i Still Love Dogs

Hero Pit Bull/Chihuahua Mix Loses Life Protecting Kids from Mountain Lion

Lady, a small Pit Bull/Chihuahua (wow!) mix, liked to keep a protective eye on the kids in the Havens family of Idaho Springs, Colo.

When the Havens family adopted Lady three years ago, they knew right away she was something special, Virginia Havens, Lady’s owner, told CBS4.

“Any time the kids were outside, she was five steps behind them,” Havens told CBS4. “They would play in the sandbox, she was keeping watch everywhere, all the time.”

Lady was doing what she always does on June 14 when a 6-foot mountain lion began stalking the children as they played in their front yard. When Lady saw the big cat, Havens said the hero dog first took off in the other direction to gain momentum before springing on it.

As Havens’ husband grabbed the kids and brought them inside the house, the mountain lion clamped its jaws around Lady’s head. Lady “was doing her best to get out of the hold,” Havens told CBS4. “I heard her crying out, which made me more frantic because she was my fur baby,”

Havens called the police. When they arrived, they shot the mountain lion with non-lethal rounds, The mountain lion dropped Lady and took off.

Havens said she screamed when she saw Lady’s injuries. “She was just a bloody mess,” Havens told CBS4. “Her eye was bulging, she had labored breathing and a hole in her skull.”

Although Lady was rushed to an animal hospital, she sadly had to be euthanized due to her severe injuries. But thanks to Lady’s bravery, the Havens children were unharmed.

“If she had not been there, we would have had a completely different type of tragedy,” Havens told CBS4. “She was absolutely our hero.”

Photo: Olivia Danielle Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Now There’s More Proof that Dogs Can Successfully Sniff Out COVID

What’s faster than a rapid antigen test for sniffing out COVID, 97% accurate and a whole lot preferable to a nasal swab? That would be a trained dog’s nose, according to a new study.

The fact that dogs can successfully sniff out COVID isn’t exactly breaking news. Way back in the early days of the pandemic — it sure seems like years ago but it was actually July 2020 — a study found that trained dogs could sniff out the virus in human saliva and respiratory secretions with 94% accuracy.

The latest study found trained dogs’ accuracy to be even greater, and it also discovered that dogs can also detect COVID in people with no symptoms.

During the study, which was conducted early last year in France, five dogs who’d received three to six weeks of training sniffed 335 human sweat samples. When the dogs detected COVID in a sample, they would sit and be rewarded with a toy. They were super speedy, taking only 15 seconds to sniff 20 samples.

The dogs were a little less accurate in detecting COVID-free samples. They identified 91% correctly — which is still pretty doggone amazing.

“The dog doesn’t lie,” Dominique Grandjean, one of the researchers and a veterinarian at the National School of Veterinary Medicine of Alfort in Maisons-Alfort, told Science News.

Trained COVID-sniffing dogs have already been put to work in airports around the world. Back in September 2021, the Miami International Airport (MIA) started using specially trained dogs to sniff out COVID in airport employees. Earlier last year, the Miami Heat became the first NBA team to sniff out fans at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

With COVID cases on the rise yet again, trained dogs may need to be around for a while. If you think you may have COVID, get tested right away — don’t rely on your own untrained dog to detect it! Here are some tips for what dog owners should do if they are infected with the virus.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Study Proves the Breed Doesn’t Really Affect Dog Behavior

“Blame the deed, not the breed!” For years, this has been the mantra of those of us who oppose breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws that single out dogs based solely on their breeds or looks.

A new study published in the journal Science now confirms what we knew all along: A dog’s breed is not helpful in determining how that particular dog will behave. (Told ya!)

To come to this conclusion, researchers sequenced the DNA of 2,155 dogs and also surveyed 18,385 dog owners through Darwin’s Ark, the world’s largest pet citizen science project. The study was diverse, including mixed breeds as well as purebreds.

The purpose of the study was to find out if dog breeds have certain behaviors and personalities. “The answer: not really – it turns out that breed really is, for the most part, just ‘skin deep,'” writes one of the researchers, Elinor Karlsson, director of the Vertebrate Genomics Group at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. “There is so much variation in behavior and personality in every single dog breed, it’s impossible to accurately predict the behavior of any individual dog from its breed alone.”

None of a dog’s 11 genome regions that affect their behavior — such as whether they’re social or if they like to howl — were associated with a specific breed.

