Select a STNG publication or site Chicago Sun-Times The Beacon News The Courier News The SouthtownStar The Herald News Lake County News-Sun The Naperville Sun Post-Tribune YourSeason. A dog that was rescued by firefighters from a Cicero fire that killed his owner died Thanksgiving Day. Regis, a 13-year-old German shepherd mix, was injured in a fire in the 1600 block of South Lombard in Cicero on Nov. Since the fire, Regis was being cared for at Cicero’s Waggin’ Tails animal shelter under the supervision of the town’s professional animal welfare staff. read more

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Monique Eames

You lucky Dog you, that is until baby comes along. Is it
possible for pets and babies to co-exist in peace! From
every corner I received advice on how things will have to
change with our dog once the baby comes along. Everyone said
there is no way they can live together in the same house
without baby getting sick or worse still being bitten. How
wrong they all were!

There is no doubt about it, you certainly need to take great
care when mixing pets with babies and you should definitely
never leave a baby or child alone with any animal. However,
we couldn’t have got a better playmate for our little
toddler. He absolutely adores our little white powder puff.

There are some tips though to ensure that all goes smoothly
when you bring baby home from the hospital. If you do decide
that your indoor pet is to become an outdoor pet, you need
to make this change well in advance of your baby being born.
It is important that your pet doesn’t feel resentment
towards your baby. Therefore, start getting your pet used to
being outside at least 6 months before the baby is born so
that they don’t associate the baby with being put outside.

You can also help your pet get used to the scent of your
baby before you bring them home from the hospital. Purchase
a cheap bunny rug and wrap your baby in it while at the
hospital for one night, then bring it home and give it to
your pet. This way your pet will get used to the smell of
your new baby and they won’t be so anxious or curious once
baby finally comes home.

Also, make sure you give your pet attention when baby is
awake so they know they don’t have to wait until baby goes
to sleep to get any playtime from you.

Ensure that all pet bowls and litter trays are way out of
reach of children. Don’t let animals play with baby’s toys
and vice versa. Both are sure to put the toys into their
mouths! Pets that are wormed and vaccinated are unlikely to
pass diseases on to your child, however make it a habit to
always wash hands after touching the pet and before eating
meals.

Lastly, make sure that your pet has somewhere to call their
own where they can get away from toddlers little hands and
sleep uninterrupted.

If things do start to get out of hand at home, call a
Behavioural Animal Specialist to see if they can help you
sort things out.
About the Author

As well as being a fulltime Mother, Monique is a partner in Bella Creations, an online gift shop specialising in unique gift arrangements & individual gift products for Men, Women & Babies. To view her gift range, log on at Baby Gifts Australia.

While Katz chats and jokes with caretakers and residents seated around tables, Izzy scans the room like a shepherd surveying his flock before sidling up to a white-haired woman in a wheelchair and placing his head on her knee. A social worker from Washington County Hospice had come to one of Katz’s book readings and talked to him about the need for volunteers and the possibility of bringing dogs into the experience. At the same time Katz was considering volunteering for hospice, he was battling a case of depression that drained his energy and damped his spirits. Hospice work is the latest path in a continuing journey of mid-life adventure that began in 1999 when Katz fled life as a big-city journalist living in suburban New Jersey to the green hills 170 miles north in New York state. He has written 17 books, the last seven dealing with dogs and life on the farm he shares with goats, sheep, donkeys, dogs and other animals. Katz and Izzy grew close to Cardwell and his wife of 60 years, Helen, while making hospice visits to the dying woman. read more

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The Dogue de Bordeaux makes its debut as an AKC breed at the National Dog Show. John O’Hurley, host of the National Dog Show is seen before the Best in Show competition in Reading , Pa. That would be the National Dog Show, set to air Thursday at noon on NBC immediately after the 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The results of various online polls from local New York City animal shelters and one sponsored by the American Kennel Club in which more than 42,000 people voted show that the majority of Americans think the Obama family should opt for a Standard Poodle. And if the Obamas tune to the National Dog Show, they’ll have plenty of purebreds to choose from ?” plus, they’ll have a great view. read more

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Brigitte Smith

Does your dog always having a lush, soft coat?

