There are so many sad stories in the news about the horrific crimes people commit against dogs it starts to become overwhelming.  When I came across a story about a woman who rescued two lost labs wandering the streets and read two years prior she did the same thing I knew I had to share this story.

Teri Carnessal, who lives in the Jacksonville, FL area truly deserves a good samaritan award. Last Sunday while driving down the highway she noticed two labs running in the road.  Knowing something was not right with this picture she stopped her car and called out to the labs who without hesitation jumped right in.

Once inside Carnessali’s vehicle, the black and blonde canines were well-behaved on the ride home and seemed content to wile away the hours in their rescuer’s Florida room. Because Carnessali has cats, she knew she couldn’t keep the two large dogs, but she couldn’t let them roam a busy road where she felt sure they’d eventually be hit by a car.

The crazy part is that two years ago she rescued another pair of labs, one blonde one black, not far from where these two were.  At first she thought they may be the same pair but they weren’t. Also, unlike the first pair there were no signs put up for these two.

No signs appeared near the site of the black and blonde dogs, and after putting the word out, sending out notices and keeping the dogs at her home for as long as possible, Carnessali had to board them at her veterinarian’s office.

“I didn’t know how long I could afford to do that,” she said, “but I hated to take them to a shelter. It’s hard to find homes for large dogs, and I didn’t want to separate them.”

Not only did she take the time to stop and rescue these dogs from getting run over on the highway she paid to board them to keep them safe.  In my book that makes Teri Carnessali a true hero. Eventually Carnessali received a call from a man about the missing dogs.

“When he described the dogs, even down to one of them having a place on his leg without hair, I knew they were his,” Carnessali said, explaining how the man had been on vacation with his family and had a neighbor taking care of his pets.

After the phone call a happy family reunion soon ensued. Carnessali said, “It’s a great feeling to be able to reunite a person with their pet.”  I think it’s a great feeling knowing there are people like Teri Caressali out there.

I want to thank Dogster member Renee for bringing us this information. Please keep this number with you at all times, it’s going in my cell phone, because you may potentially save a dog’s life.

This hot line was circulated about a month ago and I put it in my cell phone.

As we speak, some people are getting arrested with 15 dead Pit Bulls chained in their back yard, along with puppies.

Short explanation: A friend of mine called me to tell me her boyfriend, who is a Telephone Man, called her and told her what he saw in a back yard. She then called me. I gave her the DOGFIGHTING HOT LINE and she called…….within an hour’s time the people are getting arrested!

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE STORY……but I thought you and others would like to know that the hot line worked/works!

DOGFIGHTING HOT LINE

• The Dogfighting Hot Line (1-877-847-4787) is sponsored by the HSUS.

• You can receive an award of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a dogfighter.

• All information is kept confidential; no one will know you’ve called.

The line is answered 24/7.

A breeder in Parkersburg, W. VA. area  has surrendered 1,000 dogs to the humane society.

While there were no signs that the purebred dachshunds had been abused, officials say it would be impossible for any human being to properly care for that many animals.

The board president for the Humane Society in Parkersburg, Carrie Roe, stated many of the dogs have never been touched by a human.

Sheriff’s deputies investigating possible dog-related pollution found the dogs Saturday while executing a search warrant on the property.

Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley says the owner hasn’t been cited for animal neglect but has agreed to never operate a dog-breeding business again.

The rescue operation could cost over $100,000 placing a tremendous strain on the Humane Society of Parkersburg. Below is information for anyone who would like to make a donation or potentially adopt one of these precious dogs.

If you would like to assist the HSOP at this time of great need, we are accepting monetary donations to help cover the costs of this effort. We are also in need of clean towels and rolled newspapers. All donations should be taken directly to the main Shelter at 29th and Poplar.

People interested in volunteering for the effort should call the Shelter first at 304-422-5541 and leave a message on the Volunteer line. We appreciate all volunteers, but in order for things to work smoothly we must schedule volunteers for needed jobs. So PLEASE call first and leave a message of what you can do and when you are available. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

While some of the surrrendered animals will be made available for adoption locally, they will not be available until August 30th and will be adopted out using our normal adoption process. See Adoption Process on this website. Many of the animals will be going to rescues around the nation that are better equipped to deal with puppy mill animals, but animals that we feel are appropriate for local adopiton, will be available beginning on that date.

This is an unbelievable story out of Argentina about a dog that saved the life of a baby .  The 14 year old mother abandoned her baby in a field where a  neighbor eventually heard the cries from behind his house.

