i Still Love Dogs

Ebola-Free Dallas Nurse Finally Reunited with Her Dog

After Dallas nurse Nina Pham was declared Ebola-free last week, she got a big hug from the president of the United States — but what she was really looking forward to was seeing her little dog, Bentley.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who had been quarantined since Oct. 11, also shows no sign of the deadly virus.

This morning, accompanied by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Pham was finally able to hold Bentley again.

“After I was diagnosed with Ebola, I didn’t know what would happen to Bentley or if he would have the virus,” Pham said at a press conference today, according to the Dallas Morning News. “I would not know what would happen to one of my best friends.”

While Pham was being treated at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, she was provided with regular updates from Bentley’s team. Bentley had been under the care of Dallas Animal Services (DAS) in partnership with the state of Texas, Texas A&M University and the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control.

Pham thanked her dog’s support team “for helping taking care of Bentley over the last 21 days, caring for him as if he was your own and showing America that passion and love is abundant and alive.”

She said the first thing she planned to do was to take Bentley to a pet store to pick out gifts for his second birthday, which is coming up later this month.

“I feel like Bentley reentering my life is another reminder of hope and encouragement for me moving forward, and fulfilling my life to the fullest with my best friend by my side again,” Pham told NBCDFW.com.

Mayor Rawlings also spoke during the press conference, thanking the team who cared for Bentley. After Pham was quarantined last month, the mayor told USA TODAY, “The dog’s very important to the patient and we want it to be safe.”

It’s really a shame that Madrid health officials didn’t have the same attitude as Rawlings. When Teresa Romero Ramos, a nurse’s aide there who, like Pham, contracted Ebola while treating a patient, officials euthanized her 12-year-old rescue dog, Excalibur, despite hundreds of thousands of pleas to spare his life.

Like Pham, Ramos is also now free of the virus — but heartbroken over the fact that her beloved dog was not there to greet her when she returned home.

Photo via Twitter

Baby Takes First Crawl to Dog, and…Awww

“Our little girl crawls for the first time on video, but what happened next melted our hearts,” wrote Don Swift, of Atlanta, in regard to a video he posted on YouTube Oct. 21 that’s going viral.

Watch the baby and big, black Labrador Retriever’s very first meet-up below.

“Labs are the best family dog ever!” wrote proud baby/dog daddy Swift.

Hector, Vick Dog Turned Therapy Dog, Crosses Rainbow Bridge

Hector had a rotten start in life. He was one of the dozens of fighting dogs kept by Michael Vick at the Bad Newz Kennels. When Hector and 50 other dogs were rescued in 2007, Humane Society of the United States President Wayne Pacelle said they would never be suitable as pets and should all be euthanized.

But dog experts at BAD RAP and Best Friends Animal Society knew better. They took in the dogs, rehabilitated them and found loving forever homes in which many of these “unadoptable” survivors thrived.

Among those lucky dogs was Hector. The good folks at BAD RAP eventually adopted him out to Roo and Clara Yori from Rochester, Minn. In his brand-new life, Hector became a certified therapy dog, visiting patients in hospitals and nursing homes. He passed the Canine Good Citizen test twice.

(I really hope Mr. Pacelle is aware of this.)

“When he first came to us, I was skeptical a little bit,” Clara told FOX 47 earlier this month. “I was worried he wouldn’t get along with our other dogs because it didn’t make sense to me that he would. But he did. He gets along wonderfully with our other dogs. He taught me to be a little bit more open-minded too.”

Roo told FOX 47 that Hector had scars “all down his chest. I think he had to do what he had to do when he was [at Bad Newz], but once he had the chance to get out, he said, ‘All right, I can stay who I am and never look back.'”

Unfortunately, the 9-year-old Pit Bull’s luck changed early in September. He was diagnosed with erythrophagocytic histiocytic sarcoma, a very aggressive form of cancer, and given just weeks to live. After making — and then breaking — two previous appointments to have him euthanized, his pet parents made the difficult decision yesterday to send Hector over the Rainbow Bridge.

“My last day was as good as one could ask for,” wrote “Hector” in an update on his Facebook page. “The sun was shining, the frogs were out for me to chase at the pond, and I had Roo and Clara to carry me off the trail when my legs just couldn’t go any further.

“To my Vick Dog family, and all the other dogs rescued from similar cruelty situations, keep carrying the torch! There are a lot of dogs out there that still need help, so keep proving they deserve their chance through our success.”

Safe travels over the Bridge, Hector.

Photos via Facebook

Dog Mom Invents ‘Muffin’s Halo Guide’ to Protect and Help Blind Dogs

After a Toy Poodle named Muffin began losing his vision due to cataracts — and took a spill down some stairs — his dog mom, Silvie Bordeaux, decided to do something to help him safely get around.

Bordeaux invented the Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs, a lightweight, three-piece device that includes a harness, copper tubing “halo” and wing-shaped padding on the back. It stops vision-impaired pups of all sizes from bumping into walls and furniture, or worse.

“They can eat and sleep and play and run with it on,” Bordeaux told the Associated Press. “It’s like their superpowers.”

Dr. Christin Fahrer, of Eye Care for Animals in Culver City, Calif., told the AP that if the halo hits the wall before the dog does, it will slow him down and help prevent injury to his face.

“We are the ones who struggle with the concept of our pets being blind,” Dr. Fahrer said, noting that dogs can adapt fairly easily to losing their sight. “We struggle with what it would be like for us. Our pets don’t drive or read, but we use our vision every moment of every day. It’s a different world for them.”

On the Muffin’s Halo website, Bordeaux wrote, “Muffin now knows his home again and can travel with me to any hotel or friend’s house and gets to familiarize any new surroundings, quickly. He just loves this aid and is back to his peppy confident self!”

Bordeaux wrote that she was “stunned” over how many dogs are abandoned or euthanized when they lose their eyesight. To help these pups, she started the non-profit Second Chances For Blind Dogs, which donates Muffin’s Halos to blind dogs in shelters.

Like the dogs wearing the device she created, Bordeaux has earned her angel wings. (Muffin’s Halo is also available in butterfly and quarterback shapes.) For information about ordering it, visit the website.

Photo via Facebook

Ridiculously Cute Police Puppy in Training Photo Goes Viral

Holy viral photo, Batman!

A 9-week-old German Shepherd named Batman became an Internet sensation today, and for a very worthy cause.

Batman is in training to become a member of the Boston Police Department’s K-9 unit. In this photo by Jonathan Kozowyk, the little pup is wearing a vest that’s just a wee bit too large for him.

The hand and legs in the photo belong to Officer Troy Caisey, the head trainer of the K-9 unit.

The photo is included in the 2015 Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog Calendar, on sale now for only $10 (plus shipping and handling). Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog is a volunteer-run nonprofit whose goal is to ensure that every police dog in that state has a bulletproof vest.

“All Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog calendar proceeds will be used to support Massachusetts police dogs, helping provide vests, essential equipment, training and dogs,” according to the organization’s Facebook page.

Photo via Facebook