Friday's Furry Friend in Need

Hi everybody!

When I go to class, or to daycare, I see lots of those pure-bread dogs. I'm not really sure what bread has to do with dogs, but they sure are pretty. Anyway, me, Bandit, and Zoe aren't pure-bread dogs, but I think we're just as nice-looking as those other dogs.

Talking with my friends at daycare, I found out that there are lots of us who were adopted from places where nice people help dogs who don't have people to take care of them and give them treats. Me, Zoe, and Bandit are all adopted. Mom and Dad found out about Bandit and Zoe at a website called Petfinder.

Anyway, there are lots of pets out there needing homes, and you could bring one of them home instead of one of those pure-bread dogs. Or get two, and then you can have two friends!

Each Friday, I'm going to bring you a dog-friend who needs some people-friends to give him or her a home. Here's this Friday's furry friend who needs a home:

Mitch

Providence, RI

Mitch's story...

Mitch is a big boy who is looking for some love. He's a brindle mush-bug who loves when people come over to his kennel and talk to him. He has a deep bark, but only uses it to get your attention. Mitch seems like the kind of dog who would be in heaven taking up cushion-and-a-half of your couch. PLEASE REFER TO LOG # 251 WHEN INQUIRING ABOUT MITCH. For more current information on the availability of an animal, please call Animal Control (401) 243-6040 between 11 - 3. Please refer to animals by their log number rather than their name. You must go to the shelter to arrange an adoption in person. No adoptions can be arranged over the phone or by Internet. Shelter hours are Monday - Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM - closed holidays.


You can see more information about Mitch at 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com

Canine Heroes

Check out this great picture of a doggie Hero at work:

CANINE FREIDA - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Springmann works with his specialized search dog, Sgt. 1st Class Freida, as they look for weapons caches during an operation in Naba Safi Village, Iraq, on May 22, 2008. Springmann is assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, 178th Military Police Detachment. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. David J. Marshall

Having Fun

This is me checkin' out a bug on our walk break. That's my water bowl and Dad's feet in the background. I love walks. Mom and Dad take me to this really cool place where we can walk around the water, play soccer with acorns, and look for squirrels.

Make sure your dog gets plenty of chances to go for walks - Mom says a tired dog is a good dog! I have to make sure to stay right at Mom or Dad's side for the first and last ten minutes of the walk, but in the middle I get some time to just sniff around and have fun. That's definitely my favorite part!

Thunderstorms

Mom says that we're going to get thunderstorms today. I have never liked thunderstorms.

They used to really, really scare me, but I'm much better now.

When Mom and Dad first found me at the animal shelter, it was thundering, and they could see how scared I was. The nice lady at the shelter told them that when they found me, it was after a big thunderstorm. I had a broken rope around my neck (and it was really hurting me 'cause it was tight - I still have a scar!) from where I broke it trying to run away from the thunderstorm.

I know a lot of dogs are afraid of thunderstorms, and sometimes their well-meaning people can actually do more harm than good. Most humans try to pet us and tell us that everything is OK.

Did you know doing that actually makes us more scared??

We dogs know that you humans pet us and talk nice to us when we do something good. We know we don't get pet when we're doing something we're not supposed to do. So when we're acting scared, and you pet us, you're actually saying "Good Buster, be scared." And when you get all worried about us, it's really scary - if you're worried, we're even more worried.

So the best thing for you to do if your dog friend is scared in thunderstorms is to just act normally. If we're doing something we shouldn't, like whining, or barking, or chewing, tell us we shouldn't, just like always. If we're trying to go somewhere we shouldn't, don't let us. If you don't act like we should be scared, that helps us realize that we don't need to be.

And if your dog friend is acting so scared that you think he or she might either hurt themselves, or get lost, or damage something, you should call a dog behaviorist who can help you show them they don't need to be scared.

Don't get me wrong - I still don't like thunderstorms, not even a little. But now that I know that I shouldn't be quite so scared of them, I'm a lot calmer.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day, I thought I'd tell you about two Marine Heroes; one a human, and one a German Shepherd.

Cpl. Dustin Lee was killed in a mortar attack in Fallujah, Iraq, in March of last year. While he lay on the ground, his partner Lex, a German Shepherd, refused to leave him, even though Lex was also badly injured. Other Marines had to pull Lex away so that the medics could reach his human friend and partner.

Lex even attended Cpl. Lee's funeral, spending some time with Dustin's brother. Later, Lex, still with shrapnel inside him from that awful day, returned to duty with the Marines. But on December 21, 2007, the Marine Corps officially retired Lex, who was sent to live with Cpl. Lee's family.

This is what they said at the ceremony where he was formally turned over to the Lee family:

"This is to certify that military working dog Lex, having served faithfully and honorably, was discharged from the United States Marine Corps on this 21st day of December 2007."

It was the first time that a military working dog was ever discharged early from the U.S. Marine Corps.

You can read more about Lex and Cpl. Lee here and here, and see an interview with his family here.

Hairballs

There's a lot about kitties I don't understand.

Take hairballs, for instance.

Hairballs must be pretty yucky as far as people are concerned. I'm only guessing, but judging by the sounds that Mom made when she stepped on one last night, I'm figuring that hairballs and people don't go well together.

I'll have to watch more closely where I walk around here.

Someone tell me...

...why this was a problem?



I mean, really. People pay good money to have old carpet removed. And I did it for free! I did that the first day Mom let me out of that crate for the day. She says I "sassed" her when she told me I was a bad puppy:

I was just trying to explain the value of free carpet removal, honest. Besides, this was WAY more fun than playing with all those toys. That was over a year ago. I guess they still don't get it, though, 'cause they weren't happy when I taught Bear to do it the other day.


Silly humans.

Hi!

Welcome to my blog! This is my very first post.

Not very exciting, but I'm just getting the hang of this whole technology thing. Actually, Mom's doing it, and I'm just observing. All of the setup stuff seems pretty boring, so I'll wait 'til we get to the good bits.

Cut me some slack - I'm a dog.