Heroic Animal Lover Saves Dog From Burning SUV

A heroic North Carolina animal lover is credited with saving the life of a beloved family __dog when she became trapped inside a burning SUV.

The Hilton family were inside an Asheville restaurant on Monday morning when their SUV caught fire in the parking lot. Their dog, Abby, was trapped inside.

Chad Reiginter happened to be passing by when he saw the smoke and noticed the __dog trapped inside. He quickly sprung into action to save the frightened pup.

“I just grabbed my pocket knife and started smashing windows, and I tried to reach the dog through the first window and he wouldn’t come out, so I just started smashing windows and all of a sudden he ran out the back window and took off,” Reiginter said.

The Hiltons believe wiring in the SUV caught fire, sparking the blaze.

Detroit Family Moves Away, Leaving Injured Dog at the Curb With Trash

When a Detroit, Michigan family moved away from their west side home, they left their beautiful __dog behind, waiting in a pile of broken furniture and trash, freezing, suffering from a broken leg, and desperately waiting for his family to return.

Luckily, Terri Looby, a volunteer with D.A.W.G. (Detroit Animal Welfare Group) and a friend saw the __dog and knew right away he needed help.

It was clear that the 2-year-old dog had been neglected by his owners long before they threw him out with the trash. He was emaciated and suffered a broken leg when he was found.

Rescuers named him Ollie and vowed to show the dog, who, despite the abuse he faced at the hands of his family, is sweet and loving.

“He waited for his family to come back. And they didn’t want him. They didn’t come back for him,” Terri Looby told WXYZ of the dog’s owners, who reportedly took their smaller dog with them when they moved away. “They did come back for the little dog and then left Ollie.”

Ollie is now in the care of D.A.W.G., a non-profit rescue, getting medical attention for his broken femur. He now has a warm place to stay during his mandatory stray-hold. He’s being fostered by Jill Martens, a dog lover who saw his story on Facebook and stepped up to help. Martens plans to adopt Ollie as soon as he’s available.

To follow Ollie’s recovery or donate to his care, visit YouCaring.

Federal Court Ruling: Police Can Shoot a Dog if it Moves or Barks When Officers Enter a Home

A ruling by the 6th Circuit Federal Court in Michigan last week gave police nationwide the authority to shoot a __dog if it moves or barks when officers enter a home.

The decision stems from a 2013 incident in Michigan where police shot and killed two dogs while executing a search warrant looking for drugs inside the home of Mark and Cheryl Brown. Following the incident, the Browns filed a petition with the court to hold the officers and city of Battle Creek responsible for the deaths of their dogs.

One officer testified that he shot the first dog after it “had only moved a few inches” in a movement that he considered to be a “lunge.” The dog then ran away from the officer to the basement, where it was shot again and killed.

The second __dog was shot in the Brown’s basement after it was simply barking at the police, court documents said. The officer “testified that after he shot and killed the first dog, he noticed the second dog standing about halfway across the basement,” the court’s opinion explained. “The second dog was not moving towards the officers when they discovered her in the basement, but rather she was ‘just standing there,’ barking and was turned sideways to the officers.” The same officer shot the dog twice before a second officer “didn’t want to see it suffer,’ so he put her out of her misery and fired the last shot,” killing her.

“Given the totality of the circumstances and viewed from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer’s safety,” Judge Eric Clay wrote in the decision.  “The standard we set out today is that a police officer’s use of deadly force against a dog while executing a search warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when…the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer’s safety.”

According to court documents (below), the ruling allows “for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments.”

View the court documents here:

Court documents noted that the officers were aware, by a “Beware of Dogs” sign posted outside the home, verbally from the dogs’ owner, and by personally witnessing the dogs through a window before entering, that at least two dogs were present inside the home.

According to court documents, federal courts have also ruled that the “unreasonable killing of a dog” does constitute a “destruction of property” under the Fourth Amendment.

Still, in this case, the court sided with the officers.

New Zealand cow is girl's faithful steed

Many children yearn for a pony or a horse, creatures that promise thrills and a freedom otherwise unavailable.

Hannah Simpson was one such child, but when she asked her parents for a horse when she was 11, they said it was too expensive. Undeterred, she turned to the next best possibility on the family's New Zealand farm: a 6-month-old dairy cow named Lilac.

Hanna — who's now 18 — and Lilac take daily rides around their hometown of Invercargill, and as the video above demonstrates, Lilac has an aptitude for jumping over obstacles just like a horse. But she doesn't always have the best attitude, as Hannah told the Guardian: "She is a cow and I can't expect her to ride like a horse. Without a bit of prodding she wouldn't really do anything, she has a very chilled-out nature."

