Sunday, May 29, 2011

Duke's Story

Duke is a Treeing Walker Hound. He got lost one night and he was turned into a county animal control. After three days at the pound, and no one showing up to claim him, time was running out. He was within one hour of either being put to sleep or sold to a medical testing research laboratory. We, the Paradise Animal Rescue Inc. were then contacted with Duke’s case by an organization and we made it our goal to save this dog from the drastic circumstances he was in.

When he arrived at PAR he was extremely frightened and had many severe medical conditions. After receiving immediate medical attention to all of his needs Duke started to show positive results almost immediately.

He has developed positive humane contact and is a favorite to all the staff. He has become very playful, full of energy and far less shy with all the people he knows. He loves to go for walks in all kinds of weather and with each walk he becomes happier with the status of his life. Everyone at PAR is still hoping that there will be that someone out there that will adopt Duke and provide him a loving home that he deserves so much!

Paradise Animal Rescue Inc. Volunteer
Columbiaville, MI

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Second chances and a mission

Driving home from work I used to pass by a house and see a white pitbull in the backyard. One week I realized that no one was living in the house any longer, but the dog was still in the yard. Not really thinking ahead, I stopped and approached the fence and called out. Here she came, wagging her tail, from what looked like a tool shed. She seemed friendly enough, so I invited her to ride along with me and she hopped up into my truck and away we went. As I thought about what I would tell my wife and cats, I looked over at my new friend just in time to see a wet puppy come sliding out onto my seat! By the time I got home we had two puppies and no plan!

Panicked, I settled everyone down in the bathtub, and rushed back to the empty house just in case. Sure enough, in the shed were two more puppies. By the time my wife got home there were 6 pit bulls in the bathtub and cats waiting for an explanation! These days China can be found napping on the couch, cats curled up beside her and my wife? Well, she now co-ordinates the free spay/neuter program for pits and pit-mixes at our local humane society.

Kenneth Masters
Frankfort, KY

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Mom's Big baby

Although I knew I wanted a St. Bernard, I refused to simply purchase one... I wanted to rescue one. After weeks of searching I found Bear... and THAT DAY I drove 3 hours to go pick up my 103 pound 1 year old baby boy. He was malnourished, had an ear infection, and hip pains... but when I looked into his eyes, and saw how excited to was to play with me, I had to have him. He refused to eat, so I hand fed him every couple of hours for a few days. Then after a visit to the vet, a couple of pounds added, and a daily glucosamine pill, Bear is now the active sweet, boy he was always meant to be. He's a member of the family, and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Alicia
Junction City, KS

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Why did the military send a dog to help kill Bin Laden?

By Brian Palmer


Two helicopters ferried 79 commandos and one dog into Osama Bin Laden's compound for Sunday's successful kill operation. Why did the Pentagon send in a canine with the special forces?

For its sniffer, of course. The special operations forces do have their own canine training program, but it's very hush-hush. Furthermore, neither the Pentagon nor the White House is talking about the role the dog played in Sunday's operation, and they haven't even confirmed that a dog was involved at all. (It seems the information first came from the British tabloid the Sun, but has been reported in more reputable papers. Slate's Jack Shafer advises readers to maintain a healthy skepticism about such reports.)

If Navy SEAL Team Six did indeed bring along a dog, then we might guess at its role based on the Pentagon's non-confidential Military Working Dog Program. It's possible that the commandos brought a specialized search dog, which would have been sent in ahead of the humans to find explosives or people hidden inside the building. Or they might have used a "combat tracker" dog instead—one of a newer class of military animals developed by the Marines just a year ago. These are taught to pick up the scent of a particular individual, usually from a footprint or a few drops of blood, and then follow the trail. If Bin Laden had heard the choppers coming and fled the scene, a combat tracker dog could have been used to track him down as he high-tailed it through the streets of Abbottabad.

The Pentagon currently employs 2,700 dogs, up from the pre-9/11 litter of 1,800. Most of them were purchased in Europe, where a long tradition of using dogs for police and military purposes has created great breeding lines. Before buying a dog, the Pentagon tests the animal for aggression, fear of gunshots, and inclination to search. The Pentagon also gives each dog a thorough physical examination, including X-rays, to confirm that it's in top condition. For about a decade, the Department of Defense has been trying to establish its own breeding program, out of concern that our supply of top-quality dogs could be choked off in wartime.

When it's time to send a military working dog on assignment, a handler shows up at the main kennel at Lackland Air Force Base and completes a training course with two separate animals. The one that works better with that particular handler is sent off with him to a new home, while the runner-up goes back into the singles pool. Then the newly minted duo does some more training together before taking the field. There are entirely separate courses of study for general service patrol dogs, specialized search dogs, and combat trackers. Military dogs must take continuing education classes throughout their careers, as their skills tend to erode after about 30 days without practice.

The U.S. military has deployed canines for centuries, but never sent them into combat until about fifty years ago. Military dogs used to be trained for super-aggression. They were used as sentries and guard dogs, and were taught to distrust all humans but the handler. As a result, they couldn't function as part of a combat team, because they had a habit of biting other members of the unit. Modern war dogs are far more comfortable working with strangers, even those wearing intimidating commando outfits.

Reprinted from Slate...http://www.slate.com/id/2293034/