Chicago Dog Walking

Aster, a 1-year-old long-haired Labrador Chesapeake, had an upset stomach and threw up in the examining room of the Yuma Proving Ground’s veterinarian clinic.

The dog is one of several dozens that just arrived from Indiana, where they embarked on a military working dog training program. At YPG’s Mine Detection School, the dogs will train in detecting explosives in buildings, vehicles, buried in the roadway or somewhere in the field, probably in Afghanistan.

Aster is a “spare,” a standby dog in case one of the others doesn’t pass the medical exam or training. If the playful and energetic dog passes the medical exams, it will take part in “rigorous training” as they learn to sniff out mines and explosives.

“A lot of the teams don’t make it. They’re cut,” said Mark Schauer, public affairs specialist at YPG.

Capt. Emily Pieracci, veterinarian officer in charge, gave Aster an antibiotic. “They can get the travel bug, just like people do,” she explained.

On Thursday YPG veterinarians conducted the physical exams and laboratory tests.

“The dogs will be examined to make sure they are healthy and medically fit to start training,” Pieracci said.

“Just like us, if we don’t feel good, if we have the flu, we don’t work as good as we could. It’s their job to keep the handlers alive and the handlers’ job is to keep the unit safe.”

The dogs already spent four weeks training in Indiana. After their training at YPG, they will be deployed to Afghanistan in early January.

Each year YPG prepares hundreds of dogs and handlers for deployment overseas, as well as trains K-9 units for civilian law enforcement agencies, according to Schauer.

YPG has eight different programs from multiple branches of the military, each managed separately and with a unique mission.

Schauer pointed out that in Afghanistan, “American forces have to contend with an estimated 10 million legacy mines from past conflicts, as well as new devices placed by insurgents. YPG has the expertise, facilities and geographical features working dog units need to train realistically.”

Sgt. 1st Class Harry Franco, non-commissioned officer in charge of the program, pointed out that YPG’s environment is the closest toAfghanistan’s available in the continental United States.

” Dogs are able to detect odors nearly 100 million times faster than humans can, a feat that the soldiers are counting on to save them from danger,” Schauer said.

In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, Capt. Emily Pieracci, left, checks the vital signs of Liam, a one year old Belgium Malinois, during a check up and physical exam at the Yuma Proving Grounds veterinary clinic in Yuma, Ariz.. Liam and his handler Sgt. Tudor Lundreth (right) are part of the Tactical Explosive Detection Dog unit that will be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming months. (AP Photo/The Yuma Daily Sun, Craig Fry)

“A standard combat engineer would take hours to extract a casualty from this minefield,” Franco said. “We train these teams to do it in 45 minutes.”

“Dogs are able to detect odors nearly 100 million times faster than humans can, a feat that the soldiers are counting on to save them from danger,” Schauer said.

The dogs are rewarded with a tennis ball and praise whenever they find hidden explosives.

Going off into the field, the work is life and death, Schauer noted.

Outside the clinic, Spc. Ryan Denton and Koma, a 1½-year-old German shepherd, awaited their turn for an exam. Denton said he chose to enter the working dog program because he loves dogs and wants to be an asset to the Army.

He’s already bonded with the dog. “They don’t like to be out of our sight,” he said.

Also waiting for their turn were handler PV2 Thurwin Lane and his partner, Bartje, a 1½-year-old Belgium Malinois.

“They gave me the option. I said yes. It’s an opportunity to try something new,” Lane said when asked why he’s participating in the program.

He pointed out that he also likes dogs. “I actually have a couple of sheepdog back home (in Rock Point, Ariz.).”

For Staff Sgt. Matthew Satterlee, who works with Satan (he pointed out the dog was named before working together), a 1½-year-old German shepherd, working with these dogs means “being able to find explosives and save lives.”

Satterlee noted that Satan stays in a kennel until it’s time to work. “They’re not pets. But you do build a bond, and that’s what gets the dog to work for you.

“It’s fun for them, it’s a game. Their reward is a tennis ball if they do their job.”

OCEAN PINES — Jack Barnes says he could probably count on one hand the number of people he runs into in the community who know his name.

It’s a different story for his dog.

Barnes’ 16-year-old Collie, King, is known by chidren and adults throughout Ocean Pines, Berlin and Newark.

“Everybody knows King,” Barnes said with a laugh.

Barnes had little idea six years ago that what started as a few visits to the Berlin Nursing Home would turn into four days a week of community visits. As King has gotten older, and now has some trouble moving around, Barnes recently made the decision to retire him from one of his key roles, that of reading dog at Showell Elementary School.

“He has a difficult time getting up and down,” he said.

Barnes said that King suffered from hip dysplasia, which made it hard for him to repeatedly sit and stand as he did at Showell, where he worked helping special education children with their reading skills. Barnes said King would sit with a child while he or she read him a story.

“The dog works because there’s no judgement,” he siad, “no embarassment.”

King spent about an hour each each week listening to stories from four or five Showell students — who knew they had to read their selected stories to the dog because he wasn’t able to read them himself.

“I was amazed at how well it worked,” Barnes said. “That’s a magical age.”

The kids relished the chance to give King a treat and walk him around the classroom at the completion of their book.

“It’s a way to get them to read,” Barnes said.

While King has retired from his duties as reading dog, he is still able to make his weekly visits to the Berlin Nursing Home, Worcester County Developmental Center and the Arbor at Ocean Pines. Barnes estimates his dog has logged more than 1,000 hours at the nursing home, the first place he put his therapy dog certification to use.

“He’s like a part of the instiution,” Barnes said, adding that King was loved there becuase he brought a piece of the outside world in for the residents.

Barnes believes King’s therapy work is what has kept him young in his teenage years. He can’t help but admire the aptitude the dog has for the work, which was suggested for King by Barnes’ sister, who works with therapy dogs in New York.

“She said that King had such a good temperament, I should try it,” Barnes said.

The “miracle dog” who cheated death by surviving an Alabama gas chamber has found a new home in New Jersey.

Just weeks after trotting out of the puppy killing mill with his head up and his tail wagging, Daniel the beagle — named for the biblical man who was thrown to the lions but survived — has been adopted by a Nutley family whose made a habit of rescuing strays, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

Joe Dwyer, 50, told the Star-Ledger that the family would use Daniel’s newfound fame to protest animal gas chambers and promote pet adoptions.

“We can’t deny he has a purpose,” said Dwyer, a motivational speaker and dog trainer whose family has four other dogs, all rescues.

“He won’t be exploited,” he told the Star-Ledger. “His life as a part of this family is paramount.”

The young pup’s journey to the Garden State began after he was anonymously dumped in a drop box outside an Alabama pound in September.

On Oct. 3, workers at the pound made the decision to euthanize several strays.

They tossed Daniel and several other canines into a bed-sized chamber and began pumping in carbon monoxide.

Minutes later, Daniel came bounding out of the box alert and alive.

Officials said they don’t know how the pup cheated death. He was the third dog to survive the gas chamber in the last 12 years, they said.

As news of his survival spread last month, animal rescue groups rallied to have him flown to the Eleventh Hour Rescue shelter in Rockaway, N.J., where more than 100 people across the country applied to adopt him before the Dwyers eventually took him home.

“He’s a happy, healthy guy,” Jenna Dwyer, 20, told the Star-Ledger. “I love him.”

With News Wires Services

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/daniel-miracle-dog-survived-alabama-gas-chamber-adopted-n-family-article-1.978337#ixzz1dse21zPQ

A Poconos woman battled a bear and its cub to save her 11-year-old German shepherd.

Suzan Merritt is recovering from multiple scratches to her neck, arms and head after rushing to the rescue Thursday, WNEP 16 News reported.

The 38-year-old Pennsylvanian had let her dog, Otto, out into the backyard to do his business at 9:30 p.m. Moments later she saw him acting strangely.

“It was dark and at first I couldn’t see what it was,” Merritt told the Pocono Record. “Then, I saw two black bears, what looked like a cub and an adult.”

