This Dog Rescue Sounds Almost Like A Crime Show Caper

Lucy the pit bull on the mend in the United States after
being secretly spirited out of Egypt to get her
away from an abusive owner.  

In Egypt, people believe purebred dogs are a status symbol.

Which is fine, as long as the dogs aren't mistreated.

But Lucy, a one-year old pitiful was mistreated. Badly.

The owner repeatedly kicked Lucy and beat her with a brick. Both sides of her jaw were broken, and she suffered other injuries.

A rescue group in Cairo tried to get the owner to give Lucy up, says The Dodo, but the guy refused.

So, it was on to Plan B: A bit of international bait and switch.

The rescue group in Cairo told the dog's owner Lucy had died of the injuries he had inflicted on her.

But she was really alive, if not well. The Cairo group got ahold of an outfit called Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation or SNARR.

SNARR spirited Lucy out of Egypt and to the United States before the dog's evil owner could figure out what was going on.

It took a lot of medical attention to make Lucy well, what with her shattered jaw and a terrible infection. But The Dodo says she's on the mend and will be put up for adoption.

She's with a foster family now who report that Lucy is a real sweetheart. 

Normally, I'm not in favor of lying and almost creating international incidents, but in this case, it was worth it.

I just hope that guy in Egypt doesn't get another dog. But I kinda hope he found out what went on with Lucy, so he can stew in his own regret for being a jerk, and too stupid to realize he was being conned in the best possible way.

Once Lucy is fully healed and with a loving family, maybe she can star in the next James Bond movie.

After all, she's experienced now in international intrigue.

Dog Appears Pleased To Be Leaving Animal Shelter After Being Adopted

Coso celebrates as she leaves an animal shelter with
the two people who just adopted her.  

I just had to post this because the photo is perfect.

Coso, age seven, is an Australian Shepherd mix who had been at the Lort Smith Animal Shelter in Melbourne, Australia because the family that had her could no longer care for her, says The Dodo.

Eventually, a family came to the animal shelter and decided to adopt Coso and bring her to a new forever home.

Judging from the photo, Coso looked rather pleased as she left the animal shelter with her new family. Her new human companions don't exactly look upset, either.

Cop Who Adopted Baby Kangaroo Is My New Favorite Person

Scott Mason's t-shirt serves as a makeshift pouch
for Cuejo, the baby kangaroo 

When a baby kangaroo was orphaned recently in western Australia, Constable Scott Mason stepped right up to the plate.

The baby kangaroo, now named Cuejo after the town of Cue, was found in its dead mother's pouch after accidentally being killed by a truck,

Cuejo now hangs out with Mason, following him around and crawling into his t-shirt, which serves as a makeshift pouch.  

The video of this has gone viral, and I thought I'd share it with you.

By the way, Mason is particularly busy with child rearing these days. In addition to his responsibilities with Cuejo, his wife recently gave birth to the couple's first child, says The Telegraph. UK

I wish the Masons and Cuejo all the best.

Here's the awesome video:

Dancing Dog Named Ginger Rogers Sashays Her Way Into A New Home

Ginger Rogers now has a new home, thanks to
some very cute dance moves.

A dog named Ginger Rogers, given that moniker for a reason that will soon become apparent to you, knows how to sell herself.  

She was in a shelter, up for adoption, when she noticed people come in.

So she did a little dance behind her cage that was so irresistible that somebody adopted her.

Of course, Ginger Rogers wasn't truly "dancing" but trying to get much needed attention. She wanted out of the shelter and into a permanent home.

Whatever, it worked.

Orange County Animal Services put out this message on Facebook after the Ginger Rogers video went viral:

"Ginger Rogers danced her way into hearts yesterday when her video was shared on social medial. It's been viewed more than 100,000 times and shared on multiple news outlets...Miss Ginger was adopted earlier today and she will soon be raising the roof under her own roof."

So congratulations to Ginger and her new human companions. I hope there's lots of dancing in your household for years to come.

