Grateful Dog Dad Buys Super Bowl Ad Praising UW Veterinary School

You might want to take a break from watching Puppy Bowl XVI on Sunday and tune into the second quarter of that other big sports event, Super Bowl LIV.

One of the commercials will be for University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine. The $6 million, 30-second spot, appropriately titled “Lucky Dog,” isn’t being paid for by the school, but by WeatherTech, a manufacturing company whose founder and CEO is David MacNeil. The commercial features Scout, MacNeil’s 7-year-old Golden Retriever, who’s alive today thanks to the staff at the school’s teaching hospital, UW Veterinary Care.

Last summer, an aggressive tumor was growing on Scout’s heart. He had hemangiosarcoma, a cancer of blood vessel walls, and was given the grim prognosis of having only one month to live. Devastated because he had lost three previous dogs to cancer, MacNeil, with a referral from his veterinarian, took Scout to UW Veterinary Care in July 2019.

Specialists with the hospital’s emergency and critical care and oncology teams were able to quickly stabilize Scout. He was given chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy to zap his heart tumor. At the same time, he was given immunotherapy to boost his immune system so it could better attack cancerous cells.

While all those treatments may sound overwhelming, the main goal of the hospital staff along with MacNeil was maintaining Scout’s high quality of life during these procedures. “Scout is kind of the perfect patient in that he’s tolerated multiple modes of therapy very well,” said David Vail, professor of comparative oncology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, in a press release.

Amazingly, Scout’s heart tumor decreased in size by almost 80% after just one month of treatment. By September it had decreased another 10%. Today, it has pretty much disappeared.

Scout was one of 3,500 patients who visited UW Veterinary Care’s Oncology Service in 2019. Cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in older dogs, and UW Veterinary Care is conducting research and using innovative treatments to help save dogs’ (and cats’) lives. Since cancerous tumors in dogs often share the same characteristics as those in humans in regard to recurrence, spread and response to treatment, this research can help save people’s lives as well.

Scout, who’s the face of WeatherTech’s pet products, appeared in the company’s Super Bowl commercial last year. But this is the first time UW Veterinary Care has ever been in a commercial, and the faculty and staff are understandably excited about it.

“So much of what’s known globally today about how best to diagnose and treat devastating diseases such as cancer originated in veterinary medicine,” said Mark Markel, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, in the press release. “We’re thrilled to share with Super Bowl viewers how our profession benefits beloved animals like Scout and helps people, too.”

The commercial ends with a plea for viewers to donate to UW Veterinary Care so other dogs can be as lucky as Scout. You can make an online donation at weathertech.com/donate/petsmakeadifference or via the school’s website at vetmed.wisc.edu/scout/. Every dollar donated will go toward research to better diagnose, treat and prevent cancer, as well as toward the purchase of specialized equipment to help identify new cancer-fighting drugs and treatments.

In case you miss the “Lucky Dog” commercial or prefer to watch the Puppy Bowl instead of the Super Bowl (I hear ya), here it is.

Photo: uwmadison/YouTube

R.I.P. Cherry, One of the Last Surviving Vicktory Dogs

Nearly 13 years ago, Cherry was one of the 51 Pit Bulls rescued from a life of horror at Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia.

Prior to 2007, most dogs rescued from fighting operations were euthanized. Even Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States at the time, said the rescued Vick dogs would never be suitable as pets and thus should all be destroyed.

But dog experts at animal welfare organizations including the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS), Richmond Animal League and BAD RAP knew better. They took in the Vick survivors, rehabilitated them and found them loving forever homes in which these “unadoptable” survivors thrived, earning them the name “Vicktory Dogs.” Many of them became beloved therapy dogs. One of the survivors, Jonny Justice, was awarded the prestigious ASPCA Dog of the Year award in 2014.

Cherry, just a puppy in 2007, was taken in by BFAS. “Cherry arrived at Best Friends looking like he wanted to stick his head in a hole and never come out,” according to Julie Castle, CEO of BFAS, in The Best Friends Blog. “The word ‘withdrawn’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. He was living in his own world, trapped in a nightmare replaying over and over inside his head.”

Thanks to the tender, loving care he received at BFAS, Cherry eventually came out of his shell. He turned out to be a big ol’ snugglebug, wanting to cuddle with people, other dogs — and even cats.

“It was so wonderful to see Cherry become the squooshy-faced lap dog he’d always wanted to be — wonderful because it happened for him and wonderful that he’d come so far from his sad past of abuse,” Castle wrote.

Cherry was adopted by Paul and Melissa Fiaccone. He enjoyed a long, loving life in his forever home. He became a Pit Bull ambassador, helping people realize that it’s possible for dogs to be rehabilitated after experiencing such horrible trauma.

