I want to thank Bella for barking to me about a wonderful program the  military and the  Humane Society are offering to wounded soldiers to help them heal.

The Humane Society’s Dog Tags program helps  soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They sign up to help the shelter dogs learn to behave,  when the soldiers get out of the hospital they know how to care for and train the dogs.  The dogs learn better behavior, making them more adoptable.  In my book that’s a win-win.

Here are the details from Army.com.

The program began simply enough more than a year ago. The shelter is located just across the street from the Walter Reed campus. Soldiers out walking would come across shelter staff members walking the dogs. They would stop and pet the dogs and seemed to enjoy getting to know them. Officials at the shelter had the idea to hook the two together through a training program for the troops and the dogs.

“We want the program to be educational so that if there are service members in the program that want to potentially pursue this as a career, … they’re getting as much information as possible and as much hands-on time as possible with the dogs,” Foley said. “We also want it to be recreational, too, for people who … just love animals and like spending time with the dogs.”

The skills the dogs learn in the classes translate to better placement opportunities, Foley said. The program has far expanded the amount of training the shelter’s dogs received previously.

“This is another way our dogs are outside of their kennels being talked to and touched and interacting with people,” she said. “That’s extremely beneficial to reduce the stress levels of the animals in our kennels, and at the same time, it makes the animals far more successful in their new homes if they come into it with some basic obedience training.”

But for all of the good it is for the dogs, it is equally beneficial for the recovering troops, Foley said.

The article shares a wonderful story about Army Captain Lawrence Minnis and Ebony, a pit bull, who he ended up adopting. You can read how they saved each other on Army.com.

* Pic courtesy Army.com

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Any regular reader of the blog will know I have a soft spot for seniors, so when this email came through I knew I had to try and help save these pups.

They are located at a high kill shelter in Kentucky, so time is of the essence.

Soxy

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934088

Cupcake

http://www.petfinder.com/petnot/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934672

Luna

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934933

Mitzi

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14934945

The pups are at the Daviess Animal Control located on 2620 Highway 81 Owensboro, KY 42303.   You can reach them at (270) 685-8275 or via email,  click here.

Please post and crosspost this message, let’s help save these senior gals.  They still have a lot of living to do, give one a chance and in return you’ll get an endless amount of unconditional love.

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The Pratt Humane Society in Pratt, KS needs to raise $18,000 by October 18th in order to stay open.  They took out a loan in 2008 to pay for their building and now only have 8 days to pay it back. On top of that, their boiler broke leaving them with no heat. To fix it would cost $6,300 which they don’t have.

The shelter is a lifeline for animals that need a home,  many dogs there have been abused or abandoned. Here are the details from KAKE 10.

“If we close down, absolutely it would be terrible because there would be nowhere for someone to take an unwanted animal,” said the Pratt Area Humane Society Board President Pam Howell.

“We’re pretty desperate. It’s a crisis situation,” said Howell. Read the rest of this entry »

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I mentioned before about Georgia having one of the highest kill rates in the country, sad but true. Here’s an urgent message I received about the Floyd County Animal Control in Rome, GA. These dogs only have until TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13th to live.

PLEASE CROSSPOST: THERE ARE MANY PUPPIES IN URGENT NEED OF RESCUE AT FLOYD COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL IN ROME, GA~THESE BABIES MUST BE RESCUED BY 6:00 PM ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH AS THEY ARE SCHEDULED FOR EUTHANASIA ON WED. MORNING, BEGINNING AT 8 AM! Read the rest of this entry »

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This is the perfect story to go along with American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month.  There is a new ‘101 Dalmatians’ musical starring shelter dogs, rescued from various shelters and rescue groups.

Animal trainer Joel Slaven didn’t have an easy time finding the dogs because shelters didn’t want a replay of what happened 13 years ago. After the original live action movie in 1996 and the sequel in 2000 dalmatians became the ‘it’ dog. Everyone had to have one, unfortunately many who adopted knew nothing about the needs of this particular breed. The other unwanted outcome was overbreeding at puppy mills due to the high demand, causing additional health problems in a dog that is already known to have issues.

