Beautiful story: Man who lost home, dogs in #BlackForest fire is given German shepherd ==>
Darrell Fortner, left , hugs Basil, a 11-month old German shepherd who is donated by Linda Smith, owner of Vom Dortmunder German Shepherds, near the Red Cross tent in Black Forest, Saturday, June 29, 2013. Photo by Junfu Han. The Gazette
The Gazette: Darrell Fortner lost his dogs to the Black Forest fire.
On Saturday, he got one back.
A group of soldiers led by Chief Warrant Officer II Brennan Avants from Fort Carson, The American Red Cross and Black Forest Animal Sanctuary joined forces to find a German shepherd to help replace the dogs buried by Denver firefighters who were battling the wildfire.
The Black Forest fire destroyed more than 500 structures and consumed 14,280 acres.
Reminders of the recovery were everywhere Saturday.
Trucks hauling heavy machinery trundled through the intersection of Shoup and Black Forest roads about 2 p.m.
Pickups pulling trailers loaded with branches filled up at the Phillips 66.
At the American Red Cross tent on one corner, a presentation took place when Linda Smith, owner of Vom Dortmunder German Shepherds in Florissant, unloaded the four-legged gift.
The 11-month-old purebred German shepherd named Basil was presented to Fortner.
Fortner hugged Smith, who broke down during the presentation.
"It’s really an honor," Smith said. "I could not imagine losing my dogs like that. They are my family."
After hugging Avants, Fortner said simply: "Look at her. She’s beautiful."
Avants got the idea to help Fortner after he and 13 other soldiers from Fort Carson volunteered to distribute bulk goods to fire survivors from the Red Cross tent.
Fortner was among those who stopped in. He’d lost the dogs, his home and belongings.
"I was already familiar with the story," Avants said. "Darrell ended up being a frequent presence at our site and we wanted to do something for him. We got the idea of getting him a German shepherd to replace his loss and help in his recovery process."
There was a personal element to the mission. Avants’ family has two dogs.
"That plays into the emotional aspect of it," he said. "They are definitely members of the family."
Avants learned about the Black Forest Animal Sanctuary and asked them for help. They found Smith, who was happy to donate Basil.
"It’s a very touching story, it really is," Avants said. "It shows how the Fort Carson and military presence in the area is huge and it’s one of those things where we can help and give back to the community."
Rotweiller Saves Tiny Chiweenie from Coyote
Although taken in 2004 and posted three years ago by YouTube user jdpmep, this remarkable video of the unsuspecting pooch that was clearly a sitting target for the coyote, has gained sudden notoriety.
It could have been a doggie breakfast. But in just 30 seconds, the luck of a tiny Chihuahua-wiener dog, a chiweenie, named Trixxie turned, thanks to the loyalty of a canine friend. While the little black chiweenie was lying in the sun about 7:00 am, a coyote hurled across a field and viciously attacked her.
Video: Badass rottweiler saves a teeny chiweenie from a coyote
The vicious predator mauled the tiny pup for about 10 seconds, and would have already dragged her away if she was not tied up. Things weren’t looking good, until the struggle caught the attention of a neighbor’s dog.
Rottweiler ‘Happy’ can be seen streaking across the screen, from out of nowhere, to rescue the tiny pooch.
Through clouds of dust, Happy can be seen charging at the coyote who drops Trixxie.
As the tiny Chiweenie runs for her life, Happy chases the coyote out of the yard.
From out of nowhere, a Rottweiler races to the rescue of the helpless Chihuahua as it is getting mauled by a vicious coyote
The tables have turned, with the coyote now the one being pursued as the Rottweiler chases him out of the driveway
YouTube user jdpmep posted footage showing the moment a Rottweiler named Happy saved his tiny Chihuahua-wiener dog, Trixxie, from a coyote. jdpmep said his Cheweenie, Trixxie, only received a few punctures and didn’t need a rabies shot, adding that prior to this unusual attack, there had been no coyote sightings in the city.
While Rottweiler’s typically get a bad wrap for being vicious dogs, breeders say they can be loyal and considerate pets when trained.
The Huffington Post reported that this was not the first time a canine received adulation and praise for chasing off a predator. In January, a Maltipoo saved its family’s younger Maltipoo from a coyote attack in California and miraculously survived the confrontation.
