Quantcast

You are browsing the archive for 2010 August.

Two-Legged Dog Brings Faith to Injured Troops

August 19, 2010 in Health & Science News, Military, News, Service Dogs

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From FOXNews.com

Walking with Faith. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when Faith is a two-legged dog.

The 8-year-old Labrador-Chow mix inspires hugs, smiles and even tears, hobnobs with celebrities, jet sets around the world and has even been made an honorary sergeant in the U.S. Army.

“She’s an inspiration,” Faith’s owner, Jude Stringfellow, told FoxNews.com.

Born without front legs in 2002, Faith was rescued by Stringfellow and her husband, who taught her to walk by luring her with spoons of peanut butter.

Since then, Faith has been on “The Oprah Show” and has rubbed paws with celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Samuel L. Jackson and Ozzy Osbourne.

To read the rest click here.

Study: Reading to Dogs Helps Children Learn to Read

August 19, 2010 in Lifestyle News, News, Service Dogs

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Ron Claiborne and Wendy Brundigew for ABC World News

Man’s best friend can do a lot more than fetch and roll over. Research now suggests that dogs can actually help children learn to read.

For young kids, one of the big challenges in learning to read is the embarrassment of making mistakes. Reading to dogs provides a simple solution — a non-judgmental, comforting furry friend who “listens” and takes the pressure off a child as he stumbles.

“Kids have to practice, practice, practice to be good readers,” said Francine Alexander, the chief academic officer at Scholastic, the children’s book publisher. “And yet when you’re practicing, if you make a mistake, it can feel risky and uncomfortable. But if you’re practicing with a dog, you don’t mind making the mistake.”

A study this year by researchers at the University of California, Davis confirmed that children who read to Fido really do perform better. Young students who read out loud to dogs improved their reading skills by 12 percent over the course of a 10-week program, while children in the same program who didn’t read to dogs showed no improvement.

To read the rest click here.

UPDATE: Officer Who Shot Dog At Park To Be Charged

August 19, 2010 in Law Enforcement, Legal News, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From The Associated Press

Anne Arundel County prosecutors plan to charge a civilian Army police officer with two misdemeanors in the fatal shooting of a Siberian husky in a Severn dog park.

The shooting of the dog, known as Bear-Bear, prompted widespread outrage, and County Executive John Leopold pressed county police for a full investigation.

Prosecutors say 32-year-old Keith Shepherd of Severn will be charged with animal cruelty and discharging a firearm within 100 feet of an occupied structure. The firearm charge carries a maximum of six months in jail, and there’s a maximum 90-day term on the animal cruelty charge. Both could also result in a $1,000 fine.

Shepherd’s attorney has said Bear-Bear attacked Shepherd’s dog and that his client fired his gun to defend his dog, himself and his wife.


Dog Owners Admit Petting Them In Car

August 19, 2010 in Endangerment, Lifestyle News, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From UPI.com

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 18 (UPI) — Many U.S. dog-owners admit risky behavior while driving with their pets, with more than half saying they have stroked them, a survey released Wednesday said.

The online survey of 1,000 dog owners who said they had driven with their animals during the past year was conducted by the automobile group AAA and Kurgo, a company that makes pet products.

Petting dogs was the most common distracting behavior, with 55 percent admitting they had done so. One in five, 21 percent, said they had driven with their dogs in their laps, 7 percent said they had given dogs food and water while driving and 5 percent admitted playing with them.

Only 17 percent said they took steps to restrain their pets while in the car.

To read the rest click here.

Dr. Steven Eisen Hopes To Save Lives With New Book, ‘Dog Cancer: The Holistic Answer’

August 19, 2010 in Health & Science News, Lifestyle News, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From prnewswire.com

VENICE, Fla., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ — It’s the number-one killer of dogs over the age of two, but according to Dr. Steven Eisen, author of the new book Dog Cancer: The Holistic Answer (ISBN 1451518838, http://www.dogcanceradvice.com, http://dogcanceradvice.com/about-the-book-2/), not enough dog owners know cancer in dogs can be prevented and even cured using natural methods.

Despite naysayers, Dr. Eisen saw his methods work in his Lhasa Apso, Fergie, when she was diagnosed with lymphoma and given six weeks to live. Refusing to give up on their beloved pet, Dr. Eisen and his wife applied holistic healing principles to Fergie’s care, preparing simple meals with a specific mix of nutritional supplements chosen to help the dog’s immune system. Their efforts paid off: Fergie lived more than two years longer, cancer free, finally passing away at the ripe old age of 14.

Dr. Eisen has spent three decades studying natural and holistic healing. A respected medical researcher, he has written nationally recognized guidelines for the treatment of human diseases. But when he received Fergie’s grim prognosis, Dr. Eisen discovered an alarming absence of published guidelines or protocol for the treatment of canine cancer — in spite of the fact that according to the ASPCA, approximately 60% of all dogs over the age of six will be diagnosed with some form of cancer.

He aims to change that with the release of Dog Cancer: The Holistic Answer.

To read the rest click here.

Dolly The Pit Bull: Video

August 17, 2010 in Adoption News, Animal Control, Endangerment, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!



Lost Dog Reunited With Family After 4 Years In North Carolina Wilderness

August 17, 2010 in Environment, Lifestyle News, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Erin James for The Virginian-Pilot

MANTEO, N.C. – Merri Jo Alford knew what she was looking for.

Hidden somewhere at the Outer Banks SPCA among stacks of paperwork buried in long-forgotten cardboard boxes were a few pieces of paper stapled together. On them, Alford knew, would be the names and phone number of a New Bern, N.C., couple with whom she’d spoken so many years ago.

But how much time had passed? Had it been two years, Alford wondered, or three? Could it really have been four years since Greg and Leigh Wilkinson desperately filed a lost-dog report?

Alford knew one thing for sure: The skinny dog with matted fur that she had rescued near Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was the pooch the Wilkinsons had lost on a canoeing trip years ago.

She remembered the distinctive-looking dog from the flyers the Wilkinsons posted. She remembered their persistence in looking for her.

To read the rest click here.

The Corgi Flop: Video

August 17, 2010 in Fun Videos, News

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!