Category: Awww

Dog Found Alive 3 Days After Fatal Boat Crash

Two men and two dogs were in a boat sailing into Tamales Bay in Northern California on Monday when it capsized in the rough surf. One man and one dog were rescued, but Brian Phidat Ho, 47, was killed. The other dog, a yellow Lab named Yoda, disappeared and had presumably drowned.

This morning, three days after the accident, Marin County Fire Battalion Chiefs Chris Martinelli and Graham Groneman were scouting locations for a water rescue orientation for firefighters. They spotted something from their rescue boat — a yellow object on a rocky shore north of where the boat had capsized.

It was Yoda.

“They were hugging the coastline when they saw the dog hunkered down under a rocky outcropping,” Battalion Chief Bret McTigue said. “They went on shore and put a lifejacket on him. He was wet and shivering after a few days out in the elements.”

Despite his ordeal, Yoda was alive and well, and appeared to be uninjured. He was taken to the Tamales Fire Station, where he warmed up by the fireplace while being given food and water.

“We called the family and we happened to reach them during the funeral,” McTigue said. “We gave them the update and they were able to make the announcement about the dog at the funeral, which was nice.”

Nice, indeed. And how nice that those two Marin County Fire battalion chiefs just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Last year, a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Luna was found five weeks after she jumped off a boat. Luna had managed to swim two miles to an island used by the Navy.

Photo credit: Marin County Fire Department

Indiana K-9 Officer Kenobi Really Loves His Partner

You’ve probably seen the official portrait of astronaut Leland Melvin with his two dogs, arguably the greatest portrait in NASA history.

And now, although they didn’t make the “official” cut, photos of K-9 officer Kenobi snuggling with and smooching his partner, Indiana Conservation Officer (ICO) Levi Knach, during their photo shoot are definitely contenders for the greatest police dog portraits ever. The two work in the state’s Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement District 2.

After Indiana State Parks posted the outtakes on its Facebook page Thursday, they’ve deservedly gone viral.

“Kenobi is cute, but make no mistake — he is a trained, working officer and can track people and locate a variety of objects ranging from venison to ginseng,” Indiana State Parks wrote. “We are grateful for the work that our ICOs do all over the state to protect and serve people, and to conserve our fish and wildlife resources.”

Thank you for your service, officers Knach and Kenobi!

Photos via Reddit

Aww! Service Dog-in-Training Poses for Caricature at Disneyland

Yahoo, a service-dog-in-training, got a unique Disneyland souvenir — for dogs, at least.

A photo of the young yellow Lab calmly posing as an artist draws a caricature of him riding a surfboard is going viral.

Yahoo lives in San Marcos, Calif., with a volunteer from the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), according to Buzzfeed News. He’s currently learning basic obedience and socialization skills. When he’s ready in a couple of years, Yahoo will be given free of charge to someone with disabilities.

The photo was taken Oct. 14 by the parents of a woman named Katie, who shared it on Twitter. As of Tuesday morning it’s been liked over 132,000 times and shared over 53,000 times.

“Based on that photo, Yahoo is practicing basic obedience commands as he waits for his photo [to be] taken,” Jeanine Konopelski, a spokeswoman for CCI, told Buzzfeed News. “That’s a perfect training and socialization for one of our dogs to get used to waiting and sitting at attention.”

The volunteer told Buzzfeed News that’s exactly why she and a friend took their service dogs-in-training to Disneyland. The always-crowded theme park would provide plenty of high-level distractions for the dogs, but also be a “fun trip,” she said.

Disneyland is not only the Happiest Place on Earth, but apparently also the Best Place for Training Service Dogs on Earth. In February, a guide dog-in training was treated to an obedience lesson from Pluto.

By next February, Yahoo will be trained to open doors, turn on light switches and pull wheelchairs — but not necessarily to ride a surfboard.

German Shepherd Escapes Shelter Trying to Find Owner Who Lost His Home

A Southern California man who lost his home also lost something very precious to him: his 3-year-old German Shepherd, Ginger. He had to give up his beloved dog since he could no longer afford to care for her.

The heartbroken man left Ginger at the Apple Valley Animal Shelter on Sept. 17. But Ginger missed him so much that after the shelter closed that day, she managed to escape — by jumping out of her kennel and figuring out how to open three doors with her paws.

After Ginger set off the doors’ security alarms, shelter staff was notified that someone was moving through the shelter “at a high rate of speed.” When the staff checked surveillance videos, they were surprised to see the “intruder” was actually escapee Ginger.

