On Friday, August 2, 2024, Aura vom Roten Feldweg passed away.

Aura was born September 9, 2010.

Today, 9/9/2024, Aura would have turned 14yrs old.

We brought Aura over from Germany in 2012 when she was around 18mos old. She was a very protective GSD and meant a lot to our family.

In her first years here, she would have 3 litters of puppies. Some of the pups have passed away, some are still around. These pups would change the world. Some of these dog’s paws are tattooed on their owners.

The next several years Aura would simply be a member of the family. She enjoyed long walks while we lived in the country / central area of North Carolina. She sniffed many things, and ate a few things she shouldn’t have. She’s been to the mountains, Washington DC, and the Florida Keys.

We moved to the beach in 2021 and Aura enjoyed walks from our house to the ocean in her elder years.

Other than some arthritis, she was a very healthy dog up until the end. Late 2023 she had what we “think” was a stroke. 2024 was rough for her and she needed to be carried up and down the stairs, had some cataracts and was losing her hearing. On August 2, 2024, she had an event which required immediate euthanasia. We were with her until the last heartbeat.

Aura was our second German Shepherd. We are taking a break from dogs for the moment, but stay tuned!

We have lots of footage of Aura which needs editing, so expect videos of her to keep pop up in the future.

Rest In Peace Aura!

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The New York Post reported on the story on July 8, saying that Sargent was first notified about her pup and the bear by a neighbor. The German shepherd Jameson is seen in video footage trying to get the black bear to play.

Talking about the video footage she captured, Sargent stated, “While it was a great video, my main emotion was pure relief. I was thankful my young children were not outside, the dog had no injuries and the fact that this bear was in a playful mood.”

Sargent said that the animals played for “about seven minutes,” though she also said that Jameson “did appear to be looking for him to come back and play” after the bear left.

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Two lucky German Shepherd Dogs are soon to make their new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

On November 7, 2020, it was announced that Joe Biden was the projected winner of the election for President. President-Elect Biden will move into the White House on Inauguration Day in January 2021. With him will be his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, and their two German shepherds, Champ and Major.

Champ has been to the White House before, as the Bidens adopted him in 2008. Mr. Biden had promised his wife that, if President Barack Obama won the 2008 election, Mr. Biden would get a puppy. He fulfilled that promise by adopting then-three-month-old Champ, who his granddaughters named.

Champ will have the honor of introducing Major to the White House. Major himself will make history as the first rescue to ever live in the nation’s most important home. The Bidens adopted Major in November 2018 from the Delaware Humane Association.

Champ and Major’s move into the White House marks the first time in four years that there has been a pet in the home. President Trump was the first Commander in Chief not to have a pet in over 120 years.

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In late September 2020, Henry Roach, 51, of Louisiana was finally reunited with his German Shepherd “Savage” following the devastation of Hurricane Laura.

Roach and Savage were separated when Laura ripped through Louisiana toward the end of August. Roach, a former paramedic and Iraq war veteran, stated that he was forced to evacuate as the storm moved toward his home in Sulphur.

According to People, Roach was packing when he realized there wasn’t enough room in his truck for Savage. Roach had to evacuate himself and four other adults, including his mother, aged 88. He planned to return for Savage once he got the others to safety, but upon his return, a neighbor told him that Savage escaped when the storm collapsed a portion of the backyard fence.

Luckily, Roach learned soon after that another citizen had picked up Savage and had taken him to Calcasieu Parish Animal Services. However, the shelter had endured storm damage and transported the animals to an emergency shelter with the help of the ASPCA.

This emergency shelter is where Roach and Savage were finally reunited. The 6-year-old shepherd appeared overjoyed to be with his owner again, and the feeling was certainly mutual.

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The Bates family of Halibut Cove, Alaska, is more grateful than ever for their German shepherd Sally after she saved them from a black bear.

On Monday, October 12, the Bates family was traveling through the Glacier Moraine Trail in Kachemak Bay State Park. The family of four noticed a large black bear stalking them just feet away from their 12-year-old child. The four hunched together and tried to wave the bear away, but the valiant Sally stepped in.

KBBI reports that Sally immediately positioned herself between the bear and the young boy and wound up fighting the bear. Weatherly, the Bates family wife and mother, reports that Sally had her head in the bear’s mouth at one point, prompting her husband Greg to start kicking the bear until it released the dog.

Greg was able to retrieve a gun from the family’s backpack and got the bear away from the dog before putting the bear down. The family then rushed to get 7-year-old Sally to a veterinarian in Homer. The vet was impressed with Sally’s strength and expects her to make a full recovery from her injuries.

The family is thankful for their dog’s incredible efforts, and they believe the bear attacked partially because of a lack of food in the area. They recovered the bear carcass the following day and salvaged some meat before delivering the rest to Fish and Game for recording. The Bates family emphasizes that they hold no grudges against the bear and are incredibly grateful for their Sally.

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The Midland Police Department in Michigan announced on September 12 2020 that their newest K9 member is named Leo.

The two-year-old German shepherd was given his name through a community naming contest called “Name the K9.”

According to MLive, Midland Police Chief Nicole Ford had this to say about the name selection: “We chose the name LEO for our new K9 not only because it’s an acronym for Law Enforcement Officer, but also because it fits his strong presence and confident, personable demeanor perfectly.”

During the “Name the K9” contest, multiple entries for the name “Leo” were submitted. The department is considering the first “Leo” entry received to be the winner. This individual will soon be invited to a meet-and-greet session with the MPD’s newest member.

Leo was purchased for the MPD with a donation from the Katherine A. Moore Revocable Trust totaling over $77,000. He was selected by the MPD and Mid-Michigan Police K9 and has already completed several months of preparations and training courses before he officially begins the job.

