A new police dog will report for duty early this week.
Hero With Four Paws
A partially paralyzed, blind dog may not fit the traditional definition of a hero, but in Ann Carpenter’s eyes, Bella is that and more.
That’s why Ms. Carpenter has entered her 11-year-old Boston terrier/pug mix, a certified therapy dog, in the 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards.
Bella is competing against 360 other canines in the therapy dog category of the 10th annual competition, sponsored by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation.
Bella, a dog Ms. Carpenter adopted in 2018 from the local animal rescue group Misplaced Mutts, was paralyzed in the rear legs during a previous accident. She has been equipped with a special stroller that allows her to remain mobile.
Despite being paralyzed and partially blind, Bella was certified as a therapy dog through Love on a Leash in February. So far she has visited area nursing homes and the Autism Society of N.C. in Morehead City.
“I think her story inspires people,” Ms. Carpenter said Thursday. “She helps people realize it’s OK to be different and you can do anything despite the obstacles.”
Ms. Carpenter, who has been diagnosed with autism, believes in Bella’s story so much she self-published a children’s book about her dog, Bella the Wonder Dog.
“Bella does not let her disability define or limit her and I wrote the book to encourage children to embrace their differences,” Ms. Carpenter said. “She has taught me so much and has helped calm me and helped me remain grounded. I guess you could say we both know how to persevere.”
To that end, Ms. Carpenter decided to enter Bella in the therapy dog category of the competition, which involves people voting for their favorite dog in one of seven categories. The goal of the event is to identify and honor America’s bravest canine heroes and their owners and culminates in the fall with the “American Humane Hero Dog Awards” on Hallmark Channel.
The two-hour special, now in its 10th year, is broadcast in conjunction with the network’s pet adoption advocacy initiative, Hallmark Channel’s Adoption Ever After, which aims to empty animal shelters and end the country’s homeless pet epidemic, according to the organization’s website.
Top dogs will be selected in seven categories for 2020: therapy dogs, law enforcement dogs, military dogs, service dogs, shelter dogs, search and rescue dogs and guide/hearing dogs.
The nomination period for 2020 closed March 10, and the voting period has begun.
The top three semifinalists in each category will advance to the second round of voting, which takes place Thursday, May 28-Thursday, July 16, when the field is narrowed to the top dog in each category. Then, a final overall winner is selected by voting from Thursday, July 30-Thursday, Sept. 10. The winners in each category and the overall winner will be recognized during the 2020 American Hero Dog show in September.
Search And Rescue Dog Stuck
A Queenstown-based avalanche search and rescue dog is stranded in the United States.
Brad Saville, a 38-year-old ski patroller, is “devastated” his 18-month-old curly-coated retriever is stuck in Colorado where the pair had been undertaking avalanche dog training as part of a ski patrol exchange programme. The pair had been in Colorado since December and were meant to return to Queenstown on April 24 but when the coronavirus pandemic took hold he was given a 48-hour window to fly home to New Zealand. Saville returned on March 26, but Bomber, who was meant to follow on another flight after final vet checks, did not make it.
“I received notice from my pet transport company, based in LA, that Bomber’s flights back to New Zealand are suspended until further notice.”
Thankfully, Bomber was able to stay with the people Saville had stayed with during the exchange.
“Each and every day is a huge mental and emotional struggle for me. Every day I wake up and every night I go to sleep, all I can think about is my curly-coated retriever. I’m devastated. Bomber is everything to me.
“It’s not just people stuck in limbo. Animals are involved as well and Bomber – who is a service dog for his country – is stuck on the other side of the world relying on us humans to sort it out.”
As well as missing his best friend, he was worried the time apart would affect the intensive training that had been invested in Bomber.
“The bond is everything when you are training a search dog. The time and investment to travel internationally with an animal is a huge undertaking.
“To keep him on the snow for three winters within the first two years of his life allowed for enormous potential of becoming certified for this New Zealand winter … If the time apart extends further I fear it will be damaged to a point I will not be able to fulfil my ambition of turning him into a search and rescue dog.”
Saville, who has been a ski patroller for nine winter seasons, introduced Bomber to the ski patrol team in 2019. They had attended two training camps, and at 10 months old Bomber passed his obedience assessment at the Snow Farm.
“He and I are the youngest search team-in-training within the New Zealand LandSAR Search Dog Programme in the avalanche discipline and the only team located in the Wakatipu Basin. An avy dog is trained to save lives within a critical time period. And they love doing it. We train them to make it the most fun game in the world. Being on the snow with my best friend who I work with and spend every waking moment with, is the absolute highlight.”
The training in Colorado had exposed them to invaluable learning — better handling skills, a large variation of search drills, obedience tactics, and how to better themselves as a team, he said.
