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Deceased Indiana Military Dog To Receive Special Burial

July 18, 2011 in In Remembrance, Military, News, Working Dogs

Mira Military Dog

She was born in a time of relative peace, two years before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, but by then her destiny was already set in motion.

Two weeks later, in late September 2001, the bomb-sniffing dog named Mira left her home in central Indiana and boarded a plane for the sand and heat of the Middle East.

Nine years would pass before the Belgian Malinois returned home to live out retirement on an Indiana farm.

On June 30, the military working dog Mira – who was inducted into the Hamlet Indiana American Legion Post and the Knox Indiana Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) post last year – died from complications of old age and possible lung cancer. She was 12.

At 11 a.m. August 13, Mira will be laid to rest in a special VFW memorial in Knox, Indiana

Mira’s owner, Don Thomas, 68, said he met this most special dog at his security job at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Thomas doesn’t know exactly how Mira ended up there, but he knows the two hit it off. When he was offered a chance to adopt her, he did.

“She was a little high strung at first,” Thomas said, “but it’s no wonder, considering what she went through.”

And what Mira “went through” is actually quite astonishing. Mira was trained as a puppy at the Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana before being sold to DynCorp International, a security contractor that works with military bases overseas. Mira was then sent to Camp As Saliyah, a major U.S. military base in the country of Qatar in the Persian Gulf where she worked for much of the past decade as an explosives-detecting dog. According to military records, Mira served both diligently and eagerly.

By late 2009 however, with the stress of working in a hot, dry land, her advanced 11-year age and her handler being away on leave, veterinarians finally conceded that Mira was not fit for duty anymore. She was finally going home.

When Thomas first brought Mira home, she was good and gentle around people but would immediately start barking whenever she heard fireworks or gunshots around their rural home. Overall however, Mira came to flourish.

And when Hamlet, Indiana‘s American Legion post commander Neil Burg first learned about Mira‘s amazing history, he said it made sense to add her to the membership

“After all she’s a veteran, just like us,” Burg said.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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After 7 Years, Missing Arkansas Dog Found

July 18, 2011 in Inspirational, Missing, News

missing arkansas dog seven years

A dog that went missing seven years ago in northwest Arkansas soon will be reunited with her original owner after living under a different name for all that time with another family in the same town.

Andrew Navarette told animal control officers that he let his Shih Tzu, Mimi, out in the backyard of his Rogers Arkansas home seven years ago but that when he went to retrieve her she had disappeared. Navarette was unable to track Mimi down, even though she had a microchip implanted in her neck containing his contact information.

It is not clear what happened to Mimi that day, but some time later, Kim Rafter also of Rogers Arkansas acquired the animal from someone in good faith, renamed her Gizmo, and has cared for her ever since.

Meanwhile, Navarette relocated to Woodlake, California.

On Saturday, Mimi showed up at an animal shelter in Rogers where officials found the chip and called Navarette, who had kept the same cell phone number through the years.

It’s not known how Rafter lost the pooch.

“As far as I know, it was just running loose,” the shelter’s manager, Bud Norman. “It was picked up and brought into the shelter.”

Assistant shelter manager Matt Colston said Navarette was clearly excited that Mimi had been found and immediately said he would pay for the Shih Tzu to be shipped to his home in California.

Norman said Rafter called the shelter Wednesday after losing the dog, and that was how she found out that Mimi has another owner.

Rafter said it will be difficult to say goodbye to the animal her family has known as Gizmo for the past seven years and that she had no idea that the dog’s real owner had been looking for her.

“I’m a sympathetic person and I wouldn’t want to take anybody’s dog away, but I’m sure that, as little as she was when we got her, I’m sure we’re the only ones she’s bonded with.”

Norman called the dog’s saga “bittersweet” because while one family is thrilled, another is sad.

“It just amazes me when this happens,” he said. “I’m hoping people understand the power of a microchip, if they love their animals.”

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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DNA Outs Dog Owners Who Don’t Scoop Their Dog Poop

July 18, 2011 in Health & Science News, Lifestyle News, News

Gone are the days of anonymous dog droppings. Now, apartment complexes such as Twin Ponds in Nashua, New Hampshire are employing a dog DNA analysis system able to expose which community member was responsible for malodorous negligence.

Deb Logan is the apartment manager of Twin Ponds, a 339-apartment facility home to 241 dogs. Logan said that the DNA technology “PooPrints” (a product of Knoxville Tennessee’s BioPet Vet Labs) is working “amazingly” for the community.

Consumer Reports listed dog poop as number six on the list of America’s Top Gripes in 2010. As such, services of this nature are growing increasingly widespread throughout dog-friendly communities such as Twin Ponds, who take canine sanitation quite seriously (some issuing as much as $1,000 fines for each incident.)

Here’s how Twin Ponds implements its program: Any new dog owning tenant is asked to use a “PooPrints” DNA sampling kit when they move into the community to create their pet’s profile. They do this by swabbing for a saliva sample, which is then sent to BioPet to update its reference database for Twin Ponds’ canines.