Here's the video:

Cruel Judge Lets His Hatred Of Gays Potentially Harm Baby Girl

Everyone seems to agree these two women make
fine parents, except for one activist Utah judge, who
says gay people like them are always unfit as parents,
evidence be damned.  

UPDATE:

As I pretty much expected, the judge who ordered the baby taken away from this gay married couple reversed himself, at least temporarily.

Judge Scott Johansen came under withering attack for taking the kid away from the two female foster parents, who are hoping to adopt the baby.

The judge is now letting the couple keep the kid for now, but has scheduled a hearing on December 4, and he's still got lots of misgivings about placing the baby with a gay couple.

This despite the fact that the two women have demonstrated their competence at raising a kid.
And despite the fact that his ruling appears to violate Utah and national law.

Even the Republican governor of Utah criticized this judge.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign filed a formal complaint with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission. We'll see where that goes.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

Yesterday, a judge in Utah ordered a one year old girl be taken away from her foster parents within a week.

The foster parents weren't abusing the kid. They are a married couple. Financially stable. No history of violence, crime or weirdness. Routine investigations showed the baby girl was doing well in this household. She was thriving. She seemed healthy and well-adjusted. The foster parents were providing her everything she needed.

So what's the problem? Well, Utah 7th District Court Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen decided that the married couple in question are lesbians, they are unfit to parent because they are gay, says the Salt Lake Tribune in a story extensively picked up by other media.

Which means the girl, who by all accounts was well cared for and loved by April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce, now faces an uncertain and unstable future in Utah's foster care system.

The judge didn't provide any facts to back up his claim that a household with same sex parents is dangerous to a child, but made a vague reference to "research."

Says the Salt Lake Tribune:

"Johansen did not provide specifics of that research in court despite questions from attorneys for the Utah Division of Child and Family Services and the Guardian Ad Litem Office assigned to represent the child, Hoagland and Peirce said."

The studies the judge referred to might be from a widely discredited study by University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, which said that children do more poorly with gay parents than with straight parents.

The Regnerus study was flawed, say experts, because of unreliable data or data that indicated the children in question were actually living with single parents or under different circumstances than with married, same sex parents.

Most other studies on the topic concluded that on average, children with gay parents do at least as well as those with straight parents.

According to Utah law, foster parents must be married couples or single individuals age 21 or older. They muset be U.S. citizes or permanent legal residents, they must pass background checks, must be financially stable, must be able to support their family without assistance from the state, they can't foster parent children and run a day care center at the same time, and must be healthy enough to care for the kids.

The Utah Division of Child and Family Services have reportedly investigated Hoagland and Peirce thoroughly, as they're supposed to do with every potential foster parent. The couple did just fine with the investigation and the child welfare agency supported the idea of the couple foster parenting the child.

Who, by the way, was to have eventually been adopted by Hoagland and Peirce. Which would have permanently given the baby girl a stable household where she could grow up to presumably be a nice stable adult.

According to the Tribune:

"'We have a lot of support,' Peirce said. "DCFS wants us to have the child, the Guardian Ad Litem wants us to have the child, the mother wants us to have the child, so the only thing standing in the way is the judge.'"

Of course, there's a big outcry over Judge Johansen now, so maybe this will get fixed. I've heard criticism, especially from conservatives, over "activist judges" making up their own laws.

Still, it's unclear how an appeal, of possible, would work.

Johansen is a classic example of an activist judge. He ignores case law, and interjects his own religious beliefs.

Hey, if Johansen doesn't like gay people or the fact some are parents, fine, he can do that. But he has to apply the law as it is written.

As I noted, this judge appears to be willing to damage a child in the name of hating gays.

By the way, this judge has been pretty jerky in the past, too. He slapped a teenage boy in the courthouse back in 1997 and has ordered a woman to chop the ponytail off a 13 year old girl who had apparently misbehaved.

But the damage he caused this time is too much.

I just hope the judge isn't a foster parent.

A Turnaround: "Shelter Dogs" Now In Short Supply

Some parts of the country have a shortage of rescued
dogs available for adoption. But this silver lining
has a potentially dangerous cloud.  

