Golden Retriever Archives - Page 2 of 3

‘Angel Dog’ Appears as Woman Spreads Beloved Golden Retriever’s Ashes

When Wagner, Ashley Lang’s beloved 12-year-old Golden Retriever, passed away, she spread his ashes in one of his favorite places — the appropriately named Wagner Park in Aspen, Colo.

As she did so, a friend took a picture on her phone. In the photo, which is going viral and giving lots of people chills, the ashes form the shape of what appears to be a jumping dog.

“This is Ashley spreading her dog Wagner’s ashes,” wrote KOLO reporter Amanda Sanchez, who shared the photo, in the caption. “He was the love of her life. She lives in Chicago but flew to Aspen to spread the ashes at Wagner Park. Need I say more???”

Lang told CBS Chicago she believes it was Wagner’s way of saying goodbye.

“It’s pretty remarkable,” she said. “The tail and the legs, and he looks like he’s, you know, leaping to go up. Everyone keeps calling him the ‘angel dog.’”

The Nevada Humane Society shared the photo last night on its Facebook page, and it’s gotten more than 7,000 Likes so far.

“Who believes the Rainbow Bridge is real and who believes our pets are looking over us once they pass on?” the humane society asked.

But is the picture real…or Photoshopped, as some doubters believe?

“No one else is questioning that despite general darkness and shadows, the grass and building in the background are lighter?” wrote one commenter. “I think this is a bad Photoshop job.”

The majority of people seem to think it’s legit, however.

“When our precious Lab died at 6 from cancer, my husband used to feel her jumping up on the bed and softly find a place to lay down,” wrote another commenter. “Seeing this makes me believe him!”

What do you think…could this really be an “angel dog?”

Photo via Facebook

Petco Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ for Death of Dog in Drying Cage

AUG. 7, 2015 UPDATE: Two former employees of this Petco store have been charged with a class 4 misdemeanor for animal neglect.

Following an investigation into the death of Colby, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever who died of heatstroke after being left in a drying cage at a Petco grooming salon in Midlothian, Va., Petco announced today it is taking full responsibility for the tragic incident.

“We take full responsibility for what happened in Midlothian, and remain heartbroken over Colby’s untimely passing,” Petco said in a statement, according to WWBT.

“Pet parents place their trust in us, and we realize that trust is earned. We understand there is no way to make up for the loss of Colby, and our thoughts continue to be with his family during this difficult time.”

On May 29, the Petco store’s assistant manager told Colby’s dog mom, Allison Marks, that a groomer had put Colby inside a drying cage and then left the store to go to a graduation.

That employee was immediately suspended, and was terminated after the investigation.

To prevent similar tragedies in the future, Petco said it would make changes, such as removing drying cages from all of its grooming salons, and providing additional training to groomers. The company said no heat was used in the drying cages, but didn’t offer an explanation as to why Colby died of heatstroke.

Marks told WVTR May 31 she planned to press charges.

“You can’t replace a dog like that,” she said. “He was the most lovable dog ever.”

Photo via Twitter

Golden Retriever Dies After Being Left in Petco Drying Cage

AUG. 7, 2015 UPDATE: Two former employees of this Petco store have been charged with a class 4 misdemeanor for animal neglect.

Andrea Marks of Powhatan, Va., left Colby, her Golden Retriever, at a Petco store in Westchester Commons for a routine grooming Friday morning.

About six hours later, the healthy young dog was dead of heatstroke.

The store’s assistant manager told Marks a groomer had put Colby in a drying cage — and then left the store to attend a graduation party.

“How does a company let this happen?” wrote Wendy Sitko, Andrea’s daughter, on Facebook. “Then I find out by looking Petco up this has happened before and a lawsuit [says] they no longer use heated cages.”

The lawsuit she’s referring to was filed by Teresa Gilland in 2008 over the death of Sadie, her 6-year-old, healthy Lhasa Apso. Just like Colby, Sadie was left to die in a heating cage at a Petco store in Fair Oaks, Calif. Sadie suffered heatstroke and had to be euthanized. In a July 2011 statement about the case, Petco said the company “no longer uses heat of any kind in the drying process in our grooming salons.”

Melody Newman, another of Marks’ daughters, told CBS 6 News that when her sister called and told her what happened, “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ Colby was a very playful puppy. He just turned 2 in February.”

Newman said the family was in “complete shock” over Colby’s death and how he died. In a statement, Petco said the company is also “heartbroken.”

“The health and safety of pets is always our top priority and we take full responsibility for all animals under our care,” Petco stated, according to CBS 6 News. “We are taking immediate action to investigate and understand the situation. Our thoughts are with Colby’s family at this difficult time.”

Just two months ago, a Petco groomer in Atlanta was fired after a video of him yanking a terrified dog’s leg went viral.

Dog Groomers Aren’t Required to Be Licensed or Certified

Surprisingly, dog groomers are not required to be licensed or certified in any U.S. state. (New York City and Miami-Dade County, Fla., do regulate them; however, this is not done statewide.) New Jersey may become the first state to do so with “Bijou’s Bill,” named in memory of a Shih Tzu who, like Colby, died during a routine grooming session at a chain store — PetSmart, in this case.