Happy was definitely a hero, and Trixxie was lucky, but I’m a little suspect of the fact that this little dog was outside alone yet being filmed as this happened. Seems a bit too convenient and more like she was being used as bait for this YouTuber and questionable pet parent. Am I the only one? Hopefully someone has kept their eye on this poor pup and his owner ever since!! JOMP~
h/t to Mary Ann Feedler
Unusual Pet of the Day… Made Me Smile!
Name: Remy
Age: One year, two months old
Gender: Male
Kind: Huacaya Alpaca
Home: Pennsylvania, USA
Pet of the Day: This is Remy, and his is my Huacaya Alpaca! Remy is the biggest ham you will ever meet. If you call his name he will instantly put his tail in the air (an alpaca sign of submission) and come running over with a toothy "grin". He is a wonderful cuddler and enjoys being trained for show and agility. Being a lover of food, he took right to clicker training and is willing to try just about any new trick to get his treat! After volunteering at the alpaca farm where he was born, I fell in love with his personality and trainability and decided that he would be perfect to add to my family. And he is!
He gets along great with the other alpacas. He is a roommate to another young male at the moment. He is sheeted once a year. Alpacas cannot sweat! So in the spring they must be given their hair cut. He is sporting a show cut, the fiber being left on his face, legs and tail so that it grows in properly for the fall show season. To be shorn they lay them out on the floor and stretch them out so they don’t get hurt. They use clippers like they use for sheep. The fiber is taken to the mill and turned into yarn. Many things are made from it! I have loads of socks and shoe insoles. But there are also scarves, clothing, stuffed animals, jewelry, etc. it is next to cashmere in its softness and quality.
Remy was bred and raised at Cider Press Alpacas. In case you are wondering what "huacaya" means, alpacas come in two types: "huacaya" (like Remy) which have fiber like a teddy bear and "suri" which have fiber more like a angora rabbit. Alpacas also have no teeth on the top front of their mouth! They use the bottom teeth and the hard pallet to cut grass.
You know your are smiling!!
Pet Dads With Their Pets (Furkids)
UCLA Shutterbug – Wyoming Outing
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival
UCLA Schutterbug - Kisses for Schatze
Reddit/orangefever - Just Wrestling
UCLA Shutterbug - Having a PowWow
UCLA Shutterbug - Whole Family is Asleep… Pups 7-Weeks Old
Two-faced kitten
Two-faced kitten - It’s oddly adorable!
Radio Patriot: A rare, two-faced kitten was born in Amity, Ore., on Tuesday. Stephanie Durkee, the owner of both the female kitten and its mother, took the two-faced cat to a vet, who say she’s in good health. (She meows "loudly from both mouths," according to the Guardian.)
Durkee told Portland’s KGW-TV the kitten — named "Deucy" — has been rejected by her mother, so she’s been feeding her warmed kitten formula from a syringe.
"The kids … came in and said, ‘Mom there’s a kitty with two heads,’" Durkee told Portland’s NBC affiliate. "And I said, ‘I think you guys are just tired, you’re crazy, that doesn’t happen.’"
Durkee, who plans to keep Deucy, says the kitten was born at "6:11 a.m. on 6/11 under the ‘Gemini’ astrological sign." Durkee said she "can’t help but wonder at the ‘double’ coincidences surrounding Deucy’s birth."”
Two-faced cats — known as Janus cats, for the two-faced Roman god who also gave us the word "January" — are unusual but not unprecedented.
In 2012, a Port Charlotte, Fla., couple’s cat gave birth to a two-faced male kitten. (They named him Harvey Dent, after the two-face "Batman" character.)
Sadly Harvey died after two days.
Deucy is just the latest of animals born with two faces or heads, a condition known as polycephaly, or having more than one head. Specifically, having two heads is called bicephaly or dicephaly. It is a product of the same genetic malfunction that causes conjoining, or, as in some cases, a parasitic twin.
The condition can also be a product of diprosopus, or craniofacial duplication, where, as the latter name suggests, a genetic disorder causes the parts or all of an animal’s face to be duplicated on the head.
In April a pig was born in China with two two faces, complete with two snouts, the heads meeting at a single eye (giving the pig an odd three-eyed visage).
A two-headed blue shark fetus was discovered in a pregnant shark caught in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, and, in 2011, the first ever two-headed bull shark was pulled out of the Atlantic just off the Florida Keys.
But of all animals, snakes are the most common to produce polycephalic offspring.
It is unclear if there have been any astrological significance placed on the births or their timings, but it is not unusual for people to attach supernatural or superstitious portentous import to such occurrences.
But one has to wonder, if such births are in any way significant as "signs," why there aren’t hundreds of such two-faced animals born in Washington, D. C.
Frank and Louie, the two-faced cat who was born 13 years ago, like the two-faced kitten born in Oregon, has made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest recorded Janus or two-faced cat.
“Janus cats appear to be conjoined twins, but their condition is actually not the result of incomplete separation of two embryos in the womb. It’s triggered by a protein called sonic hedgehog homolog (SHH). Yes, there’s a protein called the sonic hedgehog protein,” reported BuzzFeed in February of 2013 in an article about 13-year-old two-faced cat Frank and Louie.
Like two-faced kitten Deucy, two-faced Frank and Louie was brought into a pet hospital when he was a just one day old. Today, two-faced Frank and Louie is 13 years old and therefore has a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living two-faced cat. Maybe eventually two-faced kitten Deucy will join Frank and Louie in the Guinness Book of Records — the world is rooting for the little two-faced kitten.
Pet owners turning to non-traditional
TownHall: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It’s the age old and seemingly answerless question: What in the world is my dog thinking? And one that has spawned a growing market not only of scientific research but of everything from decks of pet tarot cards to television and radio shows and books by pet psychics and animal trainers.
Whether any one of them can ever provide real answers to what dogs are thinking or what drives their good or bad behavior is a matter of opinion – or belief. But pet owners can spend a lot of time and money trying.
And even if they never find a real solution, people who love their dogs admit they can learn to better connect with their pets, or sometimes just have fun trying.
Andrea Gladstone and David Radis of Encino, California, wanted to know more about what was going on in their rescue dog’s head, so they bought "The Original Dog Tarot: Divine The Canine Mind," a set of 30 cards and guidebook that were developed by Heidi Schulman, a freelance writer and former television news producer who now lives in Santa Fe, N.M.
They spread the deck on the floor, then asked LoLa why she chewed up her puppy training book and the Dog Tarot guide.
The answers, they divined from the three cards she picked – The Cat, the Pack and Justice – was that she was insecure with her place in the new home and wrecked the books to establish her security and see if they held grudges.
Radis said his wife gave him the deck of cards as a gift.
"For me it is more the fun of it than the life lessons to be learned. But I respect the tarot," he said. "I have done one reading for each of my dogs and they were both spot on. I spread the cards out and ask the dog to touch the cards with their nose or paw."
But not everyone consults the latest books for gimmicks or fun. Cathy, an entertainment paralegal in California who asked that her last name not be used, called on pet psychic Jocelyn Kessler, author of the Secret Language of Dogs, to help her communicate with her 11-year-old lab Champ when he fell ill.
Kessler, she said, "communicated with him energetically so that she could not only learn what he needed through his veterinary care, but also to understand whether he wanted us to stop medical treatments."
Through Kessler, Cathy said, she was able to learn that Champ needed fewer injections, and she was able to surround him with his favorite plants in his final days.
There is no real research to show spending on dog mind-reading or behavior-related services, but a report from the American Pet Products Association says Americans spent $53 billion on their pets last year, including nearly $4 billion on services not related to food, supplies or health care. That category, which includes grooming, pet-sitting and pampering, was the fast-growing, increasing 9.7 percent over 2011. And it is forecast to remain the fastest-growing.
And anecdotal evidence indicates pet owners are willing to spend a lot. Kessler, for example, charges about $350 a session and her book has been displayed prominently on coveted airport bookstore shelves.
Another pet psychic, Sonya Fitzpatrick, who used to have a television show on Animal Planet and now hosts a popular call-in radio show on Sirius XM, recently hosted two sold-out $500 a day workshops that promised to help owners deal with everything from dogs that pee on the rug to biting children.
Like Kessler, Fitzpatrick says she has been able to communicate with animals since she was a child.
And like Kessler, she keeps her client list private, but shares stories of being called to help with everything from caged crocodiles to finding lost cats.
Fitzpatrick offers telephone consultations, asking only that the pet owners send pictures.
"The pet can be anywhere. Telepathic communication works no matter where you are," she said.
Albuquerque veterinarian Jeff Nichol, who specializes in behavior work and writes a weekly column for the Albuquerque Journal, says he has seen a noticeable increase in pet owners who have turned to the nontraditional methods since the explosion on Animal Planet and other networks of shows involving pet trainers and other self-proclaimed experts.
He cautions against such services for behavioral or medical issues.
"Often the methods worsen the problem, and the behavior becomes more challenging to turn around," he said.
That it turn, he says, results in more pets going to shelters or other action "that is completely unnecessary if they get this thing properly evaluated."
Neither Kessler nor Fitzpatrick pretends to offer medical care, but both say they can often aid vets by opening communication about what is bothering a pet. And Kessler said she is very careful not to take on cases of, for instance, aggressive biting dogs.
For Schulman, development of the dog tarot was simply "to bring people closer to their animals."
She said she came up with the idea when she was ill, and cooped up in a small apartment with her beloved rescue dog, Bosco, who has since died.
"I noticed he was very tuned into me," she said. "He knew exactly when to leave me alone, when to bother me. We seemed to develop this nonverbal communication and he looked like he wanted to talk…. I thought if he could speak what would he say? I tried with logic. But I couldn’t figure it out logically. So I thought, ‘What if we could just invoke a little magic?"
Related:
‘Dogs Have The Intelligence of a Human Toddler’
Photos From the Frontlines–The Dogs of War
Are Our Pets Spiritual Assignments
Palace Malice Wins Third Leg of Triple Crown
Sports News: NEW YORK — Two Hall of Fame jockeys were just about nose to nose as their horses hit the middle of the final turn of the Belmont Stakes.
Gary Stevens, aboard Preakness winner Oxbow, was going to relinquish the lead to the hard-charging Palace Malice, and he knew it. He glanced over to his right and looked at good friend Mike Smith and told him: "You go on with him, big boy, you’re moving better than me."
Belmont Stakes: Palace Malice upsets the Triple Crown winners. (AP Photo)
Was he ever.
Palace Malice seized the lead with a quarter-mile to go Saturday in the final leg of the Triple Crown and ran off to a 3¼-length victory over Oxbow at Belmont Park, with Kentucky Derby winner Orb another 1¾ lengths back in third.
"Mike rode a superb race," Stevens said. "Midway around the turn, I said, ‘Well maybe.’ But I have ridden long enough to know that he (Oxbow) was going to walk home. To finish second, I am really surprised."
Palace Malice, who came into the race with only one win in seven starts, vindicated trainer Todd Pletcher’s support of the 3-year-old colt despite a 12th place finish in the Derby.
"It’s huge. It’s huge," Pletcher said about his second Belmont win. "We always felt like he had a big one in him. We were just waiting for it to finally develop. I told (owner) Mr. (Cot) Campbell this horse is training unbelievable. I know he’s got a big run, we just need to put it all together."
The Belmont concludes a Triple Crown season in which hopes were high that Orb could break the 35-year drought without a sweep of the classics. In fact, it’s the fourth time in five years each race was won by a different horse.
Palace Malice, who skipped the Preakness, covered the 1½ miles in a slow 2:30.70 on a fast track following a 24-hour downpour. A crowd of 47,562 turned out on a warm, sunny afternoon as Tropical Storm Andrea moved out of the area.
For the second time during this Triple Crown run, Pletcher sent out five horses. He came up short in the Derby five weeks ago, skipped the Preakness and regrouped, and came through at his home track for an owner who has supported him from the start.
"It’s the mother of all great moments, I’ll tell you that," the 85-year old Campbell said. "I’m proud for Dogwood and proud for my partners, and I’m proud of Todd, one of the greatest horse trainers of all time."
Sent off at odds of 13-1, Palace Malice returned $29.60, $11.20 and $6.70. Oxbow, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, returned $9.90 and $6.10, and Orb, the 2-1 favorite trained by Shug McGaughey, paid $3.30.
"He made a good run around the turn, but we had given up so much," McGaughey said about the colt who was still ninth with a half-mile to go and just could not make up the difference. "I don’t think he got tired. He put up a pretty good run to get where he was, and those horses just weren’t coming back."
Incognito was fourth, followed by Revolutionary, the filly Unlimited Budget, Overanalyze, Vyjack, Golden Soul, Will Take Charge, Giant Finish, Midnight Taboo, Freedom Child and Frac Daddy.
