Poignant Road-Vigil Dog Gets to Go Home with Her Family Today

The video of one dog's loyalty to her dead friend slayed us, but at least she seems to have a home. Her poor companion so far is unclaimed.

The loyal Labrador retriever we wrote about yesterday who refused to leave the side of her dead fellow retriever on a busy roadway is heading home today. Worried family members had been looking for her since she disappeared the other day.

In fact, animal control workers say that as their dog was guarding her friend who'd been killed by a car, the family was searching for her at the very shelter where she later ended up.

Maggie would not leave her friend's side after he'd been struck by a car.

It's not clear why it took a couple more days for the family to officially claim her, but it probably had something to do with the shelter being closed for the remainder of the weekend, and the family having to supply proof of ownership. The dog will be returned today, pending inspection of the family's home. According to reports, she was extremely happy to see them Monday.

The dog, who rescue personnel named Grace, is actually named Maggie. She is two years old. She was not microchipped, and wore no identification. She also wasn't spayed, but veterinary staff at the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control shelter in Baldwin Park performed that surgery yesterday.

The family's name has not been released. Nor has the story of how Maggie got out. No one seems to know who her poor yellow Lab friend was, either.

In case you missed it, here is video of Maggie's poignant vigil, as taken by the good Samaritan who set up traffic cones to protect her and phoned animal authorities to help her.

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Laika the Military Dog Adjusts to Civilian Life

Last year I was attacked by a Belgian Malinois -- the same kind of dog that reportedly accompanied the Navy SEALs in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound last year. Fortunately I knew it was coming, since I was briefly playing decoy at Lackland Air Force Base during the research for my book, Soldier Dogs. I wore a bite sleeve to protect my arm, and followed the instructions of a seasoned pro so I wouldn’t get into trouble.

Me "catching" Laika at Lackland Air Force Base last year. (Photo by Robin Jerstad)

As the dog, Laika H267, ran toward me, I tried not to think about a handler I’d met earlier who’d just had his ear ripped off by one of these dogs. Here’s a short excerpt from my book of the experience of “catching a dog,” as it’s called:

I start shaking my giant, sleeved arm as instructed at the Malinois so she’ll be attracted to that part of my body and not (oh, just for instance) my ear. As she runs toward me, Brooks tells me to freeze. I stop moving so she she’ll get a good bite on the targeted body part.

Laika is leashed just in case, but the impact is strong. She sends me reeling back a step, and the sleeve crashes into my body. She starts tearing at the sleeve and as I agitate it again she digs in, front paws pushing against my stomach and then my thigh for more leverage. Her bite is steady and strong. The power of this dog’s mouth is awesome. Without this sleeve, I’d be a bloody mess.

Having Laika on my arm starts to be almost fun. Brooks tells me I can growl at her, so I do and she digs in harder. Then he tells me they always praise a dog, so I tell her what a good girl she is before I realize that as the bad guy I’m probably not the one who is supposed to praise her. But she continues biting just as hard, unfazed by my complimentary words, and perhaps a little concerned about my apparent mood swings. Then Brooks comes over and gives Laika a friendly “atta girl” pat.

“Decoy, stop resisting!” he shouts to me, and I stop moving my arm. “Out!” he calls to the dog. Laika stops biting, but on the way down, quickly butts my torso with her nose. “Sit!” She sits. “Stay.” I back away several steps when he tells me to. Laika trots off with her handler, and as she does, she turns around and looks at me with what could only be a “Wait till next time” expression.

I thought that would be the last time I’d hear from Laika, unless she came sneaking up on me in the streets of San Francisco one day to finish the job. So in March, on the day after my book came out, I was surprised to get an e-mail from a man named Jay Knight:

"Wanted to let you know that two weeks ago we got the dog that gave the author her bite at Lackland AFB, Laika H267.  She is at home with us in Dallas, TX and is awesome!!”

Jay Knight with military-working-dog-turned-couch-potato Laika (left) and the other Malinois housemate, Chief. (Chief was always a civilian dog.)

