R.I.P. Ray, Vick Dog Who Became Vicktory Dog

Ray, one of the 50 Pit Bulls rescued in 2007 from Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia, crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night.

He had babesia, a debilitating blood parasite that is common in fighting dogs, who transmit it to each other through puncture wounds. After undergoing surgery yesterday to have his spleen removed, Ray suffered a blood clot.

“I never, ever felt as if Ray were just our dog,” wrote his grieving dog dad, Kevin Johnson, on the Ray the Vicktory Dog website today. “It was as if he felt he had a mission to meet and touch as many people as he could.

“When we would be having lunch on the deck, he would watch intently for people coming out to take a seat. He’d stand, his ears would fold back and his tail would start tentatively wagging side to side. His yearning expression pulled people in again and again. I am eternally grateful for all the people who set down their plates to come over and give him a pat and a kind word. Every time that happened, it confirmed his belief that he was special and that people needed to meet and love on him.”

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

But dog experts at animal welfare organizations including the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) knew better. They took in the Vick survivors, rehabilitated them and found loving forever homes in which many of these “unadoptable” survivors thrived.

Kevin and his wife, Jacque, both worked at the BFAS Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. They had worked with other Vicktory dogs, but fell in love with Ray. After fostering him, they officially adopted him on Valentine’s Day last year.

“Ray’s a bit more challenging (than some of the other Vicktory dogs),” Kevin said in a February 2014 news story on the BFAS website. “He’s got a mischievous glint in his eye. I’ve always been drawn to dogs (like) that. He’s got spunk, and I really enjoy that.”

Since the town where the Johnsons lived imposed a breed ban, the couple packed up their pets and moved to a new home in dog-friendlier Fredonia, Ariz.

“The fact that they totally changed their living situation to adopt him was very admirable – it showed … their dedication to him,” said BFAS Adoption Manager Kristi Littrell in the news story.

“Ray Ray was one of the most reactive, bouncing-up-and-down boys when he first arrived,” wrote Angela Rovetto, the lead pet caregiver at Best Friends Animal Society, in a comment today on the Ray the Vicktory Dog Facebook page. “To read so eloquently that he could be in public laying down, see a dog and then look to a human for direction, with trust….absolute transformation due to love, patience and guidance.”

Another Vicktory dog, Jonny Justice, was awarded the prestigious ASPCA Dog of the Year award in 2014. Within the past year, Vicktory dogs Hector and Gracie have also crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

“Today I am finding it hard to even breathe,” Kevin wrote. “In the past few years I have lost both of my parents, three dogs and a macaw. And each death cut like a knife and brought waves of sorrow. But nothing like I am feeling now. No other pain has even come close.”

Photo via Facebook

B.B. King Once Offered Guitar Lucille for Lost Dog Lucille

Blues legend B.B. King, who died yesterday, named all his beloved guitars Lucille. In honor of those guitars, he also bestowed that name upon his beloved Maltese.

What was King’s deal with the name Lucille? According to Rolling Stone, he was playing in a club back in 1949 when two men fighting over a woman named Lucille knocked over a kerosene-filled bucket, starting a fire. King ran out of the club, and then, risking his life, ran back in through the flames to fetch his guitar. When he found out that both of the men died in the fire, he named his guitar after Lucille, “to remind me never to do a thing like that again.”

In 2006, when Lucille the dog went missing from King’s manager’s yard in West Hollywood, Calif., he offered an autographed copy of Lucille the guitar as a reward for finding her.

Unfortunately, the Maltese was apparently never found, even though about 500 “Lost” signs were posted in the area, and animal shelters were checked regularly.

Wrote ‘Blues for a Dog’ for ‘Married… with Children’

Long before Lucille the dog went missing, King wrote and performed the song “Blues for a Dog” for a 1991 episode of the FOX sitcom “Married… with Children.”

The “Look Who’s Barking” episode was told from the point of view of Buck, the Bundy family’s dog, who runs away from home and meets up with a female dog. Appearing as a street musician, King sings:

“Don’t want no fax machine,
Got no use for a phone,
Don’t even want my belly rubbed,
Just give me a blood-stained bone!”

Rest in peace, B.B. King. And wherever Lucille the dog is, I hope she’s being treated as well as she was by her dog dad.

