Animal Blessings and a Heroic Dog

Posted by Clare Bristow

As World Animal Week comes to an end I thought I'd post a video of an inter-faith animal blessing service that took place at Long Beach California last week.

The video is by Justin Rudd, and it shows a variety of animals that were blessed, including his bulldogs Riley and Rosie (running time 1m 54s).

One dog who probably got more hugs and bones than many others during World Animal Week is Toby, a two-year-old Golden Retriever.

Toby has been named as the ASPCA's 2007 Dog of the Year after performing the canine version of the Heimlich maneuver on his owner.

Toby's owner, Debbie Parkhurst, was enjoying eating an apple snack until she realized a piece of apple was lodged in her throat. Debbie started choking and beating her chest in a vain effort to dislodge the fruit.

Alarmed by her distress, Toby pushed Debbie to the ground and jumped up and down on her chest until the offending apple came up.

Debbie is convinced she owes her life to Toby, whom she rescued from a grim fate in a dumpster in 2005.

Toby will be honored at the the ASPCAâ€™s annual ASPCA Humane Awards Luncheon, on Thursday, November 1, at New York Cityâ€™s historic Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center.

â€œThe Humane Awards Luncheon is our way of recognizing the important role animals play in our lives, the significance of the human-animal bond, and the people who make animal welfare a central part of their lives,â€ said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres.

What a great story.

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Keywords: ASPCA, heimlich maneuver, humane awards, News and Fun Dog Stuff

Filed Under Dog News, Blog

Can You Adopt a Dog this Month?

Posted by Clare Bristow

â€œCelebrating October as Adopt-A-Shelter Dog Month is a great way to highlight the unlimited potential shelter dogs have to be unequaled pets,â€ said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres in a recent Press Release.

A great example is Toula a rescue Border Collie who was recently voted America's Most Talented Pet. Here's the dog video I recently posted showing Toula performing her dog tricks:

Many dogs that are trained for search and rescue and as assistance dogs come from shelters - giving these dogs a second chance at life has enriched (and saved) many peoples lives.

According to ASPCA estimates, approximately eight to 12 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide each year, more than half of which are euthanized due to a lack of space or resources.

If you are able to adopt a dog this month, or add to your existing pack there are two types of shelter dog that are often overlooked and really would love a second chance at life:

Older dogs - senior dogs are often passed by. People think that old dogs equal high medical bills, come with ingrained behavioral problems and/or are not so much fun as puppies. However, they are often loved family pets, given up as family circumstances change, and usually well socialized and had some degree of obedience training.

Here are two web sites dedicated to the adoption of older dogs: The Senior Dogs Project and the Oldies Club.

Black dogs - who knows why black dogs are passed over? The BlackPearlDogs web site was established to encourage the adoption of black dogs and sheds some light on why black dogs are so often shunned.

The ASPCA web site offers a lot of helpful information about adopting dogs, and emphasizes the fact that shelters (usually) offer support and advice for people who adopt dogs from them.

If you can't adopt, consider making a donation to a local shelter this month (in many countries your donation is deductible for tax purposes) - either money, food, bedding or your time. Ask your shelter what you can do to help.