The aging dog was bravely holding his own, she said, running at the grown bear and “swatting at him.”

Merritt then ran to help as Otto ran to her. The adult bear then attacked.

“I was screaming at it to get out of my yard, trying to scare it away,” she said, according to the Record.

The bear knocked her to the ground, striking her with its massive claws. She was bleeding from the head, but didn’t realize just how badly she’d been injured.

“I was so concerned about Otto I didn’t even know I was hurt,” Merritt said.

Her husband came out into the backyard, but by that time the two bears had run off.

The property is surrounded by a five-foot fence, WNEP 16 reported. Authorities believe the wild animals climbed over it.

The dog was taken to the vet and is being treated for his wounds.

msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him at Twitter.com/NYDNSheridan

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/poconos-woman-suzan-merritt-fights-bear-cub-save-dog-article-1.977225#ixzz1dhbaPueR

Bailey, a 14-year-old black Labrador retriever that helped rescue victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon, received stem cell therapy Friday to help relieve pain from debilitating arthritis in an elbow.

Doctors removed fat tissue from behind Bailey’s shoulder blade, separating the stem cells from fat, then injected the cells into her elbow joint to prompt cartilage to grow. With the treatment and rehab, her vet hopes to see some improvement within two weeks and a lot of recovery by six weeks.

Kentucky-based MediVet America developed the treatment and partnered with Companion Animal Hospital in Goodlettsville to donate the procedure, which usually runs about $1,800.

“Bailey deserves this aftercare for helping everyone and serving her country,” said Katherine Wilkie, director of lab services for MediVet America. “This will give her the pain relief she needs to act like a younger dog again.

“We see very good results, especially since these are cells from the animal’s own body. … You are hitting the problem of her elbows at the source, rather than masking it with anti-inflammatory drugs or giving her a steroid.”

The procedure took about three hours. Bailey was scheduled to go home Saturday.

Bailey’s sole purpose was to be a good family dog, said owner Keith Lindley. But her training to do live search work made her a hero.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency called Lindley, then a Shelby Countyfirefighter, and Bailey to help at the Pentagon. Later, Bailey served as a therapy dog for human rescue workers.

“Although she didn’t find anyone there, she did a lot for everyone there,” Lindley said. “Bailey just showed such high drive to do search work. She’s real small and was real easy to move wherever we wanted to go.”

In 2002, the pair traveled to Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics. They waited on standby, getting daily briefings in case of an emergency.

It’s been a rough journey for Lindley to watch his beloved dog suffer in recent years from arthritis. She’s been by his side since her birth.

“She did do a lot for the country, and I wanted to seize this opportunity and go with it,” he said.

NORFOLK, Va (Reuters) – As the number of veterans grappling with the psychological scars of war mounts, a miniature Australian Shepherd named Jonas represents a newer breed of treatment for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jonas, a peppy 2-year-old, is a legal service dog, trained to scan owner Ian Lord for signs of stress oranxiety and respond with licks, cuddles and demands for pats.

Lord, a 25-year-old Air Force veteran in Norfolk, Virginia, credits his specialized pet with helping him cope with the mental aftershocks of war.

“He makes it a lot easier to recover from a trigger, like sounds of a helicopter overhead,” Lord said. “The difference is, instead of getting wound up about it the rest of the day, it’s like OK, go outside and throw a ball around, or just cuddle up to him a bit and kind of snap out of it.”

The number of veterans receiving PTSD treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs rose from 254,930 in 2006 to 408,167 in 2010, an increase that could continue when 40,000 more U.S. troops return home from Iraq at year’s end.

Psychotherapy and cognitive processing therapy, which includes education and awareness about symptoms, are the department’s main treatment methods, said deputy chief consultant for specialty mental health Sonja Batten.

But other experimental treatments also are being used, including yoga, acupuncture, meditation and psychological service dogs like Jonas.

“There is an interest in the PTSD community in exploring a variety of different ways to approach the problem,” Batten said.

The department doesn’t know how many veterans are using service dogs as part of their treatment, and there is debate over whether the approach is beneficial.

