When Cemal Senturk was rushed to a hospital in Trabzon, Turkey, last week, his little white dog, Boncuk (which means ‘bead” and is pronounced Bon-DJUK), followed the ambulance there. And for nearly a week, Boncuk returned to the hospital to wait for Senturk.
“She comes every day around 9 a.m. and waits until nightfall. She doesn’t go in,” security guard Muhammet Akdeniz told the news agency DHA, according to the Associated Press. “When the door opens, she pokes her head inside.”
Senturk’s daughter, Ayşe Çapkınoğlu, would bring Boncuk home each day, but the dog always managed to go back to the hospital.
“My father took him in nine years ago, fed and raised him. And Boncuk showed his loyalty this way,” Çapkınoğlu told the Daily Sabah. “Boncuk looked around and started to cry when my father called out his name while getting treatment in the hospital room. We were surprised.”
(As for the different pronouns, the Associated Press reported that Boncuk is female, while according to the Daily Sabah, Boncuk is male.)
Yesterday, Senturk, who suffered a blood clot in his brain, was allowed to go outside in a wheelchair to greet his devoted dog. Senturk was later released from the hospital.
“Sometimes I was looking at him from the window of my hospital room and calling out his name,” Senturk told the Daily Sabah. “He was barking and trying to make himself heard. We reunited again. If you show attention to dogs, you will see the same affinity.”
While Boncuk’s devotion to his or her dog dad is amazing, hopefully Senturk’s return home will put an end to the dog’s wandering. But just in case, Senturk should think about getting a locking gate for his faithful little escape artist.
Boncuk is not the only dog who has followed their owner to a hospital. In 2015 a Miniature Schnauzer named Sissy walked over 15 blocks to visit her dog mom in a hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Unlike Boncuk, Sissy actually entered the hospital through its automatic doors. And also unlike Boncuk, Sissy didn’t follow an ambulance there, so it’s pretty remarkable that she was able to find the hospital.
Because he had an eye infection, the owners of a 3-year-old Lab/Shepherd mix named Louis decided to have both of his eyes removed. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, last year Louis was hit by a car and suffered a broken leg that was never treated.
But Louis’ sad story doesn’t end there. His owners could no longer care for him, so in December they surrendered their sweet and shy dog to an animal shelter. A rescue group saved Louis and brought him to the Helen Woodward Animal Center (HWAC) near San Diego. HWAC is a nonprofit founded in 1972 that provides humane care and adoption for homeless animals, and also offers educational and therapeutic programs for people.
Louis’ case was unlike any other seen at HWAC in nearly 50 years, the center stated on Jan. 11.
“It is incredibly important that people who consider getting a pet know the obligations they take on with these animals,” HWAC Adoptions Director Hella Tyler said. “When people get their pets for free off of Craiglist, they don’t seem to realize that pets come with responsibilities and a monthly expense for their caretaking, including medical care. In turn, these pets will provide their owners an unparalleled love. They pay it back tenfold. It’s just devastating to see an animal treated the way Louis was treated.”
Louis is extraordinary, Tyler said. “He really suffered at the hands of his former owners but he shows no malice towards humankind. He is ready to love the perfect family and he certainly deserves one.”
Before you reach for another tissue, let’s fast forward to this week — and this dog with the tragic past can now be called Lucky Louis.
After receiving dozens of applications and over $25,000 in donations from around the world to help pay for Louis’ care, HWAC has selected the perfect forever home for this special dog.
Louis’ new dog dad is Steve Walker, a veteran Marine who competes in Iron Man competitions as well as triathlons and marathons. Walker has something in common with Louie: He began losing his vision when he was only 18, due to the rare eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa.
“We were laughing as we were reading on the internet on how to help out a blind dog, and it was pretty much the same thing as for a blind person,” Walker told KGTV.
His Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife, Kacey, and daughter, Jordan, is already set up for someone without sight. It is one-story and has pocket doors instead of swinging doors, among other special features. Louie shouldn’t have much difficulty at all settling in with his new forever family.
“I think he’s going to pick up on that and I think he’s going to benefit from a lot of the changes we’ve already made to the house,” Walker told KGTV. “So we’re really excited about seeing him adapt to our home and our family, and seeing him flourish, really.”
In November the good people of Denver did the right thing and overwhelmingly voted to end the city’s 31-year ban on Pit Bulls, mixes and dogs that happen to look like Pit Bulls. Perhaps inspired by this, the city council of Aurora, Colorado’s third-largest city which is about 9 miles east of Denver, voted 7-3 on Jan. 11 to end its 15-year ban on these dogs.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman initially proposed a ballot measure to lift the ban, but residents wouldn’t be able to vote on it until next November, the Denver Post reports. Fortunately, instead of having to wait that long, city council members decided to vote on repealing the ban.
Starting next month, Aurora residents can own Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Before the ban was ended, dogs that were more than 51 percent of these breeds were not allowed in the city. (I wonder how that percentage was determined…?)
Breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out dogs only because of how they look — has proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety and expensive to enforce wherever it’s been enacted. Thank you, Aurora City Council, for realizing this and ending your city’s ban.
Up next in Colorado to consider ending its Pit Bull ban is Commerce City. A decision is expected there later this month, according to the Denver Post. (Update: On Jan. 15 the Commerce City Council voted to end the ban!)
Last week in Denver, a handsome 3-year-old Pit Bull named Gumdrop, who’d been picked up as a stray, became the first of his breed to be adopted out by the Denver Animal Shelter since 1989. A Colorado Springs family saw his photo and drove an hour to the shelter to adopt him, Denver Department of Public Health & Environment spokesperson Kyle Wagner told PEOPLE. Gumdrop’s name has been changed to Odin.
