Awww Archives - Page 5 of 35 - i Still Love Dogs

Dog Has New Home with Heroes Who Rescued Him from Arizona Freeway

During rush hour Tuesday afternoon, a German Shepherd mix wandered in and out of traffic on a busy freeway in Tempe, Ariz. Some drivers stopped and attempted to lure the stray dog to them, to no avail.

As they watched this dangerous situation unfold in a live stream on the azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook page, Kim and Andrew Vander Stoep decided to do something about it. They grabbed a leash, water and dog treats, then got in their truck and drove to the freeway.

Kim, who works at an animal hospital, walked across the Elliot Road off-ramp and was able to get the leash on the dog as he was distracted by other good Samaritans who’d stopped to help. While waiting for Andrew to arrive in the truck, she gave the dog water and treats.

The Vander Stoeps took the dog to the animal hospital where Kim works to see if he had a microchip. He did, but the contact person said the dog wasn’t his.

This lucky dog, who’s been named Elliot after the off-ramp where Kim saved him, has a new forever home — with his rescuers.

“We’ve got four dogs at home. We’re dog people,” Andrew told azfamily.com. “Our house is set up for dogs.” The couple had been planning to adopt a Pit Bull with three legs due to cancer, but will put that on hold until Elliot settles in to his new digs.

“He’s safe now and that’s all that matters,” Kim told azfamily.com.

Photo: azfamily 3TV CBS 5/Facebook

Farewell, My Sweet Leroy Brown from the Carson Pound

When my boyfriend Fred and I rescued a 6-month-old American Bulldog mix from a Carson, Calif., animal shelter back in October 2007, the staff had named him “Snorty” because he loved to snort like a pig when he was happy (or anywhere near a bowl of food).

Although we changed his name to Leroy Brown, he truly lived up to his shelter moniker and spent a good part of his lifetime snorting (not to mention snoring many decibels louder than a Harley engine). He was one of the happiest, sweetest…and adorably loudest dogs I’ve ever had.

Earlier this year, Leroy’s health began to fail, yet he didn’t let it get him down, and continued to snort as much as possible. Sadly, he took a turn for the worse this week, so Fred and I made the heartbreaking decision yesterday to end his suffering.

I kissed and scratched my sweet lovin’ brown dog’s ears — his very favorite spot to be scratched — as he took his final breath.

About 30 seconds after the veterinarian confirmed his heart had stopped beating, Leroy snorted.

The vet and I looked at each other in disbelief. We both believe it was a signal from Leroy. Wherever he’s slipped away to, he is very happy. I like to think he’s been reunited with his old girlfriend Sophie, and they’re having a whole lot of fun together up there in dog heaven.

As we drove home from the animal hospital, both Fred and I heard a loud, random dog bark. Sure, it probably came from a real, live dog, but we like to think this was also a sign.

And after I went to bed last night but was still wide awake, I saw a dog-sized shadow glide past the bedroom door. I thought it was our other dog, Ella, but it wasn’t. I really don’t believe in ghosts, but I’d like to think that it was Leroy’s spirit, letting me know that he’s now free of arthritis and his other health issues.

Here’s a video I made after we adopted Ella in 2010. As you can see, Leroy and Ella got along really well back then, but eventually they became “frenemies,” barely tolerating (and occasionally fighting) each other. But I know they cared about each other…I can tell that Ella is grieving now, just like Fred and me.

Rest in peace, sweet Leroy Brown. We love you so, so much.

Thanks to Flyer, Dog Park Regular Whose Owner Died Has a Loving New Home

A senior Rottweiler mix named Bandit used to enjoy fun times at a Thousand Oaks, Calif., dog park with his owner, Phil, known by other park regulars as “The Doctor.”

Sadly, Phil passed away at his home. Days later, police discovered him, with Bandit by his side, on Feb. 6. They took the 10-year-old dog to the County of Los Angeles – Agoura Animal Care Center.

When a kind-hearted dog park regular found out about Phil’s death and his senior dog’s situation — it’s a sad but true fact that older dogs have much more difficulty getting adopted and making it out of shelters alive — they posted a flyer on the dog park fence with Bandit’s photo and ID number. Amy Mandel took a photo of the flyer and posted it on Facebook, where it was shared over 4,800 times.

“Life is very different now and I am quite sad,” says “Bandit” in the flyer. “I get along with everyone and am an easy-going guy! Would you please allow me to live out my days in another home again?”

The flyer worked. Bandit has been adopted and, just as he wished, will live out his days with a family and their other rescue dog, Tarra. The Agoura Animal Care Center posted this happy update from Bandit’s new dog mom yesterday on its Facebook page:

“He is so sweet! He’s having a blast; what a personality. Once we got home, I took him and our little dog (Tarra- also a rescue) out back to go potty, and he was so happy he ran laps around the yard! I had no idea he had so much happy energy in him, then he and Tarra were running around all over the house and yard. Tarra really misses her brothers – my dogs that passed. Tarra is so happy. They follow each other around and Bandit is like my little shadow. He LOVES my son DJ, and when husband got home he was licking him and following him around! He is a little love, so happy he’s with us.”

