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.

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I just  got a message  about two puppies found wandering the streets of Lawrenceville, Georgia.  A good Samaritan picked them up, unfortunately she already has a house full and needs to find a home for these cuties.

Need good, loving home(s). Two female lab mix puppies – approx. 10-12 weeks old.

To my knowledge they do not have shots, nor have they been spayed. Both were found running unattended across from the cometary on Lawrenceville Highway in Lawrenceville area.

I have been helping to care for them for the past week. Both have very sweet dispositions and are amazingly calm for puppies. We have temporarily named them Lola and Yogi.

If anyone is interested please contact Valerie via email or by phone at 770-363-0827.  She is the owner of Best Fit Pet Services, a professional pet-sitting business. If anyone in the area is looking for a caring pet-sitter be sure to check her out.

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If you’ve been looking for a Buddy I have the perfect match for you. He’s located in Dacula, Georgia.

Hello, My Name is Shannon and I am reaching out to you in hopes that you can help me find a foster/adoptive home for Buddy our 3 yr old lab.

Though he is an all black lab mix, he looks like a full-lab. He was given to us by a friend when he was a puppy. He is the most awesome dog, ever. He is loving, obedient, and so eager to please. He loves to play, especially with tennis balls. He loves kids ( my children are 7 and 9). He is not aggressive. He is house trained. I am not current on his shots and he has not been neutered. He has been kennel trained since a pup, and still sleeps in his kennel at night. He is scared of thunder. I am working on getting photos.

We had to foreclose on our home and are moving in 6 days. Where we are moving to, will not allow pets. I will have to take him to a shelter if I can’t find a home for him. I have posted ads on Craigslist as well as sought friends and family. I have had no success. I would be able to contribute $25 a month for one year, if this will help to get Buddy adopted, and saved from being put to sleep. We are devastated that we cannot take him with us. This is a loss on top of a loss and it pains me to see my children so hurt. I pray that you will be able to help rescue Buddy.

My contact information:
Shannon @
678-985-3899
678-698-6188
or via email.

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Beautiful Bella needs a home. She is of unknown age (older) and very cute. Currently she is residing in Kennesaw, GA.

Bella was found on July 4th by our neighbors, they have searched high and low for her owner but have had no success.

Unfortunately they aren’t able to keep her so they need to find her a forever home. They’re in the process of moving so time is of the essence. They have tried contacting rescues and have had no success in placing her, they’re all full. They do not have the heart to turn her over to a shelter.  Imagine if your senior dog was lost and someone found her and took her to a shelter to be euthanized, it’s heartbreaking.

Not sure if she was just let go or what happened but if you met her you would know she was obviously loved at one time because she is very sweet and definitely an inside dog. She is toilet trained, sits and gives paw. Bella is not aggressive and hung out with our dogs for a bit. If we didn’t already have three, and a kitty, we would keep her.

Please, if anyone is interested in adopting her or can foster her contact me via email.  Feel free to post and cross-post this message we need to find Bella a forever home.

Thanks,

Horst

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Simon, a black lab, went missing and his owners are desperately trying to find him. He took off on Saturday and so far the Baltesz family has had no luck finding him.  They decided to try a different tack than just searching and putting up posters, they’re using urine.

A family desperate to find their missing dog have taken to spraying their urine around the neighbourhood to guide him home.

So the family of four have been filling their bottles and spraying them at strategic points in the neigbourhood to get Simon back.

The family told ThisisBristol.co.uk: “He never did learn how to go through a door without knocking everything and everyone and skated about on our kitchen floor as if it were ice.

“We even miss his whining and door scratching from downstairs at first light.”

I know how devastating it is when your dog gets loose and you can’t find him. Bo, our Hairy Houdini, had his share of escapes but luckily when he was done exploring he walked to the front door and barked to be let in. We hope Simon safely finds his way home soon.

* Pic courtesy METRO.co.uk

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Here is a great story about pawing it forward. Read how one rescue lent a paw to help another dog in need.

WENATCHEE, Wash. – Blewett the black Labrador retriever knows what it’s like to need a little help. For nearly a week last March, the lost dog barked for attention on Washington’s Blewett Pass, capturing the hearts of dozens of travelers who fed him and tried unsuccessfully to catch him. After he was finally captured, Jay and Janie Smith of Plain, Wash., gave him a home.

Jay Smith said his wife were walking Blewett on a trail above the Wenatchee River on Monday when the dog started barking and raced down the steep bank to sniff an animal near the river’s edge. Janie Smith thought it was a dead bear, but it was an old, arthritic black dog – and it was alive.

The dog’s tags showed it to be Pepper, an 11-year-old dog lost since Saturday. Carol Hurt, who lives nearby, had been baby-sitting Pepper for the weekend. She thinks the old dog was swept away by the river while taking a drink. She calls the rescue “pretty heartwarming.”