I had to know more. How did Laika go from being a fighting machine to being adopted by a couple in Dallas? I asked Jay how she was doing. He wrote back:

“She is GREAT!! She has blended in well with our male Malinois, Chief (92lbs), and is extremely sweet. Having now been home just two weeks, her personality is just starting to come out, and she's finally started rolling over on her back and loves to sit on the couch and be petted.  She's not house trained, as you know, so we are working on that, but she's just a great dog.”

Wait, this dog who ran to bite me and gave me that “It’s not over, lady” nose shove at the end of our encounter is extremely sweet? I had to know more!

Here are some things I found out from Jay about the dog I assumed was a lean, mean semi-assassin:

• Laika was discharged from the Department of Defense at 9.5 years.  She will be 10 this October. In other words, she is a canine senior citizen.

• She was 52 pounds –- definitely on the small side for the breed.

• She has metal in one of her legs. The Knights’ vet says her DOD medical records indicate she broke a bone, which was corrected with steel rods and screws. She sort of sits funny, and the Knights say you can sort of see where it is. The injury is probably why she became a training aide at Lackland after her war dog career. (There is no public record of she did on active duty or where she deployed.)

• She is on a steady diet of CoQ10 and Rimadyl for her aches and pains.

Okay, so my big adventure of catching a tough Malinois was looking like this: She was an old lady dog with a metal implant in a leg, and she takes meds and supplements for her creaky bones and joints.

Wow, I was sure one tough dude to take her on! Yeah, I was set upon by the canine equivalent of Granny Clampett and lived to tell about it!

Jay and I have been in regular contact about Laika’s new life as a nonmilitary dog. I’ll be bringing you reports of her adjustment in the coming weeks. Just a sneak preview: She is really happy.

You may look at this picture and say "Awwww!" but I look at it and can hear her saying,"Yo! Maria! I'm watching you. I know where you live." ;) (Note the pool: A nice place she's gotten herself after 9.5 years in the military.)

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Revisiting Buck, a Soldier Dog Recovering from PTSD

I'm heading to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for about a week, to learn more about military dog teams, and to attend the DOD's Military Working Dog Competition. It's essentially a military Iron Dog event, and promises to be really exciting and show just what these teams are made of. It'll be great to see some familiar dogs and handlers and to meet new ones.

One of the highlights of my trip will be visiting a dog named Buck again. I'd met the chocolate Lab at the Lackland adoption kennels last summer while doing research for my book Soldier Dogs (now a New York Times best seller! I'm not the only one who loves these dogs). Unlike all the other dogs around him, he wasn't barking or twirling or standing excitedly and wagging. He was curled up in a ball on the hard kennel floor, gazing out into nothingness. My heart broke for him, especially when I learned he had PTSD.

Lynette and Larry Sergeant, and their dog, Buck, who had to get out of the military because of PTSD. (Photo copyright Estella Diaz)

I was relieved when someone told me that Buck was going to be adopted by a wonderful couple, Lynette and Larry Sargent, the very next day. That's them in the photo above. I've been in touch with them since shortly after they adopted Buck. They have done everything to help get him out of his skittish, oft-terrified, oft-vacant state.

This dog may have had bad luck in Afghanistan, but he could not have been luckier in landing a loving family. He has gotten much better under their care -- especially after they adopted him his very own puppy.

(The wagging you hear is from my happiness about being able to shake paws with Buck and his whole family tomorrow evening.)

And speaking of reunions involving military and dogs, here are a couple of uplifting videos to start your weekend on the right paw. I love the way the German shepherd in the video below is so excited to see his owner return from deployment that he can't help but talk with his mouth full. He has a ball in his mouth, and his beloved owner by his side; it doesn't get much better than this for a dog.

The video of another reunion, below, is also super sweet. It's funny; the reunions with little dogs often involve a lot of barking and yapping and yipping and running at hyper warp speed. But the bigger dogs, while their hearts are clearly just as joy-filled, often tend to be slightly more manageable. I'm not so sure that a giant Great Dane standing on his hind legs is manageable, but there's not usually the utterly chaotic frenzy with the bigger guys. There are exceptions galore, but humor me on this one.

And finally, here's a Siberian husky who's super stoked that his Marine "dad" has returned from yet another deployment.