Here's some good news/bad news: Shelter dogs are now the new Hot Thing.  

As National Public Radio reports, the demand for dogs now outstrips the supply of those available for adoption in many states.

That means more people are adopting shelter dogs.

Instead of being euthanized, most of these dogs that were abandoned or lost their previous human companions are getting new homes and new lives.

Rescue organizations should take a lot of credit for this. They're good at social media, and they routinely release YouTube videos, post news of successful rescues on Twitter, Facebook,  Instagram and other sites, and raise funds to do their pet adoption work.

So it's a good thing right?

Well yes, but.......

However, humans, being what they are, are both good and bad. The generosity of people who take dogs into their homes is one of the wonderful things people do.

But there's always money to be made from shortages. That's where the potential bad people come in.

Many rescue groups search far and wide, including overseas, to obtain dogs for adoption. That's not necessarily a bad thing. A Russian or Iraqi dog deserves a good life as much as an American Fido does.

But what if you get unethical traffickers? People who kidnap dogs from happy homes in other countries and bring them here.

The NPR story doesn't really get into that aspect of trafficking.  However, there's a mad rush to bring dogs to the United States for adoption. Some of these dogs might be sick or worse.

Some of the dogs coming from other countries turn out to have rabies. Patti Strand, Director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, told NPR:

"We've had a dog with rabies come in from Iraq. One came in from India, another from Thailand. We've had a dog from Puerto Rico that wound up in a shelter in Massachusetts with rabies."

Plus, a Vermont family reportedly ended up with a rescue puppy in 2013 that had rabies. The dog was euthanized, and I'm sure the experience was traumatizing for the family. At least the situation was caught in time before any family members got sick and died.

Also, some organizations place dangerous dogs, ones with serious behaviorial issues, ones that bite and attack, with unsuspecting families.

Many of iffy dog adoption organizations are not necessarily evil, just irresponsible, cynical, ignorant and naive, says the National Animal Interest Alliance:

Strand writes on her organization's Web site:

"For some shelters, saving a dog's life has become a bigger priority than protecting the public from sick or dangerous dogs. Whether they misapply the no-kill shelter philosophy, try to achieve ever higher live-release rates or are simply ignorant about dog behavior, a growing number of these shelters place dangerous dogs with adopters."

Some leading mainstream shelters and rescue organizations are speaking out against irresponsible actors, Strand said, which is good news. Some state governments are also looking at tightening laws to ensure dogs from out of state and overseas are subject to stringent health examinations and registrations.

I guess all this is just another example among a zillion that every silver lining has a cloud, and every cloud has a silver lining.

Just go hug your dog friend today, OK?

Introducing Tonks, The Cute Blonde Who Moved In With Us This Week

For those who follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know we adopted another dog, named Tonks the other day.  

Tonks explores her new home with Jeff, Jackson and me
after she arrived Sunday, while Jackson keeps
a protective eye on her in the distance.  

Tonks joins Jackson the Cocker Spaniel, who has lived with Jeff and me for three years at our St. Albans, Vermont home.

Jackson's a very social little guy, and we thought he'd want a companion for those moments when Jeff and I were too busy to play tug of war with Jackson. The tug of war game with his toys is a 24/7 obsession with him.

About a month ago, we learned of a Vermont couple, Emily and John, who have been the human companions for Tonks for seven years, since she was a puppy.

The couple now has two very young kids. Good kids, but young ones who want to play with the dog but are too young to understand that even gentle, friendly souls like Tonks don't always like to be constantly poked and prodded and groped.  

Emily and John reluctantly concluded it would be better for Tonks to live somewhere else.

Jeff and Jackson and me were in the running to adopt Tonks. Jeff was out of town in early May, but Jackson and I agreed to meet one day with Emily and Tonks at a dog park nearby.

