There are few things in life as rewarding as giving a homeless animal a second chance at life. Some have never had a proper home, many have never had a good home and some have lost their home because of their owner's life circumstances, often the death of the owner or the birth of a child who is dangerous allergic to pets.

One question that often arises is whether or not to give your new dog a new name. This may sound frivolous to some but it's a serious question and a real consideration. Here's my "rule of thumb" for renaming a dog.

If the dog has been in a loving home and has only positive associations with his name, I advise keeping the name. He has already lost so much in life, why subject him to losing the last familiar thing? It will help make the transition easier if he knows that you're talking specifically to him. Acknowledge who he is and always use his name in a loving tone of voice.

On the other hand, there are certainly times when changing your dog's name is advisable, when he needs a fresh start in every possible way, including a new name. In some cases, the dog may have been brought into a shelter off the street and has no name. In that case, the shelter volunteers have named him but his only real association with the name is a loud, cold, noisy shelter environment and what little affection the volunteers can spare when it has to be spread among so many animals. In other cases, the dog has a bad association with his name. These are often the dogs that have been relinquished to shelters. In Breed Rescue Groups, volunteers foster the dogs to help them make the transition to a new home so, for our purposes, we'll be concentrating on shelter dogs or those off the street who have appeared in your life.

One Tennessee family is sure to be giving their dog, Milo, some extra love after the little Jack Russell terrier led police to their missing 6-year-old autistic child on Saturday night.

The child, Caleb Walker, had wandered away from his home while playing, reports WKRN-TV Nashville, and was gone nearly six hours. Extreme temperatures were predicted for the night, increasing concern for the child and adding pressure to those involved in the ground and helicopter search.

At around 10 p.m., help came in an unexpected form -- the Walker family dog. Police saw the Jack Russell as they moved up a hill to continue their search. Knowing the dog had been with the boy when he disappeared, they searched the area where the dog had emerged, and happily found the missing 6-year-old, who was shaking, but not injured.

Little Caleb was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but has since returned home to his family safe and sound.

Shelter dogs often fall victim to the old stereotype: If it's been returned, there must be something wrong with it. Mixed breeds can have a tough time finding a home because potential owners are unsure of exactly what they're getting, but when the rescue pup has bull terrier in its bloodline, the stigma can be even worse.

The truth is that many rescued mutts, regardless of their breed backgrounds, go on to become incredible pets that are sources of inspiration for their families and everyone they meet. (Benji, the canine movie star, was a mutt that brought happiness to millions.) In honor of National Mutt Day, which raises awareness and encourages adoptions from shelters, and to prove you should never underestimate a puppy with a checkered past, we want to tell you Lily's story.

Near Starvation
We know what you're thinking, but despite her strong build, Lily wasn't rescued from a dog fighting ring. Nor is she the least bit aggressive. This pup's sad story is one of severe neglect. In fact, when Lily was rescued by Pennsylvania SPCA officers, she was on her way to starvation, confined to a yard with two other dogs, including one that had died from lack of food.

Lily's rescue was featured on Discovery's "Animal Cops: Philadelphia" in an episode titled "Dead Dog Denial." As the story goes, Lily's neighbors noticed the dead dog and alerted authorities. Lily's owner claimed she knew nothing about the dead dog in her yard, her neighbors told officers a different story. After an autopsy concluded that Lily's brother had died of starvation, the woman was charged.

Meanwhile, Lily was taken in by PSPCA for treatment and put into its foster program. Though Lily's rescue was dramatic enough in its own right, her rescuers had no idea what bigger and better things were in the skinny pup's future.

Name: Jan Folk

Title: Founder, Orange Dog and Freedom Flights

Jan Folk not only owns the Orange Dog, a Canadian online boutique specializing in high-end products for dogs and humans, but she uses those profits to run Freedom Flights, a charity that takes dogs at risk of being euthanized in California and delivers them to a no-kill shelter in Canada to find new homes.

The charity, which works through an agreement with private airline Global Exec Aviation, has made headlines recently thanks to an endorsement from Kevin Costner, who recently flew with Folk on one of the flights.

