Category: News

R.I.P. Cherry, One of the Last Surviving Vicktory Dogs

Nearly 13 years ago, Cherry was one of the 51 Pit Bulls rescued from a life of horror at Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia.

Prior to 2007, most dogs rescued from fighting operations were euthanized. Even Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States at the time, said the rescued Vick dogs would never be suitable as pets and thus should all be destroyed.

But dog experts at animal welfare organizations including the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS), Richmond Animal League and BAD RAP knew better. They took in the Vick survivors, rehabilitated them and found them loving forever homes in which these “unadoptable” survivors thrived, earning them the name “Vicktory Dogs.” Many of them became beloved therapy dogs. One of the survivors, Jonny Justice, was awarded the prestigious ASPCA Dog of the Year award in 2014.

Cherry, just a puppy in 2007, was taken in by BFAS. “Cherry arrived at Best Friends looking like he wanted to stick his head in a hole and never come out,” according to Julie Castle, CEO of BFAS, in The Best Friends Blog. “The word ‘withdrawn’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. He was living in his own world, trapped in a nightmare replaying over and over inside his head.”

Thanks to the tender, loving care he received at BFAS, Cherry eventually came out of his shell. He turned out to be a big ol’ snugglebug, wanting to cuddle with people, other dogs — and even cats.

“It was so wonderful to see Cherry become the squooshy-faced lap dog he’d always wanted to be — wonderful because it happened for him and wonderful that he’d come so far from his sad past of abuse,” Castle wrote.

Cherry was adopted by Paul and Melissa Fiaccone. He enjoyed a long, loving life in his forever home. He became a Pit Bull ambassador, helping people realize that it’s possible for dogs to be rehabilitated after experiencing such horrible trauma.

Tragically, many of the dogs at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels never got a second chance like Cherry and his fellow Vicktory Dogs. According to the federal indictment, Vick himself killed poorly performing dogs by hanging them or repeatedly slamming them to the ground. When three dogs survived being hanged, Vick helped hold their heads underwater until they drowned.

Vick went to prison for 18 months in 2007 and was then awarded the second chance he’d deprived of all those dogs he killed. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and quickly resumed his NFL career. Most recently the NFL has given him the honor of being a “legends captain” for the 2020 Pro Bowl. Over 1.4 million people have signed online petitions urging the NFL to choose a more worthy “legend.”

If anyone deserves legend status, it’s Cherry and the Vicktory Dogs. Sadly, Cherry recently had a mass growing on his spleen and had become lethargic. According to his dog dad, Paul Fiaccone, “the message was clear from him. He was tired, he was ready. Melissa and I held his paws and hugged him tightly as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He was extremely peaceful and we are honored to have been with him at his time of need.”

Paul wrote that during their years together, Cherry taught him a very important lesson: to live. “Life will always throw you curveballs, but live it and live it well,” he wrote. “Cherry gave life all he had and he wrung every ounce out of his time here. He just loved life and loved sharing his love with his family, friends and whomever he met.

“Today we mourn the loss of Cherry, but tomorrow we live. We live for Cherry.”

Photo: Best Friends Animal Society/YouTube

Dogfighting Survivor Becomes New Jersey’s First Pit Bull Arson Officer

Unlike his namesake, Hansel’s early life was no fairy tale. In 2015, when he was only 7 weeks old, the Pit Bull was rescued from a dogfighting operation in Canada.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Throw Away Dogs Project, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that trains rescued dogs to become K9 officers and service dogs, young Hansel is about to become the first-ever Pit Bull arson-detection officer in the state of New Jersey.

“He exhibited all the qualities that a regular working dog, police K9 dog has,” Carol Skaziak, the founder of Throw Away Dogs, told News 12.

Hansel will start his new job at the Millville Fire Department on Jan. 19 alongside his partner, firefighter Tyler Van Leer. The two spent 15 weeks in training at the  New Jersey Police K9 Association’s academy. They did about 12 practice searches every day.