Happy weekend! Next time I talk to you, I'll be in the Lone Star state!

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Let's Talk: Dog Parks - Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

When I started research for the first edition of my book, The Dog Lover’s Companion to California, there were just a handful of fenced-in dog parks in the entire Golden State. I raved about these parks and gave them a four-paw rating and lots of space in my book, because they were so dog-focused, so safe from cars, and mostly so unique.

Fast-forward a couple of decades to 2012 and the seventh edition. The world has gone to the dogs. At least the U.S. has. There are thousands of these dog parks across the country -- hundreds in California alone. I’ve had to rein in the descriptions to the point where some are as short as three sentences, and have removed dog-friendly events from the book because there just wasn’t enough room for everything. (The book is 1,006 pages. Big enough!)

Dog parks be great places for pooches to run around in leash-free bliss. But there's another side to dog parks that's not all wags and smiling snouts. Along the way, I’ve had mixed feelings about dog parks. Most people and dogs thrive in them, and they’re huge social outlets for both species. People can take their dog for a “talk” instead of a walk, and the dogs generally seem to enjoy sniffing each other’s tushies and chasing each other around with abandon.

But I’ve seen more than my share of problems at dog parks as well. It’s an occupational hazard when you visit hundreds of dog parks for your job. When a lot of dogs share a relatively small space where they can’t get out, and where people often aren’t paying attention, it can be a recipe for trouble.

There aren’t that many dog parks I’ll take Jake to by choice if lots of other dogs are around. As big and affable as he is, when he enters a park, he seems to attract every dog (not uncommon) and they tend to surround him and try to be dominant on and around him (not so common). It’s like he has a sign saying, “Hump me, guys! And come growl at me, too!” These days, if I’m going to check out a park that’s full of dogs, I don’t bring Jake.

During my visits to dog parks with and without my canine assistant, I’ve seen a lot of happiness and real joy. There’s nothing like watching a dog tearing around gleefully, with her tail high and a smile on her snout. And most of the people who use them are friendly and extremely responsible. They’re invested in their park try to make sure everyone is safe. If there’s a problem, they deal with it.

I’ve also seen my share of the not-so-good side of dog parks: Aggression, smaller dogs being trampled (shaken, not badly injured, thankfully; dog parks with a section just for little dogs helps this problem), and owners who ignore any bad behavior or anything their dog does at all - including pooping.

It can get downright ugly sometimes. Dogs have died in dog parks. Last month, a Siberian husky allegedly killed a Chihuahua at a fenced dog park in Ohio. Dogs and people have been bitten in dog parks. People have even become physically aggressive with other people if they felt their dog was getting a bad rap about something.

Dog parks are unfortunately no strangers to aggressive dogs

A writing colleague and I have plans to meet tomorrow, and when she found out I have a dog, she suggested we meet at a fenced dog park halfway between our houses. Our meeting is to be in the morning, but that’s doggy rush hour -- not a great time for an dog magnet like Jake. So she and I are leaving the dogs behind and grabbing breakfast instead.

But it got me to wondering what you guys think about dog parks. Do you use them? Do you avoid them? Have you had great experiences, terrible ones, or both? Please share your stories. Let’s talk!

Images via Shutterstock: Dog running with ball, dogs fighting

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Watch Dog: Great Quotes from Furry Philosophers

When your job is answering scores of questions every day via email, it doesn’t take long before you have actually written tens of thousands of emails. Conservative estimate: 50 e-mails per day for a total of 250 per week x 50 weeks (I'm allowed a two-week vacation!) x 8 years = 100,000 e-mails. Even allowing that a good number of the responses are template based, we’re still talking serious numbers. Is it any wonder I sometimes get a little, well, goofy?

A few days ago, a Dogster reader asked a pretty straightforward question and signed off as a “literate” pet. Now, this person was having some fun, writing to Customer Support as their “pet author” instead of a human. And don’t I do the same? My standard signature is “Watch Dog,” sometimes embellished with “your friendly neighborhood watch dog,” to go along with our original corporate mantra: “Where no one knows you’re human.”

Lab reading a book courtesy Shutterstock.com.

