiftly down a steep-banked concrete canal in Yakima, Wash.

He lassoed the dogs in rapid succession, hitting his mark both times and pulling them to safety within seconds of each other.

“I was amazed,” the dogs’ owner, Noya Deats, told the Yakima Herald-Republic. “He just kind of came out of nowhere. It was amazing how fast he lassoed them.”

The dogs, who ran into the water when Deats let them off-leash three miles down the canal, would not have lasted much longer, deputies say. The farm laborer heard the commotion and came running to see if he could help. All other attempts to save the dogs had failed, including when someone clung onto a canal ladder and tried to grab them as they whooshed by.

Deats is deeply grateful to Jalisco and his incredible skill with the lasso. I hope she gave the 54-year-old good Samaritan/angel some kind of reward, since farmworkers generally aren’t paid well. A story in the Yakima Herald-Republic says Villanueva’s reward is that “I felt happy, especially when I saw the woman who looked hot after running from far away.”

From now on, Deats will keep her dogs on-leash whenever they are anywhere near the canal.

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Rescue Dog Saves Dog in Tornado Rubble

This dog was trapped under the tornado rubble in Joplin, Missouri, for days and was found by a rescue dog

A search-and-rescue dog named Javier found signs of life in the rubble of the tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri and alerted his human counterparts. As they approached, they heard moaning coming from underneath, and swiftly but carefully started digging down through the rubble to get to the victim.

The victim — who proved to be a clearly relieved golden retriever mix — miraculously emerged from the rubble in relatively good shape.

The tornado hit five days earlier, killing at least 132 people. Just as residents are starting to give up hope that some of the missing will be found alive, Javier made his happy discovery. Javier’s trainer told KABC he never gives up hope in these situations.

An AP story says rescue crews press on, with 600 volunteers and 50 dog teams searching for survivors across the city again today.

Here’s a quick video of the rescue. Good boy, Javier!

(I send a Meow over to my counterpart over at Catster’s Cat’s Meow blog. If you like kitties, check it out over there.)

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Old Boxer Saves Family From Christmas Eve Fire

Roxy and her very grateful people, Margaret and Andrew MacDonald (Photo: The Cape Breton Post)

A Nova Scotia couple’s elderly boxer is being credited with saving their lives and those of their other three dogs after a fire broke out in their home on Christmas Eve.

“One of our dogs, the big boxer, she’s very old and she’s not well, so she doesn’t move too quickly … she just kinda popped up to her feet, which took me by surprise,” Margaret MacDonald told The Cape Breton Post. Roxy then trotted into the living room, where a fire had started around the Christmas tree.

“She was making sounds that I have never heard come out of her in all of her 15 years. She ran back out to my office and then grunted at me,” MacDonald said.  Roxy ran between the living room and MacDonald’s office making these sounds a few more times before MacDonald decided to take a look.

The entire corner of the living room was engulfed in flames by the time MacDonald saw what Roxy was trying to warn her about. She screamed to her husband, grabbed her purse and the dogs’ leashes, and the MacDonalds and their dogs ran to the back door. But the fire had created a sort of vacuum seal around the door. Her husband had to kick the door in order to open it.

“We’re lucky to be alive,” MacDonald said. “I think there was someone looking over us. I can tell you that because my husband told me when he looked back he saw a red fireball coming at him. Literally, coming through the hall.”

Perhaps she’s right. Maybe someone was looking after them that Christmas Eve — someone even beyond good old Roxy. The MacDonalds lost all their belongings in the fire except two. When they returned to what was left of their home on Sunday, they found two undamaged items: Two angel ornaments. They’re the only belongings that didn’t get scorched.

“How could they be there all in one piece?” an incredulous MacDonald asks.

She will surely be holding those angels — and a certain old boxer angel — very close for a long, long time.

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Peanut the Dog Saves Owner From Fire

Talk about a close call. By the time clever and brave Peanut managed to wake up his owner by barking and jumping around, they had seconds to escape before the bedroom ceiling started raining down embers over the bed. The ceiling collapsed shortly thereafter.

Good, good dog, Peanut! Teresa Brown is so grateful for having survived that she seems to have a very can-do attitude about having to begin again with no possessions, no home, and no insurance to replace any material goods.

“It will be an adventure figuring out how we are going to start over and where it’s going to take us,” said Brown, who has four adult sons, many church friends, and of course, her little hero, Peanut.

(A big thanks to Dogster’s dedicated and wonderful content manager, Janine Kahn, for bringing this story to my attention.     )

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