His ears clipped and tail severed from his days as a fighting dog, the surprisingly docile ginger and white mutt is one of hundreds being adopted in increasing numbers by foreign soldiers, who pay vast sums to take their new pets home.

“Dogs have been proven to help post-traumatic stress and the soldiers who adopt them are addressing this,” said Pen Farthing, founder of British charity Nowzad, an animal shelter on the outskirts of Kabul.

A former Royal Marine, Farthing adopted his dog Nowzad, named after a Helmand district, during his tour there in 2006. He then set up the charity, where dogs and some cats are neutered and vaccinated against rabies before their journeys abroad.

Nowzad has given homes to over 330 dogs since it was founded, mostly to soldiers from the U.S. and Britain, but also from South Africa, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.

It costs around $3,000 to get a dog from Afghanistan to its new home, and Nowzad relies solely on much-needed donations. It is now trying to raise $250,000 for a new plot of land.

The dogs’ birthplaces in some way reflect the thrust of the NATO-led war against Taliban insurgents, which has experienced some of its toughest fighting in the militants’ southern bastions.

“We’re seeing more soldier rescues than ever before. When you’re being shot at by the Taliban every day, dogs give you that little bit of normality,” Farthing said by a row of outdoor pens holding black and yellow puppies.

Nearby stood Dshka, an affectionate grey hound rescued by a U.S. Marine sergeant in Kajaki in Helmand, where British forces handed security to the U.S. in 2010 as part of the American troop surge. His neighbor, Poppy, a small black dog from Kandahar, will soon go to a British soldier’s home.

Afghans bring the dogs to the capital by car, often through large swathes of Taliban country over days.

Workers at Nowzad are now hoping that Afghans will begin to adopt dogs, banking on a changing attitude to owning pets.

Poverty prevents many Afghans from having dogs and cats at home, and some Muslims believe dogs are unclean and therefore unfit for keeping. Kabul is home to thousands of stray dogs, and many are shot and killed.

Dogfighting, which the austere rule of the Taliban outlawed, enjoys enormous popular support across the country, as does birdfighting, and welfare groups say there is little respect for animals.

“City workers say dogs are a threat to people’s lives but this is cruel,” said Afghan veterinarian Abdul Hadi, one of two working full-time at Nowzad. “Dogs have the right to live and it is time for Afghans to enjoy them.”

Afghan families are beginning to adopt dogs from Nowzad, they said, giving promise to the charity’s goal to become Afghan-led in the future.

~Courtesy of http://www.reuters.com

Because we love them so much, dogs are good for business. While our economy has sagged, we are spending as much or more on our dogs. They have become a $50 billion business and an entrepreneur’s best friend. Popular products and services are promoted and sold featuring dogs, some appearing in TV ads and some between the covers of dog magazines.

The pet market is consistently ranked in the top ten for business opportunities, and as more and more dog owners become “dog people,” things will only get better business-wise. According to the American Pet Products Association, dogs are found in 46.3 million homes across America. (By contrast, cats are in 38 million, freshwater fish in 11 million, birds in 5 million and saltwater fish are last, in just 700,000 homes.)

Our reference to our dogs and those who have them has changed. Dogs are our family members, our companions, our children, our fur-babies (fur-kids), soul mates, best friends. Rather than owner, we are our dog’s human, person, companion, guardian, parent, best friend. All of these terms are more politically correct these days. No more “in the yard where you belong.” Rather, those with dogs are saying, “On your sofa where you belong.”

Dogs are increasingly invited into our social lives. We take them to parks where they can romp unleashed with us and other doggy pals. Dogs are allowed at some restaurants, some cafes are dedicated to them, and more companies are letting their employees bring their dogs to work.

You don’t find nearly as many people shelling out large amounts of money to buy dogs from breeders. Instead, we are rescuing dogs from shelters and from the streets. This doesn’t save money; it saves us from looking the other way as homeless dogs go unnoticed.

As a new pet craze is sweeping the nation, there is an endless amount of information about dogs on the Internet. Dogs have their own websites and Facebook pages, and owners are tweeting on behalf of their dogs. Rarely does a dog topic come up that dog lovers don’t respond to with similar stories and concerns.

With our society’s growing interest in dogs, there is more room for them in our lives. Dogs inspire us to be better to ourselves because we are better to them. Sometimes I think my own rescue dog, Tasha, understands this better than I do.

This story was shared from Tasha and Others.

Recently, our family adopted our third pit bull. You heard me correctly. We have three love-a-bull dogs that we are blessed to have in our life. Getting to three isn’t as simple as just adopting Zoe—it took a WHOLE lotta persuasion.

A couple of years ago we bought our first home, and after having lived in it for a couple months we wanted to get our kids a puppy. So we went online and found that the Furry Friends Refuge had puppies. They were both listed as a “terrier/mix,” so we went and saw them. When we got there, we found out that the puppies were pit bulls.