Anyway, the next thing you know, since I’m writing to a “literate” pet, I decide I should raise the bar a little, and I added the following “quote” to the e-mail:

A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence canine obedience schools. -- George Bernard Paw

That was the proverbial push to take me down the silly road of furry philosophy. Here are the ones I’ve come up with so far, in no particular order or supposed hierarchy of relevance. They are what they are. I hope you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them.

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent being a dog. -- Pawmas Alva Edison

Ask not what your dog can do for you, but what you can do for your dog. -- John F. Caninedy

Speak softly and throw a good stick. -- Teddy Arooosevelt

Never ask for whom the ball is thrown; it is thrown for thee. -- John Dognne

Serious dog courtesy Shutterstock.com.

Nearly all dogs can stand adversity, but if you want to test a dog's character, give him a bone. -- Abraham Löwchen (Lincoln)

The paw is mightier than the sword. -- Edward Bulldog-Lytton

To nap, or not to nap: that is the question. -- William Schnauzerspeare

Cats should be seen and not heard. -- W.C. Field Spaniel

Okay, those are my contributions of furry (or maybe it should be fuzzy) philosophy. Give me your best canine convictions, dog doctrines, and pooch philosophy. You know you can do it. Find a quote by someone famous, tweak it into a canine version of quote and author, and post it in the comments section. Have fun and make Sigmund Fido proud!

May the furrce be with you. -- Yowlda

Til next week, best woofs. 

View the original article here

Chris Brown Wants to Sell You a Pit Bull Puppy

You know, the world just doesn't have enough pit bulls. Especially pit bulls from famous singers accused of beating up their girlfriends.

Fortunately, singer Chris Brown has stepped in to fill that gaping hole in the market. Check him out here with one of the pups.

Aww, what could be more innocent and cuddly, right? That pic tops the web page CB Breeds. It features eight ridiculously cute 2-month-old pups listed for $1,000 each. According to various sources, Brown's publicist claims he is not going into a side business of breeding. She said something to the effect that his pit bull got preggo, and Brown wanted to see the dogs go to loving homes. So Brown's mom made this site and tweeted the link.

First: I'm not sure that's the best way to find a loving home. But hey, it's nothing if not convenient. Check out this screenshot of how easy it is to buy one. Really, there's nothing like screening your puppy's future owners. Of course, the only screening they have to go through to get a pup is having money that can be sent online.

Second: Wow, what a coincidence! His dog happened to get knocked up by another pit bull! What are the odds? I guess like attracts like, because these pitties sure look pure. Check out a few of them.

Here's Princess. Aww!

Meet Pretty.

And feast your eyes on Beauty.

Let's not forget the more scraggly Fortune.

What's up with those names, anyway? It really shows the namer has some deep and meaningful core values. (In fairness, the others are named Precious, Freedom, Jett, and Music.)

If Chris Brown has a publicist, he or she should probably have stopped this train wreck before it started. It's a real black eye for him. (And he knows from black eyes.) Check out some comments on stories from other news sources and sites:

"That's an amazing marketing idea! 'Buy this puppy before I beat the crap out of it!' "

"Because 'puppy mill operator' is just what he needed to add to his resume."

"Something along the lines of 'Hope these bitches don't disrespect him.'"

"One is a rabid, disgusting and dangerous creature that should be euthanize and destroyed,sent to the depths of Hell where it belongs. The other is a cute pitbull puppy."

At Dogster World HQ in San Francisco, our hackles were up in force when this news came through. Dogster's Community Manager, Lori Malm, dashed together a letter to Brown and sent it off to the e-mail address listed for the puppy business. I'm reprinting it here because it really gets to the heart of the matter:

Dear Chris Brown,

I am so disappointed to learn that you are breeding and selling Pit Bull puppies. A talented and successful man such as yourself can do so much better.

Today, thousands of Pit Bulls will be euthanized because there just aren't enough homes for them. There are currently 1,051 pit bull puppies listed on PetFinder that are in shelters waiting to be adopted. Why are you selling them when so many need homes? Please do the right thing and put your time and resources toward helping this wonderful breed by supporting pit bull rescue and adoption efforts.

