Pit bull takes care of actress Moore

Actress Mary Tyler Moore has a pit bull named Spanky who alerts her when her blood sugar gets too low.

She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes around the time she began "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s.

Here is the article from PeoplePets.com.

"He helps me with my diabetes —he can sense when something's not right," Moore told PEOPLEPets.com at Broadway Barks. "He will come and sit and stare at me until I do something about it."

Moore and her husband also share their home with Shadow, a 12-year-old golden retriever; Shana, an 11-year-old miniature schnauzer; and Bond, James Bond, a 9-year-old Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. They each have wonderful vocabularies, she says.

Car-mauling dog is sentenced

Winston, the Tennessean-pit-bull mix, who attacked a police car in March, has been ordered to take obedience training.

Here's an article from MSNBC.com. Be sure and watch the video of the dog fighting with the patrol car.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that a judge ruled that Winston had been a very bad dog. He was sentenced to obedience and canine good citizen classes, and he'll have to wear a tag that says he is "potentially dangerous."

Winston got out of an enclosed area March 18 and attacked the police car, tearing off part of the front bumper and damaging the tires.

If the dog successfully completes the classes, charges against his owner will be dismissed.

Duck!

We haven't had an "awwwwwwwww"-filled blog entry in a while, so here goes.

First, a snoring duck video.

Next, a pecking duck and a very patient dog video.

Finally, if you think puppies are cute and ducklings are cute, then how about a baby duck that follows a puppy around? Watch this video.

Boy, I'm exhausted from all the cuteness.

Doc on Vick's dogs

Whatever happened to the pit bulls taken from Michael Vick's illegal dog fighting ring?

The first episode of DogTown on the National Geographic Channel will fill you in when the series returns at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5.

Check out their Web site and see some pictures of the pooches and the people who have helped them.

The two-hour program focuses on four of the dogs and how far they've come since the horrific circumstances in which they were found.

Here are some entries I did on the Vick saga.

Update on Vick's dogs

The Washington Post had a moving article yesterday on what has happened to the dogs seized when Michael Vick's dogfighting operation was shut down.

"Of the 47 surviving dogs, 25 were placed directly in foster homes, and a handful have been or are being adopted. Twenty-two were deemed potentially aggressive toward other dogs and were sent to an animal sanctuary in Utah. Some, after intensive retraining, are expected to move on to foster care and eventual adoption."

The jury is still out, for some experts, on whether the dogs can be retrained.

"John Goodwin, a dogfighting expert with the Humane Society and a proponent of euthanizing fight dogs, is skeptical of the emerging reports of the Vick dog recoveries. ... 'The behavior is bred into them,' he said. 'These groups are not rehabilitating these dogs. They're training them to behave in a more socialized manner. But these pit bulls should never be left alone with other dogs, because you never know when that instinct to fight another dog is going to surface.' "

Be sure and listen to the audio gallery.

Here are some other entries I did on the Vick saga.

UPDATE: Michael Vick filed for bankruptcy protection, saying he owes up to $50 million. Here is the story from ESPN.com.

A reader e-mail

Daniel from Kingston, N.Y., wrote me an e-mail in response to the recent blog about the Dutchess County SPCA rescues.

As the owner of a rescued pitbull (Comet) I often find myself reading through blogs and rescue sites just to find stories of cruelty. I don't enjoy the sickened anger I feel when I read them, but I feel that it is my duty to keep myself aware of what animals go through at the hands of ignorant and cruel people.

My little girl wasn't abused, but she was neglected and allowed to fall at least 15 lbs underweight. A pitbull rescue based in Carmel heard of her and set her free. She got lucky, and now she has it really, really good. I wouldn't have it any other way!

My pitbull prefers to sleep under my blankets with me on these chilly nights! Like any dog, she loves to eat peanut butter off my finger. How's that for vicious?!?

Here's a picture of Comet (click on her to embiggen).


Thanks, Daniel. Comet is obviously in very good hands.

A stupid pet trick

Last night on Late Show with David Lettermen, there was a dog who barked when someone gave it the one-finger salute, a cockatoo who danced to the Backstreet Boys (who doesn't?) and a pit bull named Pacy who played the drums.

Here's a link to the Late Show video site where you can see the Buddy Rich of the canine world.

Then there are 8

Sharkey, a pit bull, likes chicken. Well, chicks actually. This apparently sweet-natured pup defies stereotypes of the breed.



Two months later ...



I've watched the vids a couple of times. I count seven chicks in the first and eight in the second.

Good dog!