i Still Love Dogs

Best Neighbor Ever: Hero Risks Life to Save Dog from House Fire

Everybody needs a neighbor like Chase Thomas. When a fire suddenly started Thursday night in a house on his street in Charlotte, N.C., three family members made it safely outside, but their dog was trapped inside.

Thomas, 20, was driving by the house when he saw the flames. Using his cellphone as a flashlight, he accompanied the homeowner into the smoky, burning house. They both called the dog’s name, but got no response. “I checked one room and I checked another, covering my mouth, searching the room, and I heard some scratching,” Thomas told FOX 46. “I brushed around and I felt for fur, and I got the dog.”

Moments after they emerged from the house, the roof collapsed and the fire spread, Thomas told WCNC.

The homeowner was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation. The house is a total loss, but its occupants are grateful to be alive — and to have Thomas living nearby.

Like most heroes, Thomas insists he’s not one. “I was just doing anything that anyone else would try to do,” he told FOX 46. “I had a dog at one point and that’s a family member to me, so going back in was doing what I could to help.”

Photo via @Fox46News/Twitter

Dog Has New Home with Heroes Who Rescued Him from Arizona Freeway

During rush hour Tuesday afternoon, a German Shepherd mix wandered in and out of traffic on a busy freeway in Tempe, Ariz. Some drivers stopped and attempted to lure the stray dog to them, to no avail.

As they watched this dangerous situation unfold in a live stream on the azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Facebook page, Kim and Andrew Vander Stoep decided to do something about it. They grabbed a leash, water and dog treats, then got in their truck and drove to the freeway.

Kim, who works at an animal hospital, walked across the Elliot Road off-ramp and was able to get the leash on the dog as he was distracted by other good Samaritans who’d stopped to help. While waiting for Andrew to arrive in the truck, she gave the dog water and treats.

The Vander Stoeps took the dog to the animal hospital where Kim works to see if he had a microchip. He did, but the contact person said the dog wasn’t his.

This lucky dog, who’s been named Elliot after the off-ramp where Kim saved him, has a new forever home — with his rescuers.

“We’ve got four dogs at home. We’re dog people,” Andrew told azfamily.com. “Our house is set up for dogs.” The couple had been planning to adopt a Pit Bull with three legs due to cancer, but will put that on hold until Elliot settles in to his new digs.

“He’s safe now and that’s all that matters,” Kim told azfamily.com.

Photo: azfamily 3TV CBS 5/Facebook

Whatever Happened to Milwaukee Brewers Mascot Hank the Dog?

Back in February 2014, a scruffy white dog with a tire mark on his fur wandered into the Milwaukee Brewers spring training camp at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. The team fell in love with the stray and named him Hank (after Milwaukee baseball great Hank Aaron).

As I wrote for i Love Dogs at the time, when no one came forward to claim Hank after the team posted his picture on social media and local flyers, he became the Brewers’ mascot and an internet sensation. His image was featured on team apparel, and there were Hank stuffed animals and bobbleheads. The hashtag #ballparkpup went viral.

“He could not have wandered into a better situation,” Tyler Barnes, vice president of communications for the Brewers, told TODAY.com. “He’s got a family of more than 50 players and double the number of staff who love him every bit as much as a family could.”

The following January, Hank won the top honor at the World Dog Awards.

“Hank has been working his magic over the past few months, and has touched people in ways you can’t imagine, and other dogs he has single-handedly — single pawedly? — helped find homes for,” Marti Wronski, Hank’s new dog mom and the Brewers’ vice president and general counsel, said in her acceptance speech. “We promise to keep taking good care of him so he can keep everyone smiling. Please remember to keep looking into dog rescue and adoption.”

Nearly four years later, the Milwaukee Brewers have advanced to the National League Championship Series (NLCS), which made me wonder: What’s up with Hank these days?

In 2016 there were rumors that Hank had passed on to the big ballpark in the sky and was replaced by an imposter, but the Brewers proved it was just a hoax.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this month, Hank “isn’t speaking to the press.” Barnes said the pup is excited for the NLCS, but rarely makes appearances nowadays.

However, Hank has not yet officially retired. “He makes rare appearances but he deserves to live the life of a loved pet,” Barnes told the Journal Sentinel. “The success of the team this year has kept the focus and excitement on the field.”

As a lifelong Los Angeles resident and Dodgers fan, I’ll be rooting for my home team during the NLCS. But if the Brewers win the National League title and go on to play in the World Series, I’ll be cheering them on — and hoping for a very special guest appearance by Hank the dog.