Like many ignorant people, we thought instantly that these pups would be terrors, and we were extremely apprehensive about adoption, but I couldn’t get the sight of the kids playing with those puppies out of my head. So, we adopted our first pit bull, Riley. Upon bringing her home, we determined that we would get rid of her at the first sign of aggression. We are talking even a teeny growl … or bare of teeth.

Needless to say, we did a TON of research online, and we purchased several books on the breed. Everything we read said these dogs said that they were the most loyal and gentle breed ever owned by many people. Sure, there were horror stories, but it was the actual bite data that opened our eyes. To see that Labs, German shepherds, and other common breeds actually had a higher percentage of biting their owners was alarming and eye-opening.

We worked really hard with Riley. She was a SAINT, honestly the best dog I have ever owned. She let our 2 1/2-year-old pull her tail, take treats from her mouth, and roughhouse in ways that other dogs would have never allowed. She was so gentle and loving. Her favorite thing to do was to cuddle up on the couch; she was quite realistically the biggest lap dog I had ever seen!

~fromalonetohome.com

“Dogs are obsessed with being happy.” This James Thurber quote kicks off an introduction to the book.

Each story describes one of Langford’s sixteen rescue dogs, eight that live with her in the present (when she wrote the book in 2008), and eight that are deceased.

The book is not so much an account of Langford’s experience with rescuing dogs, as it is a series of heartfelt stories about the rescue dogs (Zeeke, Rocky, Ladye and The Tramp, Hannah, Barney, Sandy, and Rusty) that have woofed their way into her life. Langford doesn’t focus as much on the problems of animal shelters today as she does on the joy brought about from loving these homeless pets.

In the first section of the book, she describes each dog in the order in which they came into her life. In the second section, she talks about her dogs that have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with the “Rainbow Bridge,” it is like a heaven for deceased animals.)

In her house on her family’s farm, Langford arranges accommodations for each dog, providing them with crates, beds, and toys. As she takes each one home with her, she gives them a second chance at becoming faithful and good-natured companions.

A CEO of a large real estate company, Langford spends as much time as possible with her dogs. There is a special place for each dog according to their unique personality, and the dogs seem to accept their routine and the order in which each is brushed, petted, and fed.

While reading Living with the Rescues, I couldn’t help smiling at the antics of the dogs. Langford describes qualities in her dogs that remind us of human character traits.

Each story includes a “rescue tip” and a “life lesson.” For example, one life lesson is “Be willing to change your opinion.” One rescue tip is “Try to work out a deal with an obedience trainer, and pay for a rescue dog to take classes.”

Sharon Langford is deeply connected to the animal-rescue community. She founded the nonprofit group, “Daisy’s Legacy,” a nationwide organization that helps homeless pets find forever homes. The book is dedicated to the memory of Daisy, Langford’s first rescue dog, and all proceeds from the sale of the book go toward funding this organization.

For an update about Sharon’s dogs, and information about how Daisy’s Legacy is helping animals, see http://www.LivingwiththeRescues.com. You are invited to share your own rescue story at http://livingwiththerescues.com/submit-a-rescue-story.

They become search dogs.

These excitable, bold, intelligent, friendly, and high-energy canines are perfect candidates for the lifesaving work performed on an international scale by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF).

The dogs that make great search dogs with SDF are the “crazy” ones–the ones pacing inside their shelter kennels, bouncing off the walls, and acting completely and utterly obsessed with their toys. These are the ones with intense focus and a sharp hunting instinct. These are the ones SDF wants and needs.

Breed doesn’t really matter too much, but the vast majority of the search dogs are Labradors, Border Collies, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers, along with mixes of these breeds. These breeds have the inherent genetic skills needed to succeed in this career. In addition, they are known to be friendly with people and other dogs, as well as smart, sturdy, and athletic–all other necessary qualities in a search dog.

The ideal dog is one with extreme boldness, energy, strength, agility, and motivation. He or she wants nothing more out of life than to work.

SDF members scour the shelters, follow up on leads given to them by shelter employees and breed rescue volunteers nationwide and evaluate dogs every week. It’s difficult work, because the organization is very choosy and there are so many great dogs at the shelters. Not all of them can be saved, and not all are qualified for this type of work. So, it makes it emotionally tough on the shelter scouts to leave so many behind.

The good news is that due to the severe overpopulation problem throughout the country, there is no shortage of dogs to be evaluated for disaster-team training.

Not all the dogs pulled from shelters will become certified search and rescue dogs. In fact, only about 10 out of every 100 earn their stripes and pass certification. Reasons for not passing can include a bum hip, an aversion to walking on rubble, an inability to master the right kind of bark needed to alert handlers, or the realization that the couch is a better place than a disaster site.

The SDF prides itself on its lifetime commitment to any dog pulled out of a shelter and welcomed into the program, certified or not. Dogs that do not become certified search dogs may be adopted out through a breed rescue, while others “change careers” and become drug-sniffing dogs or even “bedbug-sniffing” detective dogs. But the vast majority are trained and then adopted as pets to qualified families found by SDF. And just like with their canine disaster teams, SDF promises to be there for the life of a dog, no matter what circumstances may crop up to disable the family from keeping it.