The man went outside and found the infant lying beside the dog and its six newborn puppies, said Daniel Salcedo, chief of police of the Province of Buenos Aires.

This amazing dog, who was nursing her own puppies, left them to go get the baby and bring it back to be with her.

The dog had apparently carried the baby 50 meters from where his mother had abandoned him to where the puppies were huddled, police said.

“She took it like a puppy and rescued it,” Salcedo said. “The doctors told us if she hadn’t done this, he would have died. The dog is a hero to us.”

This dog should be a hero to everyone.  I hope that in return for this act of heroism she and the puppies  will receive the home they deserve.

In West Seattle, WA a burglar broke into a house and when the owner came home she found her two pugs gone.  The only things missing were two men’s rings and her pugs, 6-year-old male named Bandit, who is blind, and a 4-year-old female named Pippin. 

Barney Lubetkin’s wife, Marsha, reported her dogs missing Monday after she returned home from work to find a screen from an open window had been bent and tossed on the deck and her drawers and jewelry box had been emptied.

Police told Marsha Lubetkin the dogs might have gotten out of the house during the burglary, but she thought they were stolen because the blind one couldn’t have gone far, she said, and nobody in the neighborhood had seen them.

What a horrible feeling to come home to find your house broken into and your beloved dogs gone.  The Lubetkin’s spent weeks putting up flyers, posting on blogs, searching the surrounding neighborhoods, and following up on leads from callers.  All to no avail, the dogs could not be found.  On Thursday all this changed when they recevied a phone call from the King County Animal Shelter in Kent.

The dogs were dropped off at the King County Shelter where they were identified by microchips embedded under their skin. Shelter workers told owner Barney Lubetkin that an unidentified woman had brought in the dogs, saying someone put them in her yard. She then quickly left.

 The shelter where the dogs were dropped off was 15 miles from the Lubetkin’s home. A rather long distance for a blind dog to travel. The shelter took the license plate of the woman who dropped off Bandit and Pippin but have no further information on her. Marsha Lubetkin said she would pay the $1000 reward offered if she is found, and is indeed a good samaritan. I’m just happy that her dogs are home safe and sound.

In Vineland, NJ  Mike Snyder is dealing with his wife’s illness. Taking care of her and their two dogs was becoming an overwhelming task, the couple made a very hard decision to give the dogs up. 

City residents Mike and Miriam Snyder  brought Gabby and Marty — brother-and-sister Shih Tzus her brother gave the family as pups two years ago — to a shelter Aug. 1. It was a decision they hated to make then and regret more now.

Early last week the family’s situation changed when one of their sons quit his job in New York to move home and help care for his mother. Now that Mike Snyder was going to have some help he would be able to take care of the dogs again. The couple immediately went back to the SPCA to retrieve Gabby and Marty.

One dog, Marty, was gone. He had been assigned a new owner a day after being dropped off.

The family says they were told they had seven days before that would happen under SPCA rules. But the organization only holds stray dogs for seven days.

Gabby still was at the shelter, though, and the Snyder’s filled out adoption papers to reclaim her. Mike Snyder said he was told to come back Friday after the dog had been spayed. When he did return, he was told the animal had already been adopted out.

 The Snyder’s were devastated that Gabby had already been adopted.  The shelter’s Executive Director, Bev Greco, stated “An adoption application was received Aug. 5, a day before the Snyder’s came to ask for their dog. The rule is “first come, first serve” when there are two application.”

Executive Director Bev Greco went on to say that the shelter tried to call the family about the situation, but a phone number they left was not working.

Mike Snyder says he was not told about the competing application. He also says both phones the family uses are working.

Greco said she would not contact the people who adopted Marty and Gabby. “They’ve both got very good homes,” she said.

However, on Wednesday,the family got a lead on the possible placement of Gabby.  A phone call was generated from an ad the Snyder’s had placed in a local newspaper.

Mike Snyder stated “A caller identified herself as having driven a woman who adopted Gabby to the SPCA. She promised to contact the woman about giving back the dog.”

So far the Snyder’s have received no word back.

A short story with a happy ending, thanks to one person who took the time to make a difference. On Thursday Robby, a police K-9, went missing. The 10 year old police dog disappeared from his handler’s backyard in Friendswood, CA.  A story that could have had a tragic ending turned into a happy reunion.

Robby, a 70- to 75-pound Belgian Malinois, was picked up by “a good Samaritan,” Friday morning and taken to a vet, said police spokesman Vance Mitchell. When police searching for the dog made calls to local vets, they happened to call the one where Robby had been taken.

