Posts tagged "dog rescue"

A kayaker who likes to film his fishing outings for YouTube captured himself rescuing a dog swimming far out from the shore. As you can see in the video above, the YouTuber found the swimming dog distressed, terrified, and injured. The man pulled the dog from the water and brought him to shore, then to a vet where the animal was identified through its microchip.

Unfortunately, the events leading to the dog, Barney, swimming out to sea are tragic ones. Barney's owner, Donna Chen, was walking him when a drunk driver lost control of her vehicle and struck Chen and Barney on the sidewalk. Barney fled the scene in panic and Chen was killed.

Thankfully the kind-hearted kayaker rescued Barney and returned him to his family. We'll offer no further commentary on the matter other than to say this: (1) We're so happy Barney is OK, and (2) don't drink and drive!

No one with a shred of decency likes to see an animal harmed or abused, but everyone likes to see an abused animal rescued and rehabilitated. That's why this video generated a lot of buzz yesterday on Reddit. It tells the story of Judith, a beautiful dog who was horrifically abused and neglected for most her life. It's from the Animal Advocates Society in Vancouver, and it tells the story of Judith, an unfortunate dog who spent the first 10 years of her life chained in a muddy backyard. Be warned, the first minute and a half of this video is very difficult to watch, as it depicts the deplorable conditions under which Judith was kept. But it goes on to show how the Animal Advocates Society rescued her and finally gave her a happy life after so long. This one's a tearjerker, folks.

Ask proud pet owners and they'll tell you that bringing their furry friends into their lives was one of the best decisions they ever made. Pry a little further, however, and you might find that the decision to bring home a pound puppy or shelter kitty also upset their lives for a period of days, weeks, or months because they weren't properly prepared.

For reasons that are usually no fault of the dogs or cats themselves, adoptive pet parents sometimes find that they've made a serious miscalculation as to whether they really have the time, patience or desire to regularly change litter or scoop poop.

To help prospective pet owners avoid this adoption pitfall, we've put together a guide to bringing home the dog or cat that is right for you.

The Lifestyle Checklist
The most important thing you can do to prevent adopting a "problem pet" is to not start out as a "problem owner," that is, someone who glosses over all of the responsibilities of pet ownership. Sure, it's possible you could get home from the shelter with a perfectly obedient and housebroken pet, but don't count on it.

Though we firmly believe that there's a perfect owner out there for every pet in a shelter, some pets are simply more -- how do we say this? -- low-maintenance than others.

We've heard of dogs rescuing dogs and dolphins rescuing people (well, Dick Van Dyke, anyway), but this story is truly one to remember.

Turbo, an 11-year-old Doberman, has had enough doggie paddling to last a lifetime after a frightening night spent in a canal near his home in Marco Island, Fla. Fortunately for the waterlogged dog, the sea held some good Samaritans in a surprising form -- dolphins!

It was the persistent splashing of the dolphins that wouldn't leave Turbo's side that drew the attention of a neighbor, according to WBBH-TV, and may have saved the dog's life. The neighbor called 911, and then jumped in the shallow water to rescue the paddling pooch.

Gibson, a 4-year-old Sheltie mix, is back home safe and sound after spending the better part of a week freezing her tail off on a giant icy pond with steep, narrow sides, topped with a chain link fence.

Authorities were first made aware of Gibson's predicament on Sunday, when concerned dog lovers called to report that a dog appeared to be trapped on Cambridge's Fresh Pond, according to the Boston Globe. When a rescue team arrived on Sunday, they found a weary, elusive pup that workers were unable to corral.

"The dog kind of reverted to a semiwild, self-preservation state,'' Animal Rescue League manager Brian O'Connor told the Boston Globe. "They're not like people. You can't rationalize with them and tell them you're there to rescue them.''

We've all heard of amazing animal rescue stories in which a pet saves its owner's life. But a dog saving a canine buddy? That's a more unusual hero dog tale, but one that happened just days ago in Rancho Cordova, Calif. A rat terrier named Rowdy is credited with finding Casper, a 15-year-old miniature schnauzer, who was stuck in an 8-inch drain pipe.

According to CNN, Casper had been missing for three days when Rowdy, while out on a walk with his owner, caught the missing dog's smell and started barking at a storm drain about a block from Casper's home. It wasn't long before the Sacramento Metro firefighters were called to the scene.

Firefighters freed Casper from the drain in a creative way. They filled a fire hose with water, put a cap on the end and then tied a teddy bear around the end of the hose, using it like a pipe cleaner to gently push Casper out of the pipe.

