As you read through this article you might notice a Muslim tinge to it. For example, notice that the writer starts off saying that the dogs might bite or attack their handlers? Bite by accident, sure. Attack, I seriously doubt it.

And isn’t it convenient that the Iraqis are okay with Salukis because they find them useful but all other dogs are considered unclean? Now I think Salukis are gorgeous but is there anything different about them to make them religiously acceptable? I doubt it. I suspect this is just a case of religious justification and that culturally Iraqis don’t like dogs.

So what does this mean when Muslims in other parts of the world claim their religious beliefs require they not interact with dogs, as in the case of Taxis or schools with guide dog protected children? It tells me, once again, that their distaste for dogs is just that, a cultural or personal dislike, and not a real religious issue.

Thanks to John D. for barking in this article from Yahoo News.

In Iraq, a Marine’s best friend is a dog with 42 teeth
By Raviya H. Ismail, McClatchy Newspapers
Thu May 22

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Although getting bitten or attacked by their partners is an occupational hazard, Marines on the al Asad airbase northwest of Baghdad say theirs is the most coveted job in the military.

After all, they’re paired up with what Westerners— although not all Muslims— consider man’s best friend. This sprawling base’s K-9 teams, which consist of one dog and one Marine, are a mainstay in Iraq’s once restive Sunni Muslim Anbar province.

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Thanks to the Associated Press for this article.

Computer helps jailers understand dogs
By BETH MARLOWE

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli jails are using a custom-built computer program to interpret the barks of guard dogs and distinguish warnings of a breakout from everyday woofs, a prisons official said Monday.

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It constantly amazes me how dogs can help us in so many new ways! Take this article for example. Here is a dedicated group of humans trying to address a very serious problem. And who steps up to be their partners once again? Dogs, of course!

Okay, I know the dogs didn’t actually apply for the job but as our closest friends and symbiotes, dogs are helping theri humans meet these challenges. What would we do without them?

Thanks to Lindsey at Conservation International for barking over this article.

For These Dogs, Are Their New Tricks Saving Species?
May 13, 2008

Sniffing Dogs Help Monitor and Protect Threatened Animals in Brazil

It’s a tough job, but somebody – or at least some dogs – have to do it.

In the Cerrado region of Brazil, four dogs have been trained to detect animal feces by scent. These canines are helping researchers monitor rare and threatened wildlife such as jaguars, tapirs, giant anteaters, and maned wolves in and around Emas National Park, a protected area with the largest concentration of threatened species in Brazil.

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Please Crosspost!!!

What’s in the water the North Carolina State Trooper K9 handlers are drinking? Whatever it is, someone needs to cut them off. One handler is already in trouble for horrible abuse of a dog in his care. Now we find out that the more of the folks in the same department may also be dog abusers, all in the name of training.

News flash, NC canine cops, abuse is abuse no matter who does it or what the excuse. If you can’t train a dog without abusing her, you DEFINITELY are in the wrong line of work!

If you want to let the appropriate NC authorities hear your views on this situation, their contact information is at the end of this post.

Thanks to Lynn H. for bringing this terrible case to my attention.

First we find out that a 12-year veteran of the NC Highway Patrol has been videoed repeatedly kicking a roped trainee dog. Then it turns out that the rest of the Canine Unit is also tainted.

Please be aware that this article contains EXTREMELY upsetting information and video. I was sick to my stomach as I put together this post.

This article comes from The News & Observer.

Video of trooper kicking dog released
Jones was fired after 14 years with the patrol.
Dan Kane, Staff Writer

Dog handlers for the State Highway Patrol have stunned dogs with Tasers, swung them by their leashes until they became airborne, and hit them with plastic bottles full of pebbles.
None of that was an issue until a trooper used his cell phone to record a video of a sergeant kicking his police dog repeatedly while it was leashed to a loading dock, its hind legs just touching the ground. The video was made public for the first time Monday, and it shows Sgt. Charles L. Jones kicking Ricoh, 7, a Belgian Malinois, five times, causing the dog to swing as much as two feet under the loading dock.

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Thanks to Eddie Essig for barking in this good news from KDKA.com.

Big Ben Makes Big Donation For Local Police Dogs

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is making a special donation to local police departments to help their canine units.

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I read a lot of blogs but few of them are as raw and powerful as K9 Pride. K9 Pride is “dedicated to working dog teams protecting us worldwide.” If you aren’t moved by the emotional power of this blog then check your pulse; you may be dead.

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What a great idea!

Thanks to NewsWales for this article.

Police dogs stamp their mark
11/3/2008

Four-legged hounds trained at South Wales Police Dog Training School sprang into action for their latest mission - helping launch Royal Mail’s new set of stamps featuring canine heroes.

The Working Dogs stamps pay tribute to man’s best friend in miniature.

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Really fellow Dogsters, I cannot make this stuff up!!!

Thanks to Vagabondish for this article.

The noses used to sniff out anything from cocaine to bombs are now being used to sniff out another menace – bed bugs. A New York company is offering the services of a pack of six dogs who can sniff out bed bugs from apartments, hotels and hospitals in New York City. The dogs are used to sniff the blood sucking bugs out of mattresses, carpets and upholstery – their usual hiding places.

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Thanks to Daily Yomiuri Online for this article.

Dogs to foil pilfering primates
The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Aichi prefectural government has decided to train dogs to protect rice and other agricultural products from thieving monkeys in mountainous areas.

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What evil boys! If anyone ever thought assaults on humans ans animals are two different things, think again. These delinquents obviously meant to harm both the human and the canine police officers.

Thanks to WLKY.com for this article.

Two Teens Charged With Murder

PINEVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky State Police have charged two juveniles with murder after a sheriff’s deputy was killed when his car was rammed near the Kentucky-Tennessee-Virginia border.

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