Category: Awww

Dog Runs from Burning House in California Wildfire and Leaps into Firefighter’s Arms

While areas of Louisiana have experienced devastating floods caused by historic amounts of rain, the severe drought here in Southern California has had a terrible impact on what one firefighter of 40 years called the worst wildfire he’d ever battled.

The so-called Blue Cut Fire, which began Tuesday in the San Bernardino Mountains, has burned more than 25,000 acres as of Thursday morning. More than 82,000 people have been evacuated, and, sadly,  hundreds of them may have no houses to return to.

One dog left behind in the West Cajon area is very lucky to be alive.

When he saw Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Mohler, the dog, who appears to possibly be a Rottweiler mix, ran to him from a burning structure and leaped into his arms, according to a post yesterday on Cal Fire San Bernardino/Inyo/Mono Unit’s Facebook page.

“Seeing that dog run out of those flames was pretty amazing,” Mohler told KCBS. “It sheltered in place until it actually saw help, but it just wanted help. It needed to get out of that area.”

The dog was treated for minor burns, given food and water, and taken to the Apple Valley Animal Shelter. Hopefully the lucky puppy will soon be reunited with his owners.

‘If People Are at Work, Their Pets Are at Home’

Although it’s not yet known why the dog was left behind, it’s likely because, according to some comments on the Cal Fire Facebook post, many residents weren’t home when the fire started.

“People are not leaving pets behind,” wrote Priscilla Jaynes. “If people are at work, their pets are at home, and sometimes you can’t get through to them in time. Once police close a road, there is no going past the blockade. I know someone who lost their dog this way. It was devastating.”

Debe Webb added a comment saying that’s exactly what happened to her. “My husband spent eight hours on the roads trying to get to Wrightwood to our pets,” she wrote. “We were both at work down the hill when the fire started. He also had to walk five miles because they would only let them get so close by car. He got all three dogs and himself out.”

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible wildfire, and the heroic firefighters who are battling it.

How to Help Animals Displaced by the Blue Cut Fire

Three shelters are currently taking in evacuated animals evacuated due to the wildfire. Dogs and cats are being taken in by the Apple Valley and Devore animal shelters. Larger animals can stay at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, which is also serving as an American Red Cross Shelter.

For these shelters’ latest donation needs, check their Facebook pages:

You can find more shelter information and make a monetary donation by visiting the American Red Cross website.

Photo via Facebook

Injured German Shepherd Puppy Rescued by Boaters

“He was in a hurry to catch up to the boat. He was literally chasing the boat,” Ronald Arndt told the Appeal Democrat. He was referring to a 10-month-old German Shepherd he saw swimming Saturday night in the middle of the Feather River in Northern California.

When Arndt and some friends pulled the puppy into the boat, they saw what Arndt called “horrible” infected gashes on his face, shoulders and back. Apparently the puppy had fallen off a boat and was then struck by a propeller.

Despite his injuries, the puppy was calm — until someone started the boat’s motor. Arndt held the puppy, who they named “Water Shepherd,” in his arms as the boat made its way back to shore.

“I have a soft heart for dogs,” he told the Appeal Democrat. “I get too attached. This dog, he broke my heart.”

Arndt and his friends rushed Water Shepherd to a local veterinarian. The pup was treated for his wounds and is recuperating at Sutter County Animal Services in Yuba City.

Since Water Shepherd’s skin was starting to die around his wounds, Animal Services Manager Diana Barrett believes he was in the river for a day or two. The puppy is housebroken and obviously someone’s pet.

“Ideally, we want the owner to say, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s my dog,'” Barrett told the Appeal Democrat. “But we want to give this guy a chance.”

The shelter is in need of bandages and other donations. For information on how to donate, visit its website or call 530-822-7375.

Within the past eight months, two other dogs have made the news after falling from boats.

In March, a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Luna fell off a boat near the coast of Southern California. After more than a month went by, her dog dad assumed she had drowned. But five weeks after she disappeared, Luna was discovered on a private island owned by the Navy. She was in pretty good shape, considering her castaway ordeal.

In November, a Yellow Lab puppy named Noodle fell off a ferry in Italy’s Gulf of Naples, but the ferry operator refused to stop to save her. Fortunately, half an hour later, boaters were shocked to see Noodle treading water in the middle of nowhere. They rescued her — capturing it on video — and returned the puppy to her grateful dog dad.

Photo credit: Greg Loesch (That’s another German Shepherd, not Water Shepherd)

NFL’s Ronnie Stanley Asks for ‘Not-So-Adoptable Dog’ from Shelter

With so many cases of NFL players abusing dogs, Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens is truly a breath of fresh air.

Stanley went to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) Saturday with his girlfriend and teammate, Alex Lewis, in search of a new four-legged friend.

He had just one request. “We are looking for a dog that’s been here a long time and maybe not-so-adoptable,” he told the staff, according to the BARCS Facebook page.

When Stanley was introduced to some of the dogs having difficulty finding forever homes, one in particular caught his eye: Winter, a 6-year-old Pit Bull/Retriever mix who’d been used multiple times for breeding, and then was left to die in a vacant house with no food or water. She had chewed through the drywall in an effort to escape. A good Samaritan noticed her last month and contacted BARCS.

