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Positive Press Articles
Real Life Role Models:
A perfect gentleman
By
Erik Siemers
Tribune Reporter
November 21, 2005
Frankie
the therapist meets with the women each day.
They've
been homeless and victims of some form of abuse. They seem to find comfort in
Frankie.
They
can talk to Frankie. He listens to them. His support is unwavering.
In many
ways, he's like them.
Frankie the therapy dog sidles up to residents gathered for a therapy session at
Tierra del Sol, a residential treatment program for homeless women. Frankie
often sits in with residents to provide comfort during stressful and emotional
sessions. (Stacia Spragg-Braude/Special to the Tribune)
The
women and Frankie are each subject to stereotypes. They've all been through
hardships and abuse. They've traveled a long, hard road to where they are now.
It's
serious work for therapist Frankie.
"He
takes it very, very seriously," says Rutledge Beard, herself a case manager and
therapist who just happens to be Frankie's owner.
Frankie
the therapist is also Frankie the American Staffordshire Terrier - one of the
breeds commonly known as pit bulls.
A
certified therapy dog, 3-year-old Frankie is a daily fixture at Tierra del Sol,
a northwest Albuquerque residential treatment program for homeless women run by
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless.
The
facility houses, at the moment, 14 women and five of their children. They stay
an average of nine months, learning how to break patterns of substance abuse and
rebuild their independence.
The dog
with eyes that match his caramel-colored coat is himself a castoff.
At just
over a year old he was found on Louisiana Boulevard by the wife of Beard's
veterinarian.
He had
been thrust from the back of a pickup and dragged by a trailing camper.
Meanwhile, the pickup with California plates rolled on, Beard said.
"Several vets pieced him back together," she said.
Frankie
is now certified by the Delta Society, a Bellevue, Wash.-based group that has
registered 8,000 teams of therapy animals and owners across the world.
In
Frankie, the women have a constant friend and someone to talk to without ever
judging them, Beard said.
"He's
like a big buddy," Beard said. "A lot of the women have only had negative touch
in their lives."
Women
who refused to communicate with other adults would instead open up to Frankie,
Beard said.
Residents with nothing to give would find a way to give treats to Frankie.
He
takes naps with them, waits for them on green lawn chairs outside their
apartments, and nuzzles his heavy, muscular body against them when he hears them
become agitated.
But in
his own way, he's a role model exemplifying how stereotypes can be wrong.
He's
just one of 22 pit bull breeds to be a certified therapy animal, Beard said, an
achievement that seems to shatter notions about the breed being among the dog
world's most dangerous.
"Theories about them being out of control or loaded guns aren't true," said
Beard of Frankie, the pink-nosed dog that's scared of her two chickens.
Jesus
Rivas, a Columbus, Ohio-based documentary filmmaker, used Frankie as a vehicle
for a film aiming to show that so-called dangerous dogs aren't always dangerous.
Rivas,
who has worked with National Geographic, hopes to shop the unfinished film both
to his old employer and places like the Animal Planet network.
"One
thing I tried to push in the film is not only that dogs are not that dangerous,"
he said, "but also that we need to realize they don't know how to speak our
language. They have a dog language that is different from our language. Their
language is a symbolic, physical language."
_______________________________________________________________
HERO DOG SAVED US FROM WOK FIRE
A WOMAN had a lucky start to the
Chinese Year of the Dog - when a pet pooch saved her
from a raging wok fire.
The oriental cooking dish had set Wiebke Phillips's
house ablaze as she slept downstairs.
Her son had been preparing a meal just days into the
Chinese New Year.
The two smoke alarms fitted near the kitchen of her
home in Edinburgh had failed to go off.
But her beloved Staffordshire bull terrier sensed
the danger and bounded in to alert his owner.
And he did such a good job of waking her that she
managed to escape with onlyminor burns to her hands.
Wiebke, 38, had not been feeling well on Wednesday
night and was asleep on the sofa when teenage son
James decided to cook himself some Chinese food.
He took his meal away to share it with sister Jade
but forgot to turn off the cooker.
Wiebke said: "I woke up with my dog, Tyson, licking
my face and jumping up and down.
"The room was filled with smoke and I couldn't
breathe."
Wiebke battled through the flames to reach the
kitchen.
She went on:"The flames were hitting the tops of the
units. I was shocked when I saw it was the wok which
was on fire."
She then threw the wok out and rushed her children
to safety before the fire brigaed arrived.
The mum added: "If it wasn't for Tyson, I wouldn't
be here. Maybe it was some Chinese luck since it is
the Year of the Dog."
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____________________________________________________________________
LEBANON, Pa. - A 12-year-old boy said he wasn't alarmed at first
when his playful 7-month-old pit bull mix dogs jumped up on the
couch he was sleeping on Thursday when he stayed home sick from
Lebanon Middle School.
"They jump on me all the time," Vincent Nardone said. But this
time, he said, "They wouldn't stop. I pushed them off and they
jumped right up again."
That woke Nardone up enough to smell something burning, and when
he looked around he found a second-floor bathroom filled with
smoke. He quickly left the house with the dogs and borrowed a
cell phone to call 911.
Vincent's mother, Gael Wilford, who had left minutes earlier for
work, got a call during her six-block drive from police, who
said there was a fire at her house and they had her son.
Firefighters doused the blaze, which damaged the second floor
and attic.
City Fire Commissioner Barry Fisher said old wiring probably was
to blame.
_______________________________________________________________
Fairbanks Daily
News-Miner
Dog helps youngster to
safety
By BETH IPSEN
Staff Writer
Saturday, December 06, 2003
- A 3-year-old black and white
pit bull resembling Pete the Pup from the 1940s "Little
Rascals" shows grabbed
the back of a girl's jacket and helped her out of a burning
home Thursday night.
