i Still Love Dogs

‘Derek Jeter’ of K-9 Arson Detectives to Investigate Downtown L.A. Fire

About 20 agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived in Los Angeles today to launch an investigation, along with Los Angeles Fire Department officials, into the cause of Monday’s massive fire that destroyed part of a downtown apartment complex that was under construction.

Because of its intensity and how quickly it spread, the fire is being treated as suspicious.

Among the team members, uh, embarking on the search is 6-year-old Major, an accelerant-sniffing Black Lab who works with the LAFD’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism section. Major will be checking the structure for ignitable liquids.

At a press conference this morning, LAist.com reports that ATF agent Carlos Canino said having Major and his handler, Frank Oglesby, aboard was “like having Derek Jeter on your team.” Canino also referred to the pair as the “gold standard” of law-enforcement teams.

Major, a Department of Justice (DOJ) dog, trained for accelerant detection at the ATF Canine Training Center in Virginia, according to the LAFD Arson Facebook page. There are currently about 60 DOJ dogs who, with their handlers, help recover arson evidence at fire scenes.

“Major responds not only to incidents in the city of Los Angeles, but to other regions as part of the ATF National Response Team,” writes LAFD Arson. “In addition to being an ambassador for our department, Major is a significant tool in the battle against arson.”

LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said today that the investigation “may take weeks and may take months.” Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the tip line at 213-893-9850.

Photo via Twitter

Joan Rivers Leaves Part of Estate to Guide Dogs for the Blind

Beneath Joan Rivers’ brassy public persona was a warm-hearted woman who loved dogs and offered her generous support to many worthy causes.

Her will reflects that: Part of her $150 million estate is going to charities, including Guide Dogs for the Blind, a non-profit school that provides training and support free of charge to the visually impaired.

“Guide Dogs for the Blind has one of the nation’s largest volunteer networks, with thousands of volunteers assisting in the success of our mission,” according to its website. “The human/animal bond creates a ripple that adds meaning and enrichment to each of our lives and strengthens our communities.”

Rivers is also providing for her own four beloved rescue dogs, who visited her in her hospital room while she was in a coma. As the New York Daily News reported in September, the pack has moved in with her longtime assistant, Jocelyn Pickett, who was like a family member.

“I’ve left money so the dogs can be taken care of,” Rivers told the Daily Beast in July. Her only child, daughter Melissa, is the executor of her estate.

Devoted dog mom Rivers once referred to herself as “the Angelina Jolie of barkers,” according to the Daily News.

“Only when you love dogs very much do you let them sit on $300-per-yard French fabric,” she said.

Photo of Rivers and her rescue dog Teegan via Instagram

Yellow Lab Caught on Video Raiding the Fridge

Adam Montiel’s kitchen needs some serious dog-proofing.

The San Luis Obispo, Calif., radio host wondered just how Allie, his 12-year-old Yellow Lab, was managing to open the refrigerator and freezer doors, and to pull food out onto the floor.

So he put a GoPro camera in his kitchen, which caught the old girl in action.

“My girlfriend taught Allie to open a drawer where Allie’s toys were,” he says in the description of the video, which is going viral on YouTube. “We didn’t even think that the freezer itself is a big giant drawer…with food! But how she opened the doors with her mouth, and at the hinges, was incredible to us.”

Montiel insists they are not bad pet parents. “Yes we feed her, she is a very smart and loving soul, and we love her more than anything,” he says.

But just to make sure Allie doesn’t eat anything a dog shouldn’t, hopefully Montiel will invest in a couple of latches and locks. (And put the trash can away, too.)

Here’s proof that an old dog can even teach herself new tricks.

K9 Bloodhound Finds Utah Boy Who Fell into Manhole

“I was really scared … I thought I was going to miss Christmas,” six-year-old Kollin Bailey of Herriman, Utah, told the Deseret News.

Kollin was flying a kite Friday afternoon when he tripped and fell about 10 feet into a manhole. “I was looking back at my kite and I fell, then I blacked out. And when I opened my eyes, I was in there,” he said.

“I saw lots of sticks. Sticks were everywhere. And I think there was something, I think it was green, it was moving down there.”