Does your dog’s skin remain rash and itch free?

If you said yes to either or both of the above questions, yours is a very fortunate dog.

More likely, like me, you said “No”, or, perhaps “Sometimes”.

Most of our dogs suffer from a dull coat and/or a skin irritation of some type from time to time. Some poor dogs seem to be plagued by skin problems, which often causes them to molt, or even to pull their own fur out in an attempt to relieve the itchiness.

This can be caused by a number of things, including a vitamin deficiency.

Even if you think you’re feeding your dog an ideal diet, it may not be so. For years my vet complimented me on the great health of my dogs due to the largely raw diet I fed them, but little did I realise that down the track they would begin to develop degenerative conditions which I can now only attribute to a failure to supplement with vitamins and/or balanced holistic food.

Yes, diet can impact on your dog’s skin condition and the look and feel of your dog’s coat in a big way.

And fleas also, of course, can cause major skin irritation for your dog.

But for now, back to the external, and non-parasitic, causes of an irritated, dry or itchy skin.

Kara, my Rottweiler, has pretty sensitive skin - she gets a rash from coming into contact with the pollen from certain plants.

My Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Jet, is more hardy in the coat and skin department. Jet’s pretty lucky. She doesn’t get incessant itches very often at all, although she has been known to molt once or twice in her 10 years.

To keep your dog’s skin and coat in tip top condition and health, a good dog shampoo is really important. When my dogs were younger I sometimes used cheap shampoos from discount stores. I came to the conclusion that this was really false economy. They cleaned the coat reasonably well, but weren’t particularly beneficial to the skin.

Now I use an all-natural, enriched shampoo which helps relieve itching and dry, flaky skin. And the coat comes out really silky and it really seems to have a lovely shine. And it has a tearless formula, so it’s kind to your dog’s eyes! If you’d like to check it out, see below, at the end of the article.

If your dog is anything like my Rottweiler, Kara, your dog’s fur is often dusty and not so great to stroke. Kara loves rolling in the dirt outside. When the dirt in the backyard is dry, I can brush out the dust and dirt without too much trouble.

But when it’s damp Kara needs to be washed to really get her coat clean again. And when it’s been pouring rain for a day or two, I actually try to keep her inside the house as much as possible. Because, yes, she rolls in the wet, sticky mud, when she gets a chance. You should see the mess she gets in. She can be covered in mud from head to toe. And she’s most put out when I won’t let her in the house in that state!

That’s when the shampoo really comes in handy!

(c) 2005, Brigitte Smith, Healthy Happy Dogs

About the Author: Brigitte Smith is a dog lover with a special interest in holistic dog health. Pick up your special FREE dog health report here: http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com . And the dog shampoo is here: http://www.DogShampoo.BrigitteRecommends.com

Source: www.isnare.com

LODI - Dog rescue volunteer Jill Morgan has received death threats and angry e-mail messages, and her property has been damaged, she says in retribution to her controversial call to euthanize a golden retriever she deemed too aggressive for society. Morgan said she is afraid for herself, her family and her seven rescue dogs, because since Monday’s news of the incident, she has received messages such as “that hopefully me and my children have cancer, and they eat from the flesh of the devil,” Morgan said. The dog initially was rescued by Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue, where Morgan volunteers, and was adopted out to dog trainer Dan Irish after a number of failed attempts to modify the dog’s behavior. Irish, of West Point, said he rehabilitated the dog and then put him online for readoption, violating his agreement with the rescue group to keep the dog. But there was a dispute among board members on whether Morgan properly followed rescue policy when she acted on her own behalf and used a fake name and contact information to take possession of the dog. In an August police report filed in San Anselmo, another volunteer from the rescue group said Irish had threatened her life in a recorded phone message made to her home phone in Marin County. read more