“We even received a scholarship to attend an avalanche search and rescue dog school … My ambitions definitely backfired. I am devastated at the Covid-19 outcome from my ski patrol exchange to Colorado but getting Bomber home is the most important thing in my life right now.”
K-9 Team Searches For Toddler
On April 27, 2020, a 3-year-old girl went missing from her home and wandered into the snowy woods. A fervent search commenced, and a scent-tracing K-9 police dog became the hero of the hour.
Constable Dan Berube and his police service dog, Jynx, were called to Musquodoboit Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, to help search for a missing 3-year-old girl. Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency also sent a drone team to the woods to aid the search.
As soon as first responders on the ground were instructed to hang back, Berube and Jynx’s keen senses got to work. “If there’s a lot of human scent in there, it gets harder for us to find the actual person we’re looking for,” Berube explained to CBC News.
Berube had learned during training that lost young children often head downhill, but this missing 3-year-old’s mother had forewarned the search team that her daughter, who remains anonymous, was “a climber.” Berube, a parent himself, listened to the mother’s advice.
“I have children of my own and I know my children best,” the constable said, “and I figured mom knows her daughter best as well.”
Berube described his and Jynx’s initial search as trying to find a needle in a haystack. As the woodland became increasingly dense, the constable grew uncertain. “In my mind it was so thick and so hard to navigate through that I was ready to pretty much determine that no human would go through there,” he said.
Jynx was quick to identify the little girl’s scent but only in the direction of the missing child’s home, indicating that the dog may simply have been smelling the scent of fellow officers who were previously there in the woods searching for the girl. After Berube decided to clear the hilltop, the dog’s direction changed.
Jynx picked up another smell, and Berube recalled hearing a diminutive voice after which he called the RCMP officer to rush. “I thrashed harder and my dog led me to where she was,” the constable recalled, “in the middle of absolutely nowhere, a whole bunch of pine brush around her and she was just standing there.”
The first thing that Berube heard the little girl say was “Doggy,” hailing her four-legged hero. The constable wrapped her in his jacket and hugged her, noting that she was wearing mismatched boots, was cold and wet but not fearful, and was simply asking for her parents.
After locating her, an RCMP officer carried the little girl back to her parents.
“I can’t imagine one of my children not being home for dinner, not home at night,” Berube reflected, speaking to CBC News. “I wasn’t going to let this one slide.”
Jynx, the amazing K-9 that sniffed out the missing little girl, was given a treat for his sterling efforts.
Canine Joins Valpo Police Ranks
Marko, an 18-month-old German shepherd partnered with Lt. Sean Kostelnik, is the Valparaiso Police Department’s sixth canine and the only one certified in explosive detection as well as full patrol capabilities.
Marko and Kostelnik could help other jurisdictions as well if their expertise is needed and they can respond in a timely manner, said Sgt. Joe Hall, the department’s commander of support services.
Marko is also trained in tracking, building search, area search, aggression control and obedience.
Kennewick Pet Groomer Reopens
Wagz2Riches Premier Dog Grooming reopened Monday, May 4 despite Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Health order.
In a Facebook post over the weekend, the business said their employees have not received their first unemployment checks yet, and that “this debacle has gone on far too long.”
“Our shop had ‘social distancing’ considerations built into it before it was even a buzz word. We were already sanitizing surfaces. And hand washing? Try bathing a dog without washing your hands. Now we are having to perform baths, trims and nails on service dogs by sneaking them in the back door just to allow them to perform their basic duties. And yes we are performing these services at no charge to the client,” the post said.
“There are elderly citizens who physically cannot bathe their dogs and have nowhere to turn. The decision to reopen is a conscience decision. Not to thumb our nose at the bureaucrats in Olympia, but to put Americans first. To put the good people of the Tri-Cities first,” the post said. “There are K-9 and Service Dogs that we depend on every day or even grandma’s dog, who has been the only company she has had for weeks at a time for the past ten years. The bureaucrats may think we’re non-essential, but I guarantee you these people don’t.”
The business encouraged other groomers to consider reopening despite the governor’s order.
“We didn’t create this mess but we feel we need to stand up and take our state back. It starts with small businesses. It starts with us. It starts with you. You trusting us to do what is right and best for all of our four-legged clients,” the post said.
Wagz2Riches said they would be partnering with several other Tri-Cities businesses to reopen May 4.
Virtual Visits From Therapy Dogs
Tricia Baker, co-founder of Attitudes In Reverse, and her AIR therapy dogs Misha, left to right, Albie and Miki, hold a virtual visit with students at Community Middle School in the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District.PHOTO COURTESY OF ATTITUDES IN REVERSE
“You were seriously wonderful today! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for Zooming with my students. I know for sure that it brought so much joy to them and their families. The kids were so engaged and asked some wonderful questions. I really can’t thank you enough.”