Rosie Napravnik, who was aboard Unlimited Budget, became the first female to ride in all three Triple Crown races in the same year. She was trying to become the second female jockey to win a Triple Crown race.
Pletcher’s other Belmont starters were Revolutionary, Unlimited Budget, Overanalyze and Midnight Taboo.
All week, Pletcher expressed optimism that Palace Malice was ready to unleash a big effort. On June 2, the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin put in a blazing 4 furlong workout in 47.40 seconds. Pletcher called it one of the most impressive works he’d ever seen.
And it carried over to the race and gave the nation’s leading trainer his second Belmont win (he won the 2007 Belmont with the filly Rags to Riches) to go with his 2010 Derby win with Super Saver. Smith won his second Belmont, having won aboard Drosselmeyer in 2010.
"The game plan was mapped out, and it really went according to plan," Smith said. "We were laying third on the outside of Oxbow, like we wanted. At the three-eighths, Gary said, ‘Go on, little brother.’ … And we went on it with it, man."
The 14-horse field — the largest since 1996 — got off to an even start.
Frac Daddy and Freedom Child set out for the lead from their inside posts, with Oxbow not far behind. As the field came out of the turn, Oxbow had the lead heading into the long backstretch run. But unlike the Preakness, he had company up front and the pace was a bit quicker. By the time Oxbow reached the far turn, Palace Malice loomed and Orb was beginning to make a run from way back in the pack.
And that’s when Palace Malice took charge. The only question was whether anyone was going to catch him. Unlike the Derby, Orb could not complete a come from behind victory. He couldn’t even reel in the tiring Oxbow.
"It’s been fun. I’ve got no problems with anything, everything’s
fine with me," McGaughey said. "I just wish we would have showed a little better performances in the Preakness and the Belmont."
Save a Life…Adopt Just One More…Pet!
Everyday we read or hear another story about pets and other animals being abandoned in record numbers while at the same time we regularly hear about crazy new rules and laws being passed limiting the amount of pets that people may have, even down to one or two… or worse yet, none.
Nobody is promoting hoarding pets or animals, but at a time when there are more pets and animals of all types being abandoned or being taken to shelters already bursting at the seams, there is nothing crazier than legislating away the ability of willing adoptive families to take in just one more pet!!
Our goal is to raise awareness and help find homes for all pets and animals that need one by helping to match them with loving families and positive situations. Our goal is also to help fight the trend of unfavorable legislation and rules in an attempt to stop unnecessary Euthenization!!
“All over the world, major universities are researching the therapeutic value of pets in our society and the number of hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and mental institutions which are employing full-time pet therapists and animals is increasing daily.” ~ Betty White, American Actress, Animal Activist, and Author of Pet Love
‘Until One Has Loved an Animal, Part of Their Soul Remains Unawakened’
So if you have the room in your home and the love in your heart… Adopt Just One More Pet or consider becoming a Foster parent for pets… Also check out: Little Critter: Just One More Pet
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know(Kindle)
Photos By: Marion Algier – The UCLA Shutterbug
There is always room for Just One More Pet. So if you have room in your home and room in your heart… Adopt Just One More! If you live in an area that promotes unreasonable limitations on pets… fight the good fight and help change the rules and legislation…
Save the Life of Just One More…Animal!
Recent and Seasonal Shots
As I have been fighting Cancer… A battle I am gratefully winning, my furkids have not left my side. They have been a large part of my recovery!! Ask Marion
Photos by the UCLA Shutterbug are protected by copyright, Please email at JustOneMorePet@gmail.com or find us on twitter @JustOneMorePet for permission to duplicate for commerical purposes or to purchase photos.
See Creative Pet Halloween Costumes
If you can adopt or foster just one more pet, you could be saving a life, while adding joy to your own! Our shelters are over-flowing… Please join the fight to make them all ‘NO-Kill’ facilities.
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Great Book for Children and Pet Lovers… And a Perfect Holiday Gift
One More PetEmily loves animals so much that she can’t resist bringing them home. When a local farmer feels under the weather, she is only too eager to “feed the lambs, milk the cows and brush the rams.” The farmer is so grateful for Emily’s help that he gives her a giant egg... Can you guess what happens after that? The rhythmic verse begs to be read aloud, and the lively pictures will delight children as they watch Emily’s collection of pets get bigger and bigger.
Buy Now: A Must Have For Every Pet Owner
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