The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Australian lost dog found nine years later

As hard as it is to have a dog die, it must be even harder to have a dog go missing as the months and years go by. There would be no closure and the owners would always wonder what happened? Is he out there someplace? Is she trying to get home?

Jimmy and Denny sent me this story. It made our eyes leak. But in a good way.

Chloe Rushby who is now 17 was only eight years old when her beloved Muffy disappeared from her yard. Then out of the blue the family got a phone call that Muffy had been found in Melbourne, over 1200 miles away.

"It would be fair to say that they were extremely elated and extremely excited by the call," said RSPCA inspector Gail Coulter, who found an emaciated Muffy after an anonymous tip.

Investigating a tip about animal cruelty, she found Muffy in a filthy back yard sleeping on a tattered piece of cardboard. Besides being emaciated, she had a severe case of dermatitis caused by flea allergy. It is known that she had been kept there for the past two years, but where she had been the previous seven years will always be a mystery.

The last thing Ms. Coulter expected was to find was the bag of skin and bones had been microchipped.

She was even more astounded when her original owners were found in Brisbane and were overjoyed to have their old dog back. "It's an amazing, extraordinary story on several counts," Ms Coulter said.

"The fact that someone went to the trouble of calling in her case as one of neglect probably saved her life. "Then the fact that she was microchipped made us realise she had probably come from a very different home and background to the one we found her in.

"And then, most remarkably, that we were able to track down her original owners, nine years later and even though their contact details recorded on the microchip information were hopelessly out of date."

Muffy will be flown home to Brisbane VIP-style next week to be reunited with the girl who never forgot her. Mum Natalie Lampard said Chloe, who shared her bed with Muffy for three years, still talked about the missing pooch right up until the RSPCA called. Now Chloe can tell Muffy herself how much she missed her. Source

Respect

Thanks to Jackiesue and Bob

I believe PETA has jumped the shark and other random thoughts

I believe PETA has jumped the shark, and only lazy media sources will continue to pay attention to their press releases. And possibly porn sites looking for bimbos who can’t wait to get naked.

I believe there are far more people who want to have dogs in their lives than people who want to get rid of domestic animals. We just need to show our numbers and our power.

I believe HSUS is responsible for far more deaths than Michael Vick. Their unholy alliance shows the hypocrisy of both.

I believe that some NFL team will eventually bring in Vick the Dick because Vinnie Testaverdi, Jeff George, and Ryan Leaf are not available.

I believe that people are entitled to spend their money as they choose. But if you spend thousands of $$ on doggie orthodontics or surgery, there is no reason to tell your sister-in-law or some reporter who doesn’t like dogs and isn’t too thrilled with you either.

I believe that pampered pets don’t cause hungry children and if someone says that, you should step far away from them and what passes for thought processes.

I believe that misguided bureaucrats and extreme environmentalists who are protecting a non-endangered bait fish and denying water for food production do more to cause world hunger than gazillions of pampered pets ever could.

I believe that people who want to have a dog cloned should consider how many dogs will have to die or undergo painful procedures just so that they can have a dog that has the same DNA but will never be THAT DOG.

I believe that McDonald’s makes the best French fries in the history of the world. They used to taste better until the food police insisted they stop using animal fat. Now they don’t taste quite as good, but they are no healthier.

I believe that the food police are those tattle tales from childhood who tried to sap the joy from our youth.

I believe, until I can see convincing evidence, that bottled water is not superior to tap water and organic food is not superior to conventional food. Until then I am going to assume they are simply more expensive.

I believe studies that show that dark chocolate has health benefits and that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I believe that everyone should buy the highest thread count sheets they can afford…they last for years, worth every penny. Great deals on the internet.

I believe that we should shop locally to keep our tax dollars at home except when we find great deals on the internet.

I believe that the earth has had climate change for the billions of years earth has been around and it is arrogant of us to think we can affect it. 

I believe that most dog bills and laws have the opposite effect of what they are intended to do.

I believe that all lawmakers should spend half the year living with the rest of us and all laws they pass should apply to them.

The Poodle who would be mortgage officer

Dogs don’t have to stay home alone all day or be taken to doggie day care. A well behaved dog can be a great asset to a business.

Some enlightened companies allow workers to bring their dogs to work where the dogs add to the camaraderie and friendliness of the work place.

This is Angel, a red Poodle who is the mascot for Tara Mortgage Corporation in Pensacola, Florida.

Angel can’t wait to get to work each morning, making the rounds of all the work stations. She greets customers and loves Robert the mailman. Angel barks only at squirrels and motorcycles. For just a few kibbles she will stand, spin, walk on her hind legs, shake paws, sit, give high five, play ball and roll over.

Recently Diane Gilmore, Angel’s owner, was momentarily out of her office when a customer arrived, but Angel knew just what to do. She met the customer in the outer office and ushered her in. When the customer sat down, Angel jumped into Diane’s chair to conduct business.

The customer snapped this picture of Angel with a digital camera. Source

Three Classic, Unforgettable Doggie Photographs

The Fireman and the Doberman

One of the most emailed pictures of all time.
Photographer Patrick Schneider of the Charlotte Observer caught this moment in July, 1999 of firefighter Jeff Clark and Cinnamon the Doberman.

The January 1973 cover of National Lampoon.
“If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog”

Former President Bill Clinton, his wife, Hillary, and the dog, Buddy

Pearl the lost Chihuahua will fly home with a lot of help from friends

When I start to get discouraged about the human race, I find a story like this one from the Billings Gazette. It’s wonderful what strangers will do to help dogs and their families.

Thanks to some great people in Montana, Pearl the little lost Chihuahua will join her family in their new home in Maine.

Pearl’s owners, Jared and Racey Collins, totaled their car in Montana while moving from Washington state to Maine in advance of Jared’s deployment with his army unit to Iraq. Jared was unhurt but Racey, 19, was hospitalized.

In the confusion Pearl, a four pound Chihuahua with a pink collar, got lost in an alfalfa field. They reported her missing and tried to find her, but soon had to get back on the road in a rental truck.

Three days later Pearl wandered into a local resident’s yard and the woman contacted Racey Collins. They had run out of funds after Jared rejoined his army unit, but Racey agreed to send money the first of the month to pay for Pearl’s trip to join them in Maine.

Meanwhile, two residents, Cathy Probert and Raechel Nelson, began a drive to raise money to have Pearl transported to Maine. Offers poured in when the story appeared in the local newspaper.

By coincidence, local resident, Deborah Rumberger, was flying from Montana to Portland, Maine for a family gathering and offered to take Pearl on the airplane with her and her children. Over $600 was raised by local residents. The money will be used for Pearl’s transportation and the rest will be donated to the Collinses to help pay hospital bills and other expenses.

Can dogs tell real diamonds from fake?

OK, I know dogs can do amazing things. But this one is too weird. I mean, I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck, whatever a turnip truck is.

Bill Pearlman, owner of Pearlman's Jewelers in Michigan, adopted a mixed breed dog who had been abused by his former owner.

Daisy was delighted with her new circumstances and began to greet and entertain customers at the store.

One day for fun Pearlman held out a diamond that he was pretty sure was a fake, asking Daisy what she thought. To his surprise Daisy sniffed and immediately started growling. “I think she knows it’s a fake,” Pearlman said laughing.

To test the theory, Mr. Pearlman had a real diamond brought out of the vault. When this diamond was presented to Daisy for inspection her tail began to wag uncontrollably. The experiment was repeated several more times with the same result each time. Daisy always growled at the fake and wagged her tail at the genuine diamond. Needless to say Mr. Pearlman was quite impressed. "She has a 100% accuracy rating! Humans have to be trained to do this job. She just instinctively knows. When that tail starts wagging, we know she is looking at the genuine article." Press release

Can dogs detect real diamonds from fake? Convince me.

Can they read the most imperceptibly subtle body language from an owner they adore?

Oh yes.

Is this a clever way to draw customers to the store? Most definitely.

Gidget’s unfortunate legacy

Because she was so cute and charismatic, Gidget, the late Taco Bell spokesdog, started a Chihuahua fad which has led to hundreds of puppy mills through the years such as this one recently in Colorado where 200 Chihuahuas were kept in deplorable conditions.

Bred in cages without human socialization, these puppies are often unhealthy with a lot to overcome before they can go to their own families. Fear biting is one of the major problems with the puppies, an unpleasant habit which can cause the adopting families to surrender them to a shelter.

The breeding stock often have long, painful claws, skin lesions, and rotten teeth as they have been neglected by breeders interested only in profit.

In a heartbreaking case of animal hoarding in Michigan recently officials discovered not only over 100 living Chihuahuas but also 151 dead Chihuahuas in freezers of a 900 square foot house.

The good news is that the public, seeing pictures of these cute little guys, always seems to be willing to step up and donate to the cause or apply for adoption. Hopefully people will realize that an unsocialized puppy is going to take time and patience. They may need to work with a professional dog trainer. Excessive shyness and fear biting are two of the main problems these puppies may need help to overcome.

Friends have a way of speaking without words

Precious, the five legged puppy, is now Lilly, the normal dog

The tug of war between John Strong, owner of a Coney Island animal freak show, and the puppy’s new owner, Allyson Siegel, over the fate of Precious, a five-legged puppy seems to be over.

Precious, now renamed Lilly, has undergone surgery to make her a normal puppy.

When the original owner of the puppy reneged on a deal to sell her to Strong for $3000, he threatened to sue.

The surgery was completed by a veterinarian at an undisclosed location and the puppy is recovering well with no complications.

Prior to the surgery, the puppy couldn't sit, walk or lie properly because of the extra leg (which had six toes and protruded from her stomach). "She'd struggle to run up a hill or walk up a hill because she had to tug that thing behind her," says Siegel. Source

Strong objected to the way he was being characterized by animal lovers, insisting that he takes good care of his animals. I’m sure he does, but Lilly will undoubtedly live a happier life as a normal dog.