Why did you start Orange Dog?
When my business partner and I sold our company, I thought it was a little early in my life to retire, so I began wondering what I was going to do next. In 2009, a friend came to see me and said that you're obviously a fanatic about dogs, and you live in Orange County part-time, (my other home is in Edmonton Alberta), why don't you start a store and call it Orange Dog? Later on we found out that it is the universal color for animal rescue, but that was a lucky coincidence; we had no idea at the time. We decided to start a web-based company. I'm very proud of the fact that 100 percent of the store's profits go to help the dogs.

How did Freedom Flights begin?
I sit on the board of the local Humane Society in Edmonton, and one day when I was speaking with the executive director, she said what would really help is if I could find a plane they could have access to and bring in dogs so they could get them adopted. I thought that was a good idea, not even really thinking it through, of course.

I had a marketing company put together a media plan, and we called them the Freedom Flights. The first flight we did was in June 2009, and we brought up 60 dogs. We bring them to Canada is because in California, the shelters always have an overabundance of dogs. Always. The shelters there unfortunately have to euthanize animals. That's why we take them to our Humane Society. As long as the animal is healthy, they aren't euthanized.

Tell me about your first Freedom Flight and how that motivated you to keep working.
It was absolutely amazing. The dogs were on this Gulfstream III, riding in the lap of luxury. I swear they acted like they knew they were going somewhere safe. When we got to Canada, the Humane Society was there to meet us, the media went crazy and everyone was happy. They took the dogs to the Humane Society, and within two to three weeks maximum, every one was adopted! This continues to happen time and again.

Even better, every time the California dogs come in, the adoptions of other dogs and cats also increase dramatically. It's a real bonus, and helps get a home for dogs that might not have been adopted.

Simon Cowell might seem like a big ol' meanie, but beneath that skintight shirt beats the heart of a dog lover. The "Britain's Got Talent" judge says he's picked as a potential winner of this year's competition, and she's a furry, four-legged rescue dog named Chandi.

"Chandi is my favorite," he told the (U.K.) Sun. "She is one of the best dancing dogs I've ever seen. She does ballet."

Due to flu, Cowell was forced to miss the TV debut of Chandi and her owner, music teacher Tina Humphrey, according to the Shropshire Star. But the other judges agreed with Cowell's (eventual) assessment and passed the pirouetting pooch on to the next round.

Not only do we love this for the sheer entertainment value, but also because of the obvious bond Humphrey and her dog share. Will this encourage more people to find a "soulmate" of their own at the local animal shelter? Or inspire a canine to dance in studio? We sure hope so!

Sandra Bullock might have taken home the coveted gold statue at last night's Academy Awards, but we've considered her a "best actress" for quite some time for her devotion to the paws cause.

Earlier this year, when she and husband Jesse James' beloved pit bull, CinnaBun, went missing, friends of the then Oscar-nominee noted that she'd rather have their pet back than win an Oscar. Happily for Sandra, she got both! But there's another reason pet lovers show Bullock such devotion; she's the mother of two special needs rescue pups, which she discussed today on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Poppy, a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix, has three legs, and Ruby the Chihuahua has just two legs (you can see them both at PetSugar). And while they might be missing a limb or two, it's evident they're not missing any love.They are part of the extended family of animals in the Bullock/James household.

Bullock isn't the only acclaimed actor with a lot of love for her pets -- just last year, Mickey Rourke acknowledged his dogs in his Golden Globes acceptance speech, and showed up at the Oscars wearing a pendant with a picture of his dog, Loki, who had passed away less than a week before the event. And Amanda Seyfried, who presented last night, is completely in love with her new puppy.

Not ready to let the Oscars buzz go just yet? You can still vote for the Paw Nation Pawscars, and then check out these pictures of celebs and their pets!

Anna and I spent Thanksgiving on Cape Cod at her older sister Alicia's house. Unlike their younger sister, Emily -- who looks after a pair of rescue dogs with her fiance Dave -- Alicia and her husband Hal have a pair of Weimaraners, of whom they are very fond.

