This really got to me. Our hearts go out to the Gloucester Twp. Police and we thank them for their incredible show of respect for their fallen police officer, Shultz.

– Kenn

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Police on Wednesday mourned a decorated police dog that was killed just after it sunk its teeth into the forearm of a robbery suspect it had tracked by scent for a half-mile.

The suspect, 20-year-old Skyler Robinson, swung his arm and the German shepherd named Schultz into the path of a car on Wednesday evening as the dog’s handler, Gloucester Township Police Cpl. Mark Pickard, watched. The car struck the dog and grazed Robinson.

The dog died along the roadside within minutes.

The man escaped across the highway only to be caught more than three hours later in a manhunt joined by about 100 police officers from several surrounding towns. The Philadelphia Police Department sent a helicopter to join in the search even though windy, wet weather was grounding other department flights.

“Officer Schultz gave his life for Cpl. Pickard and all the other officers,” Gloucester County Police Chief Harry Earle said at a grim news conference Wednesday.

Schultz, a 3 1/2-year-old, joined the force in 2008 and was given his name as the result of an essay contest in a school in the Philadelphia suburb. The winning entry, from a fifth-grader, said the dog should be named after Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, a tough hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s.

To read the rest, click here.

By Christy Potter Kass for The Alternative Press

MADISON, NJ – Not many teenagers would willingly, even happily, give up the last weekend of summer for a volunteer project, but Kayla Marks is not most teenagers. Kayla is spending this weekend manning a table in front of different local pet shops to raise money to fight something she finds abhorrent: puppy mills.

Kayla, who will be a junior this fall at Kent Place, had a table set up Friday and Saturday in front of the Madison Pet Shop.

She is selling homemade “Puppy Ciao” dog treats for $1 a bag, and homemade people cookies – chocolate chip, sugar, and snickerdoodles – for $2 per bag. Tons of Toys in Madison donated a large, plush stuffed dog, and the girls sold raffle tickets to win it. Faux Paws is providing Saturday’s raffle prize. All proceeds from Kayla’s table go to the Humane Society and St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison.

To read the restclick here.

By Vanesse Vera Roman for dailyrecord.com

WASHINGTON TWP. —Robert Lackey really loves animals. Dogs are his favorite animal, horses his second favorite, he said. He’s minded his neighbors’ cat while they’ve been away, and he’s taken care of his great nephew’s black lab, Charlie, too.

This week, Lackey, 80 — who splits his time between an apartment in New York City and his home in Washington Township — was dog sitting 14-year-old Charlie when things took an unexpected and somewhat frightening turn.

On Monday morning, Lackey was cleaning up after Charlie outdoors when he turned around and realized the dog was gone.

He looked a bit further and found that Charlie, a heavy dog with a bad back, had fallen into a 6-foot deep streambed along the side of Sand Hill Road.

There was only about an inch of water in the stream but the deep banks are steep. Unable to get the dog out himself, Lackey called police.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m., Washington Township Police Officer John Wurtemberg responded to the scene, got into the ditch, and was able to hoist the dog out and return it to Lackey.

Charlie was dirty because of the heavy rain and mud, but, Lackey said, the dog is now home resting comfortably.

“Thank God for the Washington Township Police Department,” Lackey said. “They’re there when you need them.”

BY Alexander MacIinnes For North Jersey.com

Now this is how you run an anti-BSL protest!

– Kenn

City officials on Tuesday got a jarring lesson on messing with canines when dozens of dog lovers mobilized to protest a law that would have imposed restrictions on pit bulls. The reaction — online, on the phone and in person — was swift, organized and polite.

“I’ve gotten more phone calls and mailings on this ordinance than on any other ordinance in all my years — from across the country,” said Mayor Frank Calandriello before the City Council’s regular meeting.

The ordinance was defeated 5-0 at that meeting, mainly because officials received new information that towns cannot pass laws that are “breed specific.” The Garfield proposal would have required pit-bull owners to muzzle their dogs, walk them on a leash no longer than three feet, and purchase $50,000 worth of liability insurance. The law would have also required dog walkers of pit bull breeds to be at least 18 years old.

The City Council pitched the law in April after a pit-bull attacked another dog on Chestnut Street.

To read the rest click here.

Click here to read the original story from last week.

– Kenn

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A police dog that escaped from his outdoor kennel as last weekend’s nor’easter pounded New Jersey has been found safe, although he did injure a leg.

