Category: Awww

The Sweetest Trick: Border Collie Hugs Her German Shepherd BFF [Video]

Lottie, a 2-year-old Border Collie from Ontario, Canada, is “very much a normal dog,” according to her dog mom, Taylor Duguay.

“Lottie isn’t perfect,” Duguay told ABC News. “I’ll be the first to admit she’s like every other dog. She barks when someone comes to the door, she’s chewed a roll of paper towels and she likes spending her days taking naps.”

But there’s one special thing Lottie can do that a lot of other dogs probably cannot: She can hug her best friend, a 2-year-old German Shepherd named Grizzly.

Although Duquay has taught Lottie more than 250 tricks, hugging Grizzly was not one of them. The Border Collie, who competes in dog sports like Frisbee and dock diving, spontaneously started doing it.

“At first Grizzly wasn’t sure what was going on,” Duquay told the Daily Mail. “Now when I ask Lottie who her best friend is, you can even catch Grizzly getting ready for the hug and leaning into her.”

Duguay adopted Lottie when she was 4 months old. A year later, she rescued Grizzly from the streets when the German Shepherd was just a 7-week-old puppy.

“As far as their relationship together, it’s something out of a storybook,” Duquay told the Daily Mail. “Lottie is convinced Grizzly is her own pup. From day one she treated him with love and care.”

Last week, Duquay posted a video on Vine of Lottie hugging Grizzly, with the description, “Who’s your best friend?” As of this afternoon, it’s been viewed by nearly 38 million people.

“Lottie has a knack for doing tricks and she loves nothing more than performing for crowds,” Duguay told ABC News. “In my eyes, Lottie is a super dog.”

Super duper!

Photo via Vine

Dog Helps Save Life of Stranded Sea Turtle

A 2-year-old Newfoundland named Veda happened to be in the right place at the right time Monday morning.

Veda was walking ahead of her pet parents along the beach in Plymouth, Mass., when she spotted a stranded loggerhead sea turtle that was almost hidden in the same-colored sand, seaweed and debris that had washed ashore during an storm the day before.

Leah and Brad Bares wondered why their dog suddenly stopped and lay down in the sand.

“It was something she had never seen,” Leah told the Boston Globe. “That’s just the nature of a Newfoundland … instincts that it needed to be saved or helped.”

If Veda hadn’t found the sea turtle, it would have died within a few hours. The temperature was in the 20s, much too cold for a loggerhead to survive.

The Bares told the Boston Globe they “freaked out” at first when they saw the turtle. They covered it with seaweed to help keep it warm and made some cell-phone calls.

Soon William Gray, a volunteer with the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, arrived and helped the couple carry the 40-pound sea turtle off the beach. He brought it to the New England Aquarium’s off-site Animal Care Center in Quincy, Mass.

“This sea turtle coming ashore on January 11 is the latest to ever strand alive so late in the winter in the aquarium’s 25-year effort to rehabilitate cold-stunned sea turtles off the Massachusetts coast,” the aquarium said in a press release today. “Besides the late date, this turtle was unusual as it was found on the South Shore versus Cape Cod, where 99 percent of the strandings occur.”

After four days of slowly being re-warmed, the sea turtle’s body temperature has been raised from 30 degrees to a closer-to-normal 70 degrees.

“The animal is bright and alert with a guarded but promising prognosis,” the aquarium said.

Aquarium spokesman Tony LeCasse told the Boston Globe, “We were very lucky. If that dog hadn’t seen that sea turtle … they probably would have never noticed.”

The lucky loggerhead has been named Newfie in honor of its rescuer.

“Each year aquarium rescue staff name many of the sea turtles after a particular theme, such as cartoon characters or constellations,” the aquarium noted. “Strangely enough, this year’s naming theme is dog breeds.”

Another strange — and very cool — coincidence: Veda’s dog mom is an artist, and one of her most popular works is a watercolor painting of a loggerhead turtle. Leah donates 20 percent of the proceeds from each sale to the non-profit National Marine Life Center in Bourne, Mass.

“There’s some people in the neighborhood who are against dogs on the beach,” Leah told the Boston Globe, “but this is all the more reason to keep bringing her on walks.”

Photos: New England Aquarium

Dog Who Went Missing During California Wildfire Reunites with Family 4 Months Later

When the devastating Valley Fire wildfire swept through Northern California in September, destroying more than 1,200 houses, Darci Andrews was out of town. Not only did she lose her Hidden Valley home, but she also lost her pets who were locked inside the house, including Tia, a 7-year-old Siberian Husky/Pit Bull mix.