In the event that residents (still have the guts to) fail to clean after their dogs, a sample of the forgotten feces is sent to the lab for DNA analysis. BioPet boasts a 99.9% accuracy rate.

BioPet president, Jim Simpson insists, “It’s really not a Big Brother-type thing. The program is doing what we want it to do and what the property manager wants it to do – simply encourage folks to clean up after their dogs.”

It’s not a bad idea, considering the average dog discards 276 pounds of excrement per year. There are 77.5 million pet dogs in the United States alone.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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Hero Oregon Dog Saves Apartment Residents From Fire

July 13, 2011 in Heroics, Inspirational, News

Marcus the Dog

A Beaverton Oregon family calls their dog a hero for saving them from a teenaged fire starter.

The golden Shepherd, Marcus, woke his owners up with barking as their apartment building began to burn.

Several families can thank Marcus for saving their lives because the fire that started just after midnight Thursday was moving up the building when Marcus’ owners discovered it.

They were sound asleep when Marcus starting acting unusual, which is something Kelli Landis said she and her husband had never seen before.

“Had he not been barking and just sounding different than he usually did, we could have just still stayed asleep,” Landis said. “But the thing was that he was being so loud. And he even came into the bedroom and was growling and just making a lot of noise. And that got us up.”

Her husband ran outside their apartment and found the side of the building on fire which had been set right where a fire extinguisher was located. He got the attention of neighbors and together they used pots, pans and trash cans full of water to douse the flames.

Firefighters were particularly concerned the fire was set at an exit point and at the location of the fire extinguisher. Had the teenager, who has been arrested, been more successful, residents would have had a very difficult time getting out of their apartments.

“It was definitely a little disturbing and unnerving to think that somebody would deliberately do this and deliberately set a fire extinguisher on fire so that we couldn’t put it out,” Landis said.

Landis and her husband just moved to Beaverton from Hawaii where they adopted Marcus from the Humane Society. They contemplated leaving him behind because of the expense but they couldn’t bring themselves to say goodbye. It was a decision that may have saved their lives.

“He was a rescue dog. “We rescued him and now he’s rescued us,” Landis said.

A 13-year-old neighbor is in custody and has been charged with reckless burning.

And thanks to Marcus there were no injuries.

For his bravery, Marcus was rewarded with a new toy ball, a rawhide bone and lots of love.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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Kansas Workers Rescue Dog After 20 Foot Fall

July 13, 2011 in Heroics, Inspirational, News

Derby Workers Rescue DogsIt’s a pretty sure bet that Carl Rose is going to name his new dog “Derby.”

Rose and other Derby, Kansas workers — from wastewater treatment employees to firefighters — helped rescue the black Lab Thursday from the bottom of a concrete tank about 20 feet deep.

Rose, superintendent of the Derby, Kansas Wastewater Treatment Plant, went to work at about 7 a.m. Thursday. One of his employees, Terry Meek, a wastewater operator, was going out to turn on a pump when he walked by what’s called a clarifier pit used to treat water and noticed “that there was a dog in the bottom.”

“We’re standing there looking at him, and we can tell he’s hurt,” Rose said.

Rose immediately called  the fire department.

“I had already set up a ladder,” Rose said. “One of my guys was down in the basin with the dog and trying to calm him down and keep him from hurting himself any further.”

A firefighter then went down into the pit, put the dog who was scared but calm over his shoulder and carried him up the ladder.

Throughout the ordeal, Rose said, the guys were telling the dog, “It’s going to be all right. We’re going to get you out.”

The search was then on to find someone to mend the dog’s leg.

The first veterinary clinic workers called said it would be about $1,500 to fix up the dog.

El Paso Animal Clinic in Derby “quoted me about $1,000,” Rose said. “One of my employees’ wives works there. So I called my wife and said ‘We’ve got to do this.’ My wife said, ‘I know, you’re right, we have to do it.’ ”

The Roses lost one of their dogs about eight months ago. They also have a Chihuahua.

On Monday, veterinarians Gary Oehmke and Jeff Herod, who have estimated that the shiny black dog is between six months and a year old, will operate to fix the dog’s leg.

Then the Roses will take him home.

Derby city employees are trying to raise money to cover the dog’s veterinary bills. For information about donations, e-mail helpderbythedog@yahoo.com. Donations also may be made at El Paso Animal Clinic at 233 S. Georgie Ave. in Derby, Kansas. Any money raised above the cost of the dog’s care will be donated to the Kansas Humane Society.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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North Carolina Town Holds Annual Coon Dog Day

July 13, 2011 in Events, Lifestyle News, News

Coon Day

For the town of Saluda, North Carolina, there’s nothing like Coon Dog Day.

The festival, which is celebrating its 48th year and is annually held the Saturday after the Fourth of July in downtown Saluda, brought out its usual cast of characters (both human and canine).

Tim Osborne with Homemade Kennels of Newton North Carolina had his treeing walker Coonhound Hardwood Bean out to show off to the crowd.

“We’re just up here to show off the dogs, and our grandson is in the parade with the dogs,” Osborne said.

Osborne has been breeding for the past 20 years. He added his dog might add to the constant cacophony of Coonhound calling heard in the background.