Because she’s had several litters of puppies, Winter has a drooping belly that isn’t likely to tighten up. Dogs with distended bellies like hers are particularly hard to adopt out, Bailey Deacon of BARCS told the Baltimore Sun.

That didn’t matter to Stanley. “Well, that’s just what happens when you’ve had babies,” he told the BARCS staff, who said he showed much more interest in getting kisses from the pooch than any concerns about her physical appearance.

“It’s not a very good-looking dog per se for your happy couple or family going into a shelter looking to adopt a pet. So I knew this pet would probably have a pretty hard time getting adopted,” Stanley told the Baltimore Sun today. “It was pretty old as well, so I felt like it was a great pet for me. It’s very loving and very protective, and it’s a great addition to the family.”

He adopted Winter, and has renamed her Lola.

“We are so proud to have amazing guys like Ronnie to be role models to the kids in our city,” BARCS said on its Facebook page. “Not only does his single act of kindness make adoption cool, but it makes giving love to an imperfectly perfect dog a ‘manly’ thing to do.”

Photo via Facebook

Golden Retriever Runs Away to Doggie Daycare

Riley, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever from Belmont, N.C., was determined to go to his doggie daycare center — even if his dog mom, Tonia Mosteller, didn’t take him there herself.

When Mosteller drove Riley past the Happy Dog Cafe and Daycare last Saturday, Riley started whimpering when he saw a group of dogs being walked by a staff member. Mosteller told him it wasn’t his day to visit the daycare he’s been going to most of his life.

After dropping Riley off at home before she took off to run errands, Mosteller told WBTV that as he lay on the backyard deck, the dog “was watching me carefully as I left, but I didn’t think too much about it.”

Within an hour, Riley managed to escape from the yard and walk more than a mile to the front door of Happy Dog.

“I walked outside to see if Tonia was right behind him, and she wasn’t,” the daycare’s owner, Teresa McCarter, told WBTV. “He knows the way up here because they walk him all the time, and he just decided to put himself in daycare that day.”

Riley ran inside and went directly to the area where his pals were playing.

McCarter called Mosteller to let her know of Riley’s whereabouts — and told her he could spend the day there.

“He got a free day of daycare and he worked really hard for that day,” McCarter told WBTV.

Mosteller plans to make her fence escape-proof and take Riley to Happy Dog Cafe and Daycare more often. She told WBTV his escape was “a true testimony to how much he loves Happy Dog and the staff there.”

A post on its Facebook page says the daycare “is extremely grateful that Riley made his adventure safely to your Happy Dog Cafe. We LOVE dogs and Riley’s story is proof.”

The clever WBTV news report shows Riley’s escape from a dog’s-eye view.

Photo via Facebook

Yearbooks Go to the (Service) Dogs

Over the past few years, some service dogs who accompany students and teachers to school have rightfully gotten their own photos in the yearbook, and I really hope this commendable trend continues.

This year a photo of Presley, a 5-year-old Goldendoodle, appears next to that of Seph Ware in the 2016 yearbook for Good Hope Middle School in West Monroe, La.

Ware, 14, has had Duchenne muscular dystrophy since he was 3 years old and is confined to a wheelchair. For the past four years, Presley has helped him by picking up things he drops, turning on lights, opening drawers and performing other tasks, both at home and at school.

School officials came up with the idea of including Presley’s photo in the yearbook.

“Seph says that it took about 10 minutes to get Presley to look at the camera — and who knows how many shots,” his mom, Lori Ware, told AL.com.

After Presley’s yearbook photo was shared on Facebook this week, it went viral.

“We’re kind of stunned at all the attention,” Lori Ware told FoxNews.com today. “It’s humbling. I’m glad Presley is making the world happy.”

Last year, the hundreds of photos in the 2015 yearbook for Minnesota’s Blaine High School included those of Caramel Thomas and Dakota Comancho.

Caramel is a service dog belonging to Rebecca Thomas, who is hearing impaired and teaches American sign language at Blaine High. For the past 10 years, Caramel has joined her in class.

Dakota, a certified therapy dog, belongs to Vicky Camancho, who teaches a special education class at the school and brings in Dakota once a week.

“The students love seeing the service dogs in the yearbook,” Thomas told Yahoo Canada.

Including the two dogs in the yearbook started a couple of years ago, when Dakota’s photo was taken for an identification badge on class picture day.

“When we got the disc of student and staff photos, we automatically flowed the pictures into the yearbook page sections,” Faculty Adviser Jill Farrell told the Star Tribune. “The editors and I giggled like mad when we saw that a picture of Dakota was included in the images.”

Lynn Florman, head of the special education department, told Yahoo Canada the photos send a positive message.

“Sometimes the unique services they provide are not understood or valued by others, so seeing them recognized in such a public and memorable way as a yearbook sends a strong message to all that they are an integral part of the team that supports our students,” Florman said.

Photos via Facebook; Twitter

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