Furry soldiers with no way home

Dogs have been helping humans in their military endeavors since the dawn of ages. They helped track and protect early humans in Egypt and Babylon just as during the U.S. Civil War. Some dogs were publicly recognized for their bravery by the troops and the civilians, with the most famous being Stubby, a stray bulldog mix, who not only became the most decorated dog of World War I, but the only dog promoted to sergeant through combat. The list of famous serving dogs is exhaustive, but is still growing. At the onset of the Second World War, regular citizens, hoping to help with the war effort, brought puppies to military bases. Naturally, through time, many dogs were trained to threaten and attack the enemy, but it is their noses that humans have always found most helpful.  Not to mention their undeniable bravery and devotion.

A Broken Hitchhiker or how to pick up your best friend on the side of the road

“Have you noticed her nose hooks slightly to the right? Just like mine,” said my co-worker Bill the other day. He was pointing to a photo of a gorgeous black and red Border Collie nestled on his lap. Ever since I publicly admitted to fostering dogs, people have been telling me stories about their pets, be they dogs or cats. One lady even told me all about her 12 chickens. Most tales are funny, some are heart breaking, but something in Bill’s story really moved me unlike the others.

“Clementine looks like she has always been my dog, but the truth is I didn’t take to her when we first met,” Bill continued.Clementine or Clem, as he calls her, started

Saving Snyder or what the neighbor saw

Snyder - The Before

The Neighborhood Watch
In the most banal of stories, his family lived in their American dream home for years, but one day decided to move to sunny Florida. They were gone several weeks when one of their neighbors noticed a small furry animal living in their empty backyard. Upon closer inspection,

Brother, can you spare a dime? for a dog?

Please help.

The rescue group (HART) for which I foster dogs just got a call to take as many dogs as possible from a 90+ animals hoarding case in the state of Maryland. All dogs, Brunswick, MD authorities asked HART to save, are small breed, and all are in desperate need of medical attention.

Every rescue runs on regular stream of donations, but since this was not a planned event, the rescue is asking anyone who can to chip in as little or as much as they can in order to help pay for these little guys’ medications, surgeries and basic shots they never got. All donations (no matter how small) are tax deductible. Local veterinarians already promised to give HART a discount, but their services are still not free.

Here is more information: MD Hoarding Dogs

Tough dog for tough times

In these difficult for so many people times, every happy ending story or a motivational flicker of hope is welcomed to warm the disappointed heart. In my opinion, when it comes to animals around us, you can’t find truer of more natural motivators of the human spirit. 

• Nobody will greet you with more enthusiasm when you walk through that front door for the 100th time in one day like a dog or softly lay a paw on your lap without uttering a sound when you are at your loneliest like your cat;
• Few things can stir up the same sense of awe as watching a horse run free;
• Every fish owner can tell you that just watching them silently interact with you or each other will lower your blood pressure in the nick of time;
• And, every bird owner swears there is that one song, one sound their bird makes that renders them forgetful of all their troubles with its simple beauty. 

They remind us how to be human again. We all experienced it. We all felt it. But, the story I wanted to relate today is that of hope given to a homeless man by a homeless dog, and vice versa. From one unlikely foster to another. 

Enjoy: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/41643562#4164356

Extra! Read all about it: Dog Rises From The Dead!

Not my own story today, but a moving one from news. It’s so full of hope that I decided to share and repost it despite its main subject being animal euthanasia. After shelters catch or are given unwanted cats and dogs, there is a short period of time in which these unlucky creatures are given a chance to find their way out. When that doesn’t happen, shelters kill the doomed ones for the lack of space.

In the U.S. it is the individual states that are responsible for their animal control laws and policies. Most states use lethal injection to ease pain and suffering of the victims, but in some states, primarily in the South, it is gas chambers that are used to asphyxiate to death. There is a big push to outlaw those since they are considered highly inhumane (think Auschwitz), but changing the system takes money and not all states are willing to invest. The story I am reposting below if from the state of Ohio. A puppy, after being injected twice to ensure certain demise was found alive the following morning. Many kinds of miracles in one. Read on: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110303/ap_on_re_us/us_euthanized_dog_survives

Do you believe in fate or how each dog choses its owner

I do. The longer I foster, the more I believe in the grand design of things, the kind that brings people and their dogs together. Just when you begin to wonder why your perfect new foster dog isn't getting adopted - it happens in a blink of an eye. 

Wylie

The dog who wasn’t there
Wylie came to live with me from a high-kill shelter on the border of Virginia with Tennessee. An obvious mutt, he was a super sweet but also an unbelievably shy little boy. The entire time I had him I tried to get him to meet people, but he would either freeze or cower away from everyone.

How to pick out the right dog at the shelter

A bit of levity today. The power of great marketing plus a reminder that even Harvey somehow found himself at the shelter. Enjoy!

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe; catch a foster by the toe

With warmer spring weather comes a difficult time in the rescue world. With many dogs and puppies gifted over Christmas, a larger number of them then gets dumped at local shelters, creating severe overcrowding and higher than average euthanization rates. With foster space being limited as it is, many of these unlucky dogs have nowhere to go. To try and help the situation, rescues often ask their fosters to“double up” by taking more than one dog. That is the situation I find myself in every spring since I just don’t have the heart to say no.

Rescuing 101 or how does the invisible network of animal warriors really work

How it all works
If you hear the term underground railroad, what does it mean to you? Do you see mental images of slaves escaping in the dead of night during Civil War? Or, do you imagine people imperiling their lives to hide others under floorboards of their houses to then smuggle them to freedom as was done during World War 2 in Europe? While envisioning a vast network of individuals acting as one decentralized entity, you are mow thinking “How does all this relate to rescuing?” And the answer is: