George Bush's Service Dog Gets Second Career; Making People Cry Happy Tears

Sully, who was George H.W. Bush's service dog, sleeps and stands guard
 in front of his casket in early December. Because of a directive from
Bush, Sully has a new job helping veterans at the Walter Reed Military
Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. 

One of the most heartrending photos I saw after former President George H.W. Bush died on November 30 was an Instagram image of his service dog, Sully.

There, Sully was sleeping, but still on guard in front of Bush's casket. The caption on Instagram read "Mission Accomplished."

Thanks to Bush, though, Sully's life of service is not over. Bush said that upon his death, he wished that Sully would be rehired to assist with physical and occupational therapy for wounded soldiers and active duty personnel during their recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

There have been disturbing news reports lately that in various ways, veterans have not been getting the respect and help they obviously deserve. That Sully will help veterans is just touching good news all around. It is also an indication that Bush 41 knew that if there was something good in this world, like Sully, he had to be put to good use.

Sully, a two-year-old Labrador retriever, was paired with and specifically trained to help Bush 41 with his daily tasks. As noted, that job was completely successfully. Talented and smart Sully has more to give.

Former President George W. Bush - Bush 41's son - said, "As much as our family is going to miss this dog, we're comforted to know he'll bring the same joy to his new home, Walter Reed, that he brought to 41."

I was never a fan of George 41's politics. I voted against him. But I knew that as imperfect as he was, he always wanted to do right for the nation and his fellow humans.  Seems like that trait is in woefully short supply these days.

In a current world where we find too many humans acting especially unhelpful, it's great to see a dog step up to the plate in such a noble fashion. And do so at the behest of someone who could teach us sometbing about common decency. .

Comfort Dogs Once Again Come To The Rescue, This Time In Orlando

A K-9 Comfort Dog consoles a woman in
Orlando last week after The Pulse nightclub shooting. 

Sometimes, humans are incredibly cruel to other people.

Like that evil Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured dozens more in The Pulse nightclub in Orlando a little more than a week ago.

Of course, many humans are incredibly kind, which explains the outpouring of support for Orlando.

Some of those kind people are with K-9 Comfort Dogs, sponsored by Lutheran Church Charities,  a group that trains golden retrievers to be therapy dogs.

The dogs go to places that are in crisis or had a disaster - like Orlando - where they help comfort people traumatized by the events.  Dogs always seem to be a light in an otherwise dark tunnel.

Unlike humans, dogs are almost always willing to lend a hand - make that a paw - when people need help.

Tim Hetzner of K-9 Comfort Dogs sent 12 golden retrievers along with 20 human volunteer dog handlers to Orlando, says CBS News. quoting Hetzner:

"With a golden, you don't feel alone, and you know that you're loved.....That helps people at the time to cope and to talk, and to see that there's hope. There's light."

Any breed of dog would help in a crisis like Orlando's of course, but golden retrievers are very good picks for this type of work.

The K-9 Comfort Dogs start a training program that lasts more than a year, starting whe their just eight weeks old. They learn to work with people with disabilities, get through airports, airplanes and escalators, and to manage their own temperaments in distressing situations.

While on the job, the comfort dogs will only work two hours at a time, then decompress during a play break by fetching balls orby taking a nap.  You don't want to overtax these dogs, who are only trying to help.

If what the comfort dogs are doing in Orlando sounds familiar, it should. The same organization went to Newtown, Connecticut when elementary school kids were slaughtered by a crazed gunman, traumatizing the town - and the nation.

According to National Geographic, petting a dog decreases levels of stress hormones and lowers blood pressure. Research suggests petting a dog releases oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding in affection, in both dogs and humans.

As many of us with dogs as companions know, they seem to have empathy. One study cited by National Geographic put dogs in a room with a couple of people. One person just sort of hummed to himself, the other pretended to cry.

The dogs always ran up to the person crying and nuzzled him or her.

Here's another good thing about comfort dogs and dogs in general: We seem to be an era of xenophobic politicians (Hi, Donald!)  These so called leader want to reject anyone they perceive as "other." So let's get rid of the Muslims, the Mexicans, the gays, or whoever else you want to target!

Dogs aren't like that.

Says National Geographic, citing Brian Hare, director of Duke University's Canine Cognition Center.  

"We've done research on this, and we've found is that not only are most dogs totally not xenophobic, they're actually xenophillic - they love strangers," Hare said. "Thats one way in which you could say dogs are 'better than people. We're not always that welcoming."

People often give obedience training to dogs. Maybe it's time the dogs start training us humans.

Outrage: Elderly, Sick Man Has To Dial 911 Just To Get Food To Live On

 Clarence Blackmon, an elderly cancer patient,
had to call 911 to get groceries because
 the rehab center he was at discharged him
and left him to his own devices. Assholes.  n

The following story has been presented in the media as a heartwarming story, but I'm outraged by it.

An elderly man, weak with prostate cancer, was discharged from a hospital and sent home. Great! He's recovering with the help of family and visiting nurses and plenty of follow up care from the hospital.

Just kidding!

He was dumped into the house and left to his own devices and was physically incapable of getting any food. The man got so desperate that he called 911 and asked someone there to buy him groceries.

"What i need is someone to get to the grocery store and bring me food, because I need to eat something. Whatever you can do to help. I can't do anything. I can't go anywhere. I can't get out of my damn chair," Clarence Blackmon told 911 dispatcher Marilyn Hinson, according to the Huffington Post. 

Click on this sentence to listen to the tough 911 call Blackmon placed

Luckily, the 911 operators didn't tell him that they were only for emergencies and tell him to go away. Hinson  recognized this was an emergency.  Hinson's supervisor entered Blackmon's name into the computer and learned he was ill and had no family in the area. Blackmon's wife died in 2011.

They also discovered Blackmon had withered away to 115 pounds in large part because he was unable to get food for himself.

Hinson went to Blackmon's house with officers from the Fayetteville, North Carolina Police Department to deliver groceries. They also made sure that Blackmon would get follow up care and help.

That's the heartwarming part.

Here's why I'm outraged, though. It appears as if the hospital just discharged Blackmon without making sure he would get the help for follow up treatment. What, was the old guy unprofitable now? Maybe used up his insurance or something? Groceries don't make pharmaceutical companies profitable like pills do, was that the problem?

According to the Inquisitor and ABC News, the private treatment and rehabiliitation center that discharged Blackmon never bothered to contact the North Carolina Department of Social Services, as they should have.

The DSS is now involved, helping Blackmon, and an outpouring of donations because of news reports about this incident are going to Blackmon and others who need help.  (He's donating the extra food he can't keep to the Salvation Army.)

Still, my blood is boiling. Does this rehabilitation hospital and others in the country just dump people out on the street when they're done with them, figuring they'll just die a quiet death and stop bothering everyone for shrieks?

I hope the people who did this to Blackmon at the hospital are punished BIG TIME. It's also time for investigation on how other hospitals and rehab centers discharge people who can't fend for themselves.

Now there's a good story idea for you journalists and muckrakers out there.