Arson dogs, also known as accelerant detection canines (ADCs), are trained to sniff out tiny traces of gasoline, lighter fluid, and other accelerants that may have been used to intentionally start a fire. “Canine teams have proven to be the most effective tool that fire investigators can use to locate accelerants,” according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

“In the instance where the scene is safe, I’ll determine where the point of origin is and then I’ll dig out that area, and then Hansel will come in and sniff out the area that I’ve dug out,” Van Leer told News 12. “If he sits, then I’ll take evidence. If he doesn’t sit, then it most likely was not an intentionally set fire.”

Van Leer said Hansel is super excited about his new job. “When I put on his harness and I tell him, ‘Do you want to go to work?’ he literally does laps in his crate,” he told News 12.

“Hansel has been through hell and back, and absolutely needed to find his niche, his person — and Fireman Van Leer is that person and his job,” Skaziak told News 12. “Now he’s going to have a purpose.”

Not only that, but Hansel will also be an ambassador for his often misunderstood breed. His work will “really help change the minds of a lot of people” regarding Pit Bulls, New Jersey Police K9 Association President Kenneth Sacavitch told News 12.

To make a donation to help other rescued dogs “have a purpose,” visit the Throw Away Dogs Project website.

Photo: CBS Philly/YouTube

This Porch Pirate Was a Pooch

‘Tis the season…for so-called porch pirates, unfortunately. These thieves come out from under their rocks at this time each year to steal packages that don’t belong to them.

To deter porch pirates, some savvy pet owners have filled empty Amazon cartons with dog poop. And thanks to doorbells with video cameras, many porch pirates are getting caught in the act — including a thief in Oklahoma named Max.

When a present sent from her sister in California went missing from her Shady Point porch, Debbie Goines checked the video footage from her doorbell camera. Sure enough, she spotted the porch pirate. But in this case, the thief was what Goines called a “pooch pirate.”

It was her neighbor’s Great Pyrenees, Max. The big ol’ fluffy dog casually walked onto her porch, sniffed the package (which happened to contain jerky snacks and other foods), picked it up with his mouth and then wandered back home with it.

When Goines’ asked her neighbor about the package, its remains were found in the neighbor’s yard: the torn-apart carton and an unopened bottle of olive oil.

“I assume Max just ate what he wanted and buried the rest,” Goines said, according to a KABC report.

“He just smelled the jerky and said, ‘This has been delivered to the wrong house!'” Goines said, which sounds rerasonable.

Max’s owner offered to pay for the lost goods, but Goines refused. Apparently no charges were filed against the pooch pirate, but according to the news report, Max is currently in “doggie detention.”

Is it a coincidence that the Grinch’s dog was also named Max? Perhaps not. Speaking of the Grinch, last week a therapy dog for the Franklin Police Department in Massachusetts was caught red-pawed stealing toys from a donation bin at the police station. The toys were supposed to be given to children in need, not needy Golden Retrievers.

Like Max, this four-legged thief, whose name is Ben Franklin, will not be charged with any crime.

“We learned an extremely valuable lesson today,” the Franklin Police Department wrote on its Facebook page Dec. 18. “When you have a classroom full of toys ready to be shipped off to the Santa Foundation, you should…

1. Close the door to the classroom

Or

2. Keep the toys elevated.”

Photo: Good Morning America/YouTube

This Wasn’t the First Dog Rescued from an Elevator Tragedy

Johnny Mathis (the Houston welder/hero, not the famous singer) was in the right place at the right time on Monday. He had stepped out of an elevator on the ground floor of his apartment complex when he saw what could have been the last terrifying moments of a Pomeranian’s life.

As Mathis stopped to admire the little dog, the Pomeranian’s owner went into the elevator. The doors closed before the dog, on a long, retractable leash behind her, could join her.

Realizing that the little dog would be strangled when the elevator car began rising, Mathis immediately took action. His heroic deed was captured by a security camera.

As the woman screamed inside the elevator car, Mathis tried to break the dog’s leash by leaning on it with all of his weight, he told NBC News, but that didn’t work.

“Instinct just kicked in, I just grabbed that leash,” he told CNN. “There was so much fur, that’s why it took me a bit to get that lever off of the collar and when I did, I let go, you could see that leash just shoot off to the top of the elevator.”

The distraught woman returned to the ground floor, assuming her dog was dead. When the elevator doors opened, Mathis told NBC News she was laying on the floor, sobbing.

