Lazarus the Miracle Dog Wakes Up After Being Put to Sleep

Apparently cats aren’t the only critters who have nine lives.

After he survived being hit by a car, and then was dumped at an animal shelter in Ozark, Ala., because his owner had to move away, a 4-year-old Shepherd mix woke up after being put to sleep.

Animal control officer Wanda Snell, who witnessed the dog being euthanized last month, told the Associated Press (AP) that after a veterinarian injected him with the lethal chemicals, the dog moved a little, as if he was resisting it, but then he was still.

According to Sonya King of Two by Two Animal Rescue, the vet heard a faint heartbeat, so he gave the dog another injection. “He rechecked his heartbeat and signed off on the records that the 4-year-old black Shepherd mix was dead,” King wrote on the rescue’s Facebook page.

But when Snell arrived for work at the shelter the next morning, the dog was standing up, drinking some water.

“He was back up and breathing, and going right about business like it’s nothing,” Ozark Police Capt. Bobby Blankenship, the shelter’s supervisor, told the AP.

The miracle dog remained wobbly for a few days. He was taken in by King, who named him Lazarus after the man who, according to the Bible, was raised from the dead by Jesus.

One month later, Lazarus is recovering from the euthanasia attempt as well as the leg injury he suffered earlier when he was struck by a car. He is being fostered by Jane Holston of Helena, Ala., and will hopefully enjoy a long (third?) life in a new forever home.

“He’s not skittish, he’s not afraid of anything, anybody, any sounds,” Holston told the AP. “I mean, it’s just amazing what all he has been through.”

Although it’s rare for a dog to survive a euthanasia attempt, it does occasionally happen. Dr. Robert Lofton, of the veterinary clinic at Auburn University, told the AP that Lazarus may have been given an improper dose of the drug, or perhaps the needle missed his vein.

One of the most famous cases of a miracle survivor dog also occurred in Alabama. In October 2011, a stray Beagle named Daniel walked out of a shelter’s gas chamber in Florence after being exposed to carbon monoxide for 17 minutes. He was adopted by an East Coast family and inspired “Daniel’s Law,” which prohibits the state of Pennsylvania from using gas chambers in animal shelters.

Because of pet overpopulation, about 2.7 healthy dogs and cats are euthanized every year in U.S. shelters, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

“Thousands of great animals are killed each week in your local community,” King wrote on Two by Two Animal Rescue’s Facebook page. “As you fume with anger, let me remind us all that if our communities regulated spay and neutering, then our shelters would not be overloaded. The shelters have a horrible job of killing the animals that should have never been born.”

For more information about Two by Two Animal Rescue, visit its website.

Photo via Facebook

Extreme Makeover: Lucky Pup Survives Spill Into Hot Tar

It took three hours over two days, but kind-hearted and tenacious volunteers in India were finally able to remove much of the tar that completely covered a 5-month-old dog, leaving him stiff and stuck to the ground.

The stray pup had somehow managed to fall into a pool of hot tar at a construction site in Udaipur.

“A passerby saw him struggling and called our helpline,” wrote Animal Aid Unlimited in the caption for a video of the rescue posted Sept. 27 on YouTube.

Using vegetable oil and a lot of elbow grease, the team of rescuers was able to successfully scrub enough of the tar off of the dog so he was no longer stuck to the ground. He was taken to an animal shelter, where it took a few more days to completely remove all the tar.

When the dog, who they called Tar Baby, arrived at the shelter, “he was petrified and breathing heavily,” Claire Abrams, of Animal Aid Unlimited, told CNN. Based on the video, the lucky dog has been completely transformed, and not just in looks.

Here’s the video…talk about an extreme makeover!

Photo via YouTube

NIH Stops Funding Biomedical Research Using Randomly Sourced Dogs

As of today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest provider of funds for biomedical research, will not pay for research conducted with dogs obtained from random source Class B dealers.

These dealers get their dogs in a variety of ways, including from animal shelters and Craigslist ads, or by stealing them from their yards. They then sell the dogs to research laboratories.

In 2012 the NIH stopped funding research that used cats from Class B dealers, but it’s taken three years to include dogs as well.

“We thank NIH for its work to institute this policy and we welcome this step forward,” Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), wrote on his blog today. “We also thank the many other organizations who devoted their energies to achieving this important milestone, including Last Chance for Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute.”

As many as 2 million dogs and cats were sourced by Class B dealers before the passage of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act in 1966, according to Pacelle. Over the next two decades, there were still more than 200 registered Class B dealers in the United States.