Robby was reported to be in good health and was returned to his handler on Friday.  On behalf of Dogster, I’d like to give a big thanks to the “good Samaritan” who took the time to make sure Robby made it home safely.

The following is an update from the Suncoast Animal League concerning the case of Teresita Hughes.

PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA                August 7, 2008

We have recently learned that the Office of the State Attorney for Pinellas County has filed a46-count information against Teresita Hughes for cruelty to animals. Each count is for misdemeanor animal cruelty, punishable by up to one year imprisonment and/or up to a $5,000.00 fine for each count. Ms. Hughes’ arraignment is scheduled for August 18, 2008.

I just received a message from Dogster member, Julie, letting me know about a program where prisoners are working to rehabilitate dogs so they are adoptable.  This particular prison is the Wakulla Correctional Institution in Florida,  south of Tallahassee.

Three dozen inmates at the correctional facility are now trainers and guardians of homeless dogs from the Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment Adoption Center. The Wakulla Sheriff’s Department, Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment (CHAT) and WCI launched the PAWS in Prison program in June.

The prisoners in the program work with a professional trainer to help train these dogs.

Here’s how it works. CHAT hires professional dog trainer Jay King of A Good Dog Academy to work with the men and dogs. The animals are brought to WCI, where they stay for an eight-week training session. Each dog joins a team of three inmates who serve as trainer, caretaker and handler. The trainer is the team leader, the handler assists in putting the dog through its paces, and the caretaker is in charge of food and grooming. When the program is complete, the four-footed graduates are offered to the public for adoption.

“Warden Russell Hosford is instrumental in making the PAWS in Prison program a success. The program teaches inmates skills that can be useful after their release. Plus, it takes dogs that could have been doomed and places them in forever homes with approved families,” said Wakulla County Sheriff David Harvey.

The Wakulla Animal Shelter is a high kill shelter.  They euthanize over 700 animals a year, that’s roughly 1/2 of those impounded.  What a heartbreaking statistic. The goal of Paws In Prison is to eliminate this startling number.  The program is spreading to other prisons and it appears to be working.

“A similar program was instituted in Taylor County a year ago, with great results,” said Cathy Sherman, CHAT’s program coordinator. “An unexpected benefit is the improved relations among the inmates and the correctional officers. The caretaking of the dogs seems to better highlight the humanity in all of us. It’s definitely a win-win-win situation for the inmates, correctional officers and animals.”

Heide Clifton, founder and vice president of CHAT, said a goal of her organization is to have no animal euthanized unless extreme medical conditions render it unavoidable. CHAT works closely with the Wakulla Sheriff’s Department animal-control unit in rescuing strays, returning wandering pets to owners and finding homes for the homeless animals. “We were able to find homes for 600 animals last year,” Clifton said. “We now have a Web site with a pet finder section. Families looking for a pet can view online the animals we have for adoption.”

There are similar PAWS In Prison programs around the country.  Hopefully, this program will continue to grow and be so successful that eventually high kill shelters will no longer exist.

Thank you Julie for being such a caring and compassionate Dogster member.  Let’s show her our support by helping get the word out about these programs,  we can help make a difference.

Three years ago after losing her beloved Maltese, Mindy, Heeja O’Leary decided rather than focus on the sadness of her loss she would build a memorial to honor Mindy’s life.

Her plan was to build a dog run at PAWS Humane Center on South Street in Calais, ME. That was nearly two years ago. O’Leary raised more than $5,000, and construction began last summer.

Not only did the O’Learys raise money they also did much of the work themselves.  Although Greg O’Leary did receive help he’s a bit modest when it comes to admitting how much of the work he did himself.

However, anyone who watched the project day-by-day often saw O’Leary by himself. For months, armed with a chain saw, O’Leary leveled trees in a wooded area behind the shelter. Rather than strip the land, O’Leary decided to use as much of the natural area as possible, so he laid out an octagonal section.

Last Friday the O’Learys got a tour of the now completed dog run,  which covers over 1,600 square feet.

In the past, the shelter had only a small fenced-in yard with one tree. Most of the time the dogs rooted around outside in the sun.  Now they can romp under the trees, sniff at the roots and occasionally lift a leg.A dog named Yeller jumped up and gave Heeja O’Leary a big kiss on the chin. Heeja O’Leary smiled as she watched the dogs run.

Since the O’ Learys did so much of the work on the dog run they were able to save money on the project.  Last year they donated $1000 to the PAWS shelter to help with the operation.