We know that social networking sites are great places to spread information, but does that information really make a difference? Last weekend, Michelle Ingrodi, founder of Charm City Animal Rescue, learned just how powerful a weapon Facebook can be in the battle to stop animal abuse. And we thought it was just a great place to brag about our cute pets!

According to WBALTV in Baltimore, Ingrodi was visiting relatives in Cumberland, Md., when she made a startling discovery -- four dogs were living at a seemingly unoccupied home. After visiting the dogs, some of which were chained up outside with others confined inside, Ingrodi managed to slip them some food through an open window, as shown in the video below.

Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife Anna adopted as a puppy in late 2009.

Last weekend, we took Pippi for a pleasant trip to the dog park. (Unlike the last time we went, there was not a brawl, so that was a plus.) While there, we struck up a conversation with a woman who had brought her 4-year-old golden retriever. After hearing we'd gotten Pippi from a rescue, the woman imparted that she, too, had tried to obtain a dog through this method. The problem was that she couldn't pass the screening test!

The woman had had her heart set on a golden, and the rescue in question had plenty of them, but they weren't sure she and her husband were a good match. They wanted a lot of veterinary references (something which doesn't seem strange to me, considering I was asked for vet contact info going all the way back to the '90s), but they also wanted to know this woman and her husband's work schedules. She worked normal hours, while he worked from noon to nine on most days. Therefore, someone would be home with the dog all day except for the afternoon. Not so terrible, considering that many folks crate their dogs all day, right?

Lea Michele is best-known for her hilarious portrayal of high-school student/diva Rachel Berry on "Glee," and now, perhaps, for her fabulous look at the Emmy Awards. But the breakout star is also a devoted animal lover with some serious rescue credibility.

Michele told People Magazine that she saved six stray kittens in the Paramount Studios lot. While she was able to keep two of them, she found homes for the rest with one of them going to "Glee" co-star Heather Morris, who plays Brittany on the show. Additionally, upon seeing a dog chained to a fence during a shoot at a nearby school, she worked with the folks at "Glee" to get the pooch veterinary care and, eventually, a home with another co-star.

Michele gets her inspiration from her family. "My mother always said, 'Stand for something, or [you'll] fall for everything.' I feel like [animals] don't have a voice." Well, anyone who has watched "Glee" or seen Michele on Broadway knows that voice is one thing this woman has in spades. We hope she continues to use it to advocate for animals.

Rescuing puppies isn't for the faint of heart. Case in point, the daring puppy rescue that Zak Anderegg carried out while rappelling into one of Utah's slot canyons.

Two weeks ago, Anderegg set out to explore the scenic Arizona-Utah border when he came upon a shocking site: an animal trapped at the bottom of one of the region's famous deep and narrow canyons. Looking over the canyon's edge, Anderegg thought the animal might have been a small calf. "And then the longer I looked at him, I realized he's actually a dog," Anderegg told "Today." An animal lover, Anderegg was exactly the right person at the right place and time to help save the pup's life.

Anderegg called his wife and told her his new mission. "When I saw him, my heart just absolutely broke," Zak said. "Within about 10 seconds of realizing what he was, my plan shifted from vacation to rescue." Without hesitation, Anderegg left the canyon to round up some help in a nearby town. He returned with food, water, and a cat carrier donated by the local animal hospital.

Anderegg rappelled back down the canyon to feed the stranded dog, but it seemed unable to even eat. Estimating that the stranded animal was only "24 to 48 hours away from death," Anderegg placed the puppy in the borrowed cat carrier and hoisted him all 350 feet up and out of the canyon, using his climbing ropes and a pulley.

All over the country, shelters provide not only a safe haven for homeless animals but also offer critical veterinary care, rehabilitation and most importantly, love. In Paw Nation's newest column, Rescue Tales, we will share with you the stories of these amazing organizations and some of the fortunate pets who have gone on to find permanent, happy homes.

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BARC: Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition - Brooklyn, N.Y.
BARC is a no-kill shelter in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. Originally started in 1987 as a pet-supplies store, which is still the cornerstone of BARC, the two owners found themselves taking care of rescued animals brought to them by neighborhood residents. BARC grew into a non-profit shelter for dogs and cats and are in part funded by all the proceeds from the pet store. Their adoption fee is $150, which includes shots, spaying/neutering and, for dogs, micro-chipping.

Petunia -- Elderly Pooch Saved from a NYC Expressway
This shih tzu, was around 13 years old when she arrived at BARC after being found on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The dog needed immediate medical attention for her severe malnourishment, eye problems, and hip pain. For weeks after being rescued, she remained lethargic and unresponsive until she finally gained some weight, got a great haircut and suddenly had a little more pep in her step. Still only able to walk a few blocks, the dog who is now called Petunia had also been diagnosed with lymphoma, and the staff at BARC prepared for her to live out her last days with them at the shelter.

