Beth Ostrosky Stern Upstaged by Scooter on Regis and Kelly

I answered a call at work yesterday morning - it was my wife. She had just watched a few minutes of TV, and she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Now I know why.

Alaskan Hero Dog Shows Troopers The Way To Fire

I was slack-jawed as I watched this video of Buddy, a German Shepherd as he led an Alaska State Trooper through winding back roads to a fire at his residence. Best friend indeed.





The Alaska State Troopers have issued the following press release:

German Shepherds were bred for intelligence to protect sheep flocks from predators. They are revered for their loyalty and renowned to be sensitive to people's emotions. While a collie named Lassie may be best known as a dog hero for the saying "Lassie, go get help," Buddy carried on the tradition set by German Shepherds Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin when he went to get help after his owners' Caswell Lakes property caught on fire on April 4, 2010.

Like usual, Buddy was beside his human companion, Ben Heinrichs, who was working in the family's shop. A heater ignited chemicals the 23-year-old was working with, giving Ben flash burns to his face. The flames quickly grew as Ben escaped the shop. However, Buddy was briefly entrapped inside the burning shed when Ben shut the shop door behind him to keep the flames from spreading. After extinguishing the flames on his body, Ben immediately realized his dog was still inside the shed and went back in to let Buddy out. After Buddy exited the shed, Ben said to him, "Buddy, we need to get help."

Buddy headed for the woods, but not to hide as his owners expected the shy dog to do. Instead he ran to Caswell Loop Road where he eventually found help.

Alaska State Trooper Terrence Shanigan was struggling with finding the fire in the Caswell Lakes area outside Willow, which has approximately 75 miles of back roads. He had just received a frantic phone message calling for help left by neighbors of the Heinrichs who are members of the local neighborhood watch program. Shanigan's global positioning device froze up on him and dispatch was trying to pinpoint the address among the maze of neighborhood back roads. He was planning on taking a turn that would send him the long way around the neighborhood when Buddy appeared as a shadow at the edge of Shanigan's moose lights on his patrol vehicle. When Shanigan approached the intersection, the dog looked at him, and took off running down a side road. Shanigan acted on a hunch that the loose dog was there for a purpose and followed the running dog through three turns that eventually led the Heinrichs' property. Every once in a while during the run back to his home, Buddy looked back at Shanigan's car as if to make sure the trooper was following. By the time Shanigan reached the property, the work shop was fully engulfed in flames that also lapped precariously close to the Heinrichs' house.

Shanigan said Buddy stopped at the end of the driveway and turned around to wait for him. When Shanigan got out of his parked car, the dog ran around the patrol vehicle and approached him, jumped up and down and nudged him as he walked up the driveway to the burning building. Afterwards, Buddy disappeared, presumably into the woods.

Shanigan was then able to verbally guide fire engines from local volunteer fire departments to the Heinrichs' home. The work shop was destroyed and a nearby wood shed was badly burned. However, the Heinrichs' home escaped the flames. Only the trim around the kitchen window was damaged by the fire.

"Buddy's valiant actions saved Trooper Shanigan valuable time in responding to the fire," said AST Director Col. Audie Holloway. "Buddy's pluckiness is a bright spot among an otherwise tragic event for the Heinrichs family."

Because of this, Buddy will be presented an award at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 23 at the Alaska State Troopers Headquarters building at 5700 E. Tudor Road in Anchorage. Buddy and his owners, Lynnette and Thomas Heinrich and their son, Ben, will be given the award with much appreciation from Alaska State Troopers. AST Director Col. Audie Holloway and Trooper Terrence Shanigan, who works out of the Talkeetna post, will be present as well.

Courage Update: Vet Kennel Attendant at Center of Animal Cruelty Case Terminated

Citing death threats from angry members of the public, hospital administrator Gilbert Velasquez of the Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital has confirmed the termination of  Kimberly Nizato, the California woman charged with tying a German Shepherd out and leaving it to starve for five weeks. In a statement issued last week, Velasquez had indicated that the hospital intended to continue Nizato's employment after she proclaimed her innocence in a private conversation. Hospital officials reversed that decision when evidence led to formal charges in the case and Velasquez began receiving death threat calls.

Kimberly Nizato

Nizato is free on $20,00 bail pending arraignment on May 12. A web page has been set up for fans and supporters to keep tabs on Courage during the recovery process. Donations are sought to help cover the cost of his treatment. See the most recent video update on Courage here.

The Ultimate Betrayal: Trainer Steals Dogs from Clients

Please see video for the full story, and share if you know anyone in the Wilmington, DE area.






 A pic of Whitten in case it helps.

Dogster: The New BFF

Opposites attract, or so goes the old adage. As of today, you may consider me a firm believer.

I've been noticing mention of Dogster on the blogs of some of our friends as I've made my way around to visit. If you're not familiar with Dogster I'd be surprised - most hard core dog lovers have found it in their internet travels. I cannot say with certainty that it is the oldest (perhaps it is - I neglected to ask) but it is unquestionably the largest and most mature social networking site for dogs in existence. But that's just scratching the surface. Take a few moments to check it out - it's a thriving, passionate, vocal community of dog lovers. If you've not been, you can easily invest a week in really finding your way around. There is much to take in, and a wealth of great information available.

 
Our dogs have had pages on Dogster for years (see badge on right side of this page). We're even connected with some of you there already. So it was a great surprise to receive a nice message from them the day our winter games commenced. It seems that they had just enough fun playing along to take a look around and dig in to the archives here. Oddly enough, they were not scared off! 

I can't explain it either, but I'm going with it. I'm really going with it. Because the very nice folks at Dogster have invited us to "play in their park" from time to time. To be more accurate, we're being allowed monthly visitation rights. I think that's a safe call on their part! Let me take a moment to say that if you have arrived from Dogster today, welcome. It is a great pleasure to meet you and your pack members. Our home is yours, and we hope you enjoy the visit.

For our old friends, we have exciting news. I have said enough, so please take a moment to check out this post from Maria Goodavage at Dogster. It made my week. Dogster has an official blog (you just visited it) and once a month, we will be dropping in with a guest post. Maria and the other contributors at Dogster are certified dog nuts like all of us, so it's a really fun way for us to introduce more dog lovers to one another. By now many of you have realized that if a blog had a mission statement, sharing would be plastered all over ours. So this new friendship makes perfect sense. Dogster is sweet, and we're slightly sour. They do much good, and we...well you get the point. It's a great fit.

Many thanks to Maria and to Dogster for finding us and taking the time to introduce us to their fans. And great thanks to our loyal followers. Your feedback makes all of the difference!

Have a great weekend with your pooches, hug them all for us, and be well. I'd ask who loves you, but I already know the answer. ♥