Dillinger, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, was recuperating yesterday at the home of his handler, Atlantic County Sheriff’s Officer Ron DeMoulin.

Earlier in the day, motorist Laura Marcy spotted the dog walking near an Egg Harbor Township industrial park and called police.

By The Associated Press

Officials are trying to find a police dog that escaped from its outdoor kennel as a nor’easter pounded New Jersey.

The Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office said Dillinger’s handler, Ron DeMoulin, found the 2-year-old Belgian Malinois missing after a lightning storm early Sunday.

The dog scaled a 5-foot chain-link fence and squeezed through a 6-inch gap between the roof and the top of the fence behind the sheriff’s officer’s home.

Officials said the officer did not do anything wrong and changes will be made to the kennel to prevent another escape.

Officials are offering a reward and ask anyone who sees Dillinger not to try to secure the animal. People should call 609-909-7200.

Also, follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dogfiles

John Fries had a few questions for Chuck Rupertus, at the door with son Alex, 5, and their pooch. Rupertus had a question of his own: "Why do we even have this guy? I pay $14,000 a year in property taxes, and they're nickel-and-diming me about my dog."

By James Osborne For Philly.com

It begins with a knock on the door of a well-appointed house on a quiet street in a South Jersey suburb.

Roxy and Lola, the Swallow family’s two golden retrievers, begin to bark, which is what John Fries is waiting for.

When the dogs’ owner, Nina Swallow, opens the door, Fries, dressed in a puffer vest and wool cap, is waiting.

“I’m here conducting a dog census for Haddon Township,” he says, holding a clipboard. “Are those dogs licensed?”

On doorsteps across the state, residents are opening their doors to find municipal workers conducting house-by-house searches to check for unlicensed dogs.

Under a state law that health officials estimate dates to the 1950s, when rabies was a real threat to household pets, New Jersey towns are required to conduct the census every two years.

“I started here in 1985, and there was a requirement then,” said Faye Sorhage, chief veterinarian for the Department of Health and Senior Services. “It’s pretty much eliminated dog rabies in New Jersey.”

As the rabies threat has declined, so has the number of municipalities following the little-known regulation. In 1980, 91 percent of towns submitted canvases to the state; in 2008, only 32 percent did so, according to health department records.

Chesilhurst, a mostly low-income community near the Pine Barrens, does not participate in the census and won’t for the foreseeable future, Mayor Michael Blunt said.

“Chesilhurst has so many other problems, the last thing we’re concerned about is a dog census,” he said. “The minute you start giving people tickets, you bring hell on yourself.”

Under state rules, if a resident is found to have an unlicensed dog in his or her home, the municipality can send out a bill for the license with the threat of a fine for nonpayment.

For New Jersey residents, who generally consider themselves to be some of the most onerously taxed people in the country, the $10 to $20 charge is like a red flag to a bull.

A visit from Fries earlier this month left Chuck Rupertus, owner of a small landscaping company, irate.

“Why do we even have this guy? I pay $14,000 a year in property taxes, and they’re nickel-and-diming me about my dog. It’s not costing anybody in the town,” he said. “That’s New Jersey for you.”

As Fries makes his way around Haddon Township, a task he began in October and doesn’t expect to complete until the end of January, he has time to contemplate.

He’s noticed, for instance, that pet owners in the wealthier sections of town are far more likely to license their dogs. And, after an incident in which a resident called the police on him, he realizes it’s important when knocking on doors to wear identification and to sound official.

“Word has been getting around town, so now people are like, ‘We’ve been expecting you,’ ” said Fries, a 40-year-old graphic designer who was laid off last year and welcomed the part-time work in the town where he lives. “But most people have no idea. My sister laughs at me about it, but it’s not a hard job.”

Requiring owners to license their dogs is a fairly common, if little enforced, policy in most U.S. cities and towns. But the taking of a door-to-door “dog census” seems unique to New Jersey.

While officials at the American Veterinary Medical Association could not rule out other census-takers, a spokesman said, “We haven’t heard of any other states doing it.”

Among local elected officials, the census is something of a joke. When learning about the law, one politician said, “Do I really have to do this?”

At least in the minority of towns that participate, the census has reaped an increase in dog-licensing revenues.

“It’s an obligation, but if we can generate some fees from it . . . we’re always trying to think of ways we can limit the [property] tax increases,” Haddon Township Commissioner John Foley said.