The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Australian dog honored for saving owner using doggie CPR

Teka, a 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog, has been given the RSPCA’s animal achievement award for her efforts following her owner’s massive heart attack.

Her owner Jim Touzeau collapsed on the floor when his heart stopped while working at his glass factory. Teka immediately climbed onto his chest and began to jump repeatedly with her four paws. Then she barked in his face and ran barking outside to attract attention.

Medical experts won’t agree whether the canine CPR had medical impact, but do agree that he wouldn’t be alive today without her efforts to revive him and attract attention.

Touzeau, a 79-year-old owner of a glass factory in Queensland, also suffered deep cuts when he fell on plate glass during the attack.

“I lost my wife six years ago this Christmas and it's a pretty lonely life on your own. I got Teka three years ago and she's a terrific companion. She just never leaves my side. Because it's just the two of us, I rely on her and she relies on me.”

Mr Touzeau said he remembered nothing of the heart attack, but recalled waking up to Teka on his chest. "She was really thumping my chest with her two front feet,'' he said. "It was out of the blue [behaviour] for her. "She must have been thinking 'I better wake this fella up or I won't get any dinner'.''

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said Teka had shown incredible intuition. "This award isn't given away lightly. If she hadn't been there he probably would not have woken up." Source 

This is a REAL wedding party, NOT Halloween costumes.

All eyes were on Comet, an American Bulldog, when Amanda Santos and Nelson Carreiro were married in June.

Now he is taking his show to television to star on Animal Planet on Saturday, showing how he trained for the big day.

Dressed in a doggie tuxedo, 4-year-old Comet was the doggie best man and usher at the wedding. Comet trained for three months to learn right from left so that he could seat the bride’s friends and family on her side and the groom’s on his side. He correctly seated around eighty guests. Then he sat and stayed during the entire ceremony.

When he isn’t a wedding participant or a TV star, Comet works as a therapy dog in nursing homes and schools. Three years ago when the couple adopted him, he was 40 pounds underweight. Now weighing in at 100 pounds, it cost them $1000 to restore him to good health.

Santos, a dog trainer studying to be an animal behaviorist, and Carreiro, who works in construction and helps with group classes, couldn’t imagine getting married without having their dogs as part of the festivities. Three churches turned them down before they found a place that would accept the unusual wedding party.

Lola and Cookie, both Brussels Griffons, and Lilly, a mix, served as bridesmaids. Lucky the cat didn’t participate in the ceremony.

Duh.

More of the story

The dogs of President Herbert Hoover

King Tut was much more than just a pet to President Hoover. Many believed that he helped him get elected.

The German Shepherd went with Hoover on the campaign trail, winning votes across the country. Besides being cute, King Tut made the candidate appear friendly and down to earth. King Tut was a favorite with photographers. An autographed image was sent out to thousands of voters.

Once in the White House, King Tut had the run of the house and grounds. He was the President’s constant companion, leaving him only to patrol the fences of the White House at night to make sure everything was secure.

One day Hoover noticed King Tut playing with one of the White House guards. The President whistled for him. The dog looked, ignored him and continued playing. (Can’t we all relate to this?)

Hey, I have a life too, you know.

The next day a Presidential decree went forth that staff members were not to play with King Tut.

Later the Hoovers added two Norwegian Elkhounds, pictured on a White House Christmas card with Mrs. Hoover.

All the President’s dogs links

Washington        FDR    Clinton   Nixon     T. Roosevelt    Lincoln     Kennedy    Reagan     Harding    Ford    LBJ    Carter    Coolidge  

Life is a game to dogs

If only people would get it.

To teach a dog you have to think like a dog. If dogs could make a music video so people could understand, this would be it.

Carve your dog’s face into a pumpkin

Having run countless humiliating photos of dogs in costumes through the years, I am declaring this a dog costume free blog for the season. Here is a way for your dog to join in the Halloween celebration with dignity. [click to enlarge]

Better Homes and Gardens online has stencils of 13 of your favorite breeds to download. You can vote for your favorite dog-pumpkins.

Click to see details of three dogs.

Thanks to Pam

Blondie and Dagwood’s dog, Daisy—A great American dog

Since the beginning of the comic strip in 1930, “Blondie” has appeared in thousands of newspapers all over the world. For almost 80 years Daisy has been the definitive American Family Dog.

You might be surprised to learn that originally Dagwood Bumstead was a playboy from a wealthy family and Blondie Boopadoop was a slightly slutty flapper who liked to hang around dance halls.