That was when an older woman named Verna, who herself had trouble walking long distances, came to BARC and fell in love with this cute pooch. Coordinators at BARC counseled Verna on dealing with Petunia's health issues, walking the dog and how to introduce her to Verna's other dog. Four months later, Petunia is eating voraciously and can be seen prancing around with Verna on the other end of her leash.

After wandering from her home outside Buffalo, 8-year-old Koozie was rescued five days later and some 30 miles away after someone spotted a dog stranded on the ice on freezing Lake Erie. The Erie County Air One helicopter responded and a fireman was lowered in a basket and scooped Koozie up. But the minute she was on dry land, Koozie got away and ran back onto the lake, needing a second rescue.

The story ends happily with the dog back safe in the arms of her grateful owner Phil Frost, who had been looking for his mixed-breed dog since she went missing -- and first knew she'd been found when he saw the rescue on the local news.

Fortunately Koozie's only injury was a broken nail.

Spikey, the dog who captured national headlines when he was airlifted from a Los Angeles river in a daring helicopter rescue is finally home. The 4-year-old German-shepherd mix was in quarantine for several days before being released and reunited with his owners, the Los Angeles Times reported.

On Friday, Jan. 22, viewers were glued to their television screens when news stations broadcast live coverage of a dog being rescued by the Los Angeles Fire Department from a surging river. The video from Fox 11 News shows firefighter Joe St. Georges, 50, dropping from a helicopter into the river, grabbing the struggling dog and airlifting him to safety -- but not before dangling high above the river for several long, nail-biting moments.

"We got reports of a dog in the Los Angeles River, which is really a concrete-walled flood control channel," Los Angeles Fire Captain Steve Ruda tells Paw Nation. The dog couldn't climb out of the river, which was extra-high due to heavy rains that had been flooding Los Angeles all week.

"The incident commander made a decision to rescue the dog," explains Capt. Ruda. "It was wearing a collar and appeared to belong to somebody. If we did nothing, we were concerned that humans trying to rescue the dog would be harmed." A helicopter swift water rescue team swooped in under high tension wires and lowered firefighter St. Georges into the river. "Joe [St. Georges] was able to capture the dog, put a capture strap around it, and get the dog to safety," Capt. Ruda says.

In July, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Attorney's office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Humane Society of Missouri and other agencies worked together to pull off the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history. To fully do the job of investigating and persecuting dog fighting into extinction, many, many more such large-scale stings will need to happen. But as a revealing Time article points out, to do so would mean overcoming a host of obstacles that most police organizations are not yet equipped to handle.

"Busting a breeder means taking custody of the dogs, yet no police department or sheriff's office has the resources to kennel, treat and attempt to rehabilitate dozens, let alone hundreds, of abused animals," writes David von Drehle in the Time article.

After the Missouri raid, authorities suddenly had about 470 (some estimated more than 500) dogs on their hands -- vicious dogs that required immediate rehousing, followed by weeks of long-term rehabilitation. The dogs were seized not just in Missouri, but also in Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma, according to the Humane Society of Missouri, which was helped in the months of planning leading up to the raid by countless animal-rights groups.

The Humane Society of Missouri lined up an abandoned warehouse, outfitted with triage areas and hundreds of wire cages, located in an undisclosed location in St. Louis. Why undisclosed?

As a spokesperson for the Humane Society of Missouri says in this video, "It is a secret facility because dog fighters are very dangerous people, and we have some serious concerns for the safety of our staff and the volunteers that are here, and also for the dogs. Many of these dogs are worth thousands of dollars."

Ultimately, a U.S. District Court will determine the fate of each dog: whether to be adopted out to an individual; to be sent to a rehabilitation facility; or perhaps, one imagines, to be euthanized. Which brings up yet another important question: Can a rescued attack dog ever be fully accepted into a home, a neighborhood or a society without it having to endure a lifelong stigma?

We sure hope so.

Billy King is ready to buy his dog, Skip, a big bag of dog food after the dog barked to warn him of a fire on the other side of his duplex, reports KansasCity.com. The early warning was particularly important in this case because the Kansas man uses a wheelchair and had to call his son for help.

King tells KansasCity.com that he awoke to his dog's warning around 4:30 a.m. Firefighters and his son helped him out of his home, at which point the windows started to break from the heat of the fire.

Something tells us Skip is going to get more than a bit of extra dog food -- do they even make dog treats tasty enough to show this kind of appreciation?