While 7-year-old Lilac doesn't always want to jump, she does seem to enjoy their outings, which also include long swims and walks. Hannah has tried riding other cows on the farm, but she always comes back to Lilac. They have a special bond, as you can see in the second video below.

Source : mnn[dot]com

Carrie Fisher's dog finds the perfect home

I'll be waiting right here mommy. #CarrieFisher @carrieffisher #princessleia pic.twitter.com/sfwVBCBvUE

— Carrie Fisher's __dog (@Gary_TheDog) December 24, 2016

Saddest tweets to tweet. Mommy is gone. I love you @carrieffisher

— Carrie Fisher's Dog (@Gary_TheDog) December 27, 2016

Carrie Fisher's French bulldog went with her everywhere. The "Star Wars" actress brought the pup to book signings and movie previews, red carpet events and TV talk shows. Now, it looks like Fisher's popular pal will find a new home with her daughter, Billie Lourd.

TMZ reports that Lourd will care for the bulldog, who was with traveling with Fisher when she suffered a heart attack on a plane flying from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23. Gary also visited Fisher at UCLA Medical Center, where she passed away on Dec. 27.

The new setup won't be unfamiliar to Gary. The __dog is "best friends" with Lourd's bulldog, Tina, according to TMZ.

Me & #tina #fighting over a #chick! #frenchbulldog #frenchie #carriefisher #gary #garyfisher

A photo posted by Gary Fisher (@garyfisher) on Jan 7, 2016 at 12:32pm PST

Gary is a celebrity in his own right, with more than 50,000 followers on his fan-run Twitter account and 87,000 followers on his official Instagram. He was adopted by Fisher as a therapy dog to help her deal with bipolar disorder. He has a protruding tongue and a very serious expression and was adopted from "a very tragic pet store" in New York City, Fisher told NPR.

"So he looks like he was from like a puppy mill. He's not — everything is sort of wrong with him," she said.

But the sweet-natured pup meant the world to the actress.

"Gary is like my heart. Gary is very devoted to me and that calms me down," Fisher told the Herald-Tribune in 2013. "He's anxious when he's away from me."

I was always by your side but best of all you were always by mine. #RIPCarrie pic.twitter.com/QgeOYdmmH2

— Carrie Fisher's Dog (@Gary_TheDog) December 28, 2016

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Source : mnn[dot]com

Cat with dreadlocks gets a makeover

No, this is not a photoshopped image. This is a cat with so much matted hair, she looks like she is wearing dreadlocks. How does such a thing happen?

Hidey — who got her name because she frequently hid from her elderly owner — apparently hid one too many times. When Hidey's owner was taken to a nursing home, the kitty was taken to the local animal shelter. When the staff saw her, they were shocked and heartbroken.

According to the shelter staff, Hidey's fur was matted in sections six to eight inches in length with feces and other debris tangled in each section. It wasn't that the kitty's fur grew eight inches long, it's that her hair began to get matted and then any hair that she shed tangled within the matted hair to make the long, filthy knots.

It took the shelter staff several hours to shave off two pounds of Hidey's matted fur. They sedated her for the procedure to minimize her stress and to make her as comfortable as possible.

Hidey looks like a new cat after her makeover. (Photo: Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center/Facebook)

Needless to say, Hidey looks like a brand new cat after her trim. And she has been staying with a relative of her elderly owner since leaving the hospital.

"She's been hiding under the bed for the last couple of days," Paul Russel told The Dodo. "I've been dragging her out, and holding her, and she purrs a lot. The last couple of days, she's climbed out from under the bed on her own and into a cat bed I have. So she's starting to work her way to see people more."

No doubt she is feeling happier and healthier, too.

Source : mnn[dot]com

D.I.Y. Dog Anxiety Wrap for Pet Parents in a Pinch

Many __dog parents don’t realize their dogs will be terrified of a thunderstorm, fireworks, or other loud noise until it happens. Unfortunately, running to the store for a Thundershirt or other type of anxiety wrap isn’t always an option.

In a pinch, you can make your own __dog anti-anxiety wrap using a long bandage. If a long bandage isn’t available, an old stretchy t-shirt cut into strips can work, too.

Because extreme fear and anxiety can lead to serious health complications including heart attack, stroke, and seizures, if your dog is exhibiting signs including panic, increased heart rate, panting excessively, crying, and is inconsolable, it’s important to try to calm him as quickly as possible.

The video below demonstrates how to use a long bandage to create an effective temporary anxiety wrap at home.