USPS Asks Dog Owners To Help Prevent Attacks

The Postal Service is offering the following safety tips for dog owners:

When a carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to attack visitors.
Parents should remind children and other family members not to take mail directly from carriers in the presence of the family pet. The dog may view the carrier handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.
If a carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office or other facility until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also may be asked to pick up their mail at the area’s Post Office.
USPS says one bite is one too many. When your mail carrier arrives, make sure your dog is properly restrained or better yet just moved inside and secured.

The Postal Service has a short video on dog bite prevention available on its YouTube site, USPS TV:

Coronavirus: Animal Welfare Groups To Meet MND, NParks

The Covid-19 outbreak is taking a toll on the operations of animal welfare groups in Singapore as donations drop and fewer volunteers are allowed on the premises.

Social distancing measures and circuit breaker regulations have prevented groups from holding regular fund-raisers and limited the number of volunteers who can care for the animals under their charge.

Ms Jessica Kwok, group director for community animal management at the Animal and Veterinary Service under the National Parks Board (NParks), told The Straits Times that a video conference will be held between the groups and the Ministry of National Development (MND) and NParks today to discuss the situation.

Social and Family Development Minister and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development Sun Xueling, along with representatives from NParks, will meet the animal welfare groups “to better understand how they are coping during this challenging period”, said Ms Kwok.

She noted that as part of the Resilience Budget announced on March 26, animal welfare groups at The Animal Lodge received two months’ rental waiver. The Animal Lodge is a purpose-built facility in Sungei Tengah; more than 20 animal shelters moved there from Pasir Ris Farmway in 2018.

Ms Kwok said NParks took over direct management of The Animal Lodge last December, reducing the service and conservancy charges significantly.

Ms Mary Soo, 72, founder of Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter (Oscas), said the rental waiver for April and May helped her save on the monthly rental cost of $7,000 for five units in Sungei Tengah.

“For us, we tend to have many handicapped and senior dogs, so a lot of our money is spent on medical or vet bills.”

Donations to Oscas have dropped substantially. Big donors have disappeared as they were also facing problems, with businesses shutting down due to the poor economy, said Ms Soo.

Oscas’ sponsorship programme, in which people pay a minimum of $50 to fund a dog’s upkeep, has also seen fewer new sign-ups. The programme typically brings in between $3,000 and $4,000 a month for the group.

Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) president Ricky Yeo, 52, said his group used to hold one or two events a month to generate publicity and collect donations. But all outdoor events are currently suspended, and ASD has lost around $6,000 in donations.

His group has now tied up with local brewery RedDot BrewHouse to raise funds.

“Pictures of the dogs that are up for adoption are printed on their beer labels, and we get a percentage of the proceeds. The first run of the campaign, which kicked off in late February, was sold out and they are doing a second one,” he said.

The Animal and Veterinary Service has also been helping the groups with adoption efforts.

Ms Kwok said: “As animal shelters have limited capacities, cessation of adoption and rehoming efforts hinder their ability to take in more rescued animals and could cause overcrowding. Long-term housing of an animal in a shelter environment is also detrimental to the animal’s health and welfare.”

She said NParks has made arrangements to let the groups carry out rehoming, adoption or fostering of their animals remotely during this period with no physical interaction, such as through video calls. Once the adoption or fostering has been agreed upon, the animals are transported using an approved pet transporter or by the animal welfare group itself, with safe distancing measures observed.

Ms Soo also spoke of the lack of manpower, noting that she usually had about 50 volunteers. During the circuit breaker period, however, only 11 are registered and allowed to enter the premises.

Missoula Veteran’s Dog Missing

The bummer part of this story is that we’ll probably never know the whole story. But, the details we have show that this dog is a survivor, and that Missoulians are willing to open their hearts and wallets to help those in need – even if it’s not their fellow human.

A call to Missoula Animal Control ended up being much more than a common report of a stray dog. A KPAX article tells the story of a German Shepherd being picked up on Cote Lane by Kelly’s Island in Missoula. It was discovered that the dog was injured and transported to a local vet where they discovered he had three gunshot wounds – one in the shoulder and two in the head. This poor pup even had to have surgery to remove a bullet from his face.

