Unfortunately, the police dog mistook the homeowner for the intruder and bit him. He bit him hard enough to send him to the hospital overnight.

Here are the details from The Daily News.

The 39-year-old father of three told the Eugene newspaper the dog bit through his left calf before clamping down on his thigh and then his left buttock.

The intruder, meanwhile, escaped and Crossan says he is upset that police have not offered him an apology for the bites that landed him in the hospital overnight earlier this week.

While the police chief called the incident ‘unfortuante’ and Kerns actions ‘heroic’ no apology has been offered to him.  Obviously this was a mistake, but you would think the police department would offer Kerns an apology.  Then again, that would be admitting guilt which could spur a lawsuit.

*There was no pic with the story, this is Dogster member Callisto.

Dogster member Rosie has gone missing, here are the details from her good friend, Daisy.

Rosie escaped the morning of 11-5-09 from her pet sitter’s fenced backyard. She actually managed to unlatch the gate and presumably is headed for home. Her owner is one of my best friends and was scheduled to go out of town today hence the need for a pet sitter.

Rosie is an adult, female, German Shepherd with a very black colored face. AC saw her at North Star and Northwest Blvd. at 10:00 AM this morning but couldn’t catch her. If you find her or think you’ve seen her please call 614-297-8380 or 614-787-1405. She is normally a friendly dog but was very scared when she was last sighted and took off running. Please let us know if you see her.

Rosie was wearing a pink gingham collar, she has all her tags on.

Please help me spread the word to anyone you know who lives in the Columbus area. Share this message on Facebook and retweet on Twitter.

We are worried sick for Rosie’s safety.

Thank you for any help!

On Monday TLC had a Kate Gosselin special: You Ask, Kate Answers. This may be why I never bother watching TV, but I digress. On the show she claimed that she had never intended to give them back to the breeder. But yet she did?

Here are the details from USA Today.

They were returned in September amid the fallout of her divorce with Jon Gosselin. Kate said at the time “they’ll come back, but for now I needed a break.” But now, though she didn’t rule out bringing the dogs back, it sounded unlikely, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call reports.

“I had to choose between the dogs and the kids and the kids come first,” said the Jon & Kate Plus 8 turned Kate Plus Eight star.

I cannot believe she said she needed a break, and that the dogs may be back. Seriously, give me a break.  Does she think you can just give your dogs away like their objects, excess baggage, and then you can just take them back at your own convenience?

I said it before and I’ll say it again, this is one selfish narcissistic woman. I think she needs a reality check, life isn’t just about her.

*Picture courtesy By Dr. Billy Ingram, Getty Images

Here are the details from the Winnipeg Free Press.

Shortly before midnight on Sept. 26, Const. Scott Taylor and police dog Judge, who have worked together since 2004, tracked down and arrested two suspects in a strong-arm robbery in the North End, and recovered the victim’s property.

But Taylor and Judge were just getting started.

The pair then tracked down a suspect in a domestic assault.

Later that night, suspects abandoned a stolen vehicle in The Maples and fled on foot, only to be collared by Tayor and Judge.

Finally, at 6 a.m. on Sept. 27, a man suspected of beating up another man who suffered serious injuries. The suspect took off, but Judge and Taylor found him in a nearby yard and made the arrest.

The Winnipeg Police Service  has 15 dogs and 10 handlers, normally there are three to five arrests per month in the canine unit. Wow, way to go Judge, you are a true dog hero.

* Photo courtesy Winnipeg Police Force/Winnipeg Free Press

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!

There are many lab mix puppies, black and yellow, husky mix babies, a GSD baby, hound-gsd mix puppies–boxer & boxer mix puppies~a little Pugapoo, a wirehaired terrier mix.

PLEASE ACT QUICKLY! PLEASE DON’T THINK SOMEONE ELSE WILL SAVE THEM!

YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE!

Please look at this list and see if you can help even one! All of these dogs and puppies are URGENT! THE SHELTER WILL CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY AND ALL ANIMALS PAST THEIR HOLD TIME WILL DIE!

PLEASE HELP THESE PUPPIES!

Local volunteers are available to help with pulling from the shelter and driving to the vet or boarding. If you do not have a local contact to assist you please email Margaret and I will forward your request for assistance to a local volunteer.