It’s the national disaster being reported on around the world. Haiti was struck with a 7.0 earthquake, bringing down the city of Port-au-Prince. Many are trapped under the rubble and tens of thousands are feared not to have survived. This earthquake is being called the “Disaster of the Century.”

Countries all around the world are reaching out to help Haitians and assist them. Today, sniffer dogs are being sent to Haiti from the United States, France, Canada, China, Mexico, Germany, Spain and other countries. These sniffer dogs are trained to serve so they are excited to get to work and are ready to dig out survivors of the quake. The pups are even helping calm the nerves of those heading to Haiti with them to help in the rescue efforts.

Our prayers are with the Haitians.

This is Christmas, an American Bulldog, who was found wandering on the side of a road. She has had her shots and flea prevention, but we do not know if she has been spayed. Christmas does well with children and is use to sleeping in a crate. What an adorable puppy, and how sad that she does not have a forever home– especially for the holidays. Contact Diana at bayleighsmom05@yahoo.com for more information about Christmas and about adopting her.

Dog of War

Earthquakes, tornadoes, avalanches, terrorist attacks. Searching for survivors through the destruction caused by these disasters can be physically exhausting and painstaking and sometimes simply impossible work for rescue workers. But search and rescue dogs do what humans cannot: detect victims using their powerful sense of smell.

There are at least seven types of search and rescue dogs: trailing dogs, tracking dogs, air scent dogs, water search dogs, cadaver dogs, disaster dogs, and avalanche dogs.

In addition to search and rescue, dogs are used for many other vital tasks, including helping to ensure security in airports and subway stations, detecting drugs in the cargo of incoming ships, and assisting in the investigation of crime scenes.

World War I is the first documented war in which dogs were used for a myriad of mission-critical duties: sniffing out landmines, investigating bunkers and enemy territory, and dragging wounded soldiers to safety. Tens of thousands of war dogs served in both World Wars, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the war in Iraq.

Like humans, dogs are sometimes honored for their heroic feats, as the dogs used at Ground Zero were in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Occasionally, the news might feature a particular dog’s work in saving a human life, and in 1994 the Discovery Channel aired “War Dogs: America’s Forgotten Heroes,” featuring dogs of the United States Armed Forces who served during the Vietnam War. But more often than not, heroic dogs have not been honored for their hard work.

Today, there are organizations and memorials dedicated to honoring canine heroes. War dog memorials can be found in Riverside, California, Mobile, Alabama, Washington D.C., and Guam. The War Dog Memorial in Guam is named “Always Faithful” and honors the Dobermans that served in World War II.

Organizations such as the United States War Dog Association and the Vietnam Dog Handler Association (VDHA) ensure the recognition of heroic dogs.

Did you know? Americans donated the dogs they had as family pets for service in the military during World War II. Dogs serving the country in this way were treated as military personnel. Sadly, like human soldiers, some were killed in action. However, many returned home to their families safe and sound with an honorable discharge.

The famous animated movie “101 Dalmatians” is now touring, and 15 Dalmatian pups are traveling, beginning in Minneapolis, on a tour bus with their four trainers. Starting October 13, these Dalmatians will be strutting around on stage.

The pups steal the scene in act one and in the finale. It’s a musical, so will the dogs be singing?

What’s it like to tour around on a bus with 15 dogs, where nine of them were rescued from dog shelters? The dogs get their own private beds and a refrigerator stocked with the essentials, such as peanut butter snacks, bottled water, chicken, and dog chow. Compared to where some of them came from, the Dalmatians are traveling in luxury.

Lacy is a four-year old Dalmatian that was rescued from a dog shelter. She is the sweetest of the bunch and is deaf. This poor pup has endured several surgeries. She has survived, and is now a rising star!

Phoenix is a five-year old former stray plucked from an Arizona shelter. This spotted canine is the strongest one in the pack, with muscles that also make him the fastest in the group. Rascal was rescued in Ohio and had a broken leg. At nine-months old, he is the youngest canine in the bunch. Their dog trainer, Joel Slaven, says that Rascal is “Everyone’s baby brother.” DX is a two-year old Dalmatian, who has the last line in the show–”Woof.” He will be available for adoption, along with the other rescued stars, when the “101 Dalmatian” show ends.

The maternal pup in the group is named Frankie, who is seven-years old. She is a former show dog and mothered a litter of ten. While on the road and on the stage, Frankie is the nurturing mama to the 14 other tail waggers. The dog Envy is a pro when it comes to performing in front of the camera. This three-year old Dalmatian has a beer commercial on her resume. Envy has a talent for being able to potty on cue, which she does in “101 Dalmatians.”

The 15 Dalmatians are being referred to as divas, a description that suits them well, as they are talented and also so adorable!