This time Slaven was determined to do things different, to use the dogs’ celebrity to teach people about them. Read the rest of this entry »

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This week’s Dog Of The Week is Black,  a one-year-old standard poodle. He’s been on Dogster since May 31st, 2009.

Black went from a stray running the streets to becoming a service dog for the member’s son who has autism.

Black was a stray running the streets. His picture was in the newspaper for adoption at the local pound and I lucked out and was the first there.

He went right up to my son who is on the Autism spectrum. I have been interested in getting and training a service dog for my son and Black seemed a good candidate.

So far Black has settled in and loves all the kids. Having him around calms my son down when he is anxious or upset. Black right away took to him. He is wonderful. The chances of a pound dog to work out this good are almost nill.

Black was sent to us I am sure. He is a true gift from God.

It sounds like this was a match made in heaven.  We wish Black and his new family a long and happy life together.

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About a week ago, Typhoon Ketsana (known in the Philippines as “Ondoy”) made landfall and dropped 17.9 inches of rain on Metro Manila in a span of 24 hours – the most in 42 years.

A month’s worth of rainfall in a single day washed away homes and flooded large areas, stranding thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere.  Both humans and animals are now in desperate need of help.

Here are the details from the Inquirer.net.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has opened its compound in Quezon City for animals needing shelter while waiting to be reunited with their owners, according to its program director, Anna Cabrera.

Cabrera said they were also bracing for animal rescue operations in coordination with government agencies and volunteer groups doing involved in rescue missions. She appealed to rescue organizations to accommodate PAWS members in helping rescue the animals stranded in roofs or trapped in homes.

“We are aware that in this situation, animals will be saved last. We lament this fact, but we have to save human lives first,” Cabrera said in a phone interview. Read the rest of this entry »

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I don’t know if  any True Blood fans are out there, but if  so, you’ll be happy to know engaged stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer plan on having their dogs at the wedding.

Although no official wedding date has been set it’s nice to know they want to include their furry friends.

Here’s the scoop from People.

Splash, my alpha, will be the ring bearer,” Moyer said at the L.A. Dogworks and Good Dog Animal Rescue fund raiser on Wednesday. “My son [Billy, born in 2000] might be unhappy about that.”

But Splash, a 10-year-old border collie Moyer calls “a grumpy little sod,” won’t have to worry about getting fitted for a tux quite yet. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dogster member Mozart just contacted me know about The Animal Rescue Site Shelter Challenge. They’re giving 73 shelters the chance to win a part of a $100,000 grant.

North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue is entered in the Animal Rescue Site’s Shelter Challenge! And they could really use the funds!

Although I personally did not come from this Rescue, me & Mom have done some demos for their Fund Raisers & we’ve visited their Shelter a lot. I was used as Demo Dog for some training Dog Haven did for them.

North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue could really use our help! I mean, just look at the vet bills they have, yikes!

They champion the Bully Breed! Many of their rescues have been pulled from Death Row! Many have been rescued from being Dumped by   Uncaring Humans! Many may never find their Furever Home but will always be welcome at NMAR!

Read the rest of this entry »

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We’re only a couple weeks away from the start of American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month.  It’s important to help them get the word out about how great rescue dogs are.

Want to be a Superhero?

Rescue a Shelter Dog … and Get a Loyal Sidekick for All of Life’s Adventures

You can save the day for a homeless dog — and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life’s adventures — by adopting a dog from your local shelter or breed-rescue group during American Humane’s Adopt-A-Dog Month® in October.

Adopting a dog is a heroic feat that’s easy to perform, and animal shelters and breed-rescue groups are filled with amazing dogs: large, small, mixed breeds, even purebreds. In fact, millions of loyal, lovable dogs are surrendered to our nation’s animal welfare organizations every year because their owners simply couldn’t take care of them anymore. Now they’re homeless — and just waiting for a hero like you!

Read the rest of this entry »

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