Photo: wischumane/Instagram

It’s Legal for US Evacuation Centers and Hotels to Ban Pets During a Disaster

Besides the tragic loss of human lives, some of the most heartbreaking Hurricane Florence stories were those of pets that had been left behind to fend for themselves in the rising floodwaters. In one video that went viral, volunteers rescued six dogs locked inside a backyard kennel just an hour or so before they all would have drowned.

After Hurricane Irma in Florida last year, pet owners who left their animals chained with no way to escape were rightfully charged with felony animal cruelty. Hopefully the owners of these pets in North Carolina will face similar charges.

While chaining or locking up dogs during a hurricane seems especially cruel, some pet owners may have had to abandon their pets because they were not allowed in evacuation centers and hotels. You might think that after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005 and an estimated 250,000 dogs and cats were displaced or died — and in some cases, their owners who refused to leave them behind also died — all shelters and hotels would now be required by law to allow pets.

It’s true that the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, enacted one year after Katrina, does require state and local emergency preparedness operational plans to address the needs of the owners of companion and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. However, as I wrote for Care2 after Hurricane Harvey in Texas a year ago, you might be surprised that the PETS Act does not require evacuation centers or hotels to accept pets during a disaster.

So, what exactly does the PETS Act require? It requires state and local emergency preparedness operational plans to address the needs of the owners of companion and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. While these plans do include “emergency shelter facilities and materials that will accommodate people with pets and service animals,” all evacuation centers aren’t required to allow pets.

Fortunately, more and more evacuation centers are welcoming two-legged and four-legged evacuees. Many hotels are willing to waive their no-pets policies to accommodate people who need a place for all of their family members to stay.

But knowing there’s still a real possibility that your pet will be turned away from a shelter during a disaster is a very important reason to have an emergency evacuation plan prepared so you don’t get separated. Here are some tips from the ASPCA:

Find out what hotels in your area will accept pets. Check your county’s emergency management office, local animal shelter and your city’s social media for the locations of evacuation centers that allow pets.
Prepare an emergency kit that includes a pet carrier (with your pet’s name, your name and your cell phone number written on it), canned food, bowls, bottled water, first-aid items, garbage bags and blankets.
Be sure your pet is microchipped and your contact information is up to date.
Your pet’s ID tag should include their name, any urgent medical needs and your cell phone number.
Keep current photos of your pet with you.

Photo: Daily Mail/YouTube

Farewell, My Sweet Leroy Brown from the Carson Pound

When my boyfriend Fred and I rescued a 6-month-old American Bulldog mix from a Carson, Calif., animal shelter back in October 2007, the staff had named him “Snorty” because he loved to snort like a pig when he was happy (or anywhere near a bowl of food).

Although we changed his name to Leroy Brown, he truly lived up to his shelter moniker and spent a good part of his lifetime snorting (not to mention snoring many decibels louder than a Harley engine). He was one of the happiest, sweetest…and adorably loudest dogs I’ve ever had.

Earlier this year, Leroy’s health began to fail, yet he didn’t let it get him down, and continued to snort as much as possible. Sadly, he took a turn for the worse this week, so Fred and I made the heartbreaking decision yesterday to end his suffering.

I kissed and scratched my sweet lovin’ brown dog’s ears — his very favorite spot to be scratched — as he took his final breath.

About 30 seconds after the veterinarian confirmed his heart had stopped beating, Leroy snorted.

The vet and I looked at each other in disbelief. We both believe it was a signal from Leroy. Wherever he’s slipped away to, he is very happy. I like to think he’s been reunited with his old girlfriend Sophie, and they’re having a whole lot of fun together up there in dog heaven.

As we drove home from the animal hospital, both Fred and I heard a loud, random dog bark. Sure, it probably came from a real, live dog, but we like to think this was also a sign.

And after I went to bed last night but was still wide awake, I saw a dog-sized shadow glide past the bedroom door. I thought it was our other dog, Ella, but it wasn’t. I really don’t believe in ghosts, but I’d like to think that it was Leroy’s spirit, letting me know that he’s now free of arthritis and his other health issues.

Here’s a video I made after we adopted Ella in 2010. As you can see, Leroy and Ella got along really well back then, but eventually they became “frenemies,” barely tolerating (and occasionally fighting) each other. But I know they cared about each other…I can tell that Ella is grieving now, just like Fred and me.

Rest in peace, sweet Leroy Brown. We love you so, so much.