Those words by Michelle Caravella, a teacher at Lakeside School in Edison, followed a recent virtual visit with therapy dogs from Attitudes In Reverse (AIR) with her students.
Tricia Baker, co-founder of AIR, has been virtually visiting six schools across New Jersey on a weekly basis. The students learn what therapy dogs are and why dogs make people smile.
“While petting dogs provides maximum de-stressing to humans, the simple act of looking at a dog releases oxytocin, a feel-good brain chemical. That is our main focus for these virtual visits: hoping to help students smile,” Baker said in the statement.
Students also learn the safety rules to follow when meeting therapy dogs and the type of schooling and testing dogs need to complete to become certified.
“The students enjoy discovering that dogs have to go to school just like the students,” Baker said.
The virtual platform for the AIR therapy dog visits was inspired by the inability to meet with students in person due to the coronavirus pandemic. AIR is also unique in having therapy dogs involved with every educational presentation and during community events.
“The dogs have a natural talent for breaking down barriers to communication. At every presentation, between 6 and 17% of students speak up about their mental health struggles or concern about friends. The dogs also attract many visitors to our exhibit table at conferences and other events.
“All of us at AIR look forward to presenting at schools again. In the meantime, we are glad to have the technology to reach out to students, as well as adults, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has created or compounded mental health issues for many people, which could lead to increased risk of suicide,” Baker said in the statement.
Attitudes In Reverse was established by Tricia, Kurt and Katelyn Baker of Plainsboro in 2010 after their son/brother Kenny died by suicide following a long battle against severe depression and anxiety. Their mission is to save lives by educating students about mental health, related disorders and suicide prevention. Since January 2011, they have presented to more than 90,000 students in middle and high schools and colleges in New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Missouri, Texas and Arizona. AIR also offers youth mental health first aid instruction and includes the AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds program, bringing dogs into schools to help students de-stress and engage in the conversation about mental health. In addition, AIR trains and certifies emotional support animals and offers a lunch-and-learn program for businesses.
The Good Dog Foundation
In times of stress and instability, pets bring their people immense comfort and play an important role in improving their mental health. Embrace Pet Insurance, one of the nation’s top-rated pet insurance programs, is launching a social media campaign in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May to educate Americans on how their pets can improve their mental health. The campaign encourages pet parents to share on their Instagram, Twitter or directly to Embrace’s Facebook how their pets have positively impacted their mental health using the hashtag #PawsitiveEffects. For every use of the campaign hashtag, Embrace will donate $5.00 to The Good Dog Foundation — with the goal of raising $5,000 during the month of May.
According to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), one in four adults live with a mental illness, but over 60 percent of those reported less stress, a new sense of purpose, an easier time forming connections and more physical activity in their day-to-day lives thanks to their pets.
“Embrace is excited to partner with The Good Dog Foundation during May in support of Mental Health Awareness Month,” said Brian Macias, President of Embrace Pet Insurance. “It’s important to shed light on the comfort and support pets give us, especially as our world is changing in such dramatic ways. Our hope is to bring positivity in times of mental strife while supporting an organization that fully endorses the human-pet bond.”
Founded in 1998, The Good Dog Foundation trains volunteers and professionals to provide therapy dog visits to help people heal and cope. The Good Dog teams have logged more than 30,000 hours annually at hospitals, schools, nursing homes and community organizations across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The organization is continually innovating and developing programs to reach new groups that can benefit from dog animal therapy. One of their current studies, “Parenting, Prison & Pups,” aims to provide female inmates with parenting training through service dogs to help enhance their bonds with their children and reduce recidivism.
Rachel McPherson, Good Dog’s Founder and President, added: “Well-trained therapy dogs can produce feelings of joy and safety in people, which we have never needed more than now. While in-person visits are suspended during the pandemic, Good Dog is using Virtual Therapy Dog Visits to help our frontline healthcare providers and others struggling with trauma and isolation. Embrace Pet Insurance and all those participating in this campaign are throwing a critical lifeline to people in need.” Since its inception in 1998, The Good Dog Foundation has had a singular mission – using Animal Assisted Intervention to help children and adults heal from the trauma of disease, disability, and disaster. Our healers are extraordinary dogs and their human handlers. Some are volunteers who help people in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and more. Others are professionals – educators, healthcare providers, criminal justice workers and the like – who want to team with a dog as part of a professional practice in what is known as Animal Assisted Therapy or Animal Assisted Education. They all turn to Good Dog because of our devotion to safety and best practices in teaching therapy dog teamwork. In addition, The Good Dog Foundation invests in scientific research, partnering with major academic and medical institutions. As a result, we are helping advance Animal Assisted Intervention in the U.S., where it is now widely available to enhance the efficacy of traditional therapeutic approaches to human healing and learning.
