Black Lab Archives - Page 2 of 2

Blind Man Hikes Nearly 18,000 Miles with Help of Guide Dog

Extreme sports enthusiast Trevor Thomas lost his eyesight nine years ago due to an autoimmune disease. At first he was understandably depressed, but he decided that he wouldn’t let his blindness interfere with his love of the great outdoors.

With the help of his guide dog Tennille, a black Lab, Thomas has hiked nearly 18,000 miles since 2006. His trail name is Zero/Zero, in reference to his vision.

“I do hiking to see what’s humanly possible for a blind person,” Thomas told 7 News Denver.

What’s even cooler is that his hikes raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Thomas has already hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. On June 19, Thomas and Tennille embarked on a 500-mile, 38-day hike along the rugged Colorado Trail.

“I use every resource available and all my senses to navigate,” Thomas told the Denver Post. “Everything in the world has a particular sound, and from those sounds I can get a primitive idea of what an environment is like.”

He said his current hike is the most challenging yet, particularly because of the potential for thunder and snow storms.

“I can get struck by lightning just like any other hiker,” he told the Denver Post. “I don’t have any storm super-sense. Snow is a blind person’s navigational nightmare. You can’t feel the trail.”

Tennille helps by guiding Thomas along the trail, around boulders and away from the edges of cliffs.

“She points out the things that can hurt me,” Thomas told the Denver Post. “She knows how tall I am and warns me about low hanging tree limbs. No other dog has been trained to do this before. She’s one of a kind.”

Thomas’ vision may be zero/zero, but he is still a visionary. Along with helping Guide Dogs for the Blind, he has launched the nonprofit Team Farsight Foundation. Its purpose is to “empower blind and visually impaired young adults while challenging the misconceptions the sighted community has toward the blind,” according to the website.

Happy trails to Thomas and Tennille. You can track their hike on blindhikertrevorthomas.com. To make a donation to Guide Dogs for the Blind on their behalf, click here.

Photos via Facebook

Rescued Black Lab Saves Dog Dad from Texas Flood

Zeva, a Black Lab mix rescued from a shelter four years ago, is usually a fairly quiet dog.

But the night of May 24, as floodwater rushed into her home on the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas, Zeva wouldn’t stop barking.

“She had a penetrating bark. Enough to wake me up, and the water was already three feet,” her dog dad, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, John, told FOX 7 News. “In another 10 minutes, it was another four feet.”

John, Zeva and a friend climbed up to the attic. The water was soon reaching the second story of the house.

“You’d look down and see big tree trunks coming through here, furniture, everything, and it was just roaring,” John told FOX 7.

The Blanco River rose 40 feet that night, sweeping away 12 people. Among them were three members of the McComb family, whose dog was found alive in a tree.

After six hours, a rescue crew finally arrived at John’s house. John refused to leave without his dog. “It was harder getting her out then getting her up,” he said. All three were safely evacuated from the attic.

By the next day, the house had been extensively damaged, yet its frame was still standing. John hasn’t decided whether to rebuild.

One thing he knows for certain is that Zeva is a hero. “She’s my best friend,” he told FOX 7.

Photo via Facebook

Click here for information about how to help some of the animal shelters and rescues affected by the severe weather in Texas.

Cool or Cruel? Black Lab Boards Bus Alone to Visit Dog Park

Eclipse, a 2-year-old Black Lab, is a regular on a Seattle bus that makes a stop at a local dog park, where she, uh, disembarks.

There’s nothing especially newsworthy about that — except for the fact that Eclipse usually makes the journey alone.

“All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does,” bus rider Tiona Rainwater told KOMO News yesterday. “She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?”

Eclipse is not homeless. She lives near a bus stop with her dog dad, Jeff Young, who told KOMO News, “She gets on the bus without me, and I catch up with her at the dog park. It’s not hard to get on. She gets on in front of her house and she gets off at the dog park, three or four stops later.”

Young said his dog’s solo rides began when she became too impatient waiting for him to finish a cigarette at the bus stop. When the bus arrived, Eclipse hopped on board by herself.

“She’s been here the last two years, so she’s been urbanized, totally,” Young said. “She’s a bus-riding, sidewalk-walking dog. Probably once a week I get a phone call. ‘Hi. I have your dog Eclipse here on 3rd and Bell.’ I have to tell them, ‘No. She’s fine. She knows what she’s doing.'”

A Metro Transit spokesman told KOMO News, “She would be much safer in the world if she had her owner on a leash.”

I have to agree with that spokesman, which is what puts this story in the “Grrr” category instead of “Awww.”

As Robert Pregulman writes on his Seattle Dog Spot blog, “While I think Eclipse is an incredibly smart dog to have figured out how to get to the dog park safely by herself, Young should have her on a leash and ride with her to the dog park, not just because it’s the law, but more importantly, it’s just not safe for her to be alone in the middle of a major city.”

To ensure Eclipse doesn’t get hurt or stolen — and to avoid a fine for breaking Seattle’s leash laws — here’s hoping Young starts joining his dog on her bus rides.

Photo via Facebook

‘Derek Jeter’ of K-9 Arson Detectives to Investigate Downtown L.A. Fire

About 20 agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived in Los Angeles today to launch an investigation, along with Los Angeles Fire Department officials, into the cause of Monday’s massive fire that destroyed part of a downtown apartment complex that was under construction.

Because of its intensity and how quickly it spread, the fire is being treated as suspicious.

Among the team members, uh, embarking on the search is 6-year-old Major, an accelerant-sniffing Black Lab who works with the LAFD’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism section. Major will be checking the structure for ignitable liquids.

At a press conference this morning, LAist.com reports that ATF agent Carlos Canino said having Major and his handler, Frank Oglesby, aboard was “like having Derek Jeter on your team.” Canino also referred to the pair as the “gold standard” of law-enforcement teams.

Major, a Department of Justice (DOJ) dog, trained for accelerant detection at the ATF Canine Training Center in Virginia, according to the LAFD Arson Facebook page. There are currently about 60 DOJ dogs who, with their handlers, help recover arson evidence at fire scenes.

“Major responds not only to incidents in the city of Los Angeles, but to other regions as part of the ATF National Response Team,” writes LAFD Arson. “In addition to being an ambassador for our department, Major is a significant tool in the battle against arson.”

LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said today that the investigation “may take weeks and may take months.” Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the tip line at 213-893-9850.

Photo via Twitter

Baby Takes First Crawl to Dog, and…Awww

“Our little girl crawls for the first time on video, but what happened next melted our hearts,” wrote Don Swift, of Atlanta, in regard to a video he posted on YouTube Oct. 21 that’s going viral.

Watch the baby and big, black Labrador Retriever’s very first meet-up below.

“Labs are the best family dog ever!” wrote proud baby/dog daddy Swift.