Dagwood’s family threatened to disinherit him if he married her. But Dagwood was Dagwood and they were married.

This was during the Great Depression and the head of the syndicate that carried the strip suggested to the artist, Chic Young, that the disinherited newlyweds should live a simple life, reflecting ordinary people of the day.

So Dagwood got a job, they bought the two story house in the suburbs where they still live today and they got a dog of indeterminate breed that they named Daisy. A companion dog from the beginning, Daisy was involved in all the family activities as she appears in most of the panels set in their home.

Their son Alexander, called Baby Dumpling for a long time, was born in 1934. Not to be outdone, Daisy soon had five puppies, four girls and a bratty boy called Elmer. Daisy’s puppies appeared in strips for years without changing, but either Daisy got tired of them or the artist got tired of drawing them and they disappeared.

Cookie was born in 1941. Although both children are well into Social Security age now, after many years as babies and children they remain teenagers today.

Daisy, however, has remained unchanged through the years. Like most of our dogs, she likes to be part of her owner’s lives, napping on the floor while Dagwood sleeps on the couch or helping Blondie in the kitchen. Daisy is always aware of and reacts to what is going on in her family.

I like to read the strip and then go back and look at what Daisy is doing in each panel. In last Sunday's strip she totally gets the joke they are playing.

There have been a few changes to the strip through the years. Chic Young passed the strip on to his son, Dean. Dagwood rides in a carpool instead of rushing for the trolley. Blondie is running her own catering business. The furniture has been simple without many changes through the years, a couch, two easy chairs, a bed, a night stand and a kitchen table. The kitchen has been updated, however. The phone chest is the same. The phone has been updated though it still hasn’t gone cordless.

But a lot remains unchanged, Dagwood’s cowlicks (inherited by Alexander), Blondie’s flapper hairdo and tiny waistline, Mr. Dithers and his bossy wife Cora, Herb and Tootsie next door, the morning rush to get to work and the run-ins with the postman, Mr. Beasley, the humongous sandwiches, the bathtub, the naps, little Elmo, and…Daisy.

Most of all Daisy.

Dog Byte

By Will Bullas

Posted with the permission of the artist

The Huskinois—will they be the world’s best guard dogs?

This tiny newborn puppy could grow up to be the world’s best guard dog—according to her breeder anyway.

She is a Huskinois, a breeding of a Belgian Malinois and a Siberian Husky. And, no, this was not one of those accidental breedings.

The Belgian Malinois is widely used as a police dog worldwide while the Siberian Husky is known for power and endurance as a sled dog.

According to her breeder, Darren Debenham, who sells dogs all over the world to police forces and military:

People have been trying to breed the two dogs for years but for some reason they would not breed and the pups died hours after they were born.

We believe this is the only one in the world and we hope now we can create a bigger and better breed.

We wanted to breed the two because the Belgian Malinois is a very fast and active dog and they can get to great speeds.

They also have a high prey drive, but they do tend to over-heat and get tired very quickly. With the Siberian Husky they can get to great speeds and can run great distances with their stamina. So now we have a Malinois which can run that little bit further and be that little bit bulkier. Source

He hopes that the little unnamed puppy can be a foundation dog for the new breed of police, military and guard dogs.

A recent study showed the secrets of why sled dogs are able to perform remarkable feats of endurance. Perhaps their stamina can be passed on to dogs used by military and police.

While dog purists and the AKC may not like cross breedings, in the hands of knowledgeable breeders, some remarkable dogs have been developed without the genetic weaknesses sometimes found in purebred dogs

Wordless Wednesday

Are dogs capable of carrying out devious schemes?

Of course maybe not.

It’s just that last night I tripped over a dog, one of mine, and made a two point landing, right knee and left little finger.

No harm to the knee on the carpet landing, but the little finger is sore, red and swollen.

I could go to the ER or Urgent Care, go through the admission process, wait a few hours, maybe have an X-ray and finally learn that they can’t do anything for it. Someone with many years of medical training will look at it and suggest I put on ice to take down the swelling and then I’ll be sent home. That has been several past experiences.

The thing is this: typing is painful, especially the letters a, q, and z, so I won’t be spending as much time on the computer today, leaving more time for tummy rubs and fetch. And I am so clumsy that in making breakfast I dropped slivers of cheese and both halves of a bagel on the floor.

The dogs were there.

They somehow knew.