FLOYD COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL

Telephone number: 706-236-4545

Fax number: 706-233-0032

Email: broomej@floydcoga.org

Hours:

M, T 10am – 6pm

Wednesdays NEVER OPEN

Th, Fri 10am – 6pm

Sat + Sun 1pm – 5pm

View the slideshow of the dogs, click here.

Fasco, a military police dog, is taking the plunge with his handler Sgt. Chris Lalonde and a trained skydiver. According to the Metro.co.uk the hound plummeted 3,800m (12,500ft) during the descent, reaching speeds of 193kph (120mph). Sgt. Lalonde said Fasco enjoys every minute.

This was the pup’s second jump, his handler claims he enjoys it, although if you’re attached to someone about to jump out of a plane I don’t see as you have much choice but to go with them.

*Photo courtesy Metro.co.uk

]]> http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/10/09/taking-the-plunge/feed/ 2 http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/16/jon-kate-dump-their-dogs/ http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/16/jon-kate-dump-their-dogs/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:37:46 +0000 Lisa Hoefinger http://dogblog.dogster.com/?p=21470 Seriously, if I hear or see one more thing about these two I may be ill. They have become the most selfish, self-absorbed,  narcissistic people on the planet.  To prove this, the German Shepherds they so badly wanted are now being dumped and returned to the breeder.

The reason, Jon claims Kate won’t take care of them when he’s gone.  Why doesn’t he  just keep them with him and bring them along when he goes to the house?  I get it, that would require time and commitment. As for Kate, she wanted the dogs too, where is she? It’s not like they don’t have money to hire a dog walker or someone to help out if that’s the concern.

They can’t blame being a single parent makes it too hard, many single people have dogs. Neither can claim they have eight kids and the dogs put them over the edge because they had the kids before the dogs. They were even having issues when they got the dogs, it wasn’t like this mess happened overnight.

Sorry about the rant, but I am so tired of dogs being thought of as dispensable, throwaway items when it is no longer convenient to take care of them. Everyday I sort through articles for the blog and the things that I see and read are sickening.

While they didn’t abuse the dogs, and are giving them back to the breeder, it’s people who think like this that are the underlying cause for so many homeless animals. Take the easy way out, get rid of the dogs because you don’t want to deal with them, and then blame each other.

* Pic courtesy INF Daily/Radaronline.com

The police department in Zanesville, Ohio continue to get donations pouring in for the care of their police dog Bosco who was shot and left paralyzed.  On August 23rd Bosco and his partner Officer Mike Schiele were attempting to serve two warrants on Dominick Conley, in the process both were shot and wounded.

Schiele is now recovering at home but Bosco who took two shots, one to the neck the other in the chest, is at the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital in Columbus. Bosco is fighting to regain the use of his legs, he’s making daily strides. He just started standing on his front legs for a bit and is working on trying to stand on his back legs.

Here’s a report on his recovery from Channel 10.

If you can’t see the video click here.

Here are more details from the Zanesville Times Reporter.

While Bosco continues to fight through the damage caused by the bullets still lodged in him, his medical bills continue to climb.

Chief Eric Lambes said the first week of care will probably cost $6,000 to $10,000 and Bosco is expected to remain at the hospital for several weeks.

Since the K-9 unit is funded completely by public donations, Lambes and his assistant, Linda Highfield, have been overwhelmed by the response they have gotten.

Highfield has received hundreds of cards and letters daily, most with checks for Bosco’s care.

The company, MedFlight of Ohio, who got Bosco to the hospital the night he was shot has forgiven 90 percent of the bill, which otherwise could have been over $12,000. What a wonderful thing to do, kudos to MedFlight for their generosity.

On September 17th the police department and the FOP Zane Lodge 5 will be holding a fundraising dinner. It will take place at the North Terrace Church of Christ, from 4 to 8 p.m., the price of admission is a donation.

* Pic of Bosco courtesy Zanesville Times Recorder

]]> http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/03/police-dog-recovering-after-shootout/feed/ 7 http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/01/witch-hunt-for-pit-bull-puppies/ http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/01/witch-hunt-for-pit-bull-puppies/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:51:33 +0000 Horst Hoefinger http://dogblog.dogster.com/?p=20429 In Mashpee, MA. a new kind of witch hunt has begun, not for humans, but for pit bull and pit bull mix puppies. Under the guise of a new bylaw claiming to protect children the owner (or keepers) of any “pit bull type dog” who has a litter must bring them to the town kennel for destruction. The bylaw claims certain breeds have “a strong instinct for dominance” and a prey drive that results in “aggressive pursuit of . . . human children.”