I have to say Jackson is a good little salesman. At the meeting, Jackson behaved in his usual way, greeting Tonks with friendliness, while at the same time doing his best not to be overbearing.  Tonks and Jackson went to other dogs to say hi, played with each other, went their seperate ways and then played with each other again as Emily and I talked.

Jackson and Tonks acted like old friends, even though they'd just met.  A very good sign indeed.

You could tell right away Tonks was well cared for. Beyond a healthy appearance, she seemed at ease with both people and other dogs. You could see both curiosity and confidence in Tonks' big eyes. A very good sign.

A couple weeks later we heard from Emily. Would we like to adopt Tonks?

Tonks had already melted my heart. Jackson seemed to want this to happen too. Jeff was all for it.

It was to be.

Tonks arrived at our house last Sunday. I was at work, so I wasn't there, but Jeff and Jackson greeted her. Jeff and John chatted for awhile about Tonks and the care she'll need and the handoff came.

Jeff was smart enough to let Tonks watch John drive away, so there might be some connnection that he left, and didn't just disappear into thin air. We hoped at some level Tonks understood what was going on, that although things were changing in a confusing way, she'd continue to be loved and protected as she always had been.

It turns out Tonks is a brave, adaptable girl. Don't let those blond curls and her shy, quiet demeanor fool you. She's a tough cookie.

True, Tonks had a lot to get used to. The first day she was here with us, she barked quite a bit. The sounds outside were different than her old home. It was disorienting and scary.

Trucks rumbled by on the road. Birds flitted from tree to tree just outside the door.  A motorcycle roared to life at the house across the street. Kids played two houses up the road. The barking was inevitable.

Tonks, though, was immediately affectionate with us. I quickly discovered she likes simultaneous chest and back rubs. She went back and forth between Jeff and me, finding reassurance in our eyes.  We kept telling her she's a good girl, and giving her neck rubs. She seemed like she was starting to feel at home.

As I watched TV Sunday evening, I was gratified to find Tonks curled up at my feet, falling comforably to sleep.

I was happy to see Tonks is naturally curious, but not so brave as to wander off completely on her own, which is a good combination. She scoped out the yard on her first day here, stopping from time to time to take refuge from the hot sun under the shade of our willow tree, just as Jackson often does.

Tonks thinks her new brother Jackson is crazy. Tonks is right. Jackson growls and yelps and laughs as we play our usual tug of war game with John Boehner, which is the name of one of his favorite toys.  Tonks looks on, bemused.

But the two dogs are already sharing nicely. They sleep in each others' beds, play with each others toys, try to sample each others' food.

Tonks barks less and less as she gets used to the sounds swirling around outside the house. The other day, we had to bring Tonks and Jackson to doggie day care while Jeff and I worked.

That went well, too.

Barb, who runs the place, said she enjoyed watching what happened. Jackson spent the day showing Tonks the ropes at day care, explaining as dogs only can how things work, how to interact with other dogs there, how to follow the rules.

Barb reports Tonks is a quick study, but we knew that already.

Tonks is already settling into our routine. Like Jackson, she's excited when Jeff and I get up in the morning. It takes us humans a little while to wake up. Jackson and Tonks are always raring to go.

If Jeff and I have to deal with alarm clocks, Jackson and Tonks are the perfect type.

Our household is a little bigger now that Tonks lives with us.  But she adds even more joy to the place than we already had.

Welcome home, Tonks.

What's The Story Behind "Death Row Dog" With Lipstick Kiss Mark On His Forehead?

My husband Jeff showed me this sad story about an abandoned pit bull which really made me wonder about this dog's back story.

Dutch with the lipstick mark
from the woman who kissed him goodbye forever
Let's hope Dutch was saved and adopted
and the woman is OK.  

I also pray and hope that he is still alive.

His name is Dutch. Reportedly, a woman in New York City was seen tenderly kissing the 18-month old pit bull on the forehead and sadly walking away.  The woman said something about having personal problems.

With her goodbye kiss, the woman left a big pink lipstick print on Dutch's white forehead. 

This feels so tragic.