After 6-year-old Autumn Marley
alerted her mother that the Nordale Road home where they
were staying was on fire, the
dog--also named Marley, by
coincidence--grabbed the girl as she struggled to get out
the back door of the burning house and
helped her to safety, said the
dog's owner, Jennifer Ingram.
"She's always been an awesome
dog, but I didn't know she was capable to doing this,"
Ingram said of Marley, who she
raised from a pup.
Thanks to Autumn's alert and
Marley, no one was injured in the fire. However, the trailer
with several additions was a total
loss, Ingram said.
Ingram wasn't home at the time,
but said her temporary roommate, Julie Marley, was cooking
dinner for herself and her two
daughters when Autumn noticed
the entryway was on fire. The three couldn't go out the
front door and Julie Marley had to
force open a seldom used back
door to escape from the burning building.
After Julie Marley stumbled out
the back door, she turned around to see Marley the dog had
grabbed her youngest daughter
by the jacket and was pulling
her out the opening, Ingram said.
North Star Volunteer Fire
Department Chief Dave Tyler said Julie Marley flagged down a
motorist who called 911 shortly
before 6 p.m. By the time
firefighters arrived at the house near the Freeman Road
intersection, the building was fully
engulfed by fire.
Ingram, 22, was shopping with
her boyfriend, Daniel Martin, when Marley called her to tell
her the house was on fire. By the
time she got to the home, there
were firefighters and lights everywhere. Marley the dog had
been running loose during the
chaos.
"I'm going to take her to the
vet tomorrow," Ingram said. "Her feet are frostbit."
Tyler said the fire went up into
the ceiling and Autumn Marley discovered the fire before
smoke alarms sounded. Tyler said
the cause of the fire is
unknown, but it started in the entryway.
What flames didn't reach in the
house, heat and smoke seemed to touch, Tyler said.
An initial estimate of the
damage was $20,000, the fire department said.
Ingram was at the house Friday
with generators and flashlights her boss, John Keys, had
loaned her while she and friends
searched through the charred
rubble in 25-below-zero temperatures for anything
salvageable.
"We're trying to salvage
everything thing we can, but it's not really looking good,"
Ingram said. The American
Red Cross has supplied Julie Marley and her children with
clothes and Ingram with a pair of boots. The Red
Cross set up a place to stay for
the Marleys. Ingram is staying with a friend.
"I just thank God that nobody
was hurt," Ingram said.
Reporter Beth Ipsen can be reached at
bipsen@newsminer.com
or 459-7545.
|
____________________________________________________________________
United States -- They are the
oddest couple: Traveler, a muscular 2-year-old pit bull, and Daisy, a year-old
Yorkie who looks as though she could be knocked over by a sneeze.
Their bond: Traveler saved Daisy's life with a blood donation.
Daisy, who belongs to Abigail Lebron of Palos Hills, was dying from autoimmune
hemolytic anemia.
"It's its own body attacking its own blood cells," explained Dr. Derrick Landini
of the Animal Ark Veterinary Clinic in Chicago. "The cause of why the dog got it
is really unknown."
All Lebron knew was that Daisy was sick.
"She was lethargic, not eating or drinking," she said. "I took her to another
hospital, and they told us she needed a blood transfusion, but they couldn't do
it."
Then she found Animal Ark and Landini. And Traveler, who lives at the clinic.
The Jan. 17 procedure was rather simple. Traveler was lightly sedated, the IV
was set up and Daisy received about 3 ounces of blood.
Daisy went home that night and now is good as new. Traveler was up and about a
half-hour after the procedure. Of course, a blood transfu-sion is nothing
compared with what he has been through. Traveler was in danger of dying from a
host of ailments after being rescued from post-Katrina Mississippi by the
Munster (Ind.) Humane Society. Charmed by the dog's personal-ity but unable to
treat him, the Munster people reached out to Chicago Canine Rescue, which takes
in animals that other facilities can't treat or handle long term.
CCR brought Traveler to Animal Ark, where he was nursed back to robust health.
But what to do with the happy-go-lucky dog?
"We didn't have a home for him, and Dr. Lan-dini said he could stay here," said
CCR executive director Lisa Tingley.
So Traveler became part of the clinic, running through the building, playing
with any dog he'd see, sleeping in a king-size bed and going to lunch with staff
members.
"We had someone who was interested in [adopting] him," said Tingley, whose
organiza-tion has about 70 dogs available at any time. "But that's when Dr.
Landini and the whole staff, they were like, 'What if he leaves . . .?' "
So Landini adopted Traveler.
"We kept him for a simple reason," Landini said. "He's such a great dog. He gets
along with every dog, with every person. We've fostered a lot of strays here,
but he has been the best."
Daisy would agree.
__________________________________________________________________
Getting
A New Leash On Life
November
23, 2005
By John Sharify
BELLINGHAM - Walk into
the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, you'll find the donors are happy.
"I think this is a great idea to tell you the truth," says Robert Sharp.
Happy because they get treats. Right? "Yeah", says Robert.
But they're not treats for Robert, not that Robert doesn't like a
treat once in a while. We're talking about his dog. Otto.
"Oh yeah, he gives him a big ol' can of food and a toy if he wants to
bring it home," says Robert.
The blood donors at this Bellingham Blood Bank have wet noses, four
legs, and I'm fairly certain, no clue.
"Okay, we're ready for Otto," says Veterinarian Edmund Sullivan.
Hurricane Katrina showed us dogs need blood just like people do. Otto, a
pit bull, is donating one unit. One unit provides blood for four dogs.
If Ouzo could talk she'd say: "Thanks".
Maybe. Hopefully.
Without the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, Ouzo wouldn't have
survived emergency surgery.
"We're convinced of that," says Dr. Sullivan.
Ouzo lost massive amounts of blood from a liver tumor, and from the
surgery. Not a problem, not here anyway. There's plenty of blood to go
around at the Northwest Veterinary Blood Bank, one of the few in the
Northwest. P> Otto's owner Robert, donates too. "I usually wait 'till
Otto's ready to go," says Robert. He drops off Otto and goes to a human
blood bank nearby.
The Bellingham clinic has about 50 dogs who donate blood regularly.
Dr. Sullivan created the blood bank four years ago, after one of the
worst nights of his life. That night, three dogs came in at once, and
needed emergency surgery. Three dogs, but not enough blood.
"By morning, the little dog was ready to go home. And the two dogs
died," says Dr. Sullivan.
Dr. Sullivan thought 'never again'. P> "That was sort of the last
straw," says Dr. Sullivan.
And so a blood bank for dogs was born.
What a treat for Otto! While he's asleep, Otto gets his nails done,
his ears and mouth cleaned.
"He probably doesn't think that's a big perk," says Dr. Sullivan with
a smile.
But his big perk comes when he wakes up. Otto has to like this. A big
bowl of dog food! Yummy.
It's gone in 7 seconds flat. His reward for helping other dogs get a
new leash on life.
If you would like more information about the Northwest Veterinary
Blood Bank, or to become a donor, call 360-752-5554 or go to
www.northwestbloodbank.com
________________________________________________________________ |
01/28/05
Hometown Hero--Otis
Chuck Thompson and Otis
It's often said that dogs are man's best friend. You'll agree after you meet
Otis, an eight-month-old red nose pit bull. A breed that gets a lot of bad
press.
But this dog loves everybody he meets. Last Wednesday night, he proved just how
much he loved his family.
Chuck Thompson and his wife Rebecca fell asleep watching television. Around
2:30am, Otis let them know something was wrong.
"Otis come through the house barking and growling and raising all kinds of
sand," said Thompson. "He wouldn't leave me alone in the living room."
Otis was relentless, running back and forth between the living room and the
bedroom where two of the family's five children were asleep.
"Once I woke up, all of a sudden I could smell it," said Thompson. "It was a
surge protector in our twin girls' bedroom and it just before catching on fire."
Thompson quickly pulled the plug.
For a breed of dog that seldom gets any good press, for this life-saving pooch,
the media attention this time is good. Otis, you are this week's WTOC Hometown
Hero.
If you'd like to nominate a Hometown Hero, you can drop us a line at the
station: PO Box 8086, Savannah, GA 31412, or email rwallace@wtoc.com.
Reported by: Ron Wallace, rwallace@wtoc.com
_______________________________________________________________
Pit bull's courage saves city couple
The dog is shot and killed while defending his family from three masked
intruders
BY SAMUEL SPIES
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Rock
Three men wearing ski masks burst through the back
door and into the kitchen. The first man drew a gun
and ordered Travis Rappold, 21, his girlfriend
Amanda Searle, 18, and their three friends to lie
down.
Enter Rock, Rappold's 75-pound pit bull. The dog
jumped up from his seat at his master's feet and ran
out from under the table toward the armed assailant.
"They yelled 'get that pit' and I yelled 'get him,
Rock,'" said Rappold, recalling last Sunday's incident
at his apartment on Rossmore Road in South
Richmond.
Backpedaling, the gunman fired once, striking the
dog in the chest. Rock kept going.
The intruders fled through the back door and scattered.
Rappold shut the door before Rock could keep chasing the three men.
Moments later, the injured pit bull collapsed as he tried to crawl to the second
floor bedroom where
he slept.
Rock died in Rappold's arms before he could try to administer first aid.
"Nicest dog in the world, but he was 75 pounds of muscle and pretty
intimidating," Rappold said
Thursday.
Rappold had rescued Rock from an abusive situation only a year before. When
adopted, the 5-
month-old pup "was just skin and bones," Searle said. "Travis saved him . . .
and he came back
and saved Travis."
Richmond police Detective Kevin Hathaway said the victims likely would have
"been assaulted and
robbed, if not killed, if it were not for Rock, who gave his life defending his
owners from harm."
Printer-Friendly Version Page 1 of 2
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPri...
4/3/2005
No arrests have been made in the case.
Contact Samuel Spies at (804) 649-6331 or sspies@timesdispatch.com
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?
c=MGArticle&cid=1031781927094&pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servle...MGArticle%2FPri... 4/3/2005
______________________________________________________________
Pit Bull Saves Man's Life, Dies a Hero
April 26, 2001 Belmont, North Carolina, USA
Good thing Gaston County, North Carolina doesn't have a ban on pit bulls, or
this man wouldn't be alive this morning.
Steve Carpacca, 41, was asleep in his mobile home at 3:15am when his pit bull
ran into the bedroom and started barking frantically.
The man awoke to a room filled with smoke and immediately ran outside. When he
realized that his dog had not followed him, he rushed back into the blazing
trailer, armed with two 5-pound fire extinguishers, but the fire was already out
of control.
Four fire departments responded to the call, and it took a total of 15
firefighters to douse the flames. The dog never made it out; fire crews found
the little hero's body in the hall just outside Mr. Carpacca's bedroom.
Mr. Carpacca was devastated at the loss of his dog. "The dog saved his life,
absolutely," said Chief Dicky Harris with the Community Volunteer Fire
Department. "If the dog hadn't been in the house, [Mr. Carpacca] would have been
overcome by smoke." It is believed that the fire was caused by an electric
heater in the kitchen. Mr. Carpacca never heard any of the smoke detectors
sound.
http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues...les/010426a.htm
______________________________________________________________
This is an article written by a
Veterinarian who investigates animal cruelty cases. It has a
happy ending and tells a powerful story.
By Dr. Max Rust, D.V.M., Tulsa, OK USA
I should warn you, I'm not James Herriott. My dog's story is
not of the warm fuzzy genre, but is illustrative of a most
pervasive problem....one which too few of you are aware.
It is often said that veterinarians must have an inordinate
love for animals, but they also are often called on to deal
with the very harshest realities of human and animal
relations. If my dog tale lacks the cloying sanguinity of
"All Creatures Great and Small, " hopefully it is not
totally devoid of optimism.
A year ago in June, on a hot Sunday afternoon as I lounged
in torpid repose, Channel 2 News was airing a story about
dog carcasses found in the back yard of a Tulsa residence.
Two of the dogs were still alive, so I knew I would be
involved in the case.
"Maggots was workin' on three of 'em and the fourth one's
only been dead about two days." The sheriff's lieutenant
continued in an impassive voice, "it's been alleged that
they were fightin' pit-bull dogs in the garage, and when one
would get killed, they'd just drag it out in the yard and
let it deteriorate."
Feeling old, tired, and professionally burned out, I
wondered why had I volunteered for the grim task of animal
cruelty exams and necropsies. I guess, as depressing as it
was, it seemed like important work. Maybe I just wanted
something besides myself to feel sorry for. If that was the
case, I was about to get my wish, IN SPADES.
The following morning after doing the spay and neuter
surgeries and rabies observations, I headed for the pens
housing the two dogs from the news story. (It's hard enough
for me just to walk through the rows of dog runs at the
shelter, knowing that most of the animals will have to be
killed....sometimes I get the urge to open all the gates and
set them free, but that would not solve their problem.) They
suffer from that "most terrible disease, " in the words of
Mother Teresa, "of being unwanted." It's sad to say, but as
outcasts, they are much better off in the shelter than
anywhere else.
When I got to the first dog's run, it looked empty. I'm used
to seeing dogs with sad faces begging for a crumb of
attention or warily cringing against the distal parapets.
There was nothing so animate as either in this run. When I
first saw him, he was curled up so tightly, he could have
been mistaken for a water dish.
As he tried to stand up, I could see the pitiful remains of
a large pit-bull dog. Bones jutted out everywhere. He looked
like a skeleton with hair, and what hair he had was in
sparse, dirty little tufts between numerous fight wounds,
scars, and mange. His ears had been clumsily chopped off and
the unhealed edges made him look like a macabre Mr. Potato
Head.
I recoiled in horror at the sudden thought of what this
poor, wretched dog had endured. What sort of dissolute soul
could do this to a helpless old dog?
After staring at him for what seemed an interminable period,
I realized that I had five more animals for cruelty exams
(each with another story), so I had to move on Driving back
to my clinic, I thought how depraved it was to treat animals
this way.......was it sadism, apathy, or stupidity? None
seemed in short supply. I kept seeing the pit-bull's face, a
swarthy apotheosis of the downtrodden. There are so many
like him, I felt powerless as I pondered the enormity of the
problem.
Animal cruelty is an epidemic that with only the most
egregious exceptions escapes the public's notice. This poor
dog had been beaten, starved, mutilated, forced to fight for
his life, and, worst of all, socially isolated.
Dogs are very social animals....more so, even, than humans.
How can humans be so inhumane? How can humane people let
such things happen? I resolved to rescue him; even though it
was a scratch on an obdurate surface, a drop in a very large
bucket.
I couldn't just leave him there to be euthanized. That's the
only way pit-bulls are allowed to leave the
shelter.....dead. I wanted him to experience at least one
good day on earth. If possible, maybe I could even show him
what it's like to be loved and wanted.
It would take some string-pulling from the D.A.'s office
before I could get him released from the shelter......after
all, he was a pit-bull, the paradigm of canine
incorrigibility. (That is what media mavens would have you
believe.) The truth is, pit-bulls are the oldest registered
American breed and have long been favored for their courage,
(fanciers call it "gameness") loyalty, and intelligence.
Unfortunately, their fighting reputation has made them very
popular with a lot of unsavory characters who have ushered
in a spate of backyard-bred, people-aggressive curs. Real
pit-bulls are selected to be so people-friendly, they don't
even make good watch dogs. But the newspapers are sold by
grinding angsts, not accentuating positives. Consequently,
people who wouldn't know a pit-bull sitting at their feet,
still consider them to be the snarling menace of their worst
nightmare. So torturing and killing them is, I suppose, more
acceptable, or at least easier to ignore.
I'm NOT a pit-bull fancier. In fact, I'm more of a cat
person, but let us remember, as "Uncle Mattie" says, "There
are no bad breeds, just bad breeding." We transferred the
pit-bull to my clinic and started treating his multitude of
problems. I had no idea what kind of dog he would be
personality-wise, with all of the abuse and privation he had
suffered.
His stone face was inscrutable...blank except for a sadness
in his sunken eyes. He was easy to work on so with
considerable effort from all concerned, along with lots of
treats and loving attention added to the antibiotics,
vitamins, and medicated baths, the 30-pound skeletal
specimen was morphed into a solid 75-pound dog.
After a couple of months, a shiny coat hid most of his
scars, and the glum look on his face had been replaced by an
infectious grin that, adorned by his chopped-off ears, was
reminiscent of a happy face drawn on a Pompeian ampulla.
Meanwhile, my jaded karma had been ameliorated by his
astonishing progress, not to mention his buoyant,
stiff-upper-lip charm. Somehow he had managed to come
through unimaginable hardship, not only clinging to life,
and maintaining a positive attitude, which was to me, an
inspiration. We named him, "Pete."
Pete and I started going on daily walks, short at first
because he didn't have much stamina. Soon we were doing
three miles or more, and as we ambled our way through the
bosky recesses of Boman Acres, we were getting to know each
other pretty well. It wasn't long before I was feeling
better than I had in years!
