Dancing doggie

Dog doing the Merengue!

Woohoo!

Watch it here.

Dogs in the swim to save lives

From Italy, via the Associated Press and NPR, comes the story of canine lifeguards on hand (paw?) to help swimmers who get into trouble.

Read the entire story here.

These "lifedogs" wear a harness or tow a buoy that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.

With millions flocking to Italy's crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year — and their canine helpers are credited with saving several lives.

Training takes three years to reach expert rescue status.

Roberto Gasbarri, who coordinates the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program in the seaside town of Civitavecchia, said 300 dogs are fully qualified for duty.

"The dog becomes a sort of intelligent lifebuoy. It is a buoy that goes by itself to a person in need of help, and comes back to the shore also by himself, choosing the best landing point and swimming through the safest currents," he said.

Any breed can be trained as long as the pooch is at least 66 pounds.

What a great idea, don't you think?

Dog stabbing being investigated

From The Associated Press:

SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Park Police are investigating the stabbing of a dog at San Francisco's Fort Funston.

Authorities say a woman walking her dog reported her pet was stabbed by a man as he walked his dog on a trail in the park Thursday afternoon.

Park ranger George Durgerian says it's not clear what sparked the attack, but investigators are taking statements from witnesses who came forward after flyers were posted of the incident. A possible suspect has been identified, though no arrests have been made.

As for the wounded dog, it has been released from a veterinarian after undergoing surgery.

U.S. Park Police are investigating because Fort Funston is within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is operated by the National Park Service.

Dog goes above and beyond the call of duty

This has been around for a while but I just came across it.

Normally, when you see a dog grabbing a kitten, it doesn't bode well for the kitten.

But read this story from CBS News and watch the video for a real surprise about an Iowa shelter dog who takes care of a litter of kittens.

It really is remarkable, don't you think.

Walkway event promotes pet safety

My colleague John Barry covered Hounds Over the Hudson — hosted by the Dutchess County SPCA — Saturday on the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Here is his story in today's Poughkeepsie Journal.

I stopped by to check things out and took a few pictures. It was a gorgeous day to be on the Walkway. The views were spectacular.

Dogs to strut across the Walkway Saturday

The Walkway Over the Hudson will be the scene Saturday of the Hounds Over the Hudson bridge festival, sponsored by the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and its counterpart across the river, the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public with no registration required.

DCSPCA staff and volunteers will be providing information on the care of dogs and giving demonstrations with therapy dogs.

Members of the Humane Law Department will be giving demonstrations on how to prevent stress to dogs in hot weather.

A canine parade of adoptable shelter dogs will begin at 11 a.m. with each shelter meeting in the center of the bridge.

Note: The parade will be canceled if the temperature or weather conditions are unsafe for dogs on the Walkway.

Here are directions to both entrances — Highland to the west and City of Poughkeepsie to the east — to the linear park.

Bitten?

From the Seattle Intelligencer comes information about dog and cat bites.

Read the story here.

Veterinarian Beth Guerra said she sees a gamut of bites, from minor wounds to major trauma.

These do not just occur between strange dogs; often dogs in the same house that have been co-existing peacefully can find themselves in a fight, often over food or territory. The concern with this type of trauma, especially from larger dogs with extremely powerful bites, is that extensive injury can occur under the skin where only small punctures or even only mild bruising are visible.

She said while cat bites may seem innocuous, cats carry a bacteria in the mouth that can rapidly cause infection in the bite wound.

If you are bitten by a dog or cat, be sure to seek immediate medical attention, even if you do not feel the wounds are that severe. At the very least, the wounds should be washed immediately with soap and water. It is best to have any injuries assessed before complications develop.

Dog riding a lawn mower

Title sez it all.

Watch via the Huffington Post here.

Doggie ice cream comes to London

Now there's another reason to go to London.

On Saturday, the world's first ice cream truck for dogs opened in Regent Park.

Here's a story from the Daily News by Aliyah Shahid.

The red, white, and blue truck, dubbed 'K99,' will dish (and cone) up a variety of pup-friendly flavors like "Dog Eat Hog World," a concoction of cured leg of pork and chicken. Then there's the classic "Canine Cookie Crunch," which is vanilla ice cream topped off with dog biscuits.

The truck will travel the parks through the summer. According to London's Daily Mail, the truck will play the theme song from "Scooby Doo," instead of the traditional Mr. Softee jingle.

And best yet, the ice cream is safe for humans.

Afghan war vet gets big greeting

Here's a video that has received more than 2 million hits of a soldier returning from Afghanistan being greeted by his dog.