If this story doesn’t warm your heart I don’t know what will. Way to go Blewett, give that boy a bone.

*ADOPTABLE: Sparky is a beautiful senior in need of a forever home.

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Canine Crusaders sent a message about poor Torro, he’s been in the pound since March 23, his time is up. Some rescues have asked about him but Torro did not dog test very well. Thanks to a loving volunteer dog walker Torro is coming around quite nicely.

Isn’t there anyone out there that can take the time and give him a chance?

CROSSPOSTING PERMITTED & GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Mahoning County Dog Pound, Youngstown, OH

FIRST: Please call the pound to place your name on the dog (ID# of dog REQUIRED). Phone #330.740.2205, it will be prompt 1 or 2.

SECOND:
Please email both contacts below:
CanineCrusader@yahoo.com
CanineCrusader@aol.com

SEE ALL PICS HERE: Petfinder.com ID#13327441

You can check out all the wonderful dogs up for adoption at the Mahoning County Dog Pound on their  Petfinder.com page.

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If you’ve ever thought that your dog would make a great therapy dog, but never pursued it, this story will make  you want to go sign-up for training.  It shows what an amazing difference a therapy dog can make for a person who is sick, elderly, or as in this case, gone through a horrible tragedy.

The recent plane crash in Buffalo, NY has touched so many lives, changed so many families. To help the grieving relatives special four-legged therapists were brought to several sites, in hopes of providing some comfort.

Merlot, a Black Labrador, was brought to a local hotel to help a woman with the loss of a relative. The dog, being a trained therapist, waited until the woman was ready to engage.

“It was immediate. She reached over and petted the dog and hugged it,” said Tara Hughes, the lead Red Cross mental health volunteer at the Family Assistance Center for relatives of the deceased crash victims.

Hughes had previously seen the canine therapy dogs in action at other far less tragic settings, but never before like this.

“To know this woman was truly grieving and sense what she needed, my first thought was emotional support doesn’t have to come from a person and this support for that woman was far beyond anything another person could do for her,” Hughes said.

In order to become a therapy dog a basic obedience class certification is required and then the dogs, and their owners, must pass a stringent test by the therapy organization. It is imperative to know how the dogs will react in different situations and scenarios.

But the beauty of the dogs, unlike human mental health professionals, is that these four-legged therapists do not require those they care for to utter a single word.

What a great way to give back to the community, sharing the love of your dog with those most in need. You can find out more about therapy dog programs in your community by searching online. Here is one site that gives a state-by-state list.

* Pic courtesy Derek Gee/Buffalo News

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A year ago last Thanksgiving Alisa Holmes had her dog Shadow in the back of her truck. At one point during the ride Shadow escaped from the truck in the North Dallas area and disappeared.

Strangely enough, the dog took up residence in the parking area behind a newspaper building, the one of the reporter who wrote this story.

It’s so unusual to see a dog running loose in downtown Dallas that the black Labrador retriever mix caught everyone’s attention.

But the poor thing was so skittish that you rarely got more than a fleeting glimpse of her as she cowered down and scurried away.

Because no one could get anywhere near her, some kind souls here made do by putting out food and water each day.

But that couldn’t go on forever. Someone remembered a story we had run about Capp Evans, a local fellow who has success catching wary strays when no one else can.

His help was enlisted, and the dog some were calling “Belo” was snared on Saturday.

A wonderful dog sanctuary in East Texas, Straydog Inc., agreed to take the poor old mutt in.

And on Monday, as is routine with all new arrivals there, she was taken to a veterinary clinic in Athens for spaying and medical care.

Bill Arnold, the president of Straydog, said he couldn’t believe his ears when the vet called to say the dog was in good health, was already spayed and … had a microchip implanted!

Using the microchip information a call was placed to James Tubbs, the father of Shadow’s owner.

Alisa Holmes was so excited to find out her beloved Shadow was safe.  She had spent many months putting up fliers, searching animal shelters, and looking at lost-pet websites to no avail.

She had gotten Shadow as a newborn pup five years before, his mom was a street dog who had puppies at an abandoned service station.

After the phone call a happy reunion took place. I don’t think Alisa and her Shadow will ever be separated again.

* The pretty girl pictured is Lenora.

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In 2002 Amy Jones life was forever changed after a tragic skiing accident left her a quadriplegic.

Two years later she was paired with Skeeter, a trained service dog.  Jones went back to school to get her undergraduate degree, then on to law school.

On Saturday Jones graduated from Baylor University,  Skeeter by her side.

As Jones got her juris doctor degree on Saturday, Skeeter received an honorary law degree.

“Amy has busted through brick walls, and Skeeter has been faithfully by her side every step of the way,” law school Dean Brad Toben said. “Skeeter has become a part of our community and part of our family here at the law school.”

Not only is this an inspiring story, now I know who to call if our “kids” get in trouble with the law.  It’s not easy finding a canine with a law degree in the phone book.

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