Congratulations to Bandit and many thanks to his adopters and everyone who helped ensure he found a forever home. The saying that it takes a village is really true, and in Bandit’s case the “village” was a dog park community.

Heartwarming: Washington Woman Adopts Dog Who Shares Her Medical Condition

Sue Blackenship of Newman Lake, Wash., was born with patent ductus arteriosisa (PDA), a heart condition that occurs when a blood vessel that should fully close after birth fails to do so. This allows deoxygenated blood to flow into an area of the heart in which there should only be oxygenated blood. Without corrective surgery, PDA causes early-onset congestive heart failure — which is fatal.

In December, Blackenship read about about Bruno, a young Lab mix at the Spokane Humane Society (SHS) shelter who needed surgery for the same heart condition.

According to the SHS Facebook page, Bruno was originally from San Antonio, Texas, and had been transported from a partner shelter to the humane society in early October.

“Shortly after Bruno’s arrival, our veterinarian found that he has a severe heart murmur,” the SHS wrote. X-rays confirmed he had PDA.

“In that moment, as crazy as it sounds, I just had this feeling that we were meant to be because I had had that same surgery like 60 years ago,” Blankenship told KING 5. She enlisted the help of her family and neighbors to help pay the $4,000 needed for Bruno’s surgery, which he underwent at Washington State University’s Veterinary Hospital.

“I just felt like I had a connection with him,” she said. “I couldn’t forget him, you know what I mean?” She regularly checked the Spokane Humane Society’s Facebook page, hoping for an update on the dog she just couldn’t get out of her mind.

As soon as Bruno had recovered from surgery and was available for adoption, Blankenship went to see him at the shelter.

“He jumped up on the fencing and just made incredible eye contact with me, I mean just like boring into me,” she told KING 5. “I just felt like he was saying, ‘Take me.'”

So that’s exactly what Blankenship did. Bruno, who’s now called (by his last name?) Mars, is very happy in his new forever home.

The new dog mom hopes others will follow her lead and rescue a pet from a shelter.

“You might not think you’re in the right spot for an animal right now, you’re wrong,” she told KING 5. “Everything you give to a dog, they give it back 100 fold.”

Here’s hoping Blankenship and Mars spend many happy years together — and from now on that “PDA” only applies to their public displays of affection.

Photo: Spokane Humane Society/Facebook

5 Reasons Why Jon Stewart Is So Doggone Awesome

This post was originally published in August 2015.

During his tenure as host of “The Daily Show” from January 1999 to August 2015, Jon Stewart skewered the news media and plenty of politicians — but he’s always had a soft spot for dogs, especially Pit Bulls.

Here are just five of the many reasons why Jon Stewart is a doggone awesome guy.

Bonus Fun Fact

Even the theme song of “The Daily Show” has a canine-related title: it’s “Dog on Fire,” performed by They Might Be Giants.

The instrumental tune was written by Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü. Based on the sound effects in the original version, its rather disturbing title might refer to a bowler who’s scoring a lot of strikes.

5. ‘The Daily Show’ office is dog friendly.

“On any given day, a half dozen dogs roam the halls, scavenge for treats and bark when people start clapping at ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,'” according to The Daily Show Dogs, a Facebook page dedicated to these lucky pets.

In September 2012, Brian Williams did about this perk for NBC’s “Rock Center.” (For the record, Williams was not lying about “The Daily Show” being dog friendly.)

4. Jon Stewart is a longtime Pit Bull advocate.

When Tia Torres, founder of the Villalobos Rescue Center featured on “Pit Bulls and Parolees,” was a guest in September 2014, she told Stewart, “I knew who Jon Stewart was before I knew what ‘The Daily Show’ was, because you’re such a Pit Bull advocate.”

3. He enlightened his audience about puppy mills.

The “Big Red Dogs” segment, in which Olivia Munn interviewed a supporter of puppy mills, aired after Missouri’s Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act passed in November 2010.

“They’re expecting breeders to sit there and pay for an exorbitance amount of care that is not needed, like adequate food, adequate water, adequate space,” says Anita Andrews, director of Alliance for Truth, an organization that opposed the law.

The segment gets even funnier/scarier after that, with appearances by “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan and spcaLA President Madeline Bernstein.

2. He ripped Michael Vick a new one.

When it was discovered in 2007 that the NFL’s Michael Vick ran a dog-fighting operation and had killed several dogs himself, like most of us, Stewart was livid.

“I’d like to cover him in liver and let the dogs see if he’s as fast and elusive as they say he is,” Stewart said, fuming, as the studio audience cheered.

“My guess is no.”

1. He’s the dog dad of rescued Pit Bulls, including three-legged Little Dipper.

Stewart doesn’t just advocate on behalf of Pit Bulls — he provides them with a loving forever home. Stewart, his wife Tracey (who’s a former veterinary technician) and their family have three: Monkey, Shamsky (named after baseball legend Art Shamsky) and three-legged Little Dipper.

In a series of ridiculously sweet photos posted on Buzzfeed in May 2013, Stewart could be seen walking Little Dipper with a bright green leash along a New York City street.

In the photo below, as Stewart pats the lucky pup on the head, Little Dipper appears to be having his very own “Moment of Zen.”

Photos via Pinterest; Buzzfeed