We posted yesterday about a church in California that now allows dogs to attend services. Would you take your dog to church with you if given the opportunity?
Friday Funny: Size Matters
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Religion for Dogs
Have you ever taken your dog to a church service where a special blessing is offered for pets? What if you could take your dog with you every Sabbath? A church in Los Angeles has recognized that people share an important bond with their dogs and is now opening its doors to dogs and their families every Sunday.
Prayers of Gratitude
Amen!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Toto, the Official State Dog of Kansas?
A new bill is being proposed to designate the Cairn Terrier, the dog breed that played Toto in The Wizard of Oz film, as the official state dog of Kansas.
Rep. Ed Trimmer is proposing a bill to designate the Cairn Terrier as the official dog breed of Kansas at the urging of Kansas native Brenda Moore, chairwoman of the South Central Kansas Kennel Club. Moore feels the designation is important to her state.
There was a previous attempt to designate the Cairn Terrier as state dog in 2006 and although it scored thousands of signatures, no politicians took up the cause.
Let’s click our paws together three times for a new Kansas state dog!
2012 Westminster Show is Right Around the Corner!
Are you getting excited for this year’s Westminster Kennel Club show yet? It starts in less than 2 weeks!
I began writing for the next issue of our bi-weekly newsletter, Straight Poop, today, and realized I’d better get my Westminster preview submitted if I want it published before the show. So, I spent the day researching the invited champions. You’ll have to read the article if you want to know my picks, but what about you? Have you picked out any early favorites? Let us know who you like by commenting below.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Obama Aide Takes Gibe at Romney Over Dog Car Roof Incident
Senior Obama strategist David Axelrod took aim at Mitt Romney over the incident where Romney strapped his dog to the car roof on 12-hour drive.
Axelrod tweeted a photo of Obama riding with Bo in the back of his armored limousine with the caption “How loving owners transport their dogs.” Clearly this was meant as a dig at Romney, and probably a well-deserved one considering the act of cruelty where Romney somehow thought it was a good idea to strap his dog’s kennel, with the dog inside, to the roof of his car for an entire 12-hour drive.
The tweet’s timing coincided with the launch of a Facebook page called ‘Pet Lovers for Obama‘ – where pet owners are encouraged to upload photos of their pets wearing Obama 2012 gear.
You can see the original Axelrod tweet here.
Max, Rescued German Shepherd in Hamilton, OH
If you’re a regular reader, you know I try to meet and take a picture of dogs I meet when I travel. Well, this weekend I was visiting my mom in Hamilton, Ohio, and got to meet Max in the parking lot of the Bob Evans there.
Max’s family told me that their neighbor had moved out & left Max behind, apparently to fend for himself, so they had adopted him. Apparently, they’re taking good care of him, as he has gained 10 pounds since they’ve had him.
Looking good, Max! (And my apologies to your family – I promised them I’d have this posted on Sunday, but life intervened.)
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
New York City K9 Team Gets Technology Boost
Police dogs in New York now have a new gadget in their crime-fighting arsenal: Infrared cameras.
A camera is strapped to the dog’s back with real-time images transmitted to the handler’s wrist-mounted display, allowing the officer to see into dark spaces he wouldn’t be able to get into himself.
A recent training mission had two-year-old Apache, a German Shepherd, tracking a “suspect” (actually a human officer) in the underground subway system. Apache and his fellow trainees are the first group of NYPD dogs to get infrared cameras, which are the same kind the Navy Seals used in the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound last year.
Other new high-tech equipment includes a canine GPS tracking system to help follow dogs on a scent trail, dog collars that emit light, and two custom-built mobile air-conditioned kennel trucks with food storage and rest areas so K9 officers can take a break, have a meal, or escape the summer heat. The trucks can store up to a month of food so they could be used in disaster zones if needed.
Martin Scorsese Star Dog to get Golden Collar Nomination
Blackie the Doberman, canine star of Martin Scorsese-directed movie Hugo, is expected to get a nomination at this year’s Golden Collar Awards thanks to the director’s campaigning efforts.
Blackie was initially snubbed from the nominations, but Scorsese wrote a letter to the LA Times encouraging people to contact the award show’s organizers to request Blackie be added to the nomination list. Scorsese felt that Blackie should have been nominated in the “best dog in a theatrical film” category.
Blackie starred in the Oscar-nominated film Hugo as an attack dog owned by a train station officer. Scorsese suggested that Blackie didn’t originally secure a nomination due to the role she played, pointing out that a cute little Jack Russell Terrier received nominations for two films because the Jack Russell “plays a nice little mascot who does tricks and saves his master’s life in one of the films, while Blackie gives an uncompromising performance as a ferocious guard dog who terrorizes children.”
Dog Daily News, the Golden Collar Awards organizer, agreed to add Blackie to the nomination list if it received 500 write-in nominations via their Facebook page.