That may be an old Elvis song,  but to the Snodgrass family it has a whole lot more meaning than just a title.

In September 2001 Deputy Kody Snodgrass worked with his bloodhound, Jimmy,  to help track a 13 year old boy who had gone missing. The young boy, who had tried to take his life, was found alive and saved due to their effort’s.   After this miraculous recovery Kody knew he wanted to train more dogs to aid in search and rescue.  Unfortunately, two weeks later Kody died in a motorcycle accident.

Deputy Kody Snodgrass, 24 years old,  was the only son of Carrie Snodgrass.  To fulfill her  son’s dream she started deputydogs.org .  As Carrie Snodgrass stated “Because sometimes, you just want to take an active stand for the right things in the world, rather than passively accept the disappointments and bad things. . .”

The Kody Snodgrass Memorial Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to providing law enforcement with exceptional bloodhounds trained for policework, at little or no charge. This organization was formed in the memory of my son, Deputy Kody Snodgrass. He grew up with bloodhounds (my husband and I became involved in search/rescue after my sister’s murder), and so was a natural to begin handling the bloodhound “Jimmy” for Lake County Sheriff’s office in Florida. Kody was on the Tactical Team and a road deputy, but he felt most effective when he and “Jimmy” were on a track. They saved lives, discovered evidence, and helped locate evading criminals in the community.

Thank you to Carrie Snodgrass,  and all the others, who stand up and make a difference in this world.

While most of us realize the impact on the families left behind when a loved one in the military is deployed,   many don’t think about the pets left behind.

NetPets, founded by Steve Albin and endorsed by the Department of Defense, matches people willing to care for pets to deploying service members in need of their generosity.

It’s easy to assume that there is always family or a friend to leave their beloved pet with,  but that’s not always the case.

“I had people tell me how service members called up for the first Gulf War had just three options: giving their pets away, putting them in shelters or abandoning them,” Albin said. “More than 25,000 pets were destroyed. What kind of way is that for us to repay the people who protect and serve us?”

Steve is right,  those men and women that are serving our country, the last thing they should be burdened with is worrying about who is going to care for their beloved pet.

So far, his free service has placed some 12,500 pets into foster homes since he began the project two days after the 9/11 attacks, Albin said by telephone last week from South Carolina.

Steve stated “He gets 20 to 50 calls a week in CONUS (continental United States), but that right now he had no one available in Europe.”

People wishing to help out can sign up by clicking the Military Pets Foster Project tab on the netpets.org homepage. The site contains a form establishing what kind of pets the potential foster home can accommodate.

We salute you Steve, for a job well done.

Autistic children live in a very isolated world.  This heartwarming story, once again, goes to show what a powerful influence a dog can be in your life.  Karen Shriek, founder of 4 Paws for Ability, says “Dogs work ‘magic’ on kids with autism”.

Since 1998, through her nonprofit 4 Paws for Ability, Shirk has helped partner service dogs with people with a wide range of disabilities.

Although the organization was originally started to help people with all disabilities she wanted to focus on  children, especially those with autism.

Since many agencies have age restrictions, she now specializes in providing dogs to children. The dogs help kids with a variety of issues, from mobility problems to seizures, but from the start Shirk wanted to find ways to assist children with autism.

“I knew [autistic children] connected to animals,” she remembers. “I knew that service dogs would be able to help.”

The dogs help provide the children with emotional support as well as assistance in keeping them safe.

Shirk’s 4 Paws for Ability requires that families raise $12,000, on average, to pay for their service dog. Each dog is trained for the child’s specific needs, and the entire process takes between nine and 18 months.
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In the end, families come to Ohio to meet their dogs and receive training. For Shirk, seeing the kids bond with their dogs makes her efforts worthwhile.

4 Paws for Ability is always in need of donations, sponsors, and volunteers.  I give this organization two big paws up for their dedication and hard work to help make a child’s life a little easier.