Today there are only three registered Class B dealers, and one of them is being investigated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

“Careful scientists don’t associate with these dealers,” Pacelle wrote, “and the campaigning and exposés led by animal advocates weakened the dealers and shut off some of their sales routes.”

While this is good news, Class A dealers continue to breed dogs — particularly Beagles, because of their trusting personalities — to be used in biomedical research. Nonprofits like the Beagle Freedom Project are working to provide homes for these dogs after the research is completed, and are also advocating for alternative, dog-free ways to conduct the research in the first place.

Photo credit: United States Marine Corps

Westminster Adds Coton de Tulear and Wirehaired Vizsla to 2015 Dog Show

Barbra Streisand is probably delighted with this news. (No, not that her new album, “Partners,” is No. 1, although that’s kind of exciting.) Her constant companion Samantha — who posed with Babs in her very first Instagram photo — is a Coton de Tulear, one of two breeds that will make their debut at the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

“Wild tales of 16th-century pirates and shipwrecks surround the origins of the Coton de Tulear,” says the Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) in a news announcement.

The breed, which will compete in the Non-Sporting Group, was developed in Madagascar. It got its name from the fluffy, cotton-like texture of its white coat. “Intelligent, quirky and clown like, Cotons became a favorite of the island’s aristocracy, who proclaimed them the ‘Royal Dog of Madagascar,'” according to the WKC.

The other breed appearing for the first time in next year’s show is the Wirehaired Vizsla, which will be competing in the Sporting Group.

“Developed by hunters and falconers in Hungary, the Wirehaired Vizsla is a lean, athletic hunting dog whose most distinguishing features are its weather-resistant, dense wire coat with beard, eyebrows and brushes on the legs,” says the WKC.

The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will be held Feb. 16 and 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

If you’re interested in adopting a Coton de Tulear or Wirehaired Vizsla, here are a couple of rescue organizations you can check out:

If you’re interested in adding any purebred dog to your family, I urge you to adopt, not shop. Plenty of rescue organizations and shelters across the country probably have just the dog you’re looking for.

Photo credits: Uschi Goess (Coton de Tulear); Noveczki Katalin (Wirehaired Vizsla)

RECALL ALERT: Bravo Chicken and Turkey Pet Food

Several frozen Bravo chicken and turkey pet food products have been voluntarily recalled because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.

According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice, the products were recalled after routine testing by the Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture found that some of them contained Salmonella. The affected products were distributed nationwide beginning on Nov. 15, 2013 to distributors, stores, online retailers and directly to consumers.

Salmonella can affect animals as well as people who handle the contaminated food. The symptoms for both people and animals include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. If you or your pet experiences these symptoms after handling or eating the recalled products, see a doctor or veterinarian. Bravo has not yet received any reports of illness in either people or animals.

This is the second Bravo pet food recall this year. In May, the company recalled products that were possibly contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that is generally harmless to pets but can cause sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people

The following two Bravo products are being recalled because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.


Raw Food Diet Bravo! Turkey Blend for Dogs and Cats

  • Product Number: 31-102
  • Size: 2 lb. (32 oz.) plastic tubes
  • Best used by date: 11-05-15
  • UPC: 829546311025

Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend Diet for Dogs and Cats

  • Product Number: 21-102
  • Size: 2 lb. (32 oz.) plastic tubes
  • Best used by date: 08-11-16
  • UPC: 829546211028

The following two additional products are also being recalled “out of an abundance of caution” because they were manufactured in the same facility and at the same time as the other products:

Premium Turkey Formula Bravo! Balance Raw Diet

  • Product Number: 31-405
  • Size: 5 lb. (80 oz.) 2.3 kg. plastic tubes
  • Best used by date: 11-05-15
  • UPC: 829546314057

Bravo! Blends All Natural Chicken Blend Diet for Dogs and Cats

  • Product Number: 21-105
  • Size: 5 lb. (80 oz.) 2.3 kg. plastic tubes
  • Best used by date: 08-11-16
  • UPC: 829546211059

The following frozen raw diet products are also being recalled “out of an abundance of caution despite no evidence of any manufacturing defect or distribution problem”:

Bravo Chicken Blend(s), Bravo Turkey Blend(s), Bravo Balance Chicken Balance and Bravo Balance Premium Turkey Formula

  • All sizes (2 lb., 5 lb. and 10 lb.)
  • Best used by dates between June 20, 2016 and Sept. 18, 2016

If you purchased any of these products, do not feed it to your dog. Dispose of it safely, such as in a securely covered trash can, or return it to the place of purchase. Submit the Product Recall Claim Form available on the Bravo website for a full refund or store credit.

For more information about the recall, visit the Bravo website or call the company at 866-922-9222 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.

Photo credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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