"Bonehead" Is Too Good a Name for Whoever Chemically Burned the Number 300 on This Dog's Skin

We're not sure why it happened -- malice? sheer idiocy? bad humor? -- but what a cruel thing to do.

This poor dog was found on the streets by a concerned citizen and brought into the Emergency Veterinary Hospital in North Charleston, SC, given fluids and medicine, and released to Charleston Animal Society. As you can see, he had been shaved and the number 300 had been burned, big as life, into his skin. 

"This dog has chemical burns," said veterinarian Dr. Sarah Boyd. "I suspect whatever was applied to the dog was applied after the fur was removed so it was applied directly to the dog's skin, and it has caused severe burns."

The dog also suffered bacterial infections.

"Right now he is in pain ... he is suffering a little bit," Charleston Animal Society spokesperson Kay Hyman told WCSC. 

Fortunately, he's going to be okay -- though the burns will become permanent scars. And the man who rescued him from the streets has stepped up and offered to adopt the dog. His new name? Lucky. 

Now you're probably thinking, who would do such a thing? The best guess is: Boneheaded hunters. Apparently, some hunters use hair dye, food coloring, or spray paint to number their animals, making it easier to identify them during competitive field trials; also, for general identification purposes. But they don't usually place a "caustic agent" directly on the skin, like our Bonehead did. That would be amazingly painful for the dog.

Of course, would you want your dog obsessively licking a spray-painted number plastering his side? Paint isn't exactly non-toxic. There's a lot of Boneheads around this story. 

Fortunately, Lucky can look forward to a good life with his new owner, far from the reaches of Boneheads.

Photos via Charleston Animal Society Facebook page

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Riker is number one, and not just with me

The American Kennel Club recently began a program to recognize the good work that therapy dogs do. The AKC is not certifying potential therapy dogs but instead opened dialog with a number of organizations that already certify therapy dogs, and developed a program to recognize those dogs. I’m proud to say that my now twelve year old Australian Shepherd, Riker, was the first dog registered in this new program.

Riker began visiting retirement homes and Alzheimer’s facilities when he was just a year old. He accumulated more than 200 hours doing these visits and was always a hit with the folks he visited.

However, by chance I got a call from the director of a day care center for children who needed protection.  The director wanted to give a therapy dog a try but the dog would need to love kids, be very tolerant of the kids’ actions, and be able to react accordingly should a child be too rough. Many of these kids had never been taught how to be good to animals. In fact, many had been raised seeing people being cruel to animals.

In addition, because the kids were under various types of protection, the dog’s owner would need an extensive background check and clearance.

I decided to give Riker a try since he loves kids and I already had a background check and clearance from my Marine Corps and military police days. It just needed to be updated.

Once I got that taken care of, Riker and I began visiting this day care center. I’ve written about a few of our visits in previous posts, so in short I’ll say Riker found his life’s work. I swear he’s happier there than he is at home. He gives kisses when kisses are needed, snuggles when kids need a hug, chases the ball when they need to play, and makes the kids laugh on a regular basis.

I stopped counting his visit hours when he went over two thousand.

I’ve been watching Riker to see when he’s going to be ready to retire. He is slowing down and is sleeping more. However, he still brings me a toy so we can play every evening. He still enjoys going to the dog training yard. He even continues to demo during the therapy dog classes. At twelve years of age, when I bring out his therapy dog vest, he turns into a younger dog. He bounces, whining, and trying to stick his head through the opening of the vest. So he’s obviously not ready to retire yet.

I’m so proud of my old dog I could just bust!

Photo: Riker by Liz Palika

View the original article here

Riker is number one, and not just with me

The American Kennel Club recently began a program to recognize the good work that therapy dogs do. The AKC is not certifying potential therapy dogs but instead opened dialog with a number of organizations that already certify therapy dogs, and developed a program to recognize those dogs. I’m proud to say that my now twelve year old Australian Shepherd, Riker, was the first dog registered in this new program.

Riker began visiting retirement homes and Alzheimer’s facilities when he was just a year old. He accumulated more than 200 hours doing these visits and was always a hit with the folks he visited.

However, by chance I got a call from the director of a day care center for children who needed protection.  The director wanted to give a therapy dog a try but the dog would need to love kids, be very tolerant of the kids’ actions, and be able to react accordingly should a child be too rough. Many of these kids had never been taught how to be good to animals. In fact, many had been raised seeing people being cruel to animals.

In addition, because the kids were under various types of protection, the dog’s owner would need an extensive background check and clearance.

I decided to give Riker a try since he loves kids and I already had a background check and clearance from my Marine Corps and military police days. It just needed to be updated.

Once I got that taken care of, Riker and I began visiting this day care center. I’ve written about a few of our visits in previous posts, so in short I’ll say Riker found his life’s work. I swear he’s happier there than he is at home. He gives kisses when kisses are needed, snuggles when kids need a hug, chases the ball when they need to play, and makes the kids laugh on a regular basis.

I stopped counting his visit hours when he went over two thousand.

I’ve been watching Riker to see when he’s going to be ready to retire. He is slowing down and is sleeping more. However, he still brings me a toy so we can play every evening. He still enjoys going to the dog training yard. He even continues to demo during the therapy dog classes. At twelve years of age, when I bring out his therapy dog vest, he turns into a younger dog. He bounces, whining, and trying to stick his head through the opening of the vest. So he’s obviously not ready to retire yet.

I’m so proud of my old dog I could just bust!

Photo: Riker by Liz Palika

View the original article here