guide dog.

IDS.Photos, Flickr One part service dog, one part best friend, Ruger the yellow Lab not only helped guide his owner Kevin Coughlin through the streets of Manhattan, but he became an unofficial mascot for guide-dog rights. Ruger carved out his place in history when he served as Exhibit A in a series of court cases in which Kevin fought (and won) discrimination suits against businesses that refused to allow his service dog through their doors. Terms like "trailblazer" and "pioneer" are rarely bestowed upon members of the canine family, but in Ruger's case, they seem quite fitting. After winning high-profile case after high-profile case, Ruger became a darling of the news media and was ...

ParisHilton, Twitter Paris Buys Pug to Get Over Guy Some girls get a new haircut or pricey pair of shoes to move on after a breakup. Paris Hilton, however, isn't like most girls, and after a split from Doug Reinhardt, she's consoling herself with a new Pug puppy. The puppy is sure to find friends in Hilton's menagerie, which, according to the Daily Mail, currently includes 17 chihuahuas and a Pomeranian. According to Hilton's Twitter feed, the little fella's name is Mugsy. Sea Lion Pup Goes Climbing Forget "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; we've got a sea-lion on a rooftop deck in Newport Beach, Calif. The pup climbed the outdoor stairs to Mike Kai's rooftop deck, according to the Orange County ...

Sure our birthday is officialy over but we couldn't resist bringing back one last gallery of photos. Whether you caught these images of service animals the first time around or not, we hope you'll enjoy this trip down memory lane with us. Besides, what's not to love about the relationship between these amazing animals and the people they are helping? http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=605465&pid=605464&uts=1271341212 http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf Service Animals Horsing Around Have you ever seen a woman ride a horse into a ...

Getty Images The need for service dogs is huge, as is the cost. University of Kentucky sophomore Logan Bright knows this, and wants to help by starting a club at her school under the 4 Paws for Ability organization. "I have a strong passion for showing people that community service is more than work; it can be fun too," Bright told Paw Nation. While at Wittenberg University in Ohio (which she attended before transferring), Bright had learned about the program, which lets students who live off-campus bring home five-to-six-month-old puppies in order to help ready them to be service dogs for the disabled. According to its Web site, 4 Paws for Ability "say[s] yes when many more traditional ...

American Idol's first legally blind finalist, Scott MacIntyre. Photo: Fox Wacky Paula Abdul sure is full of surprises. The "American Idol" judge hinted that she had a present in store for visually-impaired contestant Scott MacIntyre, who left the show earlier in the season. And on Friday Abdul came good with the gift of a guide dog from Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar, Calif. E! Online reports that MacIntyre "test drove" (his words) two Labrador retrievers on Friday, but won't be assigned his dog until after the American Idol tour ends on Sept. 15. "We have to find a dog that really likes loud music," joked Paula. MacIntyre, who was not expecting the gift, had been told he was ...