Safety Tips for the Dog Days, Seeing With Their Noses, Saul Pulls a Lassie, and More!
This Palm Springs Pomeranian mix was rescued from a hot car on a sweltering 102° day. photo: News Channel 3
Don’t Leave Me This Way: Car Safety for the Dog Days
With August temperatures bearing down, now’s the time to remember to never ever leave a dog, cat, or other animal in a hot car. Not only is it inhumane, but under California Penal Code 597.7, it can earn you fines and possible jail time.
One Golden State dog owner recently learned this lesson the hard way when she was arrested after leaving her Pomeranian mix in a hot truck for at least 45 minutes in Palm Desert, where the outside temp was 102° at the time. Luckily, a Good Samaritan was able to get the dog out by smashing the vehicle’s window before Animal Services arrived. The small black dog, whose own temperature measured 104.9 at the scene, was rushed to a veterinary hospital and survived. The owner was released but may still face a misdemeanor conviction and jail time – and that’s after paying over $1,000 in vet bills.
But what if you see a dog in a hot car? According to AnimalLaw.com, in California it’s legal to break a vehicle window to save an animal that appears to be in imminent danger, as long as you act in good faith and adhere to the following steps:
You determine the vehicle is locked and that there is no other reasonable way to remove the animal from the vehicle.
You believe forcible entry is necessary because the animal is in imminent danger if it is not immediately removed from the vehicle, and the belief is a reasonable one, based on the circumstances known to you at the time.
You have contacted a local law enforcement agency, fire department, animal control, or the 911 emergency number before forcibly entering the vehicle.
You remain with the animal in a safe location, out of the elements but reasonably close to the vehicle, until a peace officer, humane officer, animal control officer, or another emergency responder arrives.
You use no more force to enter the vehicle and remove the animal than necessary under the circumstances.
You immediately turn the animal over to a representative from law enforcement, animal control, or another emergency responder who responds to the scene.
Finally, be sure to know the signs of overheating for pets in any situation, whether in or out of a car. Symptoms may include excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart or respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness, stupor, collapse, seizures, bloody diarrhea, or vomiting. If you think your animal is overheating, cool him immediately (with shade, AC, ice packs, etc.), provide water, and call your vet.
Source: kesq.com
photo: Getty Images
Dog-Friendly Veggies: A Summer Refresher Course
With the sultry dog days upon us, many are digging into cool salads for dinner rather than switching on the stove. But should you let your pup help you clean that veggie-laden plate? Here’s a quick list of dos and don’ts from the American Kennel Club.
Dog-friendly vegetables:
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Carrots
Celery
Peas
Spinach
Dog-toxic vegetables:
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Onions
Of course, to be extra safe, the Bay Woof office dogs think you should skip all that green stuff and just open the nearest package of nice cold salami. Summer dinner solved!
Source: usatoday.com
Dogs’ olfactory systems are vaster than we knew, a new brain scanning study of pooches shows. photo: Getty Images
Seeing With Their Noses: New Research Links Sight and Smell in Dogs
Everyone knows dogs are outstanding sniffers. Now a new study helps us understand why.
Researchers from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine have identified a neural pathway in dogs’ brains that connects the olfactory bulb directly to the area of the dog brain that handles vision. Many people have theorized this connection existed based on dogs’ behaviors, but the Cornell study is the first to prove it.
Researchers built a brain map using MRI scans from 20 mixed-breed dogs and three Beagles, then identified tracts of white matter fibers that carry signals between regions of the brain. A method called diffusion tensor imaging revealed the underlying tracts, which lead researcher Pip Johnson likens to the brain’s road network.
The newfound pathway between smell and sight suggests that the two are intricately linked in dogs, and may be why dogs can use smell to compensate when their eyesight fails. After all, says Johnson, “Blind dogs can still play fetch.”
Source: sciencenews.org
Near Tahoe National Forest in California, a black Border Collie led the Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue to a man who had fallen 70 feet off a ridge. photo: Nevada County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
This Way, Guys!
Saul Pulls a Lassie
A black Border Collie named Saul recently channeled his inner Lassie, leading rescuers to his injured owner who had fallen 70 feet from a ridge in California’s Tahoe National Forest. The man, whose name was not released, managed to crawl to his campsite and call 911, but the area was inaccessible by vehicles, prompting a massive foot search.
About seven hours later, volunteers with the local sheriff’s office ran across Saul in the forest. The dog was leaping, spinning in circles, running ahead, and looking back at the rescue group. “Hey, I think this dog is trying to lead us somewhere,” a volunteer said by radio. “So we’re going to follow him.”
Roughly 200 yards in, Saul brought the group to his downed human, who was suffering from a broken hip and ribs but miraculously alive.
After being airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, the man was soon reunited with his very good boy. But not before the sheriff’s office rewarded Saul with pats, praise, and a yummy beef jerky stick.
Source: nytimes.com
A young girl pets a comfort dog at a vigil in Uvalde, Texas. photo: Getty Images
When Will It End?
Comfort Dogs Deployed to More Mass Shootings
In the wake of the recent horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, comfort dogs were quickly dispatched to provide badly needed canine therapy to that grief-stricken community. Responders included Crisis Response Canines, which sent six teams of certified dogs and handlers from as far away as New Jersey, Ohio, and Florida. The group has provided support in more than a dozen mass shootings, including incidents at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and the Tops supermarket in Buffalo.
Also on the job in Uvalde were 13 Golden Retrievers from the Lutheran Church Charities K9 Comfort Dog Ministry, who deployed again just weeks later to the July Fourth parade massacre in Highland Park, Illinois. “We just let them see and pet the dogs. We don’t do a lot of talking. We stand with them in their grief. People are very grateful that we’re here,” says Bonnie Fear, LLC’s K-9 crisis response coordinator. Like the CRC group, LLC dogs have been on the scene following numerous mass shootings including those in Newtown, Orlando, Las Vegas, and El Paso. The group currently has 130 dogs in 27 states standing ready for the next crisis.
Sadly, there seems to be no end to the work for these pups, unless and until the humans in charge find the courage to enact serious, common-sense gun reforms that polls show are supported by the majority of Americans. Valiant as they are, we’d like nothing more than to see these canine heroes happily retired in a safer, saner world.