As I sit here trying to piece together my son’s paper route paycheck, it makes me wonder what types of things other dogs choose to tear apart. I almost called this “the true cost of having a dog”, but realized that this doesn’t even begin to cover it!
Continue reading Saturday Survey: What Has Your Dog Destroyed?
My brother sent me these – there were lots more, but I picked out the relevant ones.
Continue reading Funny Friday: Dog Pictures to Make You Smile
Come on, admit it…you’ve clicked on ads on your favorite websites before. Now, you can do so to help out a cause near and dear to all of us. If you go to this website and click on the “Click Here to Give” button, their sponsors will give a little over half a bowl of food to an animal rescue organization. You can only click once a day, but if all of us work together, we’ll make a dent in animal hunger. It’s easy. It’s free. What more can you ask for?
Best of all, the site is part of the PetFinders network, so it is legitimate. The site also features some success stories of dogs who have found homes.
If you look at the very top row of tabs, you’ll notice that you can do similar FREE good works for other causes such as breast cancer, literacy, and the rain forest. Not a bad deal!
I look at it this way: I have to look at ads all the time when I surf. (I know. I know. They make it possible for many sites to exist, but sometimes they’re annoying.) By clicking on these “Give” buttons, the advertisers have to give something back to the community. Seems like divine justice!
If you don’t have doggies.com set up as your home page, consider having TheAnimalRescueSite as your home, so you see it every day when you log on. That will help you remember to click the button every day and provide food to our needy 4-legged friends.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
I nearly got into an argument today with a friend over what the best breed of dog is. So, we’ll let you, the readers, decide. Listed below are the 9 most popular breeds, according to 2008 AKC registrations, as well as the ever-popular “mutt-i-gree”. I had to narrow it down somehow, so AKC rankings seemed like an easy way to do it.
Continue reading Survey Saturday: What’s Your Favorite Breed of Dog?
Received an interesting press release from InterVet yesterday. This may be something some of you are interested in purchasing, but even if not, they make many helpful points about keeping your dog safe.
Continue reading Protecting Your Dog Under Stormy Conditions
We spent some of the weekend getting sunburned at the Dock Diving competition at Clay’s Park, in Canal Fulton, Ohio.� Sponsored by Cabela’s, Stihl, Time Warner Cable, and DockDogs , it was so much fun! We had a jam-packed weekend, so we didn’t get to stay as long as I would have liked, but we did catch some of the Big Air competition, where the dogs jump for distance.� If you’re not familiar with Dock Diving, check out the article in our Dog Den. Some of these dogs were absolutely amazing!
We saw a Norfolk Terrier, the first one who had ever competed in Dock Diving, jump a proud 5 feet! He was so cute in his little life vest – the handler held him off the ground while she was setting up, and his little feet would just go, go, go – he was so anxious to get started.
We met Misty and Stormer, from Westerville, Ohio, who inspired their humans to get involved in dock diving by jumping off the docks near their home. Unfortunately, on their first sanctioned jumps, they only went about 1 foot, but now they are up to well over 20 feet.
We also got to see a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog / Pit Bull mix – tell me that’s not a mouthful!
(To those of you who I interviewed, I have to apologize – somewhere between there and here, I lost my notes, so I know I didn’t include all of you here. Please rescue me by writing a comment & telling us your story!)
The longest jump we actually saw was 24’9″ from a Dalmation, but just as we were leaving, we heard the announcer call one at over 25 feet!
If you haven’t seen one of these competitions, it is well worth the trip. I’ll try to keep you updated on future competitions so you can find one in your area. This particular competition was part of the “Bark in the Park”, which featured displays from different vendors of dog toys, accessories, T-shirts, etc. The Dock Diving competition was the centerpiece, but there was lots of other stuff to do and see, as well. My middle son nearly cried when we had to leave!
The competitors come from all over – this event had dogs from Ontario, Canada, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Nevada, and Indiana. (After that, I lost track.) My son definitely wants to start our beagle in training, and I think we may take the Vizsla as well. I’ll have to find out how we get started, and I’ll let you know.
Here’s a nice article from our local paper about the competition with a great picture of the Dalmation.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Dedicated to the memory of all those who served . . . Italy, France, Russia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and Great Britain all have formal monuments and decorations dedicated to war dogs by the military organizations under which they served. War dogs in other countries have also been awarded medals and other forms of official recognition for serving their countries. Of all of the countries to employ the use and help of dogs during times of war, the United States military stands alone as the only world military to not formally acknowledge the contributions made by its canine soldiers. Due to a policy that has existed since World War II, and despite the protests of armed forces personnel, the United States military refuses to formally recognize the accomplishments of its canine soldiers, stating that such recognition is “demeaning to servicemen.”
Nearly 4000 dogs served in Vietnam and saved up to 10,000 American servicemen through their scouting and sentry duties. When withdrawing from Vietnam in 1973, the military classified the dogs as surplus equipment to be left behind during evacuation. Many dogs were left with South Vietnamese allies who were afraid of the dogs and didn’t know how to handle them. Many of the dogs were euthanized, and many more perished at the hands of their inexperienced South Vietnamese handlers. Only a handful of Vietnam war dogs made it back to the United States. Many handlers and trainers who worked with these dogs were traumatized by having to leave their faithful companions behind, stating that the dogs saved their lives and often did more work than they did.
Relegated to the status of military equipment rather than personnel, dogs in the U.S. military are drafted for life and are euthanized once they are deemed infirm and incapable of continuing their jobs. The military claims that these dogs are incapable of being retired to civilian life, despite the fact that police dogs, which receive identical training, are successfully and peacefully retired to loving homes and families upon retirement. As a result of the indifference shown toward war dogs, many of their accomplishments have been unjustly forgotten, or at best, relegated to the status of “trivia” by war buffs. Many of the records of war dogs and their handlers have been lost or destroyed, and the public remains largely unaware of the contributions by dogs in the armed forces.
The Vietnam Dog Handler Association, a veterans group, is spearheading the drive to honor America’s war dogs with a national memorial. To learn more or to make a donation, please visit their web site.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Another video from my favorite brother!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
With Michael Vick being released from prison this week, it made me think about aggressive dogs. So, I’ve designed a VERY short survey to see how you would rate your dogs as far as aggression.
Click here to take the survey.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
From our friends at the Guinness Book of World Records, here are a few records held by dogs.