“She had to go through three doors and one of them wasn’t the push-bar kind. It was a handle,” Gina Whiteside, director of animal services for the shelter, told the San Bernardino Sun.

‘On Her Way to Her Old Home’

Ginger was found about 3 miles from the shelter a few days later. “We think she was on her way to her old home,” Whiteside told the Sun.

Back at the shelter, Gina was put in a more secure kennel. The shelter hopes “she will be adopted preferably by someone who knows this breed,” a spokeswoman told FOX 11.

“Ginger is a smart, resourceful dog,” the Apple Valley Animal Shelter wrote on its Facebook page Sept. 23. “She needs an experienced owner and a job that puts her greatness to use.”

I do hope Ginger finds a home — but since she obviously loves her dog dad so much, it would also be nice if she could be fostered until he’s able to get a new place to live, and I hope that happens very soon.

For information about Ginger and other pets available for adoption, call the Apple Valley Animal Shelter at 760-240-7000, ext. 7555, or email avasrescues@applevalley.org.

Photo via Facebook

Last Surviving 9/11 Ground Zero Search Dog Celebrates Sweet 16th

This story was originally posted Sept. 11, 2015. Bretagne passed away on June 6, nine months after celebrating her 16th birthday.

For nearly two weeks in September 2001, a Golden Retriever search dog named Bretagne, then 2 years old, dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center, searching in vain for survivors.

Fourteen years later, Bretagne (pronounced “Brittany”), who is now the last survivor of the nearly 100 search-and-rescue dogs dispatched to Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks, celebrated her 16th birthday in style.

“After hearing Bretagne’s story and learning that her 16th birthday was coming up, there was no question in our minds that she deserved a Dog’s Best Day for the ages,” wrote Laura Hartle on BarkPost, which co-sponsored the celebration.

Bretagne and her pet parents, Denise and Randy Corliss, flew from their home in Cypress, Texas, to New York City late last month to enjoy that best day.

They stayed in a luxurious hotel suite courtesy of 1 Hotel Central Park. A two-layer birthday cake decorated with paw prints and biscuits was provided by Bubba Rose Biscuit Company. Bretagne was also awarded a Tiffany & Co. “Bone of the Dog Park” from Hudson River Park.

“Everywhere Bretagne went,” BarkPost notes in a video, “New Yorkers stopped in their tracks to thank her for her service.”

Last year, for the first time since 2001, Bretagne and Denise flew to New York and visited Ground Zero.

“Seeing this kind of took my breath away a bit,” Denise told TODAY.com in September 2014. “It’s so calm and peaceful now, unlike the chaos of before. After 9/11, everybody — all of us — felt such sadness. We all wanted to help. I just felt so honored that we were able to respond.”

The Corliss family has had Bretagne since she was a puppy. After Denise learned that civilians and their dogs can join federal emergency response teams to help out after a disaster, she and Bretagne began taking training classes together. She told TODAY.com she spent 20 to 30 hours a week training with Bretagne.

In 2000, she and Bretagne were accepted into Texas Task Force 1. Less than a year later, their very first deployment was to Ground Zero.

Bretagne worked 12-hour shifts for nearly 14 days. Like so many of the search dogs there, she became depressed when she found only human remains. To boost the dogs’ morale, some workers buried themselves in the rubble so the dogs could discover living people.

The human responders were more distraught than the dogs. At one point Bretagne walked over to a firefighter sitting on the ground. Denise called for her dog to come back, but Bretagne ignored her.

“I was surprised that she wasn’t listening to me — it was like she was flipping me the paw,” Denise told TODAY.com. “She went right to that firefighter and laid down next to him, and put her head on his lap.”

After Ground Zero, Denise and Bretagne worked at several other disaster sites, including New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Bretagne officially retired at the age of 9, but continued doing volunteer work as a service dog at an elementary school. She helps students with learning disabilities by being their audience as they read aloud to her.

Last year, Bretagne was a finalist for the Americane Humane Association Hero Dog Awards.

“She still has this attitude of putting her paw up and saying, ‘Put me in, coach!’” Denise told TODAY.com. “She absolutely loves it.”

“Bretagne’s Best Day” was documented in a touching video by BarkPost that shows this old girl is still a puppy at heart. Be sure to have plenty of tissues handy.

Happy Sweet 16th, Bretagne!

Photos via Twitter; YouTube

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