Veteran’s Service Dog Found Shot After Going Missing in Missoula

MISSOULA — Authorities are looking for answers about a veteran’s service dog that was found with multiple gunshots wounds after he went missing.

Missoula Animal Control received a call for what they initially thought to be a stray dog wandering around Cote Lane on Wednesday evening.

“But when he was picked up by the officer, she found that he was injured,” said Missoula County Animal Control Officer Cassidy Russell. “They ended up bringing him to Missoula Vet and discovered he had three gunshot wounds.”

The animal was shot once in the shoulder and twice to the head, even requiring surgery to remove a bullet from his face.

Fortunately, he’s microchipped, and Missoula Animal Control was able to locate the shelter where he had been adopted. They later learned that the dog, Lucca, is the service dog for a local veteran.

“He’s about two-years-old, he’s a German Shepherd, almost all black, and just the sweetest thing, really, through all of this he’s been so sweet and so loving. It’s amazing for what he’s been through that he still trusts everybody.”

Lucca will spend the next few days receiving follow up treatment for a remaining bullet lodged near his jaw. Animal Control is asking the community to come forward if they know any information regarding the circumstances leading to Lucca’s injuries.

“He went missing around 34th Street, and so he made it quite a ways away. We don’t know who did anything, we don’t know if someone took him from his home, we don’t know who shot him, we don’t know any of the circumstances, so if anyone has seen or heard of anything that can give us some insight then we can follow up on it,” said Russell.

Animal Control is also asking the community to help with Lucca’svet bills.

Can’t Wait To See Her Grow

PLATTSBURGH — About a month ago grad student Emily Anderson drove downstate to pick up pup Paisley Mae and experienced her first-ever moments as a dog mom.

While the SUNY Plattsburgh student, going for her masters in education, thought some considered pet parents to be more like owners, she disagreed.

“I’ve always thought, ‘I love puppies. I wish they could stay small forever,'” the 23-year-old said. “But, as soon as we picked up Paisley, the first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t wait to see her grow. I can’t wait to see her get bigger, to see what she looks like and what she likes.’

“It was a total ‘mom’ moment.”

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Anderson and boyfriend Joseph “Joe” Girard picked up the Australian Shepherd from a farm in Fultonville.

The now nearly three-month-old puppy became Anderson’s first personal pet.

“The reason I decided to get a dog now was because Paisley is actually an emotional support animal for me,” she said.

“It’s been a long time coming, working through different things, personal things, but especially given the current situation that we’re in,” she continued, in reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s hitting a lot of us in different ways.”

‘NOW IS THE TIME’

To Anderson, who will celebrate her 24th birthday later this month, caring for a pooch was a way to bring purpose and joy.

“It definitely has,” she said. “It’s her job and she’s doing a great job at it.”

And with the pandemic keeping her self-quarantined and at home more often than not, Anderson felt like “everything was coming together.”

“I’ve talked to my parents about potentially having an emotional support animal in the past, but they just didn’t think it was the time,” she said.

“My mom and I had recently been speaking together and she said, ‘You know what, Em? I think now is the time.'”

PAISLEY MAE

The Australian Shepherd was described as playful, friendly and high-energy.

“She always wants to be doing something,” Anderson said.

“We have to make sure that we keep her exercised or else she’s crazy. We got her all of these rubber toys, but when she got home, all she wanted to do was play with rope tassels,” she continued.

“So, we went out and got her a bunch of rope toys — which she loves.”

Anderson said the baby pup was very food-motivated, “which is awesome. We can use tiny pieces of treats to train her and she will do absolutely anything you ask.”

While staying home was helpful when training Paisley, Anderson said they were teaching her how to be alone, too, for when life returned to normal.

“We work on her going into her kennel every day and spending some time alone,” she said.

“Originally, I wasn’t going to look for a puppy, but then I thought, this might be the only time in my life where I could have a puppy.”

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE

Anderson said puppy life came with its own set of challenges, like getting up early, cleaning up after accidents and puppy biting, but thought the biggest challenge was on the human side of things.

“It has been on the emotional-support-animal end, and being a little misunderstood about that,” she said.

