via www.mcknights.com

Walter the goldendoodle is like Norm on the old TV show “Cheers.” When he walks into Alden North Shore Nursing and Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, everyone knows, and often calls, his name.

Many nursing homes have embraced therapy dogs, as they see the positive impact on residents. A recent report indicates more senior living facilities are letting residents move in with their pets.

Around 95% of residents at Alden are there for short-stay rehabilitation, which can be emotionally and physically grueling. But they light up when Walter, a therapy dog escorted by Home Instead Senior Care's Michael Melinger, walks into the room.

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via www.ctpost.com

New police dog has a nose for drugs

MILFORD ---- It can be said that the newest Police Department recruit is also the friendliest member on the 110-member force.

Her name is Cedar and she's a yellow Labrador retriever. She greets people with a wag of her tail and a "please pet me" look in her eyes. She's not exactly the sort of dog that the criminal element would fear, that is, unless they're dealing in drugs. Ceder washed out in her first career choice ---- a guide dog for the blind.

"She likes to chase squirrels," said her handler, Det. Dennis Broderick. "That's not a good thing if you're a guide dog."

But if you like to read a second-chance story, you'll be pleased to know that Cedar was a quick study when it came to sniffing out drugs.

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via www.kswt.com

Dr. Caroll, who works at Yuma Regional Cancer Center's Cancer Center says "They go into the rooms with me if the patients would like to see them and they also go into the chemo therapy room to give some puppy love."

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via www.palmbeachpost.com

South Floridians open hearts, homes to animals with disabilities

Chris Wheeler gave Pogo a second chance: she adopted the 2½-year-old dog despite it having two broken front limbs.

"I was just drawn to him," said the Weston resident, who adopted Pogo from the Humane Society of Broward County in March.

In the United States, approximately 6 million to 8 million dogs and cats come into shelters, according to the Humane Society of the United States. About 50 percent are euthanized annually.

And if they have a disability, the outlook is even more bleak.

"It is more difficult to place cats and dogs with disabilities," said Amanda Chussler, volunteer coordinator at the Tri-County Humane Society in Boca Raton.

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via www.huliq.com

Daisy, a former therapy dog - who is credited as helping to raise spirits while reducing stress and depression for veterans for nearly 10 years, is now retired says her master because “with every step, her jaw became firmer, her muscles tighter, her heart more saddened. It became clear that our Daisy needed to walk away as a therapy dog because of what she shared with those vets.”

In turn, other “War Dogs” and therapy dogs were honored recently at a special pre-Memorial Day picnic in a park near the Veterans Health Administration’s facility in Roseburg that serves more than 62,000 veterans who reside in central and southern Oregon and Northern California. In addition to therapy dogs - that are prized by therapists who appreciate “canine healing power” - those dogs serving side-by-side with soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines in harm’s way are honored each Memorial Day because they have been fighting with the U.S. military for centuries.

In fact, Rebecca Frankel, deputy managing editor of foreignpolicy.com, who writes “War Dog of the Week,” told ABC News last Memorial Day that America’s War Dogs served “unofficially in the Civil War, and then officially inducted into the U.S. Army in 1942 for World War II;” while still serving in the War on Terror today, and at veterans hospitals nationwide as “best friends” for returning veterans.

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Join 7x7 and the SF SPCA at their second annual awareness event, again held in Dolores Park, where several of the Bay Area's most beloved rescue and adoption agencies will be onsite to help you find your new best friend.

Enter your dog in the costume contest and prove what you already know: you have the cutest dog on the planet.

The Whole Enchihuahua

Saturday June 2, 2012

Dolores Park - San Francisco

• Festivities Noon - 4 p.m.

• Costume Contest 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

• Open to all breeds and sizes. Find out all contest details here.

The first 100 people who register their dog(s) for the contest, will receive a voucher for a signature dish from one of the Off the Grid vendors!

Three dogs will win. Amazing prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners!

• Awesome food from Off the Grid
• Ask a Vet with Dr. Goh
• The Famous Prizewheel
• Do You See Cats? Find out how to be better than your friends
• Find out how Zipcar wants to make it easy for you to take a pet home today
• Check in with City Dog Share
• Smooch the Pooch- Alice the Chihuahua is ready to pucker up
• Share your pictures from the event at the Google+ photobooth
• Meet tons of adoptable cats, dogs, birds, bunnies and more from the SF SPCA , Animal Care & Control and SF rescues
• Get down with live Mariachi

via www.waow.com

9 year-old Hannah was out on this boat with her cousin when the wind started pushing them far away from shore.

"Put her life jacket back on, got in the water and grabbed the rope and thought she could swim to shore, because she's done that a few times," said Hannah's mother, Jackie Fuszard.

Her mom said Umis, their dog, could tell Hannah was struggling.

"It was scary because the wind was picking up and you really can't do a whole lot when you're on a lake and it's windy," said Jackie.

"After five minutes, I was freezing and getting tired," said Hannah. "And then Umis jumped in the water and he went under and then he came up from under me and I was able to put the rope around him and he pulled us to shore. I think it's pretty awesome that he saved me and my cousin's life."

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via blog.aarp.org

During her 70-year “working” career as a pet therapy dog, my Springer Spaniel Isabella and I padded around countless nursing homes. Animal therapy has long been touted for its medicinal value (lower blood pressure and tricyclerine levels, among other benefits.) I am here to say it works!

I have seen dogs and dementia in action: Agitated and depressed residents visibly relax when they stroked Isabella’s velvety ears or silky fur. A smile from someone who was usually sullen. An unprompted conversation about a dog they used to have or that their children own.

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via www.nydailynews.com

New mom Charlize Theron isn’t in a serious relationship, but that doesn’t mean the red-carpet regular is going into parenthood alone.

The “Snow White and the Huntsman” actress admitted to Ellen DeGeneres Thursday that she has had major help from two very important males in her life — her two dogs.

“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Theron told the talk show host. “From the moment this baby came into our home, those two dogs have never been more in love.”

According to the 36-year-old actress, her two dogs — a terrier mutt and a pit bull — have been tutting over the new addition to the household, and even let out a few “sympathy howls” every time baby Jackson cries.

The pit bull "woke up with me for every feed, for every change,” she told DeGeneres, “and whenever the baby would cry, the pitt would start crying.”

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via www.oregonlive.com

Last month, Multnomah County Animal Services launched a trial using Zinc neutering, a new way of neutering male dogs.

The Troutdale shelter is the first agency in the Portland metro area to offer the procedure, and the trial garnered interest from as far away as the U.K.

The process is a non-surgical castration procedure. “Zeutering,” as it is sometimes known, consists of locally injecting a compound of Zinc gluconate and arginine, which destroys sperm-producing cells without greatly impacting hormone levels. Proponents say it’s a much cheaper and less invasive alternative to surgery.

“I think it’s great to have it as an option, especially for people who don’t want their dogs surgically castrated,” says MCAS veterinarian Dr. Meghan Romney.

Romney is among only six veterinarians in Oregon trained in the procedure and about 30 to 40 nationwide, says Dr. Byron Maas of Bend Veterinary Clinic in Bend.

Maas is also a master trainer with Ark Sciences, the company that developed the compound. It’s known as Zeuterin in the United States and as Esterisol in Mexico, Bolivia, Panama and Colombia (in Colombia, it also has approval for use in cats).

Zeuterin recently received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in dogs between the ages of three and 10 months old. Approval for use in all dogs ages three months and older is pending.

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