Future RCMP Service Dogs
One of the RCMP’s future police dogs will bear the name Nanuq, which means polar bear in Inuktitut.
The name, suggested by Hunter Lowe of Rankin Inlet, was one of 13 winning entries proposed by children between the ages of four and 14 from across Canada.
All entries had to begin with the letter N, contain no more than nine letters and have one or two syllables.
The winning names will go to puppies born this year at the Police Dog Services Training Centre in Innisfail, Alta., the training centre for RCMP police dog teams in Canada.
All German shepherds working today as RCMP service dogs were born at the training centre, as part of the RCMP’s police dog breeding program.
“Thank you to all the children who entered,” said Staff Sgt. Gary Creed, the senior trainer and acting officer in charge of the police dog service training centre, in a news release.
“And thank you to all the teachers who make this part of their class work. These 13 names will serve our dogs with pride.”
RCMP police service dog teams are an important part of frontline policing, the RCMP said in an April 29 release on the winning names.
The dogs search for missing or lost people, track and apprehend criminals, remove illicit drugs from the streets, detect explosives, and search for evidence used in crimes, the RCMP said.
Lowe and the other winners will each receive a laminated 8″ x 10″ photo of the pup they named, a plush dog named Justice and an RCMP water bottle.
Amputated Wonder Dog is Able To Walk On Two Right Legs
Sometimes, nature can truly be incredible.
A 3-year-old dog that had its legs amputated has beaten the odds and is able to walk on two right legs, British news agency SWNS reports.
Deuce, a Kentucky brown dog, was discovered in a ditch with broken and infected legs that had to be removed. He was later adopted by Domenick Scudera, who also cares for two separate two-legged dogs, the news outlet reported.
“Deuce is completely mobile and doesn’t need any extra help at all – he is amazing,” Scudera, 55, said. “He defies logic.”
Now residing in Collegeville, Pa. with his adopted brothers Cyrus and Lucky, Deuce and his brothers travel to hospitals to visit children as therapy dogs, providing inspiration and showing that what may be insurmountable odds can be overcome. The three dogs also have their own Instagram page, which has nearly 50,000 followers.
Scudera, a theater professor at nearby Ursinus College, said he is amazed that Deuce does not need the help of prosthetics or wheelchairs and is agile as he is.
“Although he only has legs on the right side, he is very strong and stable and can walk and run just as steadily as any other dog with 4 legs,” he explained. “Deuce doesn’t use a wheelchair. It is incredible that he is as agile and balanced as he is without one.”
“They have completely changed my life for the better,” Scudera added. “They mean the world to me.”
Man Nicknamed ‘Wild Willie’ Gets 5 Years For Shooting Vietnam Vet’s Therapy Dog
A New Jersey man was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for fatally shooting his neighbor’s therapy dog.
Bob Cook, a Vietnam War veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, went out looking for his Pomeranian-poodle mix, Toby, after the dog got out of the house on Sept. 17, 2019 and didn’t come back, local news station NBC10 reported.
Cook found Toby in the street, howling in pain.
The Cook family originally thought the dog had been hit by a car, according to a probable cause report obtained by the Courier-Post, a local newspaper.
But when they took him to a vet’s office, they discovered the horrible truth – Toby had been shot in the head.
He was euthanized the next day, the Courier-Post reported.
The investigation soon zeroed in on a neighbor of Cook’s, the 64-year-old heavy equipment operator William Stroemel – known to his friends as “Wild Willie.”
Shortly after the incident, Stroemel had given his air rifle to an acquaintance for safe keeping, saying he was going on a vacation. The acquaintance kept the rifle under his bed for three days, but took it to police after he heard Stroemel was suspected of shooting Toby, according to the probable cause report.
Following a necropsy, investigators were able to connect the pellet lodged in Toby’s skull with Stroemel’s rifle, according to a press release by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Further investigation revealed that Stroemel had shot Toby while the dog was walking in the street near his home, according to the press release.
Stroemel was charged with animal cruelty and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.
“There are few criminal acts as callous as shooting an innocent dog that is the beloved pet of one of your neighbors,” prosecutor Scott Coffina said in the release. “But Toby was not just a family pet, he was also a therapy dog and helped relieve the post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by a Vietnam War veteran.
“Such flagrant disregard for life and the impact of one’s actions demands serious punishment, and we believe this plea agreement reflects that.”
But of course, there is nothing that can bring Cook’s dog back.
“I’ll miss him the rest of my days,” Cook told NBC10.