Dutch was checked out and it was clear he was well cared for, had been trained and is good with people, including children. Somebody loved Dutch, but had to give him up.

It makes me think something terrible happened to the woman who gave him up. Was she sick? Completely out of money and hope? Did somebody force her to get rid of the dog? Was she suicidal and giving up everything that she loved, or loved her?

We all rail against people who abandon dogs. It's infuriating, of course. But in some cases, there's a good but tragic reason why the dogs were abandoned. It's just that we, as a society, need to figure out why people have to give their dogs up. That way, we can do a twofer: Find a good home for a deserving dog, and help a human who is clearly at the end of his or her rope.

It looks like nobody knows how to find the woman who had to leave Dutch behind. And, since there's so many dogs up for adoption in New York, Dutch was scheduled to be put to death this week, because there was no room for him.

I hope somebody adopted him at the last minute. Dutch seems like such a sweetheart.

Dutch was among dozens of dogs featured on a sob-inducing Facebook page called Urgent Death Row Dogs. The proprietors of the Facebook page find out which dogs at which New York shelters have been there too long been and will be put to death within hours.

Urgent Death Row Dogs puts photos of the dogs and little bios of them on the Facebook page, begging people to adopt the dogs that night, before they are killed the next day.

I couldn't look at the page for more than 30 seconds. I wanted to cry, because I knew some of these gentle, innocent dogs are gone now. Despite the heroic efforts of the people behind Urgent Death Row Dogs, I know that not all of the dogs could be saved.

I want to adopt them all. Of course, I can't. I can't save the world. Or every dog in it.

But this is a reminder: If there's any way you can give a dog a loving, warm home, please do it. If you can't, please give to or volunteer at a reputable organization that can keep a dog safe and alive until somebody gives him or her a home.

If Dutch is alive, or even if he's not, he'll thank you for it and give you a big kiss. And he won't even leave a lipstick mark behind.

A Dog Adoption Proves Perfect And Perfectly Timed, As They Always Do

Political blogger and commentator Andrew Sullivan usually spends his days entertainingly sparring over disputes involving public affairs, society and the sausage factory that is Washington, DC.

Andrew Sullivan and his new bestie Bowie
get to know each other last weekend.  

He makes no secret, though, that he has a serious soft spot for dogs, particularly beagles. His heartbreak was palpable after one of his beagles, named Dusty, died last summer.

Today, in his blog, however, he tells us how fate took over once again, as it usually does when dogs and people unite to become a team.

Sullivan said he was invited to upstate New York, where a three legged, 18-month old beagle named Bowie was looking for a home. Was Sullivan interested?

After a slightly rocky first meeting involving intestinal upset and an unfortunate pee time accident, Sullivan was smitten.

He writes:

"I have to say this weekend was a bit of a love affair. There is so much about her that reminds me of Dusty as a puppy--the pathological wolfing of the food, the constant interest in every smell, scent and sight, the sheer constant energy. But unlike Dusty, she's extremely affectionate. And even obedient.

By the end of the weekend, she perfected "sit" and "stay" and (almost) "down"--and there were no more accidents. We didn't use her crate after the first night. If I didn't see her, all I had to do was say "Bowie" and she would come scampering around the corner to shower me with love.

Just when you least expect it...just what you least expect. I think the grieving is done now."

It's interesting how Bowie came into Sullivan's life, apparently at the precise moment he was ready for this kind of thing to happen. Not sooner, not later, but at the right time. 

I think dogs just know how to do that.  The right dog comes into our lives just when we most need them. Even if we don't realize we need them.

Jackson The Cocker Spaniel (front) and
the late Bailey the Wonder Dog keep
watch over me and Jeff last fall.  

The past three years have been chaotic, but fun for me. Jackson the Cocker Spaniel has been there through that, cheering me up in my dark moments, enthusiastically sharing in my excitement at the good times, and calming me down during my too-often excitable, frustrated moments.  

It's as if he knows just what to do.

And I had Bailey the Wonder Dog in my life for a year before he died last May. His passing felt too soon, too painful, as we only knew each other for a year. 