“That part has been a little challenging, because I think mental health overall is misunderstood.”

The grad student explained emotional support pets as one of many outlets that could help people feel at their best.

“For some people it’s medicine, or therapy and, for some people, it can be taking care of an animal,” she said.

“If you don’t have that connection with animals, then you might not understand it, but it’s definitely there for other people. Regardless of what level someone is at, if there’s anything that they can do to make them feel better, I don’t see how there is any reason for us to want to stop that.”

‘REALLY REWARDING’

With her first Mother’s Day on the horizon, Anderson said her Paisley Mae was 100 percent her “baby.”

“She has all of the needs of a baby, and, much like a baby, she has the rewards, too,” she said.

“Overall, it has just been a really rewarding experience. I need her just as much as she needs me.”

Service Dogs Raising Puppies

Susan Tyson is a long time volunteer with Susquehanna Service Dogs and has raised a lot of litters for the nonprofit that assist people with disabilities.

“Two girls and four boys and they’re a little bit noisy sometimes and they are growing very normal and healthy, they are about 4 pounds they started out at one pound and they are making progress leaps and bounds,” Tyson said. “So with the crisis, we are having I thought all the people sitting around twiddling their thumbs maybe we can entertain them and teach them something.”

Each day at 1 p.m. she talks about the litter and the journey these puppies are taking to become service dogs.

“I just talk about the development of the puppies what they are doing and how what we are doing connects to a better service dog,” Tyson said.

“I think it is so great for people to engage that way and they feel like they are so much part of the process and Susan gives so much information, education and not just talking about SSD but about the development of dogs. It helps people learn about us, our organization, and the importance of service dogs how they can help people live a much fuller and independent life,” Deb Tack, Partner Coordinator with Susquehanna Service Dogs said.

SSD is always looking for puppy raisers, sitters, and financial support. It takes about 18 months and $30,000 to turn a puppy in an assistance dog.

“These dogs change people’s lives,” Tyson said.

Service Dog Lends An Ear

When Newport Beach resident Lisa Westerhout goes out in public, there’s only one thing that sets her apart from the denizens around her — a 3-year-old Golden/Labrador Retriever mix named Arrow, who sports a blue vest emblazoned with a gold logo.

Canine Companions for Independence, it reads.

It’s not a fashion statement so much as an indication to the general public that the dog, while adorable, is performing an important job.

Arrow was raised and trained from puppyhood by the Santa Rosa nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence and is one of 268 active hearing service dogs capable of alerting a deaf person to important sounds in their environment, from a crying baby to a smoke alarm to the ring of a cell phone.

His set of capabilities is a lifeline to Westerhout, 48, whose hearing loss began when she was in the third grade and got progressively worse until she was almost totally deaf.

“If I were to stand next to a jet engine, I would barely hear it,” she said of her natural hearing.

Although she’s been fitted with high-powered hearing aids and a cochlear implant — which bypasses a damaged ear to send signals directly to the hearing center of the brain — the devices can be cumbersome and difficult to sleep in. Arrow lets Westerhout be free of that, and more.

He’ll nudge her if he hears one of her children call out her name from downstairs, or if her cell phone is on vibrate but not directly on her person. She takes him to Costa Mesa’s Waldorf School of Orange County, where she is a counselor, and brings him on trips.

If she’s cooking meatballs, Arrow will even remind her to set the timer.

“He’s so extremely good at his job,” Westerhout said. “He’s very, very observant.”

Arrow’s keen responses are the result of more than 250 hours of training he’s received through Canine Companions for Independence, a group that provides service dogs to people with disabilities free of charge.

Puppies are bred for qualities and behaviors that will assist the dogs in their work, said CCI senior instructor Ken Reid, who oversees hearing dog training at the Santa Rosa location.

At around 8 weeks old, they are placed with raisers, who help socialize them and prepare them for up to nine months of training they will begin somewhere around 18 months of age.

“Puppies are returned to one of six training centers. That’s where the dog gets its next phase of professional training with an instructor,” Reid said. “Along the way we’ll start to see the dog’s individual strengths and weaknesses, so we’ll start to select them for specialized tracks.”