Tragically, many of the dogs at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels never got a second chance like Cherry and his fellow Vicktory Dogs. According to the federal indictment, Vick himself killed poorly performing dogs by hanging them or repeatedly slamming them to the ground. When three dogs survived being hanged, Vick helped hold their heads underwater until they drowned.

Vick went to prison for 18 months in 2007 and was then awarded the second chance he’d deprived of all those dogs he killed. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and quickly resumed his NFL career. Most recently the NFL has given him the honor of being a “legends captain” for the 2020 Pro Bowl. Over 1.4 million people have signed online petitions urging the NFL to choose a more worthy “legend.”

If anyone deserves legend status, it’s Cherry and the Vicktory Dogs. Sadly, Cherry recently had a mass growing on his spleen and had become lethargic. According to his dog dad, Paul Fiaccone, “the message was clear from him. He was tired, he was ready. Melissa and I held his paws and hugged him tightly as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He was extremely peaceful and we are honored to have been with him at his time of need.”

Paul wrote that during their years together, Cherry taught him a very important lesson: to live. “Life will always throw you curveballs, but live it and live it well,” he wrote. “Cherry gave life all he had and he wrung every ounce out of his time here. He just loved life and loved sharing his love with his family, friends and whomever he met.

“Today we mourn the loss of Cherry, but tomorrow we live. We live for Cherry.”

Photo: Best Friends Animal Society/YouTube

Dogfighting Survivor Becomes New Jersey’s First Pit Bull Arson Officer

Unlike his namesake, Hansel’s early life was no fairy tale. In 2015, when he was only 7 weeks old, the Pit Bull was rescued from a dogfighting operation in Canada.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Throw Away Dogs Project, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that trains rescued dogs to become K9 officers and service dogs, young Hansel is about to become the first-ever Pit Bull arson-detection officer in the state of New Jersey.

“He exhibited all the qualities that a regular working dog, police K9 dog has,” Carol Skaziak, the founder of Throw Away Dogs, told News 12.

Hansel will start his new job at the Millville Fire Department on Jan. 19 alongside his partner, firefighter Tyler Van Leer. The two spent 15 weeks in training at the  New Jersey Police K9 Association’s academy. They did about 12 practice searches every day.

Arson dogs, also known as accelerant detection canines (ADCs), are trained to sniff out tiny traces of gasoline, lighter fluid, and other accelerants that may have been used to intentionally start a fire. “Canine teams have proven to be the most effective tool that fire investigators can use to locate accelerants,” according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

“In the instance where the scene is safe, I’ll determine where the point of origin is and then I’ll dig out that area, and then Hansel will come in and sniff out the area that I’ve dug out,” Van Leer told News 12. “If he sits, then I’ll take evidence. If he doesn’t sit, then it most likely was not an intentionally set fire.”

Van Leer said Hansel is super excited about his new job. “When I put on his harness and I tell him, ‘Do you want to go to work?’ he literally does laps in his crate,” he told News 12.

“Hansel has been through hell and back, and absolutely needed to find his niche, his person — and Fireman Van Leer is that person and his job,” Skaziak told News 12. “Now he’s going to have a purpose.”

Not only that, but Hansel will also be an ambassador for his often misunderstood breed. His work will “really help change the minds of a lot of people” regarding Pit Bulls, New Jersey Police K9 Association President Kenneth Sacavitch told News 12.

To make a donation to help other rescued dogs “have a purpose,” visit the Throw Away Dogs Project website.

Photo: CBS Philly/YouTube

This Porch Pirate Was a Pooch

‘Tis the season…for so-called porch pirates, unfortunately. These thieves come out from under their rocks at this time each year to steal packages that don’t belong to them.

To deter porch pirates, some savvy pet owners have filled empty Amazon cartons with dog poop. And thanks to doorbells with video cameras, many porch pirates are getting caught in the act — including a thief in Oklahoma named Max.

When a present sent from her sister in California went missing from her Shady Point porch, Debbie Goines checked the video footage from her doorbell camera. Sure enough, she spotted the porch pirate. But in this case, the thief was what Goines called a “pooch pirate.”

It was her neighbor’s Great Pyrenees, Max. The big ol’ fluffy dog casually walked onto her porch, sniffed the package (which happened to contain jerky snacks and other foods), picked it up with his mouth and then wandered back home with it.

When Goines’ asked her neighbor about the package, its remains were found in the neighbor’s yard: the torn-apart carton and an unopened bottle of olive oil.