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NEW YORK, Nov 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The NBC Thanksgiving Day special “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina(R)” will crown one of America’s great show dogs as its 2008 champion while offering special coverage of famed Uno the Beagle and introducing the newest American Kennel Club-sanctioned breed, the Dogue de Bordeaux. Uno will also appear on NBC during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, riding on the Peanuts float while fellow famous beagle Snoopy is elsewhere on the parade route in his annual role as a giant balloon. Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real Time Services , a division of Interactive Data Corp. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data . read more

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Rex Ryan

Heroism and courage are probably the most profound traits that endear dogs so deeply into the hearts and minds of mankind. Every day, humans all over the world are rescued by heroic dogs, often at great risk to the dog’s life. No other animal demonstrates this type of courage and devotion. The eagerness some dogs show to selflessly put their master’s safety above their own is a unique inter-species relationship found only between man and dog. Considering the countless daily examples of dogs saving their master’s lives, it’s no wonder that mankind feels so grateful for this unique relationship.

Nobody knows how many lives were saved by dogs in the massive Tsunami of December 2004. But 7-year old Dinakaran of Chinnalapet, India knows that he would not be here today were it not for the heroism of his dog, Selvakumar. Recognizing that Dinakaran was unable to escape the waves, his small yellow dog grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to safety. Dinakaran’s mother thought her son was lost until she found him rescued by the family pet.

In early December, 16-year old Robert Bainbridge lay unconscious in the chilly England air after being beaten by a gang of thugs. His loyal dog Tyson found him, and cuddled up next to him - refusing to leave his side. A search party including a helicopter looked for the missing teenager. Robert was eventually found by his Dad, after his dog Tyson heard the father’s voice calling from a car, and led him to the unconscious boy. Tyson cuddled by the unconscious boy’s side for five hours, keeping him warm. Abandoned as a puppy, Tyson is now a hero to the Bainbridge family. According to the doctors, Robert would not have survived if he had been left on his own, and without Tyson’s body heat.

On New Year’s Eve, 2004 Kathy White of Jackson County Missouri awoke in a smoke filled room, unable to see, and unsure how to escape. Her 6-month old Neapolitan mastiff - Ahbah - led her from the house to safety.

One day before, in Cumberland. Md., David DeWitt was sleeping when a fire broke out in his house. Rocky, DeWitt’s 110-pound Rottweiler jumped on him until he woke up. DeWitt credits his dog with saving his life.

All over the world, dogs are saving people on a daily basis. There is nothing new about stories of dogs saving human’s lives. Indeed, the event is so common that it generally goes unnoticed. The events above all made the press within the last month - and no doubt most similar stories go unreported. But these stories bring joy to dog lovers all over the world. It reinforces the unique nature of the relationship between man and dogs. Nowhere else in the entire animal world is such a clear case of genuine affection and concern demonstrated between members of different species. While people often overlook this unique bond shared between man and dog, dog lovers understand it instinctively.

About the Author

Rex Ryan is a dog lover and webmaster. His site can be found at:
http://www-cool-dog-stories.com

PORTLAND — A man from the Tillamook-area who was accidentally shot over the weekend when his dog jumped into a boat and set off his gun is recovering. Matthew Marcum was shot with his 12-gauge shotgun Saturday on the Tillamook Bay. His legs and buttocks were injured in the incident and he was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland. His father, Henry Marcum, says the 23-year-old Marcum was about to tie up an 11-foot open aluminum boat, when his 3-year-old Labrador, Drake, jumped into the boat. Matthew Marcum says his dog, Drake, is a good dog and he isn’t upset with him. read more

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B arack and Michelle Obama , the nation is consumed with your search for the right dog for your family. By the way, that was a good move promising the girls a dog rather than a cat. If you had a cat at the White House , I could see you taking a foreign dignitary on a tour one day and the cat creeping up and raking the dignitary with his claws - for no reason, just for kicks - and now the two of you are running around apologizing and trying to find Band-Aids and Bacitracin. Hu Jintao , the Chinese leader, looks like the type who’d think about lobbing a few missiles our way if a cat scratched him. Here’s Barney, out for a walk around the White House, enjoying the sunshine, minding his own business. read more

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