PTSD dogs perform an exercise called “backing,” where the dog walks directly behind the veteran and provides a sense of protection from unknown, imagined and frightening things, said Lynette Nilan, the department’s strategic planning and measurement director.

“You kind of get into this (debate) of, is it in the patient’s best interests to deal with those unfounded fears …(or to) reinforce those fears by having a dog stand behind you to protect you from something that you really shouldn’t have to be protected from,” she said.

SERVICE DOGS FOR SERVICE MEMBERS

A new study is underway to determine whether psychological service dogs can help veterans overcome PTSD and, if they prove effective, to develop usage criteria and guidelines. The study will aim to pair at least 200 dogs with veterans in Florida and Colorado, Nilan said.

Carol Borden, executive director of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc. in Williston, Florida — one of the organizations taking part in the study — said dogs are specifically trained according to an individual’s needs.

“We talk to each veteran and find out exactly what their challenges are,” she said. “There are multitudes of things we can teach the dogs to do, depending on each individual’s circumstances.”

Lord, who now works part-time while applying for graduate school, saw four years of active duty as a loadmaster in the Air Force, flying missions carrying troops and cargo into Iraq, Afghanistan and surrounding countries.

He said he was diagnosed with PTSD after suffering “almost the stereotypical meltdown” in 2010, when a simulation-style training course stirred suppressed memories of getting shot at in Iraq.

Lord was removed from flight status and later was honorably discharged from the service for unrelated reasons, he said.

Jonas came into his life thanks to his wife Megan, a 23-year-old medical student. She had been training Jonas as a therapy dog for hospital patients, but it wasn’t a good match, she said. Hospital dogs weren’t allowed to lick, and Jonas did a lot of licking.

The couple noticed Jonas would start cuddling and licking Ian whenever he exhibited PTSD symptoms, such as anxiety, depression and sleeping problems.

That sealed the pooch’s fate as a PTSD service dog. His service is prescribed by Lord’s psychiatrist, giving Jonas the same legal rights of entry to businesses and public spaces as guide dogs for the blind.

“As soon as people hear he’s a PTSD dog, the next thing out of their mouths is, ‘Oh, thank you for your service, sir,’” Lord said. “They connect the dots pretty quickly.”

Hershey, a 15-year-old German shepherd mix, is back home after spending 17 days in and around a neighboring nature preserve — at least some of that time with an arrow sticking out of his chest.

Shot either by a hunter or sick thrill seeker, Hershey was found this week with an arrow protruding from both sides of his chest. He has since had it removed and is recovering.

The dog ran out of his house Oct. 20 to chase a squirrel and disappeared into the Princess Ledges Nature Preserve, a 46-acre site in Brunswick Hills, Ohio.

The family had searched for the dog for 17 days. On Sunday though, Hershey wandered into a back yard in Valley City, 15 miles away. The homeowner cut off the ends of the arrow that protruded from both sides of the dog’s body to make him more comfortable, and called the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, theAkron Beacon-Journal reports.

SPCA officials took Hershey to the Akron Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center in Copley Township, where the rest of the arrow was removed.

When an animal control officer in Brunswick heard about the dog, he determined it was Hershey, whose family had called him repeatedly during their search. He relayed that information to the SPCA, which contacted Hershey’s owners, Deanne Pennell and her daughter, Mindy Daugherty.

SPCA Director Stephanie Moore said the arrow was probably lodged in the dog’s body at least two days.

The Pennells picked up Hershey on Tuesday afternoon and took him home.

Donations are helping to cover the cost of Hershey’s medical care, including $1,000 from an Olmsted Falls family. Donations can be made through the Medina County SPCA.

(Photo by Karen Schiely / Akron Beacon Journal)

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A Florida dog has ingested an expensive meal after devouring $1,000 cash.

Christy Lawrenson said she and her husband have been saving cashing to pay off their car. Each time they accumulate $1,000 they take it to the bank to deposit it.

Two weeks ago, their dog Tuity, who is a Labrador Retriever, chow, bulldog mix, snatched the cash from the counter.