Following is a link to thousands of rescue organizations and shelters with Pit Bulls available for adoption.

Thank you for considering how you can help Pit Bulls by supporting rescue and adoption efforts.

Lori Malm

So far, no answer ...

(Sources: CB Breeds, Washington Post, LimeLife, The Hollywood Gossip, Buzzfeed)

View the original article here

Kidnapped Pug and Owner Reunite After Five-Month Search

Kidnapped Pug and Owner Reunite After Five-Month Search | Dogster loginJoinLog InRemember meForgot PasswordHello, LogoutAccountFan UsFollow UsFollow Us on YouTubeContact Us The ScoopCollie on Wheels Shows Us We All Have the Power to Overcome Dogster  Magazine Lifestyle

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Community Homepage Groups Forums Answers Local Listings Game Center Diary Central Account Paw Mail Gift Store My Forum Posts Recent Pal Activity Recent Corral Activity See the Dogs Home » The Scoop Next on The Scoop: Pix We Love: Kids' Day at Dogster and Catster HQ Also: Freebies Watch Dog Book Review: Learn to Lead From Your Dog With "Get the Cookie, Paco!" Travel A Room with a View ... and a Deluxe Pooch Bed ... and Your Very Own Dog Walker Ask a Trainer How to Prevent Dog Bites: Make Sure Your Child Isn't a Statistic Kidnapped Pug and Owner Reunite After Five-Month SearchLast week, thanks to a search effort that went viral in her community, Anne Sutherland finally recovered her stolen pug Molly. Never give up!

Anneli Rufus | May 3rd 2012 |  3 Contributions

Sometimes it takes a village to solve a crime.

On December 12, in Houston, Texas, Anne Sutherland's beloved pug, Molly, slipped out of her pug-proof fence. Sutherland's neighbors watched in horror as someone snatched Molly while the small dog was wriggling through the fence and walked off with her. 

Anne Sutherland, courtesy of MyFox Houston.

After five months of nonstop searching -- during which Sutherland reached out to friends, strangers, and everyone else who would help -- Molly is home again safe and sound, according to MyFox Houston.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe it," Sutherland told MyFox this week. "I was nearly giving up. I never did give up. Nobody gave up on her." 

As part of her search efforts, Sutherland plastered her Houston Heights neighborhood with lost-dog posters. She reached out on Facebook, posting about her search at the Short Mugs Rescue Squad page, which is dedicated to finding missing pugs.

Her search went viral in the community as strangers began hosting "Find Molly" events outside schools and stores, according to MyFox. 

(In a reader? Watch the video here.)

"I know it's not the same as a person, but I'm extremely close to her. I love her very much," Sutherland told MyFox Houston during the search. "She's cute, she's fun and all that, but she's my dog, and I need her, frankly. I really need her." 

Since her neighbors said the person they saw stealing Molly was a young woman, Sutherland spread the word at nearby Ronald Reagan High School that she was offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to Molly's safe return.

Searching for lost pets is not unlike searching for lost people: Two days after a disappearance, the chances of finding the individual alive drops sharply. But Sutherland and her supporters kept their hopes up -- for five long months.

Pug by Shutterstock.com

"For some reason her pain just reached out to me. She was so upset," Houston Heights resident Liz Melton told MyFox Houston this week. Last Friday, Melton was out and about when she happened to notice a pug at a certain house, which she was "certain didn't belong" there. "I e-mailed Anne and gave her the address and said, 'They don't have a pug.' That's how it happened," Melton said.

Sutherland drove to the house, which was fifteen blocks from her own. According to MyFox Houston, she asked the resident to see the dog. When the pug was brought outside, Sutherland called out, "Molly, Molly."

"She literally leapt out of the woman’s arms and climbed up my chest. I never let her go after that," Sutherland said. The news report added: "The woman told Anne her husband had given her the dog as a Valentine's Day gift. Anne believes Molly changed hands several times. The dog had lost weight and is being treated for sores in her mouth. 

The news story notes that Molly is microchipped, but since nobody took her to be scanned at a vet or animal shelter, she might not have made it home otherwise.

Here's to a happy reunion. Now let's all double-check our fences. 

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