Dog walking is very good exercise for man as well as dog.
Pete loves and is loved by all of the neighborhood children,
and for the most part has even become a gentleman around
cats and other dogs.
Transformed into a doting pet parent, I beam with pride at
any compliment directed at my charge. With a cake and party
hat, we celebrated Pete's unofficial birthday in July.
I think it's safe to say that Pete has helped me at least as
much as I have him. When asked what breed he is, I've been
known to answer, with a slightly cryptic grin, "He's my
'Healer.'"
So it was that Pete and I came to heal each other and in the
process, became bonded in lifelong friendship. His case was
not only a watershed to me, but a source of encouragement to
the cruelty investigating team.
Pete's previous owner is now serving six counts of 5 years
each. Judge Turnbull simply termed the case "unbelievable."
I wish that I could agree with that assessment; but,
although the brutality of Pete's former life is now only a
distant memory, many other cases continue to pass through
the shelter with oppressive regularity. It is all too
believable for those of us that grapple with the gruesome,
and often overwhelming problem of cruelty to man's best
friend.
If ever you find yourself in need of a cure for ennui, or
maybe just a dose of reality, I highly recommend a trip to
the city animal shelter, where you will see that taking any
kind of significant bite out of animal cruelty remains a
formidable, if not impossible, undertaking.
Having learned from my friend Pete, I, for one, have no
intention of giving up.
|
KOOL K-9 Popsicle
An abused, dying pup becomes a drug-sniffing
superdog
 |
From People Weekly Magazine Edition April 26, 1999
The "Animal" chronicle, Page 117
|
"He's a
little ball of fire" says U.S. Customs officer J.J. Trevino of
Popsicle (Receiving a significant Seizure medal in March)
During an arrest two years ago, Buffalo policeman Ron Clark, Jr.
opened an abandoned freezer on a known drug dealer's back porch
and found a bulging black garbage bag. "I poked my flashlight at
it," he recalls, "and it started moving. My worst fear was that
it was a baby."
In fact, it was a puppy, a pit bull who would be known as
Popsicle and -- in a lovely ironic twist-- would gain fame for
sniffing out the kind of bad guy that nearly killed him.
One year ago,
Popsicle helped the feds seize 3,075 pounds of cocaine from a
pineapple-laden truck at the Mexican border-the biggest drug
bust ever at the Hidalgo, Texas, port of entry. "It's astounding
the obstacles this dog has overcome," says US Customs Service
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelley.
The Pitbull Puppy was skin and bones when he arrived
at the Animal Hospital.
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When Officer Clark found the wounded, blood-caked
animal who had apparently been used in pit bull
fights, he was undernourished, hypothermic and near
death.
"He was in bad shape, but I was drawn to him," says
SPCA adoption counselor Shannon Willie, who name the
pup Popsicle. Alas, people who visited the shelter
looking to adopt a puppy were put off by his breed's
reputation. They would take one look at the pit bull
and walk away.
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When Popsicle
regained his strength, the shelter contacted US Customs
canine-enforcement officer Sally Barr. It was a long shot, but
maybe he would qualify for the dog training school in Front
Royal, VA.
Of 500 dogs
Barr has tested in the last three years, only 4 have made the
cut. "You want a dog that plays a terrific tug-of-war," says
Barr. Popsicle did, and in February 1998 he graduated at the top
of his class and became a celebrated alumnus two months later by
detecting the record contraband cache under a tractor-trailer.
"You have to
imagine him," says US Customs canine handler J.J. Trevino ,"on
his hind legs, barking, trying to reach up to the bottom of the
truck."
Back in
Buffalo, where the bad guy eventually got off with probation for
animal cruelty, Ron Clark remains awed by Popsicle's comeback.
"I still don't know why I opened that refrigerator," says Clark.
"But it feel like it was meant to be."
Breed-specific laws target even heroic pit bulls
Thursday,
November 11, 1999
By Linda
Wilson Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
When the
deadly cottonmouth snake struck out at "her" children, Dixie
never hesitated. The dog pushed the children aside, putting her
50-pound body between them and the snake. Dixie saved Frank
Humphries, 9, and his 7-year-old twin siblings, Katie and Codi.
But the venomous snake inflicted two bites on the face of the
16-month-old dog.
Valerie
Humphries of Fayetteville, Ga., -- the children's mother and
Dixie's co-owner -- killed the snake with an ax and rushed the
dog to veterinarian Francoise Tyler. "Seeing Dixie's unconscious
body in the arms of that doctor was one of the worst things I've
ever been through," Humphries said. "Dr. Tyler had to keep her
for several days, hooked up to intravenous antibiotics."
Then the vet
nominated Dixie for the Hero Dog category in a contest sponsored
by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. Dixie won over
300 nominated dogs and this month is being inducted into the
Georgia Animal Hall of Fame.
Now here
comes one of the cheapest writing tricks in the book -- the "O'Henry
ending":
Dixie is a
pit bull.
The breed of
a hero-dog shouldn't matter, really. But it does matter because
this is a breed of dog that is feared, hated and reviled by so
many people, including many who call themselves animal lovers.
Many
individuals and organizations, such as People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, are trying to outlaw this breed. They
can't stop at merely despising pit bulls and related breeds,
including American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull
terriers. They want to outlaw pit bulls, even those owned by
loving, responsible dog owners. Even child-loving life-savers
like Dixie.
Dixie is
reason enough to rail against breed-specific legislation -- laws
that target an entire breed. Other breeds are under siege all
over the country, especially rottweilers. Proposed legislation
in other parts of the country target an ever-growing list of
breeds, including boxers, Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes,
Akitas, chow chows, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers.