“I assume Max just ate what he wanted and buried the rest,” Goines said, according to a KABC report.

“He just smelled the jerky and said, ‘This has been delivered to the wrong house!'” Goines said, which sounds rerasonable.

Max’s owner offered to pay for the lost goods, but Goines refused. Apparently no charges were filed against the pooch pirate, but according to the news report, Max is currently in “doggie detention.”

Is it a coincidence that the Grinch’s dog was also named Max? Perhaps not. Speaking of the Grinch, last week a therapy dog for the Franklin Police Department in Massachusetts was caught red-pawed stealing toys from a donation bin at the police station. The toys were supposed to be given to children in need, not needy Golden Retrievers.

Like Max, this four-legged thief, whose name is Ben Franklin, will not be charged with any crime.

“We learned an extremely valuable lesson today,” the Franklin Police Department wrote on its Facebook page Dec. 18. “When you have a classroom full of toys ready to be shipped off to the Santa Foundation, you should…

1. Close the door to the classroom

Or

2. Keep the toys elevated.”

Photo: Good Morning America/YouTube

This Wasn’t the First Dog Rescued from an Elevator Tragedy

Johnny Mathis (the Houston welder/hero, not the famous singer) was in the right place at the right time on Monday. He had stepped out of an elevator on the ground floor of his apartment complex when he saw what could have been the last terrifying moments of a Pomeranian’s life.

As Mathis stopped to admire the little dog, the Pomeranian’s owner went into the elevator. The doors closed before the dog, on a long, retractable leash behind her, could join her.

Realizing that the little dog would be strangled when the elevator car began rising, Mathis immediately took action. His heroic deed was captured by a security camera.

As the woman screamed inside the elevator car, Mathis tried to break the dog’s leash by leaning on it with all of his weight, he told NBC News, but that didn’t work.

“Instinct just kicked in, I just grabbed that leash,” he told CNN. “There was so much fur, that’s why it took me a bit to get that lever off of the collar and when I did, I let go, you could see that leash just shoot off to the top of the elevator.”

The distraught woman returned to the ground floor, assuming her dog was dead. When the elevator doors opened, Mathis told NBC News she was laying on the floor, sobbing.

“I think she just said, ‘Thank you,’ and we hugged, but she was just so overcome with emotion,” Mathis told CNN.

The dog’s owner has received a lot of backlash in response to this scary incident, but Mathis said he felt bad for her. “We’re all human, things happen like that,” he told NBC News. “It just takes a second for your attention to not be there.”

Mathis is right that “things happen like that.” Other dogs have nearly died when the elevator doors closed on their leashes. Those incidents were also captured on security video.

In 2016, Ben Duke, a hotel manager in South Carolina, saved the life of a dog named Boo Boo. After the dog’s owner stepped into an elevator at the Roadway Inn in Greenville, the doors closed on Boo Boo’s leash. “Everybody is calling me a hero, but I can’t imagine the other outcome,” Duke told WYFF. “I just did what you are supposed to do in this situation.”

That same year, a dog in an apartment complex in Springfield, Mo., was rescued from a similar fate when elevator doors closed on his retractable leash. Apartment manager Brian Ussery was able to save the dog’s life by breaking the leash. “I would hate to know what would have happened if I wasn’t able to break that leash before she got to the top again,” Usery wrote on his Facebook page.

In 2013, a Pug in Russia would have been killed if a bystander hadn’t quickly removed him from his leash.

It’s important to note that most of these incidents involved dogs on retractable leashes. Many veterinarians urge dog owners not to use this type of leash because, as in these cases, they allow your dog to get too far away from you. You or your dog can also easily get tangled in the leash, leading to injuries including amputations.

Keeping Your Dog Safe in Elevators

Elevators are generally safe for your dog if you take these precautions recommended by KONE, a global leader in the elevator industry.

  • When you get on and off the elevator, keep your dog right beside you on a short leash, gripping it tightly.
  • Do not push a floor button until your dog and his leash are completely inside the elevator.
  • Stay in the rear of the elevator, with your dog sitting beside you.
  • It’s also a good idea to check to see where the emergency buttons to stop the elevator and open the doors are located.

“If an emergency does occur, act fast,” KONE advises. “If there is a danger of choking, release the dog from its collar as quickly as possible. If the dog is alone in the elevator and its leash is caught between the doors, push the call button immediately. If the elevator car is already in motion, let go of the leash.”

Call the service number of the maintenance company for the elevator. “Remember to stay calm – help is on the way,” KONE says.

Escalators can also be dangerous for dogs. Here’s a reason why you shouldn’t take your dog on escalators.

Photo: @Johnnayyeee/Twitter

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