I find this disturbing on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin.  When your power of choice is taken away and someone else steps in to make your decisions you no longer live in a free country. This isn’t about protecting you from a dangerous breed,  it’s about the government coming in and telling you what it deems a dangerous breed and therefore making it so.

Are we not capable of making our own decisions anymore?

Here’s a comment from Best Friends Animal Society, eloquently summing up all that is wrong with the proposed bylaw.

Best Friends Animal Society feels compelled to emphasize that the aim of this bylaw is to hunt down all dogs that have the appearance of a certain breed of dog and destroy any offspring.

This bylaw is a representation of misinformed policy-makers and public making panic-induced decisions without consideration of civil liberties and reason. It takes on a school of thought similar to the witch hunts that took place in Massachusetts over three hundred years ago whereby paranoia and panic is taking over logic and reason.

These assertions and recommendations are counterproductive to ensuring the safety of town residents and are wholly unsupported by any scientific evidence.

There you have it, start with this law and what’s next? Maybe only dogs with blond fur and blue eyes will be allowed to live-sound familiar?  Who’s going to be the judge of which dog has too much pit bull?  And what exactly is too much pit bull? After the pit bulls are destroyed what breed is next, and where does it end? Or will it ever end?

To all owners out there, just remember the old adage: First they came for the pit bulls and I didn’t speak up because I didn’t own one. Then they came for German Shepherds and I didn’t speak up because I didn’t own one. Finally they came for my Shih Tzu, and by that time no one was left to speak for me.

A law like this must not be allowed to pass, it is unjust and unfair. It takes away one of the best things about being an American….freedom of choice.

The City of Mashpee will hear about this alarming breed discriminatory bylaw at its Annual Town Meeting on October 19, 2009. Best Friends implores Massachusetts residents to take action and get in touch with their town representatives regarding this proposal.  Please go to their website for all the contact information and specifics on what to do.

*Pic of Sasha and Charlie courtesy Best Friends

]]> http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/09/01/witch-hunt-for-pit-bull-puppies/feed/ 54 http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/06/19/five-for-the-price-of-one/ http://dogblog.dogster.com/2009/06/19/five-for-the-price-of-one/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:47:20 +0000 Horst Hoefinger http://dogblog.dogster.com/?p=17490

I’ve reported on a few cloning stories but this one is a little different. The person who had their dog cloned  was the winner of  “The Golden Clone Giveaway” contest by California firm BioArts International. The firm held a contest to find the world’s most “cloneworthy” dog.

James Symington was the winner and his dog Trakr was cloned. Trakr was a search and rescue dog who helped find people in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He found the last human survivor in the rubble of the twin towers.

Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd named Trakr, who died in April.

“We’re here to celebrate that Trakr’s legacy lives on in these five beautiful puppies,” he told reporters. “If they have the same attributes Trakr did, then hopefully they’ll develop into world class search and rescue dogs.”

Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse, commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene.

“Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero was the culmination of his career,” Symington said.

BioArts International, which says it offers the world’s first commercial dog cloning service, partnered with South Korea’s SooAm Biotech Research Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.

Hawthorne defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of obtaining new pets from rescue shelters.

“I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters,” he told AFP.

“But can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go to either a breeder or a cloner?”

Hawthorne said Trakr had been chosen for cloning because of his heroics on 9/11. “We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing some truly amazing dogs,” he said. “But Trakr’s story blew us away.”

“I respect that cloning’s not for everyone. But there are few dogs that are born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs,” he said.”I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr’s footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did.”

Due to the fact that cloning is extremely expensive, about $144,000 per dog, it is cost prohibitive for the average person. I can’t see dog lovers everywhere running out to get their dog cloned, but it still raises some interesting questions.

Is it right to clone a dog? Will the clones really have the same traits and  qualities as the original dog? Will the clones have health or psychological issues? Give me a bark, share your thoughts.

*Photo courtesy PRNewsFoto

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