But Bailey The Wonder Dog taught me to embrace the ones we love, because we never know when they will go.

Because of what Bailey taught me, or at least reinforced for me, I wake up each morning and see my husband, alive and well and loving right next to me. Which means I get another day with him. Another day to cherish.  May there be zillions more.

Some people say that dogs are wonderful teachers for humans. 

Some people are spot on. 

Bailey The Dog Moves In With Us

Funny how families can change dramatically at the drop of a hat.

Like ours, for instance.

Bailey, the latest addition to the
Modereger/Sutkoski family. 

It's now a two-dog, two person household here in St. Albans with the arrival of Bailey, a dog of indeterminate breeds and high levels of sweetness. (His name until Tuesday was "Baileys" but Jeff and I decided to drop the "s")

We'd vaguely discussed getting another dog at some point, but had no firm plans.

Barb, the woman who runs the excellent Deja Vu Kennel in Milton, Vermont  where we take Jackson, our very active cocker spaniel, was worried about a dog she was taking care of.

The dog's name was Baileys, because his fur is the same color as Bailey's Irish Cream.

Baileys' family had fallen on hard times, from what I heard, third hand.  They had to move to a place that wouldn't accept dogs. Their future together was uncertain. Barb was looking for a foster family to take Baileys in temporarily. Would Jeff and I be interested?

Jeff and I discussed it Monday night, and decided we would tell Barb on Tuesday that we were leaning toward become Bailey's foster family, but we'd have to think about it for a few days.

Tuesday morning, I brought Jackson to  Deja Vu Kennel,  like we usually do. Barb introduced me to Baileys.  I noticed immediately how sweet and affectionate he is.

Then she told me Bailey's family abruptly got an opportunity out of town. They couldn't take Baileys, and had to give him up. That day. The family said they would bring Baileys to the Humane Society of  Chittenden County  and hope for the best.

Now, the Humane Society does an excellent job. But Bailey just turned 12 year old. He might not be that adoptable. He could be euthanized there.

I know I can't save every dog out there. I can't turn into a hoarder. I can only take care of the people and the animals that I can manage. Doing more would be unfair to me and especially the dogs and people I try to aid.  Sombody else will have to do the rest. Cold as that sounds, that's just the way it is.

But I'd already made a connection with Bailey. And he with me. He looked me in the eye when we met  briefly Tuesday morning and we formed an attachment. I know Bailey didn't know what was going on, but it almost feels like he looked at me and said, "You're my last chance, bro."

I could manage two dogs in the house, and so could Jeff.

Jeff was at work. I called him and told him the situation. "I couldn't live with myself if we let him go," I found myself blurting out. I found my eyes getting wetter.

Jeff wanted him too. Our family's fate was sealed. Bailey is now a full standing member of the Modereger/Sutkoski/ household.  I feel like the Brady Bunch theme song should be playing right now.

It'll be hard at times, but Jeff and I have the wherewithal to take care of Bailey. We'll give him an imperfect, but good home. He'll be loved. Jackson will make sure he has a fun playmate.

Jackson has some jealousy issues, but I know that will work out. Both Jackson and Bailey crave individual attention. Both dogs will realize soon enough that there's plenty of love to go around at this house.

Despite the jealousy, Jackson and Bailey do play well together.

Bailey looks and acts younger than his 12 years. He's mellow. Incredibly affectionate. He already likes to curl up under my desk as I type away at my laptop.  I know that given his age, Bailey won't be with us for too many years. That makes me sad, but I'll just enjoy the time we have together and focus on that.

Right now, as I type this, he's at my feet, listening to the clatter of this keyboard as I sit on the couch pounding away at the laptop.  He looks at me every once in awhile to see that I'm OK, and that I think he's OK. We agree everything is fine and go back to what we're doing. Jackson's asleep, curled up against my side, looking blissful.

Jeff had to go to work for a few hours and he'll be home soon. The four of us will go outside and play around the yard. A happy, suddenly bigger family.