Orlando TV station WKMG ( http://lb.vg/1ZYb6) said her husband found pieces of hundred dollar bills scattered across the floor.

Tuity vomited the money and the couple pieced together $900.

But the dog ate too many serial numbers on the last one-hundred dollar bill.

The couple sent it to the Department of Treasury with a letter explaining what happened in hopes of being reimbursed for the rest.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/11/2497195/fla-dog-eats-1000-cash.html#ixzz1dPT4oAtM

Woman claims to be owner of dog found last week

Mark Hicks/ The Detroit News

Detroit— A groundswell of support to save Ace, the dog taken by animal control last week and whose fate was unknown Wednesday, has helped push a Wayne County Circuit judge to grant a stay of execution and a city leader to mull changing its shelter policies.

The pooch’s plight has also prompted several people to claim ownership and a national animal rights group to get involved.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16 for the injunction, which bars the city from euthanizing any pit bulls resembling Ace, but some are wondering if he hasn’t been euthanized already. The stay was granted Wednesday after Nitta Moses came to claim him Wednesday from the animal shelter on Jefferson. She was denied the dog, despite showing vaccination and other records proving her ownership, said her attorney, Corbett O’Meara.

City policy allows for an unclaimed stray to be euthanized in four days of being found.

“It’s just a shame that the bureaucratic nightmare of Detroit is causing the death of animals who could very well find homes,” O’Meara said.

Moses, a nursing student from Detroit, believes Ace is her dog that was stolen from a relative’s yard several months ago. She says she bought DooDoo as a puppy in 2007 and presented him as a Christmas gift to her fiance, who died from cancer two years later.

Soon after learning about the dog found at Ace Hardware from a news broadcast, Moses reached Detroit Dog Rescue, a nonprofit that aims to rescue area strays.

She said the resemblance is undeniable. Being prevented from taking him home is “heartbreaking,” she said. “My dog was stolen from me, and my family should not have to pay for what someone else did.”

Moses fears the dog has already been killed and she was shown a substitute instead when she showed up at animal shelter on Wednesday, based on a difference in the color and markings.

“If they did something with him, they need to own up to their responsibility,” she said. “Don’t make decisions for me. If I would have felt he was too far gone, I would have had to make that heartbreaking decision on my own. That’s not fair.”

Others have also stepped forward claiming the dog is theirs. One, Mike Gandelot, says he is “sickened” by the policies barring the dog from finding a home. “Something needs to change. It’s unfortunate that it’s happening to a dog, but I guess it takes a dog for something to be done about it.”

Detroit animal workers and health department officials said by policy, they do not release pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

“We do not release pit bulls at any time and will not release this dog now or in the future,” health official Loretta Davis told an animal rescue group that asked Tuesday to house the dog.

Reached Wednesday night, Harry Ward, who heads the city animal control, referred questions to a mayoral spokesman, who did not return messages seeking comment.

Ace has sparked a Facebook page with thousands of fans, pleas from rescue groups and an online petition calling for his release and changes to city policy.

“It’s downright cruel what has happened to this dog,” said Kristin Crane, a dog lover from New Mexico who has been following the case online.The situation prompted Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh to consider “how we can amend the city’s ordinance to allow dogs like ACE to live through a shelter-to-shelter exchange if we can have our liability removed.”

“It would be devastating to the good will of this City for the Mayor’s office to allow ACE to die when a reputable, state-approved rescue agency has told us that they will rehabilitate the dog and determine if it’s adoptable,” he said in a statement. “My concern is the liability to the City, but this can be remedied by drafting a legal document relieving the City of its liability. Another option is for the Mayor to temporarily suspend the City’s policy.”

Meanwhile, a trust fund for Ace has been set up in New York, the headquarters for the Lexus Project, a national group fighting for dogs. The trust appoints a trustee and protector for the dog, who together act in place of the owner and oversee his medical care and other needs, said Richard Rosenthal, the group’s general counsel.