“He gets a little noisy,” Osborne said. “He gets loud sometimes.”

Meanwhile, Jesse Leatherman had his four 14-week-old redbone Coonhound puppies all clamoring for attention from passers-by.

Leatherman added it’s a pleasure owning dogs. He got his first dog when he was 8 years old and has had one ever since.

Before the parade started at 11 a.m., chairs were already filled along the main stretch of road through the heart of Saluda. Jason Gregory of Greenville, Alabama, sat with his 6-year-old daughter, Amelia, in a shady spot along the road.

“We always come this time of year for Coon Dog Day,” Gregory said. Amelia added her favorite part of the festival was the parade.

Just prior to the start of the parade, antique cars were lined up next to floats bearing a Coonhound theme.

All in all, it seemed like it was a great day to be Coon dog in Saluda, North Carolina!

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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Pennsylvania SPCA Investigates Abuse Of Starving Pit Bull

July 10, 2011 in Endangerment, Inhumane Practices, Law Enforcement, News, Pit Bull

Starving Pit Bull

The York County Pennsylvania SPCA’s executive director can’t fathom why no one alerted authorities that a Pit Bull was being starved to death.

“More people should have cared about her. All of us have a responsibility to do the right thing when it comes to a situation like this,” Melissa Smith said. “It’s rare when this happens that no one knows it’s happening. … People knew this dog was starving.”

The 3- to 4-year-old Pit Bull, who was named Ava  by SPCA staffers, was found dumped in York Pennsylvania’s Bantz Park on Monday evening,

Ava was found by a woman who saw her in the park and notified authorities. The dog, who was very close to death when she was found, was eventually taken to the Animal Emergency Clinic, then transferred to the SPCA shelter, Smith said.

Ava weighed only 27 pounds when was found and was primarily skin and bones. She was also suffering from significant pressure sores.

“If I were to speculate, I would say they’re probably from her being confined to a crate or a cement basement,” Smith said. “We feel very strongly this dog was confined somewhere. Someone was purposely neglecting to give this dog water and sustenance.”

It would have taken weeks for Ava’s body to wither to this point, according to Smith — weeks of what amounted to torture for the dog.

But thankfully however, there is some good news as it appears Ava’s health is slowly getting better and better.

“We’re very pleased with how she’s coming along,” Smith said. “If she had any underlying health issues, they would have presented themselves by now.”

It also appears that Ava might be one of the most popular dogs on Facebook right now.

A “Justice for Ava” Facebook fan page sprouted up to support the dog and to help find the person responsible for her. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 4,800 fans and was gaining more every hour from around the world.

The Justice for Ava owners are keeping fans updated on Ava’s condition and are urging anyone with information on Ava’s owner to call the SPCA at 764-6109, ext. 127. The person responsible for Ava is facing a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge.

Smith said she’s also received some donations to help cover the cost for Ava’s care, “which are greatly appreciated.”

To make a donation, visit http://www.ycspca.org.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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Euthanized Dogs Under 4 Million A Year Vs. 20 Million in 1970

July 10, 2011 in Animal Control, Health & Science News, News

This is great news that we can all be proud of. But the fight isn’t over. I can’t wait to see what the next 5 or 10 years bring. Hopefully, if we all work hard, we’ll be able to see it hit under a million or even less.

And maybe, one day, it will be a thing of the past.

– Kenn Bell, Dog Files Creator

When Stephen Zawistowski got his first dog 50 years ago, she was the only dog in the neighborhood that was spayed.

“She had an incision that must have been a foot long and was sewn up with what looked like piano wire,” says Zawistowski, science adviser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Nowadays, the procedure involves making a one- or two-inch incision and using self-absorbing sutures which means a much quicker recovery for the animal.

Today, spaying and neutering has become the law in some states, counties and cities. Many states require all shelter animals to be sterilized. Rhode Island requires most cats to be sterilized, and Los Angeles requires most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered by the time they are 4 months old.

To get to this point however, it took years of campaigning to change pet owners’ thinking about sterilizing pets.

As Zawistowski explains: “When pets are sterilized, their reproductive organs are removed so they can no longer breed. Some people consider that unnecessary mutilation of their pets. There are those who say: “You won’t do that to my dog because I wouldn’t want it done to me.”

But the sterilization of pets has actually saved lives. This year fewer than 4 million unwanted dogs and cats will be euthanized, down from as many as 20 million before 1970. And animal experts believe spaying and neutering has played the biggest role in saving so many lives as the procedure can make pets easier to manage, less aggressive and healthier.

The next step in cat and dog sterilization may be in the form of an affordable pill, implant or vaccine.

Dr. Gary Michelson, a billionaire orthopedic spinal surgeon and founder of Found Animals, posted a $25 million prize in 2008 for the creator of such an affordable chemical sterilant that works in male and female cats and dogs.

In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first sterilant for male dogs. But at about $50 a shot, Neutersol was too costly. It was then reworked, the price was cut to about $6 a dose and it was again approved by the FDA under the name Esterilsol.

Esterilsol has been used in trials around the world and is expected to be available in the United States later this year.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

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