A man estranged from his family, living alone in a trailer in Florida, is hailed a hero for a selfless act that has cost him his life.

Robert Emery risked his life to rescue three dogs that were stuck on a highway in Texas after hurricane Ike.

Robert “Bob” Emery, who was from Florida and in Texas to help clear storm debris, died late Saturday after dashing onto the East Freeway to reach the dogs who were huddled in the emergency lane against a cement median. He was struck by a passing motorcycle.

Thankfully the dogs were saved and eventually reunited with their owner.   However, Emery’s family has not been located, and without anyone to claim his body he could be given a pauper’s burial.

Cheryl Lang, president of the Houston-based organization, No Paws Left Behind, which works to find solutions for pets from homes being foreclosed, is among those calling Emery a hero.

Lang said he deserves better than a pauper’s burial, and is looking at ways the community can honor his memory, perhaps with a temporary pet shelter.

“He didn’t even think twice, just went out and did it,” she said of Emery trying to reach the dogs.”That says a lot about his character.”

It’s very sad that Robert Emery lost his life, it would be a tragedy if he’s buried in an unmarked grave. This man is a hero who deserves recognition.

Hopefully, if this story keeps making its way around the internet someone will know how to reach Robert “Bob” Emery’s family.

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A man in West Jacksonville, FL who fled from the storm last week left his two dogs chained up in the carport.  Two city workers found the dogs and saved them from drowning.

The owner, David Hamm, went to a city shelter to seek refuge from the storm. He will now face two animal cruelty tickets and fines of up to $1,000, said Robert Currey, a field supervisor for Jacksonville Animal Care and Control.

Luckily, an anonymous tip notified Animal Care and Control officers, who went to rescue the dogs by boat. The officials felt Hamm’s decision was more irresponsibility than cruelty.

While I understand the need to take shelter during a storm it is incomprehensible to me that you would leave your dogs chained in an area where you know they could drown. The city opened over 10 shelters for the storm, including at least two pet-friendly ones.

One of the animals, a Labrador mix, was standing for hours in water that sometimes reached his chest and had a skin condition from long before Friday, Currey said. Neither of the dogs was licensed, but both were up to date on their shots, said Fred Forbes, interim division chief of Animal Care and Control.

Field supervisor, Robert Currey, stated “Legally, there was not a reason we could keep them from getting the dogs back.”  Apparently, absolute disgust doesn’t fall under the realm of the law.

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One of our pals, Mattie, brought this heartwarming story to my attention.  It just goes to show no matter how tough you look on the outside, sometimes you’re just a big softie on the inside.

About 15 years ago, a group of animal-loving, tattooed bikers in the New York area began acting on behalf of abused animals. The men volunteered at shelters and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Toward Animals, and they tried to solve cases of missing or abused animals that other organizations had neither the time nor the resources to address.

About a year ago, they took up the name Rescue Ink, and now work full time investigating cases of animal abuse. Members of the group recently responded at a site in Elmhurt, Queens, where a caller had reported that five pit bulls were caged in the back of a used-car lot.

This is such an inspiring story.  It really goes to show that the old adage, don’t judge a book by its cover, is true. There’s a great slide show that goes along with the story, well worth taking a minute to view.

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How many of you knew that tomorrow is National Homeless Animals Day? I know I didn’t. Here’s a little information from the Humane Society of Naples.

(Naples, FL) Saturday, August 16th is “National Homeless Animals Day,” a day that animal shelters around the nation note to call attention to the millions of homeless pets that suffer every year because they have no home.

Some private shelters such as The Humane Society Naples are no-kill shelters and don’t kill pets to make space. However, unlike private shelters, most public pet shelters don’t have the option of turning pets away when there’s no space. They are forced to perform the sad duty of eliminating pets after holding them a certain number of days to make room for more intakes.

In addition to pets who die in a shelter, there are those pets in the wild who suffer as well. Dumped and abandoned by owners who can’t or won’t take the time to find them a home or deliver them to a shelter, these pets try their best to survive on the streets and in the backwoods. There, they face disease, parasites, hunger and death by humans and other animals.

Here’s what you can do to help:

People who care about this problem can help by contacting their local pet shelters and rescue groups to lend a hand and start or increase spay/neuter efforts.

How great would it be to celebrate this day by adopting a deserving fuzzball? C’mon, you know you want to do it!

OK…so you’re full up on cuteness and love. Here’s another way you can help.