He will be trained to assist officers with article tracking and search and recovery efforts, as well as interacting with the public and remaining engaged in community policing.

Leo is scheduled to start training with his MPD handler on September 28, 2020.

Photo Credit: Midland PD’s Facebook page.

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Boss, a K9 German shepherd with the Ardmore Police Department in Oklahoma, is retiring after four years of service. He is expected to complete his service toward the end of September 2020.

For the last 28 dog years, Boss has been working with handler Jared Johnson. Boss has helped to detect drugs, search buildings, arrest criminals, find missing minors, and more. He has accompanied Johnson to speak at multiple schools, showing his passion and excitement for people.

Johnson spoke with KXII about how much working with Boss has meant to him over the years: “It’s pretty awesome. I don’t think there are too many other jobs where you get to work and play with a dog all day long.”

Johnson says that he went through a special selection process and a school to be matched with Boss and train him for his role with the Ardmore Police Department. Throughout his time with Boss, Johnson has continued to train weekly with his K9 to keep them both sharp and experienced in the field.

Boss has truly become a member of Johnson’s family, even coming home with the officer every night. Johnson seems to believe that he and the dog were meant for each other, stating, “It wasn’t ever a choice. It was happening one way or another.”

Don’t worry about Boss’s future; he will continue to live with Johnson after his retirement. Johnson adds, “He will stay with me and we will continue to be buddies. Take all the naps he wants and kinda just hang out at the house and get to enjoy being a dog.”

Johnson will continue working with the APD’s K9 unit with a new Belgian Malinois, who is currently completing training and will start working with Johnson in October.

Photo Credit: Ardmore PD Facebook page.

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After preliminary scans of roughly 600 dogs, scientists decided to map the genome of a local German shepherd named “Nala.” Not only was Nala fit and active, she showed no signs of genetic abnormalities.

Indeed, one reason scientists were interested in gathering samples from Nala was that she didn’t have the mutation that causes hip dysplasia. Recent statistics suggest German shepherds are particularly susceptible to this disorder, which usually causes extreme pain and difficulty moving.

With Nala’s complete genetic sample and x-rays, vets should be able to more accurately predict the likelihood a German shepherd will develop conditions like hip dysplasia. This new information might even help breeders reduce the risk of hip dysplasia.

Although this is the first time scientists tracked a German shepherd’s genome, there are already a few records of other breeds on file. For instance, geneticists in the early 2000s completed comprehensive DNA scans of a boxer and a poodle.

Doctors involved in this German shepherd project, however, believe their findings are far more accurate thanks to their advanced scanning technologies. Plus, since boxers have a longer history of interbreeding for show, the German shepherd’s genome might prove more useful for tracking the DNA of other canines.

Although study authors didn’t say they would map other breeds’ genomes, they believe their research will inspire other scientists to follow their example. Indeed, a few professors suggested we could have DNA models for most dog breeds within a decade.

German shepherds remain the second most popular dog breed in the USA. Labrador retrievers currently hold the top spot.

Anyone interested in reading the full German shepherd report should pick up the April 2020 edition of Giga Science. This study is listed under the title, “Canfam_GSD: De novo chromosome-length genome assembly of the German Shepherd Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) using a combination of long reads, optical mapping, and Hi-C.”

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Here’s a link to the Press Release: https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/publications/publications_press/pr2346.html

According to the Press Release:

The current case involves a German Shepherd dog that lived in a residence at Pok Fu Lam. When the owner was confirmed with COVID-19, the dog was sent for quarantine with another mixed breed dog from the same residence to the animal keeping facility at the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge yesterday (March 18). No positive results were obtained from the mixed breed dog and neither dog has shown any signs of disease.

There is no evidence pets can be infected with COVID-19!

The World Health Organization previously stated on their myth-busting page that dogs may not be infected with COVID-19, however, they removed that content (likely due to the way the FAQ was worded.)

A great article on the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine’s website explains that the dog’s owner was infected and shedding the virus. So yes, the dog could test positive, but so could a coffee cup.

From the article:

This canine patient was in close contact with an infected human, who was likely shedding large quantities of the virus. This led to the virus being in the dog’s nose. There is no indication that the dog is sick or showing any symptoms. Authorities say they will continue to quarantine and test the dog to evaluate if the canine patient becomes ill. In short, there was coronavirus on the dog just like there was coronavirus on the floor in the room but the dog was not infected or diseased.

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Here are the items you will need to groom your Husky. Be sure to use these links to get your items via Amazon Prime and avoid the fakes and knockoffs:

The Furminator.
I love supporting local pet stores, however, the Furminator is only about $20 on Amazon. I’ve seen it in stores for $65. This thing is a lifesaver.

Deshedding Rake.
Most Siberian Husky Dogs blow their coat twice a year. A deshedding rake will slide right through the top coat and grab all that soft undercoat and pull it right off. The coat blowing process may take a few weeks. When this happens, use a rake. Be careful not to poke your Husky’s skin with the rake.

Slicker Brush.
This is a good all around brush. Just like the rake, be very careful to not poke the dog with these fine bristles! Slicker brushes are good for removing debris and loose hair.

Pinbrush.
I really like this pinbrush and your dog should, too. Just pet your dog and detangle their hair at the same time.

Here’s a video of the brushing process:

Top Coat vs Undercoat.

The woolly undercoat helps regulate dog’s temperatures. Huskies, German Shepherds and a handful of other breeds have undercoats. Believe it or not, in addition to keeping dogs warm, the undercoat helps keep dogs cool. Huskies blow their coat as the seasons change. Some huskies blow their coat once a year or three times a year, but in general, this occurs twice each year. In a double coated dog, the “top coat” helps repel rain and dirt.

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