“Lucy’s Law,” a similar bill in California that was named after a Yorkshire Terrier mix who was severely injured by a groomer, failed to pass in 2012. Petco and PetSmart strongly opposed the bill and lobbied against it.

Until statewide laws are passed, when you take your dog to a groomer (especially at a large chain store, where most deaths and injuries occur), it could be a life-or-death matter to ask some important questions.

“It would behoove you to find out who your groomer is, how long they’ve been grooming, what kind of track record they have — you need to do this kind of work,” Rosemary Marchetto, Bijou’s dog mom, told CBS New York in December.

On her Facebook page late Friday afternoon, Marks wrote, “Goodbye my sweet baby, taken from me way too soon, thanks to Petco.

“I will love you forever and always, my sweet, sweet Colby Jack. RIP.”

Photo via Twitter

Golden Retriever Dies after Eating Sugarless Gum

Luna, a 2-year-old Golden Retriever, chewed open a pack of Ice Breakers sugarless gum Monday night and ate its entire contents. One day later, Luna had to be euthanized due to the severe liver damage she suffered.

“She was like our first child,” Luna’s grief-stricken dog mom, Samantha Caress of Glenwood City, Wisc., told KARE.

Luna had found the gum when Caress and her boyfriend, Jordan Pellett, were not at home. When she appeared to be sick Tuesday morning, they rushed her to an animal emergency hospital and left her there for treatment.

The hospital called the couple a few hours later. “They said her blood came back and it wasn’t good,” Caress told KARE.

Medical care for Luna’s liver failure would have cost $20,000, which the couple could not afford. “And they said it was still only a 25-percent chance that she would live from it,” Caress said, crying. “We just didn’t want her to suffer, so we had to put her down.”

Xylitol Is Extremely Toxic for Dogs

Xylitol, a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener, is highly toxic for dogs. If ingested, even small amounts can cause hypoglycemia and liver failure. It is a common ingredient in sugarless gum — as well as sugar-free candy and baked goods, along with cough drops, vitamins, toothpaste, dental floss and other common household products.

If xylitol is one of the first five ingredients listed for a product, it is really important to keep the item out of your dog’s reach, as Caress and her family tragically discovered.

“As little as a couple of pieces of gum can result in severe hypoglycemia, a life-threatening drop in blood sugar and actually liver failure,” Dr. Justine Lee, of the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota, told KARE.

According to the ASPCA, other artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol and aspartame, will not cause life-threatening liver failure or hypoglycemia, but may cause diarrhea.

Dr. Lee advised pet parents to add contact information for their veterinarian and ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control (888-426-4435) to their phones in case of an emergency.

The symptoms of xylitol poisoning include vomiting, staggering and seizures. Your dog may not show these symptoms until hours after eating the item, when it may be too late. So, if you know your dog has digested xylitol, take him to the vet immediately. Don’t induce vomiting unless your vet instructs you to do so.

To honor their beloved dog, Caress and Pellet have created the Luna’s Gift of Hope account on GoFundMe.com. Donations will go to CoCo’s Heart Dog Rescue in Hudson, Wisc.

“Our goal right now is set at pretty high at $20,000. It is just what it would have cost to try to save Luna,” Caress told KARE. “So, if we could raise all those proceeds to help them save other dogs, that’d be great.”

Photo via Twitter

Blind Puppy-Mill Survivor Smiley Helps People with Special Needs

“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” Joanne George, dog mom to a 12-year-old Golden Retriever named Smiley, told CBS News. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”

The past that Smiley bounced back from included spending the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.

George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old.

“He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”

Smiley was very anxious about living in a home, George wrote on her Training the K9 Way website. “He cowered at the sound of another dog eating. The scars on his face and ears told me the stories of what it was like living with so many dogs in such deplorable conditions.”

Smiley soon bonded with George’s other dog, Tyler, a partially deaf Great Dane.

“Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”

As Smiley blossomed, George said she noticed the positive effect he had on people.

“People were so drawn to him, so inspired by him. I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.

Smiley did just that. He and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helps special-needs children learn to read through a library literacy program, and also works at funeral homes and nursing homes.

The employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion, until Smiley came along.

“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”

Teddy is now the first patient Smiley visits whenever he goes to that nursing home.

“I think that’s when I realized how truly inspiring he can be,” George told CBS News.

Her advice for pet parents of blind dogs: “Don’t be his eyes, don’t run his life, don’t keep him in a bubble.”

Smiley is able to get around without much difficulty, George told ABC News. He raises his feet as he walks.

“He’s feeling with his feet,” she explained. “Does he bump into things? Of course he does. But he does it very carefully.”

(Silvie Bordeaux, dog mom of Muffin, a blind Toy Poodle, invented the ingenious Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs, which provides padding and prevents dogs from bumping into things or falling down stairs, as Muffin once did.)

Smiley is now 12 years old and starting to slow down, but, George told CBS News, his “tail will never stop wagging.”

“The quote, ‘The dogs we really need are the ones that come to us,’ is very true in this case,” George told Head-Lites. “I am a better human being and mother because of him.”

Photo via Twitter