"We grew up with springer spaniels, and I've always loved hunting dogs," Alicia says. "They're great family dogs, and they tend to be good to their people."

The advantage of purebreds is that you have a good idea of what their sizes and temperaments will be as they get older, Alicia explains, and Weimaraners in particular are good-natured, athletic dogs. "It had nothing to do with William Wegman," Hal asserts, referencing the famous Massachusetts photographer with a proclivity for dressing up his Weimaraners in women's clothing.

Still, they wanted to steer clear of profit-minded breeders, and to meet their pup's parents if possible. So when Alicia heard that a man in her father's neighborhood had bred puppies for his own kids -- and had an extra -- she figured it was the perfect arrangement.

Anna and I have found an apartment. Located deep in the New Jersey suburbs, it's the ground floor of a house, actually. It's much bigger than our place in Hoboken, but then again, most people's crawl spaces beneath their staircases are bigger than our place in Hoboken. We've got plenty of space for storage, including ample closets, a basement and, most importantly, our own washer and dryer.

There's even a backyard, if you consider a few unpaved square feet in front of the driveway a backyard. This will come in handy, however, because, despite our previous fears, we found a landlord who is forward-thinking enough to let us have a dog. We think he's going to let us have a dog, that is. According to the terms of the lease, our little canine friend has to be pre-approved, presumably to make sure he or she's not too big or loud.

In any case, we have begun scouring the earth (or at least the Internet) for some fine un-feathered friends. Anna really fell hard for an adorable abused puppy named Raina -- who had a pirate-like black patch over his eye -- but when she called to ask about him he'd already been adopted. Arrrrgh!

We're also keen on this terrier/Labrador-retriever Mix, this wirehaired-terrier mix, not to mention Bo and Burger here. Tell us in the comments which dog you like best. Oh, and don't even think about swooping in and adopting them. At least, not until we've made our decision.

Thanks in part to all of the stories and words of advice shared by readers, Anna and I are exploring adoption of a rescue dog. (A dog that has been rescued, that is. Not, like, a St. Bernard carrying a barrel of whiskey around its neck, or a puppy in a cape.)

We've been perusing Petfinder.com in our spare moments, and have come upon a number of lovable-looking candidates, one of whom we're making plans to go see. One thing struck us as interesting, however: the amount of so-called "bully breeds," i.e. the bigger, sometimes more aggressive dogs with bad reputations. In Northern New Jersey, at least, there seems to be an inordinate amount of American Staffordshire terriers, pit bulls and pit-bull mixes.

Sure, Michael Vick now is playing down the turnpike for the Philadelphia Eagles, but that doesn't really explain it. So I consulted Kim Saunders, Petfinder.com's vice president of shelter outreach and public relations. "Certainly in the Northeast and the New York metro area there's a predominance of bully breeds in need of homes," she told me. "People get them for the wrong reasons, they come from areas where they're not spayed and neutered as often, and there are a lot of unfortunate stereotypes about the dogs, which are not deserved."

In honor of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, we've asked our bloggers to share their stories of shelter animal adoption.

On a warm fall Saturday in 2002, my fiance and I stopped in a Petsmart to buy cat litter. While he searched the aisles for the right brand, I wandered over to one of the pet-rescue groups, Puppy Hill Farm, that sets up shop in the store each weekend. I'd grown up with dogs, but my fiance hadn't, and I had yet to talk him into adopting one.

As we were about to leave the store, we both stopped in our tracks. A young couple was bringing in a black Labrador mix puppy, and we overheard something about it being their roommate's dog, for which they couldn't provide care after the roommate had dropped out of school and moved home. It took my husband about five seconds to fall in love with this puppy. It took me less time.

We named the dog Yuki, and she quickly became an enormous part of our lives. Yuki exhibited typical puppy behavior, but was eager to please and very smart, so although she was large (about 60 pounds), she went everywhere with us. We took her tailgating, to outdoor restaurants, up to Canada for vacation, and she was even in our wedding. She was the perfect running buddy, but was gentle enough to take on visits to my grandmother's nursing home.