The Humane Society Naples has a special fund set aside to help cover some or all of the cost of pet sterilization for pet owners of modest means.

This Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) has provided over 50 free pet sterilizations this year, preventing the birth of hundreds of unwanted pets. The program will continue as long as there are funds available. To contribute to this fund, contact Andy Reed, The Humane Society Naples Development Director at 643-1880 x 21 or andy@hsnaples.org.

As always, your kindness and generosity is greatly appreciated!!

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Recently my wife and I had the pleasure of adding Logan to our family. He is a rescue from the Bernese Auction Rescue Coalition, Inc. It is a wonderful non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating Bernese Mountain Dogs from dog brokers, dog auctions, puppy mills, and any other dangerous, exploitative or abusive situation.

The folks associated with BARC are some of the most passionate, loving people you will ever meet. They are the type of people you come across in your life that are making a difference in the world. Their efforts make you ask yourself, “How can I do more?”

Such was the feeling when I read the following account of “A Day in the Life of a Rescuer” by E.S. Everitt. It is the heartbreaking tale of a typical ‘auction’ day and what goes through one rescuer’s mind as attempts are made to help as many dogs as possible.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RESCUER
E.S. EVERITT

I rise at 4 a.m., get coffee, check supplies, and leave by 5. I drive alone, my van full of empty crates. As I drive through the cold dark morning, my only company is the churning of my emotions. Hope that most of the crates will be full of dogs on the way home. Anger than anyone could bring puppies into this world with no plan other than a quick profit. Sorrow that companion animals are viewed as, even legally classified as livestock, rather than the family members they should be. And fear that I will fail them.

I know that I will fail some of them. I cannot save them all. Neither I nor my organization have the money, the manpower, the political clout or enough other resources to remove all of them from harm. But we will keep trying, because we can and because we have to. We can at least save some, give them the gift of love and family and future.

I don’t want to go. I have been on a roller coaster all week, distracted and angry and so grateful to all the others who help these innocent creatures. I read again some of writings from one of the Web rescue sites and am almost reduced to tears.

But I don’t have time to weep. I pull in to the auction site, park in the pasture and scan the vehicles, perhaps hoping that it’s been called off, or that some agency has swooped in and shut down the auction, taking all of the dogs to rescue, to safety. But no such luck. So I go in to get registered, grab a catalog, and go see the dogs.

The stench slaps at me the moment I walk into the building. As dog auctions go, this is supposedly clean and well run, but in two days they are running more than 500 dogs through the selling floor, some of them healthy, some of them not — the stack cages and the kennels are full. High school age kids rinse kennels with the hose and squeegee waste into the canal that runs along the floor.

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Last week Oprah re-ran an amazing show on puppy mills. She had investigative journalist Lisa Ling showing all the heartbreaking undercover footage of what puppy mills are really like, such that anyone who saw it will never consider buying a dog again. She showed amazing rescue people doing amazing things to deal with the swelling number of unhomed pets, and she interviewed the Fort Worth Animal Shelter which has no choice but to euthanize 17,000 dogs a year, almost 3 times as many as they are able to rehome. =(((( She had her vet on and the head of the HSUS who both said “spay and neuter.” She shared links to how people can get politically involved in abolishing puppy mills.

When the show re-ran she read a letter from the Governor of Pennsylvania pushing legislation for monitoring and oversight to mills. She made thousands of people cry and she made thousands of people commit themselves to fixing this awful problem. Oprah cried. Oprah publicly stated she will only get new dogs from shelters and never “buy” again.

But Oprah is not the one person I’m writing this entry about who did so much to raise awareness on puppy mills and add strength to the abolish movement. The person I want to talk about is Bill Smith, the founder of Main Line Animal Rescue, the leader of an amazing organization. He and Main Line put up a billboard just off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago that read, “Oprah-please do a show on puppy mills; the dogs need you.”

As much as we all hate puppy mills the hard reality is that most people don’t even know what they are or even that they exist. Most dog lovers don’t even know about them. Oprah said she was confused when she saw the billboard because she didn’t know what a puppy mill was.

So a 21-woof salute from Dogster to Bill Smith and the Main Line Animal Rescue. We’ve always thought if people simply knew about puppy mills and backyard breeders we could kill all their business, but haven’t done a good job voicing that to people BEFORE they get a dog. We’re re-emboldened to do all we can do.

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