As the hours passed, his aunt, who was babysitting Kollin, became very worried and called his mom, Shara Bailey. The West Valley City Police were notified of Kollin’s disappearance around 5:30 p.m. Officers and community members spread out around the area, about 25 miles south of Salt Lake City, and searched for the missing boy.

His bike was discovered near a water retention site, but no one noticed the open manhole or heard Kollin shouting for help.

That is, until K9 search dog Copper, a 100-pound Bloodhound who, like Kollin, is also 6 years old, was put into action. After getting a whiff of Kollin’s pillow, Copper led his handler, Sgt. Shane Matheson, to the manhole.

“To him it is just a game of hide and seek,” Matheson told the Deseret News. “It’s kind of a nice change of pace from finding bad guys to actually helping a family out.”

Matheson helped lift Kollin out of the manhole. The boy suffered a broken elbow and scratches, but is otherwise okay.

Someone — not a city worker — had apparently tampered with the manhole cover and removed it.

“These need to be bolted down, something, or (have) a lock on it,” Shara said. “There are three manholes in that area where kids play all the time.”

The evening after he was rescued, Kollin, with his arm in a sling, visited the police station to give his hero a reward. He gave Matheson and Copper big hugs — along with a bone-shaped treat for Copper.

“I never thought I’d owe my son’s life to a dog,” Shara said.

On its Facebook page, the West Valley City Police Department wrote, “We are grateful for our K9 teams and their ability to make a life-saving difference, as well as the partnership with other law-enforcement agencies that puts the safety of the public at top priority.”

Despite Kollin’s worries, thanks to Copper, he won’t be missing Christmas this year. And as for Copper? Kollin’s dad, Shawn Bailey, told the Deseret News, “I was telling everybody at the hospital last night, ‘That dog is going to get the biggest bone he’s ever gotten for Christmas.'”

Photo via Facebook

New Jersey May Become First State to Regulate Dog Groomers

Did you know that not one U.S. state requires dog groomers to be licensed or certified?

Because thousands of dogs have been injured or died in the hands of incompetent groomers, laws have been proposed in some states to regulate these businesses. So far, none of them have passed.

Now lawmakers in New Jersey have the opportunity to make it the first state to require licenses for pet groomers. (New York City and Miami-Dade County, Fla., do regulate them; however, this is not done statewide.)

The proposed law, “Bijou’s Bill,” is named in memory of a 6-year-old Shih Tzu who died during a routine grooming session at PetSmart.

“The pet groomer told me, ‘I hope this dog doesn’t give me a hard time. I had a hard day,’” Bijou’s dog mom, Rosemary Marchetto, told the New Jersey Assembly Regulated Professions Committee yesterday, according to NJ.com. “In 45 minutes they called me that ‘The dog is dead.’”

Marchetto would not discuss the details of Bijou’s death because she settled out of court with PetSmart, she said.

The sponsor of Bijou’s Bill, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, said she had done her own investigation into pet grooming businesses. “We just want to raise the level again of professional care, sanitary care and making sure that we’re protecting pet owners and the pets,” she told CBS New York.

The assembly committee discussed the bill yesterday but did not vote on it. If Bijou’s Bill passes the assembly and eventually becomes law, groomers would be required to be at least 18 years old and must pass a test by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. A license would cost about $60 to $75 — not much of a financial burden, Huttle noted.

A similar bill in California, “Lucy’s Law,” failed to pass in 2012. It was named after a Yorkshire Terrier mix who — also during a routine grooming session at a large chain store — suffered a detached retina, severed leg ligament and had five nipples shaved off.

That bill was opposed by many groomers, including Sue McFarlin. “Licensing groomers is not the answer to poor-quality grooming services,” she wrote in a petition she started against it. “State bureaucracy will not improve pet safety or grooming quality, but it will result in less competition, less choice for consumers and higher prices.”

Even if regulations did lead to higher prices, I doubt that many pet parents would mind the extra expense, and the peace of mind knowing that their beloved dog was in competent hands.

Until statewide laws are passed, when you take your dog to a groomer (especially at a large chain store, where many of the incidents have occurred), it could be a life-or-death matter to ask some important questions.

“It would behoove you to find out who your groomer is, how long they’ve been grooming, what kind of track record they have — you need to do this kind of work,” Marchetto told CBS New York.

“I thought it was safe. I thought it was a licensed profession.”

Photo via Facebook