Canines learn skills specific to the individual they will serve — CCI trains companion dogs for children, adult disability service dogs, PTSD service dogs for veterans and hearing dogs like Arrow.

“These dogs help people become more independent and not have to rely on other people for the rest of their lives,” said CCI spokeswoman Stacy Haynes. “The end goal is to enhance the lives of people with disabilities.”

After dogs complete training, clients come for a two-week session to learn more about living with a service dog and be paired up with pooches who, in turn, learn customized tasks and commands before heading to their new homes.

Since Westerhout returned to Newport Beach with Arrow in late November, she’s been amazed at how well he executes commands and alerts her to sounds.

But, for her, another important function of a hearing dog is that they act as ambassadors to the public, opening the doors to conversations about what she calls her “invisible disability.”

“(Normally), people think you’re rude because you don’t respond to them. They think you’re not very smart because it takes you a while to piece together what they’re saying, or they think you’re crazy when you respond to them in a completely different way,” Westerhout said of the social difficulties often associated with hearing loss.

“Taking him out draws attention,” she said. “I get to talk to people and share about my invisible disability. It’s just life-changing.”

Mira The Police Dog

It is a long process for a puppy to become a fully trained police service dog, but Mira is well on her way already.

Mira started training with Const. Tom Peters of the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP last September, when she was just two months old.

Peters had completed a course on how to train police dogs at the national training centre in Innisfail, Alberta, where all RCMP dogs and handlers start their training. Then he brought Mira back to the Cowichan Valley for crate training, bonding and learning how to get along well in public.

“Then I started training with her that is specific to police duties,” Peters related. “I do basic stuff like teaching her how to track using food as a reward. She progresses to the point where she can track someone for about 100 metres.”

Peters had to make some sacrifices to work with Mira, but they have been worthwhile.

“I introduce her to aggression training, which is biting,” Peters said. “I do things like put on the big body suits and take bites. She is getting better at catching me now, which wasn’t so bad until she grew in her adult teeth.”

When Mira is around 18 months old, she will return to Innisfail to hone her skills, working with an experienced handler for training in specific tasks.

“The work that Const. Peters does right now with Mira gives her a strong base in order to help her later training be effective,” Const. Carlie McCann, the North Cowichan/Duncan detachment’s media relations officer explained. “If she passes all of her training, she will transfer to an RCMP police dog service unit somewhere in Canada.”

Mira can’t respond to a lot of calls right now, but nearby detachments in West Shore and Nanaimo have fully trained police dogs who are able to help with investigations like locating missing persons, break-and-enters, and weapons calls.

“If police on duty assess that a response from a police service dog is needed, their handlers can be reached day or night,” McCann noted.

Animal Welfare Groups

The Pandemic is taking a toll on the operations of animal welfare groups in Singapore as donations drop and fewer volunteers allowed on premises.

Social distancing measures and circuit breaker regulations have prevented groups from holding regular fundraisers and limited the number of volunteers who can care for the animals under their charge.

Ms Jessica Kwok, Group Director for Community Animal Management in the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) under the National Parks Board (NParks), told The Straits Times that a video conference would be held between the groups and the Ministry of National Development and NParks on Friday (May 8) to discuss the situation.

Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development Sun Xueling, along with representatives from NParks, will meet with the animal welfare groups (AWGs) “to better understand how they are coping during this challenging period”, said Ms Kwok.

She noted that as part of the Resilience Budget announced on March 26, animal welfare groups at The Animal Lodge received two months rental waiver.

The Animal Lodge is a purpose-built facility in Sungei Tengah. More than 20 animal shelters moved to the facility from Pasir Ris Farmway in 2018.

Ms Kwok said NParks took over direct management of The Animal Lodge in December, reducing the service and conservancy charges significantly. Installing directional signages has also improved navigation on site, and planting shade-providing trees has cooled the premises and enhanced greenery.

“We are continuing to work on more infrastructural improvements and these will be shared when ready,” said Ms Kwok.

Ms Mary Soo, 72, founder of Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter (Oscas), said the rental waiver for April and May, helped her save on the monthly rental cost of $7,000 for Oscas’ five units in Sungei Tengah.