Photo credit: Tom Beetz

Two Yorkies Johnny Depp Smuggled into Australia Must ‘Bugger Off’ or Else

APRIL 17, 2016 UPDATE: The dog smuggling charges against Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, were dropped today.

Apparently Johnny Depp thought he could get around Australia’s pet quarantine laws last month by smuggling his Yorkshire Terriers, Boo and Pistol, into the country on his private jet.

Wrong.

Yesterday the Agriculture Department gave Depp and his wife, Amber Heard, 72 hours to get Boo and Pistol out of Australia. If they do not comply, both dogs will be euthanized.

“If you start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break laws for everybody?” Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told the Associated Press (AP).

“It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the U.S.”

Like many countries (and Hawaii here in the U.S.), Australia has strict quarantine laws for imported pets. The purpose is to prevent the spread of diseases like rabies. People traveling with their dogs to these countries must first apply for a permit. The length of the quarantine period varies; in Australia, it’s a minimum of 10 days.

“The reason you can walk through a park in Brisbane and not have in the back of your mind, ‘What happens if a rabid dog comes out and bites me or bites my kid?’ is because we’ve kept that disease out,” Joyce told ABC 612 Brisbane. “I’ll tell you how close it is: it’s in Bali, it’s just next door. So this is not fanciful stuff, and therefore we’re very diligent about what comes into our nation.”

Pistol and Boo were first seen in public Saturday, when one of Depp’s assistants brought them in a handbag to a groomer in Brisbane. On Tuesday, Joyce said a biosecurity officer found the dogs staying in a house on the Gold Coast, where Depp is filming another sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Pistol and Boo are currently being quarantined at home, according to Brett Chant, a spokesman for Joyce.

Chant told the AP that the Agriculture Department is investigating how the dogs managed to arrive at Brisbane Airport last month without going through customs.

Joyce’s threat is making worldwide headlines and has sparked the social media campaign #WarOnTerrier, where people are expressing their outrage that Pistol and Boo may be killed. A Change.org petition urging the agriculture minister to spare the dogs’ lives had more than 12,000 signatures as of Thursday morning.

There’s also some outrage that Depp apparently thought he was above the law.

“Can we just put him down and keep the dogs maybe?” wrote one Twitter user.

In Parliament this week, Joel Fitzgibbon, a spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, asked if Depp was able to smuggle in his dogs because of cuts to the Agriculture Department’s quarantine funding.

Fitzgibbon said Joyce was “bashing up on poor old Boo Boo and Pistol and, indeed, Johnny Depp,” according to the AP.

Depp has not yet commented on what he plans to do.

Photo via Twitter

Dog Cradled in Texas Tornado Victim’s Arm Discovered Alive

MAY 19, 2015 UPDATE: The Tapleys’ surviving dog, an 8-year-old Great Pyrenees, has been adopted by Michelle Shockley.

“My mom and I agreed that we would set her birthday at her survival date. That is the day her life changed. It helps us honor the lives of her owners that perished in the tornado,” Shockley told the Huffington Post.

Cindy Nash of Nicholas’ Pet Haven said the dog, who has been named Emma, was the most traumatized of all the pets her non-profit group has been taking care of since the tornado.

“She has the saddest face and is absolutely traumatized,” Nash told the Huffington Post. “You can’t help but cry when you look at her, and just want to sit and hold and love her.”

Veterinarian Gary Spence said that despite her horrific ordeal, Emma will recover.

“Emma’s going to be okay,” he told the Huffington Post.

Married for decades, David and Brenda Tapley of Van, Texas, were both animal lovers who volunteered their time to local rescue groups.

The morning after a devastating, 700-yard-wide EF-4 tornado roared through the small town Sunday night, David’s body was found near the rubble of his house. The retired police officer had one arm around one of his dogs. His other arm was reaching toward his wife, who also died.

The dog was still alive.

The Tapleys were discovered by their 14-year-old neighbor, Emmanuel Vasquez, who went looking for them with his father and brother when the couple did not appear after the disaster struck.

“Shocking… I couldn’t move at all,” Vasquez told CBS DFW. “All I did was yell.”

Chuck Allen, the fire marshal and emergency management coordinator for Van Zandt County, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph the storm developed quickly Sunday night.

