A 16-month-old black Labrador was rescued from a shelter by the local police department. Instead of going to an expensive breeder the Chicago Police Department decided to give a rescue dog a chance at life and a new career.

The dog, Pantera, is now working in the organized crime division. Here are the details from the Chicago Tribune.

Officer Steve Martinez visited the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League at least four times before picking Pantera based on the dog’s “high degree of maturity and strong drive.” After extensive training in various drug detection techniques, Pantera became an official police dog, the youngest certified narcotics detection canine in city history.

Since joining the force, Pantera has recovered evidence and assisted in search warrant executions with the narcotics section, the department said.

This is such good news, and shows what great dogs you can adopt from the shelter. The Animal Welfare League, where Pantera had been dropped off, hopes the police department continues to adopt from shelters.  I hope so too, it sets a great example and maybe departments around the country will follow suit.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

A good Samaritan, Gary DeNicola, rescued a stray dog running in traffic, most likely saving her life. What he didn’t realize at the time was he saved 10 lives,  she was pregnant. When he picked up the dog she was starving and emaciated, it looked like she had been nursing but when he searched the area for puppies but didn’t find any.

He took the dog home and put her in his spacious backyard to keep her safe, he was worried about bringing her in because he has a 12-year-old and wasn’t sure how he’d react. DeNicola planned on dropping the dog off at the shelter the next day, things didn’t work out exactly as planned.

Here are the details from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

That evening, on Sept. 27, DeNicola noticed the dog begin to hunker down in a garden bed. Next, she was giving birth to one, two, four, seven, and then nine black and tan puppies. Read the rest of this entry »

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

How sad is this, a beautiful senior lab who is going to be put down without anyone even knowing her name?  She was picked up as a stray and is only known as 1054.

I have no doubt she was a very loyal, loving companion and now she is nothing but a number. Her age is unknown, but she is obviously an old gal.  Don’t let old age fool you, if you’ve never adopted an older dog before this girl can bring more joy than you can imagine.

She is located at  Portage County Dog Warden Shelter in Ravenna, Ohio. You can reach them at 330-297-6924.  There is no time to spare,  I know there is a perfect family out there for this beautiful girl, is it you?

Please post and crosspost this message, before it’s too late.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

This week’s Sunbear Squad tip is especially important due to the high number of foreclosures and people abandoning their houses, and unfortunately, sometimes their pets.

Watch Tip of the Week Nov. 1:

Listen for pets trapped inside while households travel during the winter. Check garages and sheds. Accidents happen!

Here’s more info on Sunbear from founder of  Sunbear Squad, Anna Nirva. Please exercise more awareness with the traveling months coming. Remember Sunbear’s story. He was accidentally trapped when his owner traveled for work. His owner thought that he had found a new home for Sunbear, but communication broke down. Sunbear waited for 6 weeks in a townhouse laundry room with a bag of food outside the door. His new family never came. His owner never checked to make sure than Sunbear was picked up by his new family as planned.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

I received a letter from a volunteer at the North Mecklenberg Animal Rescue about a beautiful girl named Hope, a throwaway who survived against the odds.

She is currently being fostered at a wonderful home but needs her own permanent loving forever home.

Hope was neglected and abused until, as a 6-8 month old puppy, being thrown into a rock quarry in an attempt to drown her. Her spirit and determination allowed her to fight for an indeterminate amount of time, acquiring significant injuries to her feet and legs as she tried desperately to free herself. Somehow, she found a small ledge, where she huddled for another indeterminate amount until Fire and Rescue rock climbed and rafted her out. By this point, she was totally catatonic and responsive due to her fear.

The reason my home was chosen for foster care was because of the very special pack of rescued animals who lives here. There is a rescued fighting dog who was used as bait and subsequently lost a rear leg and underwent 3 surgeries, another dog that was abandoned twice before the age of 3 months who is now a Therapy Dog for humans and other animals, and three elderly cats who were abandoned at various stages in their life. They now work together to help other animals adjust and recover from bad situations. One of these cats keeps all arriving foster dogs company by spending the night sleeping in front of their crates, as well as by engaging in boxing matches with the dogs regardless of their size.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

Hey…it’s Bo here.

Bow-Wow!, the free monthly newspaper for dog lovers on the Oregon and southwest Washington coast, has been keeping readers informed about dog-related events and activities since 2000. It’s entertaining, too, with regular features about dogs and their people.