Call me
pro-choice on dog ownership. I think people who love dogs should
be free to own as many dogs as we can take care of -- as long as
we are loving, responsible owners and the dogs create no
problems and pose no threat to people, property and other
animals. We have the right to buy a pure-bred from a responsible
breeder or to rescue a homeless mixed-breed from a shelter. And
we should certainly be able to love the breed of our choice.
I put the
55-pound child that I love more than life itself in the company
of a 75-pound sharp-toothed carnivore. I trust them together
implicitly, for Mickey the Labrador retriever gazes upon my son,
Dante, with looks that can only be love. It's what I love best
about my dog and I would fight to keep him.
I will
continue to fight for the right of people like the Humphries to
keep dogs like Dixie. There are laws to "punish" people who let
their dogs attack and bite. Use those laws. Don't target entire
breeds.
In Toledo,
Ohio, pit bulls who broke no law have been forcibly removed from
their homes. Seized pit bulls have been killed before owners,
lawyers and dog groups could save them. Right now in Washington,
D.C., officials are trying to outlaw pit bulls. Dog lovers
around the country are protesting by telephone, e-mail and
"snail" mail. Others are traveling great distances to protest in
person.
Breed-specific legislation is being enacted around the country.
Think it couldn't happen to your dog or your breed? In Reading,
Pa., a new law says all pit bulls are dangerous and owners will
face special restrictions, including insurance mandates, that
most people will not be able to meet.
Other dogs
will join the Reading list when a breed is responsible for 40
percent of dog bites in that town. This puts popular breeds like
Labs and golden retrievers at high risk.
Heroic
Pit Bull: Dog Finds Help For Injured Neighbor
By Gus
Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
Move over
Lassie. A pit bull terrier has shown Auburn's Jim Roach that
heroic dog deeds don't just happen in the movies or on TV.
Roach fell
from a 12-foot-high ladder while picking peaches last month on
his rural Mount Vernon Road property. Dazed and unable to move
because of his injuries, he soon found renter Jeanne Davis'
two-year-old pit bull Gabby hovering over him and
barking.
"I was
unconscious pretty much," Roach said Tuesday. "I remember a dog
licking the side of my face and standing by me and barking and
barking and barking."
But nobody
came. That's when Gabby did the heroically unexpected and went
for help.
About 100
yards away and not able to see or hear Roach, Davis heard Gabby
furiously barking and thought perhaps someone had entered the
property. But Roach's dog, also nearby, wasn't barking.
Soon after
she first noticed the barking, Gabby emerged.
"She's
barking and then she looks at me and runs back," Davis said.
"It's kind of like something Lassie would do."
So Davis
followed Gabby. She found her landlord injured and moaning in
pain near the pruning ladder.
"I walked
over to where he was and Gabby stopped barking," Davis said.
With Roach
immobilized on the ground, a California Highway Patrol
helicopter was dispatched to transport the seriously injured
college instructor to Roseville Medical Center's trauma unit for
emergency treatment.
Roach, a
College of San Mateo instructor, said doctors diagnosed multiple
injuries from the fall, including a fractured clavicle, four
broken ribs, two cracked vertebrae, and bleeding on the brain.
A towel
wrapped around his head, Jason Williams-style, probably saved
his life when his head hit the ground, Roach said.
Roach said he
spent a week in hospital. One of the first visitors after
discharge was Gabby. He said the two now seem to have formed a
strong bond as a result of the rescue.
A psychology
instructor, Roach said that the incident is a good example of
the more endearing side of pit bulls that doesn't receive media
attention.
"I've never
felt they've been given a fair shake," he said. "They're just a
terrier."
Davis said
Gabby was abused before she adopted her. She's been training the
dog to become less apprehensive around people.
"A lot of
people said to put her down, that she's going to do something
bad," Davis said. "I'm so proud of my dog."
From
Dogs at Risk USA web site
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
RCA, Alaska's
First Certified Hearing Dog
By Donna Lindsay
Puttin' on the Dog
RCA is 15
years old and in quite good health, considering her advanced
years. She came to Alaska from Alabama. Because the housing
market was tight and there was pitbull-hysteria in the air, her
owners couldn't find a place to rent that would allow pitbulls
and she was eventually sent to the Alaska SPCA in Anchorage.
A friend of
mine, John Ledum, was trying to start a hearing-dog program in
Alaska. He and a local veterinarian, Dr. Joyce Murphy,
temperament-tested 170 dogs and RCA scored the highest, so she
was chosen to be the first hearing dog in Alaska. At the time
she completed her training and was certified, there was talk of
banning pitbulls in the city of Anchorage and the SPCA was
concerned about placing her with someone who might have to give
her up. So they decided to make RCA their demonstration dog
because it would also promote the idea that pitbulls are smart,
loving animals with good temperaments.
As a
demonstration dog, she made numerous trips all over to Alaska
and the lower 48 states. Her demonstrations helped raise funds
to finance the training of more hearing dogs. But her favorite
demonstrations were at elementary schools because after working,
she would get to go down a long line of children and kiss them
all. Then John would take her through the drive-up at the
nearest McDonald's and reward her with a hamburger of her very
own. She's got scrapbooks with letters from about 700
schoolchildren and once had a full-page feature story written
about her in the Anchorage Times newspaper.
I first met
RCA when she was first in training and living with her trainer,
John. I was captivated by her charm and obedience. Later, when I
got my first Sheltie and I would bring him over to John's to
visit, she was incredibly tolerant to this rambunctious puppy
and would bring him toys to play with. Of course, her favorite
toy was a tug toy and she always won.