“I do not know exactly how much time residents had after the sirens sounded. I do know that it saved lives,” he said.

The Tapleys were the tornado’s only fatalities. Forty-seven residents of Van were injured, and nearly 100 houses were damaged. Two of the Tapley’s three dogs did not survive.

“I still can’t believe my uncle and aunt are gone,” wrote Cristie Tapley Brawner on the Van Texas Tornado Recovery Facebook page. “Such strong-willed, big-hearted folks…just gone. As the day wears on, the shock of it lightens and the pain of the reality sets in. I just continue to remind myself that they are together, husband and wife, in the presence of our God Almighty.”

Vasquez’s dad, Aaron, told CBS DFW he will never forget what he saw Monday morning. It’s a reminder that life can slip away so quickly, he said.

How to Help

The American Red Cross has been helping Van residents as well as people in seven other states after as many as 135 possible tornadoes occurred over the past several days.

“The last week has brought unrelenting rounds of severe weather and our volunteers are working around the clock to comfort and support people,” said Richard Reed, senior vice president for Disaster Cycle Services, in a news release. “Our work is made possible by generous donors, and we need your help now.”

A $10 donation to help Van residents can be made by texting “redcross” to 90999. Donations can also be made online or by calling 1-800-733-2767.

An online fundraising account to help injured Van animals has been created by the local non-profit rescue organization Nicholas’ Pet Haven. As of Tuesday morning, more than $2,100 has been raised. The rescue also needs dog food and supplies; call 903-312-7585 for more information.

Residents of Van who are missing pets should call Nicholas’ Pet Haven at 903-312-7585. After 7 p.m., call City of Van Animal Control at 903-539-0429. Photos of lost and found pets are being posted on the Van Texas Tornado Pets and Animals Lost Facebook page.

Photo via Twitter

Belgian Malinois Eats 23 Live Rifle Rounds (and He’s Okay)

Benno, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois from Mountain Home, Ark., has previously eaten socks, glass, marbles, coins and many other objects. Nevertheless, his dog dad, Larry “Sonny” Brassfield, wasn’t concerned about leaving a bag of .308 caliber bullets within Benno’s reach last month.

He should have been. Benno got into the bag April 21, chomping and swallowing 23 of the live rifle rounds.

“You can baby proof a house, but I don’t think it’s possible to Benno proof a house,” Brassfield told the Baxter Bulletin yesterday. “Lord knows, we’ve tried and failed.” (Frankly, leaving a bag of bullets in Benno’s reach doesn’t seem like they’re trying very hard.)

The morning after he ate the bullets, Benno started vomiting. Brassfield’s wife told him she saw a few rounds in the vomit. Instead of checking the bag to see how many rounds were missing, Brassfield waited to see if Benno vomited more rounds.

“I just decided to watch him for a bit,” Brassfield told the Baxter Bulletin. “He ate like he normally does, no problem. Then about 15 to 20 minutes later, he threw up again, and three more rounds came out. At that point, I knew I had to take him to the vet.”

Dr. Sarah Sexton at All Creatures Animal Hospital took X-rays, which revealed that Benno had eaten at least 17 rounds.

“This is something they certainly did not cover in school,” Dr. Sexton told the Baxter Bulletin. “I’ve had dogs eat things before, mostly stuffed toys. Once I had one swallow a hearing aid, but I think this takes the cake.”

Fortunately the ammo was made of brass and copper, which are not as toxic for dogs as the lead and zinc found in some bullets.

During surgery that lasted for two hours, Dr. Sexton removed 16 live rounds and one shell from Benno’s stomach. There were also two rounds in his esophagus, which she did not remove.

“Since the ammo is not toxic, I decided not to go back in,” Dr. Sexton told the Baxter Bulletin. “I decided we’d give it a week to see if he would vomit them up or pass them.” Benno did later pass the two, pooping out the last bullet eight full days after he ate it.

Brassfield said there was a lot of joking during the surgery: “He could have gone up in smoke, could have gone out with a bang.”

Hilarious!

Brassfield promised he will never again leave live ammo where Benno can get into it. However…

“Really, you’re never going to stop him,” he told the Baxter Bulletin. “It’s just a question of what he’s going to eat next.”

Good luck, Benno. You’re going to need it.

Photos via Facebook