Or so Andrews thought.

In December, three months after the wildfire, Tyler Wages found a lost dog in the woods not far from Andrews’ former home. He spent the next month leaving food out for the scared dog and trying to lure her to him with treats.

Wages was finally able to coax the dog into his house last week. She was wearing an ID tag with Andrews’ name on it, but the landline phone number was no longer working due to the house being destroyed.

Wages didn’t give up. He used Facebook to track Andrews down where she worked, Twin Pines Casino, and gave her a call.

“He said she kind of looked like a wolf, with one blue eye and a blue collar. I started crying,” Andrews told the Press Democrat.

She rushed over to Wages’ house. “I go inside and they bring out my Tia. I started bawling!” Andrews told ABC News. “She came up to me, wagging her tail, and licked my face.”

Every day for the past four months, Andrews said her boyfriend, Bernie Hosmer, would return to her property “and sift through the ashes to see if he could find the remains” of her pets. He did find the remains of another dog, Bosko, who was inside a kennel cage, but there was no sign of Tia and another dog, or of Andrews’ other pets, two cats and two rats.

“I created this flyer and posted it up. I posted their pictures on all of the Facebook sites. We chased down every lead,” Andrews told ABC News. “It would break our hearts every single time.”

Andrews, her adult daughters and Hosmer were about to give up hope. One of Andrews’ daughters got a tattoo of Tia in her beloved dog’s memory, and they both gave their mom a Pit Bull puppy named Layla to help lessen the pain of the loss.

“If somebody thinks there’s a chance their pet is still out there, they shouldn’t give up,” Andrews told the Press Democrat.

Considering her ordeal, Tia is doing remarkably well, according to her veterinarian, Joanna Holtz. Tia lost weight and suffered some minor burns, but is otherwise doing fine.

Holtz told the Press Democrat a few other pets were reunited with their owners after the Valley Fire, but none after such a long time as Tia. And Tia is the only pet she knows of who somehow managed to escape out of a locked house.

“Tia was out there for 116 days. She made it out of a burning house, out of a burning neighborhood,” Andrews told ABC News. “She’s our own personal little miracle.”

And as for Tia’s rescuer, Andrews said Wages is her hero. “I can’t believe what he did for us,” she told the Press Democrat.

Photo via Twitter

This Dog Who Can ‘Say Cheese’ on Command Won’t Be Homeless for Long

Herbert has a very charming skill: The 5-month-old Pit Bull mix can show his pearly whites when told to “Say cheese.”

Herbert is temporarily homeless, but since his video has been viewed over 10.8 million times on Facebook, it’s extremely likely he’ll have a forever home soon.

say cheese

Posted by Amanda Robles on Saturday, January 9, 2016

 

“This little rock star will be up for adoption in about two weeks,” wrote his foster mom, Amanda Robles, in a Facebook post. “He’s such a sweet boy and always wants to sleep in your lap. Now that he made u laugh, help find him a home!”

Herbert will be available later this month from PAWS Chicago. Hopefully the potential adopters who don’t end up with this particular rock star will consider another charming homeless dog from this rescue, or any other rescue or shelter across the country.

As PAWS Chicago wrote on its Facebook page, “For folks outside of the Illinois area, check your local shelter for a pet who will give you years of happiness, even if they can’t share a cheesy grin.”

Photo via Facebook

Two Dogs Survive Two Days in Rubble After Texas Tornado

The devastating EF3 tornado that ripped through Texas Saturday killed at least 11 people and destroyed scores of houses, but two dogs were very lucky to survive.

Gina Berkshier rescued her cousin and her cousin’s husband after they became trapped under their house in Rowlett Saturday. She searched everywhere, but couldn’t find her cousin’s two dogs.

As her cousin and family recovered from their injuries, Berkshier returned to their demolished house today to try to salvage what she could of their belongings.

As she sorted through the debris, Berkshier heard barking and crying. She and family members spent 20 minutes digging through the rubble to reach Sawyer, one of her cousin’s dogs.

A friend rushed Sawyer, who appears to be a yellow Lab mix, to the vet. Amazingly, Sawyer suffered no broken bones or serious injuries.

A few hours later, Berkshier and her helpers were able to free her cousin’s other dog, a Chihuahua named Lucy. Like Sawyer, the little dog did not suffer any major injuries.

“Oh my gosh, I have not been able to sleep these last few nights,” Berkshier told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. “I was just praying.”

NBC 5 reports that both Sawyer and Lucy are expected to make full recoveries.

Photos via Twitter

Exit mobile version