In this month’s issue, rover reporter Gus Nevan gets his paws on a copy of my book. Since this was the first review of my book typeset on recycled trees, I was a bit nervous as I read along.

Bo Hoefinger, now that’s my kind of dog. A dog’s dog, if you know what I mean. He gets it, man, he really gets what being a dog is all about. And he tells it like it is, none of that high-falutin’, nose in the air attitude stuff for him. No sir. He’s not afraid to call a dog fart a dog fart. And, like me, he’s not ashamed of letting one rip, either.

All I can say is that Gus Nevan gets it, man, he really gets what being a reporter is all about!

Bad to the Bone is more fun than a ride in the car with the windows open—especially for my fellow mutts who have wagged their way out of the shelter system and into a devoted family. I say, drag your parents down to the book store and have them fetch a copy.

Here’s the link to the October issue of Bow-Wow!.

Go to my site at Bo Knows, and then click on the image at the top to read the whole thing. 

Click here to order a copy of BAD TO THE BONE: Memoir Of A Rebel Doggie Blogger for yourself or the dog lover (or dog) in your life, it’s the perfect holiday gift!

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

Ponder Cove is a very nice dog friendly B&B located in Asheville, NC.  Martha, the owner, has a few dogs and one of them happens to be a hunting dog that showed up at her door after being abandoned in the woods. This week’s tip is definitely something to keep in mind if you live in a rural area.

Watch Tip Week of Oct. 25:

Watch and listen for stray hunting dogs in rural areas during the hunting season, where some are coldly abandoned for poor performance.

Here’s another story about a few abandoned hunting hounds,  it was submitted  by a reader of  Sunbear Squad.

An ice storm was bearing down in the southern United States and a pack of 3 adult Beagles and 5 puppies were sighted in a rural Arkansas forest. Concerned animal lovers sent numerous emails to locate a rescuer who could take immediate action to save the dogs, and two compassionate women rose to the challenge.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

I just want to remind everyone that our ‘Win A Memorial For Your Pup’ contests ends on Monday.

If you have lost a beloved member of the family now is your chance to win a beautiful handcrafted heart which has a small portion of your pet’s cremains infused into the glass as it is being made. Thanks to Peternity for offering up this lovely memorial, I have no doubt it will be cherished by whoever wins.

To find out all the details and to enter go to the original post, click here.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

I’ve always thought Hilary Swank was an amazing actress, now I know she’s also a great person.  Swank is the owner of two rescues, Karoo and Rumi, and according to USA Today she is the new face of Iams “Home 4 the Holidays” pet adoption drive with the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

Their goal in the campaign, which runs until Jan. 4, is to find homes for 1.5 million pets. I posted about their adoption drive last year, they not only met their goal, they exceeded it. One Million Eighty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred and Six Pets found forever homes last year thanks to Iams ‘Home 4 the Holidays.’

*Photos courtesy Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

On October 2nd I posted It’s Time To Celebrate Adopt-A-Dog Month. I put some zealies up for grabs, all you had to do was send me your dog’s rescue story for a chance to win.  The winner would be featured on the blog and their goodie stash would get richer by 50 zealies.

The winner is The Wee Beasties, a very cute group of pups, and their mom Charlotte. You’ll see from the stories below why people like Charlotte are the unsung heroes of the world and a true inspiration.

Peaches, a 7 year old chihuahua was found in a water-filled ditch in Tennessee. She was emaciated, had a broken jaw with a bad wire job and kennel cough. A shelter volunteer took pity on her, took her home and reached out to rescues. A rescue in Missouri took her in and listed her on Petfinder. We were lucky enough to be chosen to adopt her in December 2006. She was terrified of men but with time, care and lots of treats, my husband was able to win her over. She’s now a true Daddy’s girl and loving spending her golden years with us.

Sam, a 3 year old chihuahua mix, came into the shelter where I volunteer. He had been abandoned and was starved. Weeks passed, other dogs came and went but but no one wanted Sam. He did get one home who promptly returned him, claiming that he’d bitten their baby. After questioning, they admitted there was no bite- they just didn’t want him. I took him home and he’s happier than ever. He does have some separation anxiety and phobia of storms but we’re working on that.

Rufus (another chihuahua) also came into the shelter, about a month after we got Sam. Read the rest of this entry »

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere: