Nanook gets a buddy

I knew it was going to happen. My wife came home and said we were fostering a husky that was going to be put to sleep. I told her we had 3 dogs and the dog would move in if she brought it home. We went to pick up the husky named Nanook and he cowered in the back of the truck. He had been given to some people who were going to have him put to sleep. They said he was too mean to be trusted because they had left him alone with their cat and the cat didn't fare well. When we saw how he interacted with the other dogs, we knew he had a home for life!

A year or so later, we lost Nanook's buddy, and he was miserable. He moped, A LOT! My wife talked to the people at Chouteau Pound Pals in Chouteau, OK, into letting us bring Nanook to pick out a new friend. Nanook liked a pit bull mix.  Piper was far from the stereotypical pit bull. In fact, our jack russell bullies her around (when they are not playing). Admittedly, it's hard to sleep with a 50lb dog on the pillow!

Two months ago, we rescued 2 puppies that were thrown from a moving car. Fortunately, they found new homes quickly; but for the 2 days before they went to new homes, Piper doted over them, again proving the pit bull stereotype is incorrect. 3 morals to this story: #1 I was right, Nanook is in his forever home. #2 Don't believe everything you read. #3 Everyone needs a second chance for a new beginning.

Nathan Free
Inola, OK

She Saved A Kid's Life!

A “throwaway” puppy, dumped in a field, she was adopted from Lane County Animal Services in Eugene, OR . She was loving, and very smart. We have amazing tales of the wonders of that dog.

Sharing many years of joyful companionship, Cheyenne grew very old. Almost deaf. Heavy, arthritic, and nearly blind. Because my friend's daughter feared all big black dogs, we took Cheyenne to a park with her... to create familiarity with a dog profoundly kindhearted and gentle.

As soon as we exited the car, Cheyenne made a beeline for the very-faraway opposite corner of the apparently deserted park. Unfailingly obedient all her life, she totally ignored my angry demands that she come back immediately.

She stopped at the playground’s child-sized fort. Two stories high, the walls were made of pointed logs. She woofed impatiently at us as we ran to catch up. Even when we arrived, we were on the wrong side of the fort, and could not see the problem.

More very urgent woofing made us follow her around the corner. A nine-year- old had jumped off the top of the fort, catching the back of his T-shirt on a pointed log. The shirt had ridden up, and he was strangling, unable to save himself because his arms were pulled up and backward. His face and neck were purple. He had serious “rope burns” on his neck.

I grabbed his legs and lifted him to loosen the “noose”; my friend climbed up to unhook the shirt.

He did recover, after treatment.  No question he’d have died without our rescue. But I still wonder: how did Cheyenne know he was there? And in such trouble?

Rita Castillo
Springfield, OR

Help Us Bring HOPE!

The following is an email I received from Kyla Duffy, founder of the web site Happy Tails!.  She is doing such a wonderful service by raising awareness of the awful pain and suffering that puppy mills create.  Please join the fight. 

After editing Dog Blessed: Puppy Mill Survivior Stories a compelling book published by Happy Tails Books last year, I started thinking about how I could do more to raise awareness about puppy mills and to help animal rescue organizations. What I came up with was the Don't Kill Bill Show, a 90-minute, emotional experience of aerial fabric performances, music about rescued dogs, and 11 unforgettable stories about adopted dogs of various breeds from the Lost Souls Found book series.

I performed the first show in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado, on February 12th to 250 people. Each person left entertained, educated, and inspired. Thirty local rescue organizations were in attendance, and I know for a fact that some show attendees signed up to volunteer with some of them as a direct result of the show.

"Thanks for a heartwarming, wonderful, show. We laughed, cried, and listened with interest to the message. I think that this should definitely be a traveling show; people need to see it!" -Hilary Lane, Fang Shui Canines and American Treibball Association

Now we NEED YOUR HELP to bring this important information about puppy mills, adoption, and volunteering to people all over the country.

By making a tax-deductible donation to Up for Pups!, you'll be helping to save lives in several ways:

The show itself encourages adoption. Adoption saves the lives of both animals and people in many ways, as many who have adopted feel that their adopted pets have blessed their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined.

The show also encourages rescue volunteerism. Rescues need volunteers to continue their important, life-saving work, and volunteering often helps people discover a special purpose in their lives.

The show raises money for rescue organizations. Each show we have a raffle for a donation prize to one of the rescues that are present. By making a donation, you'll help us to achieve our goal of donating $500 back to rescues from every show.

Please donate online today at http://upforpups.org by using the "Donate" button on the homepage or by sending a check along with the following form.

DONATION FORM
Your donations will be used to help the Don't Kill Bill show raise awareness and funding for animal rescue organizations. Please print out this form and mail it along with a check to Up For Pups, 3110 Gatling Lane, Boulder, 80301. Checks can be made payable to Up For Pups. Any amount helps. Your help is GREATLY APPRECIATED.

*Alternatively, you can donate online by clicking here Up for Pups!,  or at http://upforpups.org.

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible.

Donation Amount:
□ $10 □ $25 □ $50 □ $100 □ $_________ (Other amount)

Name:__________________________________________________

Billing Address:___________________________________________

City: _______________________State:________Zip:____________

Phone:____________Email:_________________________________


This is the fine print text where you might tell your customers how the item will be shipped and, for example, if they are overseas that there will be additional shipping charges and must contact you.

Thank you for your support!
Kyla Duffy, Founder

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

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

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

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/