In fact, a dog’s breed has only a 9% effect on their behavior, according to the study. One example of the minor behavioral differences among breeds is that herding breeds are more likely to want to play with toys. “These differences can (sometimes) be traced back to the types of dogs used to start the breed, suggesting the behaviors are much older than the breeds,” Karlsson notes.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers also found zero evidence that dog breeds like Pit Bulls are inherently dangerous. Genetics do not impact a dog’s aggressiveness or the extent to which they can be provoked by stressful situations.

These findings provide even more evidence that BSL is ineffective and unfair. Fortunately, many cities, like Denver, have seen the light and no longer ban certain dogs.

To help Darwin’s Ark continue its efforts to improve the lives of dogs, you can participate and/or make a donation via its website.

Photo: ericaribeiro

You’re the One that I Want: John Travolta Adopts Puppy from Oscars Betty White Tribute

Let’s forget about that infamous very low point of this year’s Oscars, shall we, and instead rejoice in one of its highlights: The sweet tribute to Betty White, where Jamie Lee Curtis held an adorable adoptable puppy adorably named Mac N Cheese.

“Day in and day out for almost a century, she was a woman who cared so much for not just her two-legged friends but for animals just like this,” Curtis told the millions of people watching. “So, the greatest gift you could give Betty White is to open your heart and your home and adopt a rescue dog just like Mac N Cheese from Paw Works.” Sweet!

You knew Mac N Cheese wouldn’t be homeless for long, and sure enough, she now has a new family. While cuddling with her in the green room before going on stage as an Oscar presenter, John Travolta fell in love with the puppy.

“I thought it was so beautiful to see him with her and then today I found out that he and his son, Ben have adopted beautiful little mac & cheese and are taking her home today,” Curtis wrote on her Instagram yesterday. As you may or probably don’t recall, Curtis and Travolta starred together in “Perfect” back in 1984.

Travolta confirmed the adoption on his own Instagram. “Ben adopted this dog from last night’s Oscar tribute to Betty White. Thank you @curtisleejamie & @pawworks,” he wrote.

“It is an emotional end and a perfect tribute to Betty White,” Curtis wrote, “and it shines a light and AMPLIFIES the message that heroes who, like Betty, and Chad from Paw Works and Nancy from Perfect Pet Rescue and the team at MaeDay Rescue and the hundreds of thousands of other rescues, who love and support ANIMALS, that rescuing animals and offering them shelter from the storm of life and a warm and loving home is one of life’s most important actions we humans can take!”

You know that Betty White is smiling somewhere.

Another highlight of the Oscars for me was “CODA,” which I loved, winning the Best Picture award. Based on its title, I had actually been rooting for “The Power of the Dog,” until I watched it — and discovered it is not about a canine with superpowers. Hmmpphh.

Paw Works is a nonprofit dog and cat rescue organization based in Camarillo, Calif. If you’d like to help them help more dogs like Mac N Cheese, visit their website.

Photo: Mateus Gowan/YouTube

30 Women Created the First US Animal Shelter

Did you know that way back in 1869, a group of 30 women created the very first animal shelter in the United States?

The Women’s Animal Center has changed its name over the years, from the Women’s Branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to the Women’s Humane Society to the Women’s Animal Center, as it’s called today. It has also moved from its original location in Philadelphia to a larger, modern facility in Bensalem, Penn., about 18 miles north.

Back in the 1860s, the women, led by animal activist Caroline Earle White (who later founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society), were inspired to open a humane shelter in Philadelphia to save stray dogs and cats that were taken to the city pound and then languished there. Some of the pound dogs were subjected to cruel medical experiments by doctors.

Two years before the animal shelter opened, White joined with other women to found and raise funds for the Pennsylvania SPCA. Yet because they were women, they weren’t allowed to be on the board of directors of the humane society they themselves created!

Instead of being discouraged, the women went ahead and formed their own humane society, which they named the Women’s Branch of the Pennsylvania SPCA. (“Branch” is misleading, since this group was autonomous and completely independent from the Pennsylvania SPCA.)

Fifty years before women won the right to vote, these compassionate and visionary ladies took over the city pound. They banned doctors from access to the animals. And, for the first time in the U.S., homeless dogs and cats were adopted into loving homes. The women also established one of the first humane education programs in the country and promoted the importance of reporting animal abuse.

“Although living during an era that limited her own rights, White used what voice she had to speak on behalf of the voiceless,” the Women’s Animal Center notes in a Facebook post. “The power of her message continues to be told today through the daily work of more than 3,500 animal shelters in operation across the country.”

To find out more about the Women’s Animal Center and how to help it to continue caring for animals, visit its website.

Photo: Women’s Animal Center/YouTube