Quick-Thinking Cadet Saves Texas A&M’s Collie Mascot During Football Game

The best play during Saturday’s football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and SMU Mustangs didn’t occur on the field.

As the Mustangs’ Der’rikk Thompson raced toward the end zone, Aggies defensive back Nick Harvey pushed him, causing the wide receiver to go sprinting out of bounds — and directly toward Reveille VIII, the mascot known as the “First Lady of Aggieland,” who was napping nearby.

Ryan Kreider, a Texas A&M sophomore who serves as the “mascot corporal” for Reveille, immediately sprang into action. With his right side, he blocked Thompson and pushed him off in another direction, away from the Collie.

“I was just doing my job,” Kreider said in a video by Brent Zwerneman. “He was coming straight toward Rev, and the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘I’ve got to protect her,’ right? So football instincts took over. I went ahead and lowered the shoulder, and made sure he wasn’t going to hit her.”

Kreider said Thompson seemed surprised, but then ran back onto the field without speaking to him. “He was like, ‘Oh! Well, hopefully I won’t go back here again — I might get hit harder!'”

Reveille VIII is cared for by Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets Company E-2, known as the “mascot company.” Reveille is considered the cadet general and must always be addressed as “Miss Rev, ma’am” by the cadets, according to Aggie Traditions.

Each year a sophomore is appointed mascot corporal and becomes Reveille’s main caretaker — this year, the honor went to Kreider. Reveille accompanies the mascot corporal everywhere, and is apparently granted a lot of authority. If she barks during a class, the class is cancelled. If she decides to sleep on the bed, the mascot corporal is supposed to sleep on the floor.

Texas A&M has had mascots named Reveille since the early 1930s. The first one, a mixed-breed stray, got the name because she would howl along when “Reveille” was played in the morning to wake up the cadets. Most of her successors have been purebred Collies who were donated to the university.

Reveille VIII became the First Lady of Aggieland at the start of the 2008-2009 school year. She is now 8 years old and will retire next spring, living out the rest of her days “at the state-of-the-art Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center on campus, where she will be able to interact with the Aggie community,” according to the tamuTimes. And here’s hoping that, just like the original one, Reveille IX will be a rescue dog.

At yesterday’s game, the Aggies beat the Mustangs 58-6, but the real winner — and most valuable non-player — was, by far, mascot corporal Kreider.

Photo via Vine

Finally! Animal Abuse Crimes Will Be Tracked by the FBI

Until now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) didn’t track animal cruelty crimes on statewide or national levels. Extreme cases of animal abuse and neglect were placed in an “Other Offense” category.

But that is finally changing. FBI Director James Comer has approved including these cases in the Uniform Crime Report, thanks to the years-long efforts of the National Sheriffs’ Association, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Doris Day Animal League.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, created in 1929, is “the starting place for law enforcement executives, students of criminal justice, researchers, members of the media and the public at large seeking information on crime in the nation,” according to the FBI website.

As the FBI has previously done for offenses including hate crimes and the killings of law enforcement officers, it will now also collect critical information on animal cruelty crimes. This means there’s now “a real incentive for law enforcement agencies to pay closer attention to such incidents,” wrote HSUS President Wayne Pacelle on his blog today. “With accurate data, law enforcement agencies will also be better able to allocate officers and financial resources to handle these cases, track trends and deploy accordingly.”

Animal cruelty crimes to be tracked by the FBI include intentional abuse and torture, organized abuse, sexual abuse and simple/gross neglect. The FBI defines animal cruelty as “Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly taking an action that mistreats or kills any animal without just cause, such as torturing, tormenting, mutiliation, maiming, poisoning or abandonment.”

The tracking of these crimes “is a practical way of cracking down on cruelty,” Pacelle wrote.

“The decision is also significant in affirming, at the highest levels of our government, that animal cruelty is a vice just like so many other violent crimes. It is the latest tangible gain in our effort to make opposition to animal cruelty a universal value in our society.”

Photo credit: angela n.

New German Magazine ‘Poop & Pooches’ for Dog Haters a Big Success

Believe it or not, some people just don’t love dogs. (I don’t get it, either.)

While there are plenty of magazines available here and abroad for people who are fond of canines, perhaps the first magazine ever for dog haters was launched this summer in Germany. And it sold out almost immediately.

Kot & Köter (which translates to Poop & Pooches) started out as a joke, thought up 22 years ago by a group of journalists who’d had “a lot of Guinness in a pub in Hamburg,” according to its website.

Just for the heck of it, Wulf Beleites, who was part of the group, trademarked the name. When the media caught wind of this, Beleites began appearing on talk shows as the editor-in-chief of Köt & Koter, even though there really wasn’t any such magazine.

Beleites, who had been bitten by a Spitz when he was a kid, would complain about how horrible he thought dogs were, and usually got booed by the audiences. As a self-proclaimed dog expert, he also spouted dubious facts. One of them: The formula for calculating the amount of poop a dog produces is “body weight times three divided by 50.”

Fast forward more than two decades, and through some tough financial times for Beleites. To make ends meet, he decided to actually publish Köt & Koter. With the help of about $9,000 raised through crowdfunding, he was able to do so.

The 1,000 copies of the premiere issue quickly sold out, so he printed 1,750 more.

“There are two types of people in Germany,” Beleites told the Wall Street Journal. “One type loves dogs. Another type doesn’t. These are my readers.”

He told Spiegel Online International that he wants the magazine to be “aggressive, funny, pseudo-serious and satirical.”

The magazine’s second issue recently rolled off the presses. “[MADNESS] TOTAL PIMP YOUR DOG,” says the cover.

