Search Results for: blog pets for patriots

Dressing Up Pets

With my favorite holiday Halloween coming up soon, costumes are on the mind. We have to help the kids get theirs ready, and maybe some of us still dress up ourselves (I certainly do). But what about buying or creating costumes for our pets? I’m curious what you guys think about dressing pets up in costumes. For the past few years I’ve managed to come up with partnered costume ideas for my husband and I (which is a feat, because he won’t wear many types of costumes) to wear to our friends’ annual Halloween party. We usually stay for the … Continue reading →

Pets for Patriots

I’ve made no secret how devoted I am to helping the cause of animal shelters. I only adopt pets from shelters, and I’m active in my local rescue. Not only do I want to promote support of shelters and rescues, I want to put a focus on unique rescues meant to serve a specific need. In this case, to celebrate its recent Texas debut, I want to draw attention to the animal nonprofit Pets for Patriots. Pets for Patriots, according to its recent release on free press release site PR*Urgent, is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing the love and affection … Continue reading →

Military Dogs to be Honored with National Monument

Military service dogs make a unique and valuable contribution to the units to which they’re assigned. Now, Yahoo News reports, they’re getting their own national monument in honor of their service. The United States Working Dog Teams National Monument is meant to commemorate and honor every military dog that’s served since World War II (so pups like Sergeant Stubby get nothing? Military dogs might not have been very common until World War II, but canines have had a place in our combat since the Seminole Wars). It won’t stand on the National Mall in DC, or in the capital at … Continue reading →

Service Dogs for Veterans

Training future service dogs Last month my mom sent me an interesting article from Smithsonian Magazine that she thought would make a good topic for the Pets blog (thanks Mom!) It was about the growing movement to provide service dogs to combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. I’ve written before about two topics very close to this one: rescue organizations dedicated to providing dogs to veterans, and military dogs developing PTSD. Now the two are combined. The dogs provided by Pets for Patriots aren’t necessarily service dogs, though they do deliver a wonderful service for veterans. In this case, more … Continue reading →

Sergeant Stubby: World War I Hero

When reading a list of top all-American dog breeds (breeds that were specifically cultivated in America), I happened across the story of a war hero: Sergeant Stubby, the American Staffordshire Bull Terrier. In a time when pit bulls hold a mostly negative image in our country, I think it’s good to look back at story that shows how wonderful they can actually be. Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated dog of World War I and the only military dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. It’s no surprise that dogs were taken into war zones then; we still do … Continue reading →

Military Dogs Developing PTSD

As all human American troops leave Iraq, one special group continues to deploy: K-9 units. These dogs have a special role in the country, as their noses have proven more effective at finding bombs than any technology employed. The New York Times profiles these military canines. Iraq doesn’t use sniffer dogs nearly as much as the United States, and so far they’re only used for bomb-sniffing, not to locate mines or cadavers or other common jobs for military/law enforcement dogs. Of the 310 American sniffer dogs now currently deployed in Iraq 8 are trained to find narcotics, but the rest … Continue reading →

Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays

Here we are in that ephemeral week between Christmas and New Year’s. Even for those who have to return to work, this week often feels like a strange period of not-normalcy, a time that’s just one step behind ordinary life. Owning to this, then, I don’t feel like I’m entirely behind the times in continuing to blog about holiday–related stories. After all, the Twelve Days of Christmas extend into January. And when it’s a story about saving shelter pets, well, of course I’m going to share. If someone came up to me on the street and asked me how I … Continue reading →

Alternatives to Traditional Veterinary Surgery

Real old school veterinary medicine Deciding what to do for pets that have serious medical problems is often difficult. Surgeries we wouldn’t think for a moment about getting for human family members often give us pause when they’re for our furry companions. If we don’t have pet insurance, sometimes these procedures can be too costly. They also come with a health cost to our pets. Maybe we don’t mind spending the money, but the surgery is riskier on our animals’ fragile bodies than it would be on ours. I know I dread the day I might have to make such … Continue reading →

Police Dogs in Danger

I love watching working animals. As hard as it might be for me to remain professional around a seeing-eye dog, for example, who shouldn’t be petted while it works, I love to observe the first-hand proof of the deep bond that can exist between humans and animals. Pets are such multi-faceted friends and family members, keeping us company and aiding us in real ways as we go through life. That’s why I’m so horrified to read a story on Yahoo! News about the New Orleans Police Department closing their K-9 unit. The dogs didn’t do anything wrong. It was their … Continue reading →

Can Dogs Be Pessimists?

Does my droopy body language mean I’m a pessimist? You know the phrase “are you a glass half empty or a glass half full person?” It’s used to determine whether or not you generally have a positive or negative outlook on life. Well, now one researcher at a pet behavior center in Scotland believes that we can apply the same concept to dogs. Companion animal behaviorist Viv Silverstein from the Pet Behaviour Centre in Cambuslang, Scotland, tells the U.K.’s Daily Record that paying attention to your dog’s body language can actually reveal whether or not it’s a pessimist or an … Continue reading →