Here’s wishing Odin and his new forever family many years of happiness together. And a huge thank you to the Aurora City Council members whose votes will help save the lives of many more adoptable dogs.
We are so excited to celebrate the first Pit Bull adoption since the new breed ordinance! ???❤️
Gumdrop was so happy…
If you’re anything like me, you’ve helped Ben & Jerry’s stay in business during this months-long COVID-19 quarantine by eating massive amounts of their ridiculously delicious ice cream. Especially Chunky Monkey.
Good news! Now our dogs can enjoy Ben & Jerry’s, too. For the first time ever, the company is introducing frozen “Doggie Desserts” made with ingredients that can be safely digested by our beloved pets.
Bad news! For now at least, only these two flavors, named after B&J employees’ dogs (sweet!), are available in supermarkets and pet stores:
Pontch’s Mix, with peanut butter and pretzel swirls (yum!)
Rosie’s Batch, with pumpkin and miniature cookies (yum!)
They’re sold in single 4-ounce mini cups for the retail price of $2.99, or four-packs for $4.99.
Since ice cream and other dairy products can cause digestion problems for dogs, these treats are made with a small amount of sunflower butter, which is safe for dogs. They also have some of the same ingredients in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for humans, such as wheat flour, coconut oil and sugar.
Although Doggie Desserts are safe for human consumption too, they’re intended for dogs. Sorry.
No word yet on future flavors, but William K. Wolfrum has an excellent suggestion.
If you guys don't make a squirrel flavored ice cream, you'll be missing out.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the shocking announcement that at least 28 dogs had died and eight became ill after eating some Sportmix dry dog food products.
In an even more disturbing update, the FDA reported yesterday that the death toll has now increased to more than 70 pets, with over 80 becoming ill. “Not all of these cases have been officially confirmed as aflatoxin poisoning through laboratory testing or veterinary record review,” the FDA stated. “This count is approximate and may not reflect the total number of pets affected.” Yikes.
Aflatoxin is a toxic mold that can grow on corn and other grains used in pet food. At high levels, it causes illness and death in pets who eat the food.
Midwestern Pet Food, Inc., the company that manufactures the products, has expanded its initial Dec. 30 recall to now include all of its pet food products containing corn that were manufactured in the company’s Oklahoma plant.
“As a fourth-generation family-owned company, Midwestern Pet Foods has been committed to ensuring that our products are safe and nutritious for nearly 100 years,” the company said in a statement yesterday. “Until recently, throughout our long history, we’ve never had a product recall.”
In cooperation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the FDA is now investigating certain Sportmix pet food products. “Case counts and the scope of this recall may expand as new information becomes available,” the FDA stated.
Sportmix Products Recalled Dec. 30, 2020
The following dry pet food products are included in the original Dec. 30, 2020 voluntary recall. They were distributed nationally to online sellers and retail stores. The FDA has encouraged retailers to contact consumers who purchased these products if possible.
Sportmix Energy Plus:
44-lb. bags with the lot number EXP 03/02/22/05/L3
50-lb. bags with the lot numbers EXP 03/02/22/05/L2, EXP 03/02/22/05/L3 and EXP 03/03/22/05/L2
Sportmix Premium High Energy:
44-lb. bags with the lot number EXP 03/03/22/05/L3
50-lb. bags with the lot number EXP 03/03/22/05/L3
The lot number can be found on the back of the bag in a three-line code, as in this example:
The following dry cat food products are also included in the recall, although there have been no reports of cats becoming ill:
Sportmix Original Cat
15-lb. bags with the lot numbers EXP 03/03/22/05/L2 and EXP 03/03/22/05/L3
On January 11, 2021, Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. expanded its voluntary recall to include the following pet food products. More than 1,000 lot codes are affected (!), so they are not listed individually.
These products have been recalled if the date/lot code includes an expiration date on or before “07/09/22” and includes “05” in the date/lot code, which identifies products made in the Oklahoma plant.
Pro Pac Adult Mini Chunk, 40 lb. bag
Pro Pac Performance Puppy, 40 lb. bag
Splash Fat Cat 32%, 50 lb. bag
Nunn Better Maintenance, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix Original Cat, 15 lb. bag
Sportmix Original Cat, 31 lb. bag
Sportmix Maintenance, 44 lb. bag
Sportmix Maintenance, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix High Protein, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix Energy Plus, 44 lb. bag
Sportmix Energy Plus, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix Stamina, 44 lb. bag
Sportmix Stamina, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix Bite Size, 40 lb. bag
Sportmix Bite Size, 44 lb. bag
Sportmix High Energy, 44 lb. bag
Sportmix High Energy, 50 lb. bag
Sportmix Premium Puppy, 16.5 lb. bag
Sportmix Premium Puppy, 33 lb. bag
Symptoms of Aflatoxin Poisoning
The symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning may include sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice (a yellowish tint to your dog’s eyes or gums), and diarrhea. If you’ve been using the recalled products and your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms, you should take them to your veterinarian right away. Some dogs show no symptoms yet still experience liver damage, so you should still have your pet checked out by your veterinarian.
You can report your dog’s Sportmix-related illness to the FDA online through its Safety Reporting Portal or by contacting your state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators. The FDA suggests working with your veterinarian to submit your dog’s medical records with your report.
If you have any of the recalled products, dispose of them in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them. Wash and sanitize pet food bowls, cups and storage containers. The FDA says there is no evidence that people who handle the food are at risk of aflatoxin poisoning.
For more information about this recall, contact Midwestern Pet Foods Consumer Affairs at 800-474-4163, ext. 455 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, or by emailing info@midwesternpetfoods.com.
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