Husky Rescued after Car Chase Adopted by LAPD Detective

More than 75 potential adopters wrote essays describing why they would be the perfect parents for Chip, a Husky puppy found in an SUV after a high-speed police pursuit last month.

When the pursuit ended, the puppy’s former owner, John Garcia, shot California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Felix Serpas, who survived and is recovering. The puppy was named Chip in honor of Serpas, according to a news release.

Garcia was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder. Chip was taken to the Riverside County Animal Services shelter in Jurupa Valley, Calif., where there was an outpouring of adoption offers. The shelter asked all potential adopters to write a short essay explaining why they wanted the energetic Husky.

The winner: Mike Ventura of Covina, Calif., who’s a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

“His heartfelt words resonated with a team of employees here at the main shelter who helped select the adopter,” said Animal Services spokesman John Welsh in a written statement, the Press Enterprise reports.

As for everyone else who wrote an essay, they will be receiving a special offer from the shelter, according to its Facebook page. I’m guessing/hoping it’s an adoption fee discount, to encourage every one of those dozens of potential pet parents to adopt another lovable homeless dog.

Photo via Facebook

Amy Poehler’s New ‘Heavy Petting’ Web Series Helps Dogs Get Adopted

As further proof there is nothing the amazing Amy Poehler cannot do, she’s launched a new web series, “Heavy Petting,” that features talking dogs.

But these aren’t your usual talking dogs. They’re adoptable shelter dogs voiced by Poehler and other celebrities, including her former “Parks and Recreation” co-stars Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza and Aziz Ansari.

“Heavy Petting,” produced in partnership with the ASPCA, will be available on the Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls website and YouTube channel. “It’s like Tinder, but for adoptable pets, because #SmartGirlsAdopt!” says the description.

The first episode premiered today. It stars fast-talking, spilled-Cheerios-eating Bart, a 10-month-old Poodle mix voiced by John Mulaney.

“I love meeting new people and smelling their breath,” Bart says. “I’ve gotten really into Cheerios lately, especially when they’re spilled on the kitchen floor — preferably when they’re spilled on the kitchen floor.”

Here’s hoping this series has a whole lot of future episodes, because I doubt any of its stars will remain homeless for long.

Photo via YouTube

Off-Roading Heroes Rescue Pit Bull Trapped in Mine Shaft

NOV. 26, 2015 UPDATE: Happy news — After receiving an award on “The All-Star Dog Rescue Celebration” tonight for his heroic act, Michael Schoepf announced he is now Corona’s official dog dad.

After Michael Schoepf and some friends left a bonfire to go off-roading Friday night in Corona, Calif., they came across a mine shaft “in the middle of nowhere,” Schoepf told CBS Los Angeles.

While a bonfire in severely dry Southern California seems like a pretty bad idea, it was definitely a great idea for the off-roaders to stop when they came across the abandoned, 75-foot-deep shaft. Using a flashlight, they peered down into it. Imagine their surprise — looking back up at them was a 1-year-old Pit Bull.

“We felt instantly we can’t leave here, we have to get this dog out of here,” Schoepf told ABC7.

Schoepf and Galdden returned to the bonfire to gather up friends and rescue tools.

They all returned to the mine shaft to save the life of the dog they named Corona. With a harness, ropes and the help of his friends, Schoepf was lowered into the shaft.

“I put Corona here on my shoulders,” he told ABC7. “When I got there, she held on for dear life and we climbed back up.”

He said Corona is “wonderful, she’s an amazing, amazing dog. So obedient.”

It’s a mystery as to how she ended up in the mine shaft and how long she was in it. “There’s no way she could have made it all the way down there on her own,” Nickolas Galdden, one of the rescuers, told ABC7. “At some point she had to have fallen.”

Schoepf took Corona home and slept beside her. The next morning, he took her to Happy Tails Animal Hospital in Garden Grove to have her checked out by a veterinarian.

It could have been much worse, but Corona only suffered an eye injury, possibly when she fell down the shaft, as well as some scratches, but no broken bones, Dr. Keri Berka told ABC7. She performed the examination free of charge because Schoepf and his friends had done “the right thing” by saving Corona’s life.

Corona had a microchip, but the information was not current. (A good reminder to make sure your own dog’s microchip information is up to date.)

If her pet parents can’t be found, Schoepf will consider adopting her.

“She gets a second chance,” he told CBS Los Angeles. “She’s very well deserving of it.”

Photo via Twitter

Some Amtrak Trains Just Got Dog Friendlier

If you love to travel by train on the East Coast but hate leaving your small dog behind, you’re in luck — at least between now and February.

During a pilot program that began Oct. 12, Amtrak is allowing dogs under 20 pounds and cats on board some trains, as long as they’re kept in carriers kept under the seats. There is a $25 charge for bringing a pet.

The two pet-friendly lines are the Northeast Regional service, which goes from Boston to Lynchburg, Newport News and Norfolk, Va., and the Downeaster route between Boston and Brunswick, Maine.

The program ends Feb. 15, 2016, but if all goes well, it may be extended. A similar pilot program in Illinois was very successful, and pets are now permanently allowed on some trains in that state.

For more details about this program, go to the Amtrak website.

Photo credits: m01229; Jim Winstead

Mystery Hero Saves Dog from Tennessee House Fire [Video]

UPDATE: The hero is no longer a mystery! It was dog lover Tim Tawater, a 20-year veteran of the Nashville Fire Department, who rescued Sampson, a young, 82-pound Bouvier.

“I’ve had dogs ever since I was born,” Tawater told WSMV this afternoon. “You got to figure that if there’s a dog in the house, the dog is definitely family.”

The homeowners, Brandon and April Gorley, got a call about the fire as they were starting a vacation in Gulf Shores. They immediately returned home. A relative who had been housesitting was out running an errand when the fire broke out.

The Gorleys met Tawater this afternoon. “He didn’t have to go into a house that was on fire,” Brandon told WSMV. “Deeply, deeply appreciate him being there.”

A man driving his gray Mustang down a White House, Tenn., street late Saturday afternoon stopped when he saw people gathered outside a house on fire.

Did he wait with them for help to arrive? Nope.

When he found out there were pets inside, the unidentified hero ran into the burning house and emerged a couple minutes later, carrying a large black dog. About 30 seconds later, the roof of the house collapsed.

Jimmy Nichols, a keyboardist for singers like Reba McIntyre and Faith Hill, captured the rescue on video.

“[He] says, ‘I do this for a living,’” Nichols told WSMV. “The dog was scared to death, but he saved this dog. It was incredible to see.”

The mystery man in the gray Mustang drove off without leaving his name.

“It was so weird — he just took off,” Nichols said.

The dog’s owners were out of town, so he was taken to a friend’s house. Unfortunately, the house was destroyed by the fire, which started in the attic. Three cats are still missing.

Nichols and others in the neighborhood — especially the homeowners, I assume — are hoping the hero comes forward so they can thank him.

“He’s got the love and respect of this whole community,” Nichols told WSMV.

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