If anyone had
told me I'd ever own one of these dogs I would've told them they
were crazy, but about that time I let it be known that if she
ever retired, I'd love to take her. And that's just what
happened. After about five years of working, she was getting a
little burned out and when her trainer left the SPCA, he decided
to let her retire and come to live with us. He couldn't keep her
because he had been living in the training facility and he
couldn't find a place that would rent to him with a
certified-hearing dog that happened to be a pitbull. That was
before they enacted legislation giving hearing dogs the same
privileges as seeing-eye dogs. She started her life with us
eight years ago when she was seven years old.
Over the
years, she has tolerated many puppies and cockatiel chicks.
She'll lie down so the puppies can play with her more easily and
lets the chicks chew on her ears. She's the one dog I always
trust to tolerate human babies and small children, not to go
ballistic when someone walks too close to the car and she loves
everyone. We joke that if a burglar ever came in, she'd show him
around and let him take her for a ride in the getaway car.
RCA's
greatest joys in life are to go for rides in the car and to
rescue logs out of our favorite lake. Her main pastime is
sleeping, of course--she's very good at that. She's selectively
deaf now, particularly when we want her to move over on the bed
to make room for us, and her sight is going (but currently
stable), and she's a bit arthritic, but the vet says she's
healthy enough to give us a few more years of her splendid
company.
|
Postscript: RCA died of cancer on June 29, 1997 at age
16. She was sick a very short time and was active until
the last few hours. She did not suffer. |
Pit
bull leaps to rescue
Posted
on Sat, Nov. 08, 2003
CORAL SPRINGS
A pit bull may have saved a 7-year-old Coral Springs boy from
serious injury after two other dogs attacked the boy.
BY HECTOR
FLORIN
hflorin@herald.com
Anthony
Romaro got the scare of his life Wednesday night when two Akita
dogs, each weighing about 100 pounds, attacked him near his best
friend's home in Coral Springs.
But another
kind of dog -- a type also known for vicious attacks -- may have
saved the boy from more serious injuries.
Witnesses
said a 2-year-old pit bull named Missy played the part of hero
during the attack.
Missy,
witnesses say, pulled the two Akitas -- Cella and Baci -- off
Anthony after several struggles during a 15-minute span.
Anthony, a
7-year-old Hunt Elementary School second-grader, is recovering
after surgery at Coral Springs Medical Center. The dogs ripped
much of Anthony's left ear and bit his skull before Missy fought
them off of him, said Anthony's mother, Stephanie McGuire.
''He's doing
better today,'' McGuire said on Friday.
Missy
suffered scrapes and cuts on the shoulders and buttocks,
received a few stitches, and is back home.
''Missy saved
the day,'' said her owner, Scott , who asked that The Herald not
publish his last name. ``She just went out there and broke the
fight up.''
Coral Springs
police cited Sandra Ashley, the owner of the Akitas, for not
putting a leash on the dogs, not attaching dog tags, not having
proper rabies vaccinations and for biting Anthony. The fines are
more than $800.
McGuire, who
is friends with Ashley, hasn't decided whether to press charges.
The two
Akitas are at the Broward County Animal Care and Regulation
Division as Coral Springs police complete a dangerous-dog
investigation, said animal care spokesman Allan Siegel.
Whether or
not Anthony antagonized the dogs, and how the dogs got loose,
are among the issues police are investigating.
If the Akitas
are found to be dangerous, one of three things could happen,
Siegel said. The owner may keep the dogs if she meets certain
requirements, such as muzzling them when she leaves the home,
and putting a dangerous-dog sign on the property. She may also
appeal the decision, or surrender the dogs and have them
euthanized.
Police and
witnesses said Anthony and some friends were outside Ashley's
home when the dogs escaped just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.
''The dogs
got out of the house,'' said Sgt. Rich Nicorvo of the Coral
Springs Police Department. ``They bit him pretty bad.''
Scott, the
pit bull's owner who lives next door, was drinking coffee
outside his house when the attack started. He handed another
witness a metal pipe to get the Akitas off Anthony.
The
unidentified person used the pipe to hit the dogs, but they
continued attacking.
''They were
really mauling him,'' said Scott, whose son, James, is Anthony's
best friend.
Scott then
let Missy out of the house to break up the fight. Police did not
document any information about the pit bull.
Akitas have
been known to attack humans. Last month, doctors euthanized an
Akita owned by Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor after the dog
bit 15-year-old Jonathon Raof on the arms and legs.
The Akita
Club of America Web site states the dogs have ''complex''
personalities and, while intelligent and loyal, can ''exhibit
aggressive tendencies,'' though not necessarily toward people.
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Pit Bull Saves Child From House Fire
By Animal News, 1/10/2004 , By Sherry
Morse
A three-year-old pit bull named Marley
is credited with saving a little girl in Alaska from a house fire in early
December.
Marley, a black and white dog who looks
like Pete from the Little Rascals television show, grabbed the back of
six-year-old Autumn Marley's jacket to drag her out of the burning house.
Autumn alerted her mother who was
cooking dinner that the entryway to the house was on fire. Julie Marley then
forced open a seldom used back door so she and her two daughters could escape
the fire.
As Ms. Marley left the house she turned
to see Marley the dog pulling Autumn through the door to safety.
Jennifer Ingram, Marley's guardian, said
that, "She's always been an awesome dog, but I didn't know she was capable of
doing this." Ingram has raised Marley from a puppy.
Ms. Ingram was out shopping for
Christmas presents when the fire broke out and arrived home to find Marley
running loose in the midst of all the firefighters and bystanders.
She planned to take Marley to the vet to
treat frostbite on her feet from being out in the snow.
Thanks to Autumn and Marley no one was
injured in the fire, although the house was a total loss.
The Red Cross set up a place for the
Marley family to stay, while Ms. Ingram and Marley the dog are staying with a
friend.
© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.
From Puppies to Pioneers
Then I decided that I didn't want to
excel at something where people would see my pit bull biting someone. Cheyenne
did really well in the tracking part of her schutzhund training so I decided to
train her to be a search dog. Soon after that, Cheyenne went through a false
pregnancy. She would take all my stuffed animals and put them in her bed and lay
on them. She never went anywhere without her "puppies". She carried them all
around the house. Then it came time for her false pregnancy to end . . . and she
had no real puppies. She went into a severe depression. She didn't want to get
up. Not even to eat.
A neighbor who lived on the ranch down
the street told me that they had some friends who were selling pit bull puppies
and that I should buy one for Cheyenne. We decided to take Cheyenne over to
their house to see how she got along with the puppies. She loved them! However,
they were out of my price range. I let her play with them for a little while and
then called her so we could leave. I turned around to see where she was and
there she was, with a puppy by the neck, getting into the car! I told her no she
couldn't have the puppy and I took it back and "buried" it underneath it's 7
brothers and sisters.
Cheyenne ran over to the pile of puppies
and batted them all aside until she found that same puppy. She found her and off
she went to the car with "her" puppy. I was in tears, the breeder was in tears.
The breeder was so moved by what he saw that he let us have the puppy. Cheyenne
was delighted with her new puppy, Dakota. Dakota started coming to work with us
also and she absolutely adored people. Cheyenne and Dakota became inseparable. I
decided to train Dakota to be a search dog as well.
Dakota liked to run so I trained her to
be an Air Scent Dog while Cheyenne is a little more methodical, so I trained her
to be a Trailing Dog. After months of training, we were ready to join an
organization. We went to our first meeting. The building didn't allow dogs, so
Cheyenne and Dakota had to stay in the car. Then came my turn to introduce us.
"My name is Kris and I have an American Staffordshire Terrier and an American
Pit Bull Terrier."
Everyone gasped. One woman yelled, "We
don't allow pit bulls!" Everyone in the room started talking. I told them that I
was honestly surprised to get this type of reaction from an organization that is
run by "dog people" who should know that a dog's behavior is based on how it is
raised, not by what type of breed it is.
The board called the session to order and
they would vote on whether we should be allowed to join. We got in by one vote.
The following week we went to our first workout, nobody would hide for us. "The
pit bull might attack me when she finds me!" Very few people would even talk to
me. After a couple weeks of this, I realized I would have to do it on my own. I
also realized that we would have to be 10 times better than everyone else to be
considered an equal.
I found some people who would work with
us. We trained every day. Cheyenne and Dakota loved the work. They would go get
me their vests every chance they could. In the meantime, we kept showing up to
the workouts. After about 10 months, I found someone at one of the workouts to
hide for us. Everyone wanted to watch. I deployed Dakota. They stood there
silently as they watched Dakota search for the scent, locate the subject, come
back and tell me she had found the subject, and then take me to the subject.
"Dang, she's good!" I heard someone say.
One of the evaluators even let Cheyenne
and Dakota play with her dog! From that point on we were accepted.
That year was a slow season for search
call outs. I tried to think of what else I could do with Cheyenne and Dakota in
the meantime. Then I heard about Animal-Assisted Therapy. Cheyenne and Dakota
absolutely loved people so this would be perfect for them. I called the
informational number on the brochure. The woman who answered told me all about
their organization. She was very pleasant.
Then she asked what kind of dogs I had.
I told her Pit Bulls. She said, "I'm sorry, but our discussion is over." She
hung up. Now I was even more determined to get in! I waited a couple weeks and
called again. Once again she started out telling me all about the organization.
Then she asked what kind of dogs I had. "Terriers that do search and rescue."
She was delighted. She invited me to the handler orientation and the classes
that teach you how to deal with different types of patients. Dogs were not
allowed at these classes so she still hadn't seen my girls.
A couple of months later she said to go
ahead and bring my dogs to the rehab center at 9:00am to be evaluated with the
patients. We arrived early and at 9:00, we proudly walked in the front door of
the rehab center. She was waiting for us in the lobby. She looked at us and
screamed, "You're that pit bull lady! Get those dogs out of here!" Just then a
child that was sitting in the lobby ran up to Cheyenne and started petting her.
Then a man in a wheelchair came by and
asked if he could pet the dogs. The therapist who just arrived, didn't hear that
the Evaluator had just kicked us out of the building. She said, "Oh, you guys
must be the new therapy dogs . . . let's get started." The Evaluator looked at
me and sternly said, "You've got one floor."
Everyone was so happy to see my girls.
We were having so much fun we ended up doing all three floors! As we walked out
the door, the Evaluator looked at me and said, "You know, I learned something
today. I guess pit bulls aren't all bad. Here is a list of hospitals, rehab
centers and convalescent homes that could sure use your help. Good job."
A lot of people ask me why I do
Animal-Assisted Therapy and Search and Rescue with my dogs. I tell them that I
used to do all sorts of things with my dogs; i.e. obedience, agility, etc. When
they did a good job, they got a blue ribbon. Now when my dogs do a good job,
they save someone's life.
Source: PitBull Press Web Site
Two pit bulls rescue woman from red chow
Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. - Two dogs whose breed has a
reputation for being mean played the roles of rescuers for a woman who was being
attacked by another dog.
A red chow was on top of Angie Pecoraro,
22, in her yard on Monday when two pit bulls jumped over a fence and fought off
the chow, Nebraska Humane Society spokeswoman Pam Wiese said.
Witnesses said the chow had bitten
Pecoraro several times on her hands, arms and stomach, Wiese said.
An ambulance took Pecoraro to a
hospital, where she was treated and released, Wiese said.
The Humane Society impounded the chow,
and its owner was ticketed for not having the dog restrained and for harboring a
dangerous animal. It will be quarantined to make sure it doesn't have rabies,
Wiese said.
Information from: Omaha World-Herald,
http://www.omaha.com
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