These are a few of the pseudo-serious and satirical stories included in the first two issues:

  • A review of an imaginary restaurant that only serves food made from dogs.
  • The case for why having a burglar alarm is preferable to having a German Shepherd.
  • A look back at Hitler and his dog, Blondi.

Beleites told the Wall Street Journal he’s been getting hate mail and phone calls from the “German dog lobby.” Most of the letters posted on the Kot & Köter website appear to be negative. Some of the positive ones are pretty disturbing — hopefully, like the magazine, they’re tongue in cheek.

“I can only hope that the magazine comes about and is thus a counterweight to the general sanctity of the dog,” wrote Volker B. “I would like my (unpublished) novel, ‘I Kick Dogs,’ released for printing and to instigate the rights to do so.”

Good luck with that, Volker.

According to the Köt & Koter website, the magazine has 1,000 subscribers but will need 5,000 to continue being published on a quarterly basis.

“You can slap your child in Germany, but you better not slap your dog,” Philip Alsen, a dog dad, journalist and trainer told the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t think this magazine has a future.”

Michigan Cops in Big Trouble Over Stray Dog Prank

Some officers with the Ferndale Police Department in Michigan are doggone heelarious!

…At least they think so.

When a stray dog (he looks like a Puggle, a Pug/Beagle mix) was brought into the police station, the dispatcher on duty expressed interest in adopting him. But then he changed his mind, according to WDIV.

So, instead of handing the dog over to animal control as they are supposed to do, a lieutenant and two police officers got the wacky idea to go all “Jackass” on the dispatcher. Emphasis on jackass.

In the middle of the night, one of the officers — who was on duty at the time — drove the dog to a house in Southfield, about five miles from Ferndale, where he thought the dispatcher was staying. Using a rope, he tied the dog to the door and left him there.

And here comes the really knee-slappin’ part: It wasn’t the right house! And the homeowner thought someone was trying to break in, so he called the Southfield Police Department!

The Ferndale Police Department was not amused. “There’s no excuse for the behavior that happened. There’s no excuse for their conduct whatsoever,” Lt. William Wilson told WDIV. “It’s infantile. It’s grade schoolish, middle-schoolish at best.”

Police Chief Timothy D. Collins said “severe disciplinary action” will be taken very soon against the three officers.

It’s no surprise that people on Facebook are also angered by the prank. “When you tie a dog up, you make him defenseless against other dogs, people, rats, possums, etc.,” wrote one commenter on the WDIV Local 4 / Click On Detroit page. “These officers put this poor dog in danger, not to mention how confused & scared he was. These officers should lose their jobs, for they gave no consideration to a life or the danger they put that dog in. Shame on them.”

Hear, hear. Fortunately, the stray dog was “physically okay,” according to WDIV. He’s staying at the animal control center in Southfield and has not yet been claimed.

“[It was] a huge waste of police resources. Somebody could have gotten hurt,” said WDIV reporter Hank Winchester. “And, at the end of the day, the dog at the center of this entire controversy is still sitting in the pound.”

Photo via Facebook

More Than $1 Million Raised Day After Arson Fire Destroys Dog Shelter

As soon as the horrible news broke yesterday that an arson fire had destroyed the Manchester Dogs’ Home in the U.K., killing at least 53 dogs, people began offering their help and making donations to provide for the 150 surviving animals and rebuild the shelter.

As of Friday afternoon, more than $1.6 million had been raised via a donation page set up by the Manchester Evening News. Celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Piers Morgan have been helping to spread the word about the fund.

“£5 here, £10 there, the people of the UK gave what they could and will change our world as a result,” the Manchester Dogs’ Home tweeted earlier today.

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for setting the fire around 7 p.m. last night. The Mirror reports today that he had recently been hospitalized after being attacked by a dog.

“It Was Soul Destroying”

Colin and Colette Ballance, who live on site at the Manchester Dogs’ Home, managed to save two dogs when the fire broke out.

“By the time we got as many dogs into an outdoor kennel as we could, the smoke was choking,” Colin told the Mirror. “It is anyone’s worst nightmare who works at a dogs’ home — and I have been here for 25 years — but those scenes will live with me forever.”

Anna Stansfield, the shelter’s manager, told the BBC that what she and others saw was “soul destroying.”

The fire affected three areas of the shelter, according to Manchester Dogs’ Home spokeswoman Jane Smith.

“One of the main blocks that was affected was adoption row. This is where dogs go when they are ready to be rehomed,” she told the Mirror. “A family may have been along adoption row on Thursday afternoon and seen the dog for them, and that dog may no longer be with us. It is so, so sad.”

Local Residents Risk Their Lives to Rescue Dogs

The Guardian reports that when local residents became aware of the fire, hundreds of them rushed to the site with dog food and bedding.

Some people even risked their lives trying to rescue the dogs. Jason Dyer and his nephew Dean Rostock managed to save at least 20 dogs from one of the burning buildings.

“[We] managed to get in the reception area,” Dyer told the Mirror. “We grabbed the dog leads, and ran down to try and help the dogs. There were no keys, so we had to pry the cages open, go in and then entice the dogs over to us. The dogs were scared and shaking, and they made their way over to us. We put them on the leads and led them out.”

An online petition requesting that Dyer and Rostock be awarded for their heroic efforts has more than 1,200 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

Help on the Road to Recovery

The Manchester Dogs’ Home, founded in 1893, takes in about 7,000 dogs each year. It finds forever homes for 95 percent of them.

The Manchester Evening News reports that workers from the construction company Powerhouse Property Services have volunteered to rebuild the shelter, free of charge. They’ve set up a Facebook page where other workers can also volunteer their services.

“A million. A million good hearts, a million amazing people thank you thank you thank you,” the shelter tweeted today.

Here’s how you can help:

Photo via Twitter

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