Tag: Diesel

5 Working Dogs Who Became Heroes

Along with two-legged workers, the police, military, and other working dogs who spend most of their lives keeping us safe should be recognized as well on Labor Day.

Many of these dogs have gone far above and beyond the line of duty to save lives. Meet just a few of these four-legged heroes.

Sgt. Stubby

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Stubby was just a stray when John Robert Conroy rescued him on a Yale University field in 1917. After Conroy smuggled him aboard a ship to France during World War I, Stubby became a working dog. He was the most decorated war dog in U.S. history and the only one promoted to sergeant.

Sgt. Stubby saved many lives by warning troops of mustard gas and crawling under barbed wire to save wounded soldiers.

Last year, Sgt. Stubby was honored with a statue in his home state of Connecticut, and the story of this amazing dog is told in the computer-animated movie Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero.

Prince

For his heroism during four tours of duty in Vietnam, a Navy SEAL dog named Prince was awarded two Purple Hearts, which are usually only given to humans.

Among this working dog’s many heroic acts were leading his patrol to a stash of hidden enemy weapons and tracking down two Viet Cong leaders hiding in tunnels.

The fate of Prince, a former police dog, wasn’t known until recently. Sadly, like so many four-legged heroes of the Vietnam War, Prince never got the retirement he deserved back home in the U.S.

Diesel

A French National Police dog, Diesel was trained to use her remarkable sense of smell to detect explosives. After the horrific attacks on Paris in November 2015, the 7-year-old Belgian Malinois was sent ahead of her human partners into an apartment where terrorists were believed to be hiding, to assess the situation.

Tragically, Diesel never made it out alive. She was shot and killed by the terrorists, and mourned by animal lovers around the world.

For her bravery, Diesel was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal, which is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

Riley

Riley’s rambunctious personality didn’t jive with the family who’d rescued him as a puppy in 2008, so he was surrendered to a rescue group.

Ten years later, Riley was one of several search-and-rescue dogs who helped save lives by locating victims of the devastating January 2018 mudslide in Montecito, Calif.

Dexter


Along with his handler, Officer Dave Winans of the San Diego Police Department, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Dexter has countless arrests under his collar.

While responding to a 911 call in February 2018, Dexter was stabbed several times by a suspect with a knife. The suspect was apprehended and charged with several crimes, including felony assault of a police dog. Fortunately, after emergency surgery, Dexter fully recovered and is back on the job.

Because of the sacrifice Dexter made to save his fellow officers, this hero dog was a recipient of the 2018 AKC Paw of Courage award.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

This story was originally published on Care2.com.

Shooter of Dog who ‘Played Too Rough’ at Houston Park Charged with Animal Cruelty

On a Sunday afternoon in late January, Joseph Potts thought Diesel, a 2-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was playing too roughly with his own dog at the Bay Area Dog Park in Houston.

So Potts kicked Diesel, knocking him down. He pulled out a Glock 9mm pistol and shot Diesel three times at close range in the back and leg.

Diesel was rushed to a local emergency animal hospital, where he had to be euthanized a few hours later due to the extent of his injuries.

“I just can’t believe somebody would do that when the dog wasn’t even being aggressive,” Melanie Merritt, who saw the shooting, told KHOU at the time.

Another eyewitness told KPRC-TV the dogs appeared to have been playfully tussling at the Bay Area Dog Park. “His dog was not in danger,” he said. “I witnessed everything. No one was in danger.”

When questioned by Harris County sheriff’s deputies, Potts — who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun — told them he did it in self defense when the “Pit Bull” tried to attack his dog. He was allowed to go free while the Harris County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case.

As outrage grew over the incident, a Support for Diesel page was created on Facebook, and dozens of pet parents attended a protest walk at the Bay Area Dog Park.

“This case has gotten more notoriety than many of our homicides,” Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Tom Gilliland told the Houston Chronicle.

Nearly two months later, justice has finally been served. Potts was arrested Monday and charged with one count of felony cruelty to a non-livestock animal. If found guilty, he faces two to 10 years in prison — and will likely lose that license to carry a gun.

“Animal abuse is a serious offense that will not be tolerated,” Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in a press release. “We take all allegations of cruelty to animals very seriously and pursue charges whenever appropriate.”

Randall Livingston, Diesel’s dog dad, told KPRC-TV, “We were pretty excited to hear that news. That was obviously the outcome we were looking for.”

Livingston had Diesel since he was a puppy. “He was an absolutely amazing, beautiful dog,” he told the Houston Press in January. “When anybody came in contact with him — when you were walking down the street, and they were driving — they would roll down the windows and just comment on him: how beautiful he is, how sweet he is. Man, it’s a bad deal. It really is.”

Livingston’s mother took Diesel to the Bay Area Dog Park on Jan. 25. She told police that when she saw Potts kicking Diesel, she yelled at him to grab his collar. Instead, Potts pulled out his Glock.

After Potts was arrested yesterday, he was released on a $5,000 bond.

“Hopefully he would have some form of better judgment or just stay the hell out of the dog park,” Livingston told KPRC-TV.

Photos via Facebook

No Charges yet for Shooter of Dog Playing ‘Too Rough’ at Houston Dog Park

MARCH 10, 2015 UPDATE: Diesel’s shooter, Joseph Potts, has been arrested and charged with one count of felony cruelty to a non-livestock animal.

A man at the Bay Area Dog Park in Houston yesterday morning thought a 2-year-old, black-and-white Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Diesel was playing too roughly with his own dog.

So the man kicked Diesel, knocking him down, then pulled out a handgun and shot him three times at close range in the back and leg. Diesel was rushed to a local emergency animal hospital, where he had to be euthanized a few hours later due to the extent of his injuries.

“I just can’t believe somebody would do that when the dog wasn’t even being aggressive,” Melanie Merritt, who saw the shooting, told KHOU.

Another eyewitness told KPRC-TV the dogs appeared to have been playfully tussling at the Bay Area Dog Park. “His dog was not in danger,” he said. “I witnessed everything. No one was in danger.”

No charges have yet been filed against the man, who has not been identified.

While it’s legal to carry rifles and shotguns in Texas, handguns require a permit. Using one to kill a pet dog, in an area filled with families on a weekend morning, seems not only cruel but downright dangerous.

After being questioned by Harris County sheriff’s deputies, the shooter — who, according to KHOU, told them he did it in self defense when the “Pit Bull” tried to attack his dog — was released. The Sheriff’s Office issued a statement this morning that it will bring its completed investigation of the case to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for further review.

“He doesn’t have any remorse,” the eyewitness told KPRC-TV. “He’s angry. All of that aggression. We’re all telling him, ‘I hope you go to jail.’ I don’t understand how they are not pressing charges.”

Last night KPRC-TV reporter Bill Spencer said he spoke via phone to Diesel’s pet parents, who plan to press criminal charges against the shooter today.

“They’re absolutely heartsick and they are sick to their stomachs,” Spencer said. “And they are confused as well — shocked that the man who shot their dog is not behind bars tonight.”

Photo via Twitter

 

 

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