“I think she just said, ‘Thank you,’ and we hugged, but she was just so overcome with emotion,” Mathis told CNN.

The dog’s owner has received a lot of backlash in response to this scary incident, but Mathis said he felt bad for her. “We’re all human, things happen like that,” he told NBC News. “It just takes a second for your attention to not be there.”

Mathis is right that “things happen like that.” Other dogs have nearly died when the elevator doors closed on their leashes. Those incidents were also captured on security video.

In 2016, Ben Duke, a hotel manager in South Carolina, saved the life of a dog named Boo Boo. After the dog’s owner stepped into an elevator at the Roadway Inn in Greenville, the doors closed on Boo Boo’s leash. “Everybody is calling me a hero, but I can’t imagine the other outcome,” Duke told WYFF. “I just did what you are supposed to do in this situation.”

That same year, a dog in an apartment complex in Springfield, Mo., was rescued from a similar fate when elevator doors closed on his retractable leash. Apartment manager Brian Ussery was able to save the dog’s life by breaking the leash. “I would hate to know what would have happened if I wasn’t able to break that leash before she got to the top again,” Usery wrote on his Facebook page.

In 2013, a Pug in Russia would have been killed if a bystander hadn’t quickly removed him from his leash.

It’s important to note that most of these incidents involved dogs on retractable leashes. Many veterinarians urge dog owners not to use this type of leash because, as in these cases, they allow your dog to get too far away from you. You or your dog can also easily get tangled in the leash, leading to injuries including amputations.

Keeping Your Dog Safe in Elevators

Elevators are generally safe for your dog if you take these precautions recommended by KONE, a global leader in the elevator industry.

  • When you get on and off the elevator, keep your dog right beside you on a short leash, gripping it tightly.
  • Do not push a floor button until your dog and his leash are completely inside the elevator.
  • Stay in the rear of the elevator, with your dog sitting beside you.
  • It’s also a good idea to check to see where the emergency buttons to stop the elevator and open the doors are located.

“If an emergency does occur, act fast,” KONE advises. “If there is a danger of choking, release the dog from its collar as quickly as possible. If the dog is alone in the elevator and its leash is caught between the doors, push the call button immediately. If the elevator car is already in motion, let go of the leash.”

Call the service number of the maintenance company for the elevator. “Remember to stay calm – help is on the way,” KONE says.

Escalators can also be dangerous for dogs. Here’s a reason why you shouldn’t take your dog on escalators.

Photo: @Johnnayyeee/Twitter

Doggie Donuts: Yet Another Reason Not to Leave Your Pet Alone in Your Car

It’s never, ever, EVER a good idea to leave your dog alone in your car, whether it’s hot, cold or somewhere in between. Even on a relatively mild, 80-degree day, the temperature inside your vehicle can rise to over 100 degrees within just 10 minutes. Yikes.

And speaking of yikes, this week a big black dog named Max demonstrated yet another reason why you shouldn’t leave your dog alone in your car—even for a minute or two.

Max’s owner made a wrong turn on a cul-de-sac Thursday morning in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He apparently saw something on the street and got out of the car to investigate. Unfortunately, he left the motor running and closed the door. The door automatically locked.

Max probably freaked out a little. He stepped on the gear shift, putting the car in reverse. The sedan, with Max locked inside, began doing donuts…for nearly half an hour.

Anna Sobel, who lives across from the cul-de-sac, looked out her window when her three dogs began barking. “I saw the car going backwards in a circle,” she told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “There was a dog in there the whole time. … It was turning and turning and turning in a perfect circle.”

Max’s owner had another car key, but its battery was dead.

At one point the sedan stopped circling and went backward up a lawn, hitting a mailbox and some garbage cans. With the car stopped, officers from the Port St. Lucie Police Department were able to unlock the door by entering the code on the door’s keypad.

I have to admit the video taken by Sabol on her cell phone made me laugh until I cried. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, although the sedan had some minor damage. A tragedy to truly cry over was thankfully avoided.

“They should give that dog a [driver’s] license,” Sabol told the Sun-Sentinel. “He drives better than some people I’ve seen on the roads here.”

Photo: WPBF 25 News/Facebook

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