“Finance is a big problem,” she told The Straits Times. “For us, we tend to have many handicapped and senior dogs, so a lot of our money is spent on medical or vet bills.”

Donations to Oscas have dropped substantially. Big donors have disappeared as they were also facing problems, with businesses shutting down due to the poor economy, said Ms Soo.

Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) president Ricky Yeo, 52, said that his group used to hold one or two events a month to generate publicity and collect donations. However, all outdoor events are currently suspended, and ASD has lost around $6,000 in donations.

His group has now tied up with local brewery RedDot Brewhouse to raise funds. “Pictures of the dogs that are up for adoption are printed on their beer labels, and we get a percentage of the proceeds. The first run of the campaign which kicked off in late-February was sold out, and they are doing a second one.”

Mr Derrick Tan, 39, founder of Voices For Animals (VFA), said that its donations too have dipped. The group usually raised funds mainly through adoption fees during adoption drives. The last one was held in December.

“Each adoption fee is $250 and during a good drive we can see between 15 to 20 dogs adopted. During the adoption drives, we also sell things like cookies and drinks. So it’s these small things that add up,” said Mr Tan.

He said the money collected goes to VFA’s monthly rental of about $4,000, and vet bills for the dogs average about $10,000.

AVS under NParks has also been helping the groups with adoption efforts.

“As animal shelters have limited capacities, cessation of adoption and rehoming efforts hinder their ability to take in more rescued animals and could cause overcrowding. Long-term housing of an animal in a shelter environment is also detrimental to the animal’s health and welfare,” said Ms Kwok.

But some, like Ms Soo, believe online adoption is not practical.

She said: “We want people to meet the dogs and choose the dogs and ensure they are a good match. Can’t be that they just choose online, then we arrange for the dog to be sent over. We have to properly check the house to ensure it is suitable, such as if it’s dog-proof.”

Ms Soo has also spoken of the lack of manpower, noting that she usually had about 50 volunteers. During the circuit breaker period, however, only 11 are registered and allowed to enter the premises for tasks such as exercising the dogs, cleaning the kennels or sending them to the vet.

The restriction on the number of manpower allowed on site is a problem for Mr Yeo as he now has to stagger the times ASD’s seven registered volunteers can go down to the shelter.

“We understand it is necessary and we need to be on board with everyone else for this period, that’s why painful and challenging as it is, we are still complying,” he said.

RCMP Police Dog

A 27-year-old man whose vehicle had struck a RNC patrol car in St. John’s and fled the city Wednesday afternoon was found by the RCMP police dog service hiding in the bushes near Cape Broyle on the southern shore about three hours later.

Clarence Cantwell was arrested and is facing a number of charges including assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assaulting a peace officer, obstruction of justice and breach of probation.

About 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the RNC in St. John’s received a report of a suspected impaired driver on Waterford Bridge Road.

The RNC patrolled the area and located the vehicle, a two-door older model burgundy Lincoln Mark Vii, parked on a parking lot off Waterford Bridge Road. As police pulled into the parking lot, a man got out of the vehicle, spoke briefly to the officer, got back in his vehicle and fled the scene at a high rate of speed, striking the police car and leaving it inoperable.

The suspect’s Lincoln was last seen heading west-bound on Waterford Bridge Road.

The RNC confirmed the driver of the Lincoln was Clarence Cantwell and notified the RCMP of the situation, while police continued to patrol the City of St. John’s searching for Cantwell and the Lincoln.

At approximately 4:30 p.m., Ferryland RCMP received a report of a damaged older model burgundy Lincoln, with smoke coming from underneath it, parked at the Ultramar in Cape Broyle.

A man matching the description provided by the RNC was seen walking away from the vehicle. Police confirmed this was the same vehicle that fled from the RNC.

RCMP officers from Ferryland and Holyrood traffic services, and police dog services, responded to the scene. At approximately 6:30 p.m., RCMP Police Service Dog Kaos located Cantwell hiding in some thick bushes at the end of Southside Road in Cape Broyle. He was arrested without further incident and turned over to the RNC.

Cantwell was scheduled for a court appearance Thursday.