Anna and I are in her hometown of Birmingham, Ala. this week, and we've been talking to her family about how they met their dogs. Anna's sister Emily, and her fiance, Dave, have a couple of rescue dogs -- Duke and Dash -- of whom they are enamored. Shortly after moving into his house in suburban Birmingham, Dave saw a picture of his eventual best friend, Duke, online. He fell for the 3-year-old mutt immediately, then trekked to Arab, Ala. and got to know him in person.

Duke was a little gruff at first, as he'd been abandoned by his original owners when they moved out of their trailer and left him tied up with a tight choke collar around his neck. When he was rescued three weeks later, he weighed only 65 pounds, and the collar had to be surgically removed. Duke maintained a fear of men and cars, but quickly fell for Dave, sleeping on his arm during the ride home. "When Duke looks at Dave, little cartoon hearts come out of his eyes," Emily says.

Dash, meanwhile, had the "sweetest little bug face you've ever seen in your whole life," Emily maintains. She discovered Dash from a PetFinder update. They procured the 2-year-old pup from a foster-dog service, and he got along swimmingly with Duke.

Dave says he picked shelter dogs for reasons financial (they're usually cheaper than pure breeds), ethical (Duke and Dash may have been put to sleep if they weren't adopted) and logistical (Dave wanted pooches who were already housebroken).

How about you? Do you have stories -- funny, heartwarming or tragic -- about your own rescue dogs? Share them in the comments section.

As they move on with their lives, Michael Jackson's children are trying to give back.

According to TMZ, Prince Michael and Paris Jackson saw a TV news story about Scooby-Roo, a two-legged puppy recently rescued from beneath a car in a rough L.A. neighborhood. The six-month-old Rottweiler needs a $2,000 mechanized cart to accommodate his birth defect of no front legs (similar to famed bipedal pup, Faith). The eldest Jackson kids decided to start raising money for the pup's new "legs" -- apparently unaware that they are multi-millionaires.

The children also seem unaware of their celeb status and how much good they're doing merely showing interest in the dog. Since the news hit about the kids' philanthropy, Scooby-Roo and the nonprofit organization that rescued him have received a lot of attention and help.

Sheila Choi, the executive director of Fuzzy Dog and Cat Rescue, Inc., a nonprofit, no-kill shelter in Santa Monica, tells Paw Nation, "We are ecstatic about the support we have been getting from animal lovers all over the world, including Paris and Prince Jackson. In fact, word has it that Demi Moore has been Tweeting about Scooby-Roo, too!"

Choi explains, "Scooby-Roo has been measured for his first set of wheels, but of course we are still raising the funds for his physical therapy and additional carts as he is a growing puppy. We hope that Scooby-Roo's message will encourage others to be a voice for these helpless, sentient beings. Scooby-Roo was part of an unwanted litter of puppies -- we want to stress the importance of spaying and neutering all pets to stop this pet overpopulation problem."

Once Scooby-Roo has completed his physical therapy and has his new wheels built, he'll be adopted out to a lucky family, and any additional money raised will be poured back into Fuzzy Rescue's important work. You can make a contribution to Fuzzy Rescue via their website.

Unless you're Cruella de Vil, you are guaranteed to love the new "101 Dalmatians" musical -- especially since all of the animal actors are shelter rescues.

"The script for the musical is based on the original 1956 book by Dodie Smith in which the story is told from the dogs' perspectives," the show's producer, Lee Marshall, tells Paw Nation. "Nothing in the musical is related to any of the motion pictures," he says, referring to the 1961 animated Walt Disney movie and the 1996 live-action film starring Glenn Close.

To illustrate the world as the dogs see it, all the human actors will be on 15-inch stilts surrounded by an extra-tall set scaled to show a dog's eye view of the world. The lead dog roles of Pongo and Missus Perdita -- whose Dalmatian puppies are stolen by the evil Cruella de Vil -- will be played by human actors dressed in fashionably spotted suits, and child actors will play the puppies.

But Marshall sprinkles each performance with real Dalmatians. Fifteen fortunate pups bound on the stage at the end of Act 1 and during the show's finale, performing choreographed movements set to music written by Dennis DeYoung, founding member of the legendary band Styx.

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