What a reaction.

Dog to a legend now in book form

A comic novel, centered around Marilyn Monroe's dog, will hit the shelves in December.

"The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe" is by Andrew O'Hagan.

Read the full story from cnn.com.

According to the book's description, Maf — short for Mafia — met everybody who is anybody during his time with the actress, including President John F. Kennedy, and accompanied the silver screen star to acting classes, chi-chi restaurants, department stores and to Mexico for her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller.

"Marilyn was a strange and unhappy creature, but at the same time she had more natural comedy to her than anybody I would ever know," observes Maf, who was 3 when Monroe died in 1962 at age 36.

O'Hagan has said that Hollywood is interested in making a movie about Maf and Monroe.

Who will it star, I wonder?

Dog toots its own horn — and lives

Allentown, Pa., TV station WFMZ has a story about a chocolate lab who was stuck in a car and alerting its owners by honking the horn.

Here's the story.

Max, 11, owned by Donna Gardner of Upper Macungie Township, Pa., was mistakenly left in Gardner's car after she returned home from running errands.

"I came in and started cleaning and about an hour later I heard a horn blow," she said.

Gardner went outside, but didn't see anybody.

"So, I came back in the house and I started cleaning again and the horn blew again," she said.

She went back outside and saw Max sitting in the driver's seat of the car.

Max was checked out by a veterinarian. He was a little weak but OK.

Dogs go to new homes yesterday

The dog adoption yesterday in Highland was a success.

Here's my story about it in today's Poughkeepsie Journal.

The nonprofit group that ran the adoption is Pancake Hollow Farm and Rescue, Inc., also in Highland.

They are located at at 236 Pancake Hollow Road and can be reached by calling 845-721-1200.

I took a few pictures. The first is Liz Farinella and Jason Michalek of Milton who adopted a sweet husky-terrier mix.

Dog adoption set for today in Highland

I'm going to be over in Highland, across the river, today for a puppy adoption event being held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The homeless dogs will be given away from Dirty Dogs Pet Service at 3592 Route 9W.

The dogs were rescued by Pancake Hollow Farms and Rescue, a Highland-based group that travels around the country rescuing dogs that otherwise might be put to sleep.

The rescue organization is also accepting donations of bleach, paper towels, bath towels and garbage bags.

Call 845-691-4928. I'll post some pictures later.

'Pizza' for dogs

Found a new product at Adam's Fairacre Farms yesterday. For Kate, of course.

They are "Pup-Pies" for dog treats, made by the Lazy Dog Cookie Co.

I picked up Deep Dish Pizza, and after a little hesitation, Kate enjoyed it.


I cut it into pieces, but didn't give her the whole thing. It's about 4 inches across.

Something different from regular dog cookies.

Video Wednesday

How about a cat that's quick with its paws?

Watch this video.

Hope that person didn't get too scratched up.

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This dog is clumsy even on the rug.

Watch this video.

But it's funny. And there's a cone of shame!

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And finally, a cat that can open a door.

Watch this video.

Robots can learn from three-legged dogs

Research being done in Germany may affect the way robots move.

Martin Gross of the University of Jena is studying the way three-legged dogs move, thinking it could change the way robots get around if they lose one of their limbs.

Here's the story from Discovery News.

He noticed that his brother's three-legged dog, despite missing a hind limb due to cancer, was still faster than three other family dogs who had all four legs.

The same cannot be said of robots. If they lose a limb, they're likely to topple over, since they cannot readjust to the new way of walking. The entire robot could be rendered useless.

Gross said terrestrial locomotion is designed for an even number of legs. With the loss of a limb, there needs to be a reorganization of the way one gets around.

The study is part of the European Union's Locomorph project to help develop robots that can adapt in the event of an "injury."

Lucky dogs

A Miami Beach woman left her mansion and $3 million to her three dogs.

Here's the video from WTVG-TV in Toledo, Ohio.

Gail Posner died in March at the age of 67. She left most of her money to her mansion staff, but left $3 million and the mansion to her dogs.

Her only son, Bret Carr, got $1 million and is suing. He claims the staff scammed his mother into changing her will.

Drink up

On a recent visit to the Walkway Over the Hudson, it was nice to see watering stations set up for pets. For dogs, I'm assuming. Unless people take their iguanas for walk these days.

Dogged pursuit of legislation?

From a dog's point of view, every day could be "Take Your Congressman to Work Day."

Here's a photo gallery of the pooches of Capitol Hill and the Congressmen and Congresswomen who love them.

I love the idea of squeaky toys scattered around the office.