The trust was recognized in state probate court, he said, and the group plans to file a temporary restraining order to prevent city animal control from euthanizing pit bulls.

“What purpose can possibly be served by killing him?” Rosenthal said.

www.walkswithzara.com

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111110/METRO/111100406/Fate-of-stray-dog-Ace-unknown-as-judge-signs-stay-of-euthanasia#ixzz1dLubkhPg

While PETER GREEN and BETH SWEIGART were flying back to the States on Monday from a judging assignment in Germany, son and daughter in law ANDREW & AMY GREEN were putting on the finishing touches for the surprise 75th birthday party that was held at their New Jersey home on Tuesday evening and hosted by BETH, AMY and ANDREW. Not an easy task when your home is without electricity, thanks to the nor’easter that roared through the area (the same storm that was responsible for the cancellation of dog shows up and down the east coast). Friends came from near and far to help PETER celebrate (get over) this milestone. Among the guests were RICHARD GREEN, PAM & JOHN BEALE, GLORVINA SCHWARTZ, LARRY CORNELIUS, JANE & BOB FORSYTH, NEENA & GEIR FLYCKT-PEDERSEN, KATHY & RON MENAKER, MATT STANDER, PEGGY & DAVE HELMING, LETISHA WUBBELL, ERNESTO LARA, ROXANNE & CHARLIZE SUTTON, MARTY & MICHAEL PAWASARAT, TORIE STEELE, PAUL BUXBAUM, LIZ TOBIN, JOE VAUDO, JEAN & PAUL EDWARDS, KATHY FERRIS, KIM CALVACCA, KATHY & RON MENAKER, SUSAN & DENNIS SPRUNG, RITA & DOUG HOLLOWAY, BOBBY PAUST, LORI WILSON, YVONNE & GABRIEL RANGEL, BOB BLACK, BOB THOMAS, PAM & JOHN MANDEVILLE, LISA & IGGY WADDUS, RENEE GALIZZO, KAREN JUSTIN, CARL ENGLECKE and BENITA and PAUL KIELL. Professional handler TIM BRAZIER is recuperating in a Seattle hospital from triple bypass surgery that he underwent on Monday. He is doing well but will be sidelined for a while. All of us at DOG NEWS send hm our very best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery. Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder and multiple hound breed judge JUDITH HUPPERTS and her sister CAROLYN were driving back home to Illinois, following a judging assignment at the White Mountain Kennel Club shows in Arizona. While driving through the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma their car was hit by a drunk driver and as a result JUDY was seriously injured and her sister was fortunate to receive lesser injuries. While her sister will be released from the hospital shortly, JUDY will remain hospitalized for several months with a broken neck (which requires a halo), broken ribs and ankle. While she recuperates friends can send cards and letters to JUDY at St. John’s Medical Center, 1923 South Utica Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104. The fall that hospitalized JANE KAY with a broken hip has resulted in a hip replacement. She is about to be released from the hospital and about to enter a rehab center. She can be reached at the Ridgecrest Nursing and Rehab, 1200 N. Stone Street, Deland, Florida 32720 telephone 386.734.4334. DICK HANNA, a longtime member of the Professional Handlers Association (as is his wife DEE) passed away last Saturday. They were longtime members of the Lizard Butte Kennel Club in Nampa, Idaho. DICK and DEE are two of nicest and most pleasant people one could ever have hoped to know. All of us at DOG NEWS send DEE and her family our deepest sympathies. HUGH JORDAN, longtime Old English Sheepdog fancier, passed away on October 26th in Whittier, California. He was a Delegate to the American Kennel Club and founded the Rio Hondo Kennel Club. He and his wife LINDA enjoyed much success in the show ring highlighted by their winning the Working group at the Westminster Kennel Club. We send our deepest sympathies to his wife LINDA their children and families. JAMES l. HAMILTON passed away on October 28th. Longtime Doberman Pinscher fancier, he was the past president of the Puget Sound Doberman Pinscher Club and member of the Mount Rainier Working Dog Club. Married for over fifty years to his wife MARGI, we send her and her family our deepest sympathies.