A tribute to dogs

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Pheasy
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Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2007 9:56 am

A tribute to dogs

Post by Pheasy »

With all the bad press dogs are getting lately, specially the larger breeds, it would be nice to remember the wonderful work that some do. The guide dogs, rescue dogs etc. dedicating their lives to helping others. Dogs are amazing. The wonderful work they do, weather it be a loving family pet, a companion or a dedicated working dog.

:-4:-4

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_ ... 9009.story
littlemissgiggle
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A tribute to dogs

Post by littlemissgiggle »

I agree I think we need to give dogs the good names back,

:-4
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Carolly
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A tribute to dogs

Post by Carolly »

The one absolutely unselfish friend that

a man can have in this selfish world,

the one that never deserts him,

the one that never proves ungrateful

or treacherous, is his dog.

A man's dog stands by him in prosperity

and in poverty,

in health and in sickness.

He will sleep on the cold ground where

the wintery winds blow,

and the snow drives fiercely,

if only he may be near his master's

side. He will kiss the hand that has no

food to offer, he will lick the sores

and wounds that come in encounter with

the roughness of the world. He guards

the sleep of his Pauper master as if he

were a prince.

When all other friends desert,

he remains.

When riches take wings and reputation

falls to pieces, he is as constant in

his love as the sun in it's journey

through the heavens.

If misfortune drives the master forth

an outcast in the world, friendless

and homeless, the faithful dog asks

no higher privilege than that of

accompanying him to guard against

danger, to fight against his enemies.

And when the last scene of all comes,

and death takes the master in it's

embrace, and his body is laid away in

the cold ground, no matter if all other

friends pursue their way, there by the

graveside will the noble dog be found,

his head between his paws, his eyes sad,

but open in alert watchfulness,

faithful and true, even in death.
Women are bitchy and predictable ...men are not and that's the key to knowing the truth.
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mrsK
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A tribute to dogs

Post by mrsK »

NO CHARGE FOR LOVE

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.

He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups.

And set about nailing it to a post on the

edge of his yard. As he was driving the

last nail into the post,he felt a tug on

his overalls. He looked down into the

eyes of a little boy. "Mister," he said,

"I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the

sweat of the back of ! his neck,

"These puppies come from fine parents and

cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment.

Then reaching deep into his pocket,

he pulled out a handful of change and held

it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine

cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer, and with that he

let out a whistle. Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran

Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the

chain link fence. His eyes danced with

delight. As the dogs made their way to the

fence,the little boy noticed something else

stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another

little ball appeared, this one noticeably

smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a

somewhat awkward manner, the little pup

began hobbling toward the others,doing its

best to catch up.... "I want that one,"

the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and

said, "Son, you don't want that puppy.

He will never be able to run and play with

you like these other dogs would. " With that

the little boy stepped back from the fence,

reached down, and began rolling up one leg

f his trousers. In doing so he revealed a

steel brace running down both sides

of his leg attaching itself to a specially

made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer,

he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well

myself, and he will need someone who

understands. " With tears in his eyes,

the farmer reached down and picked

up the little pup. Holding it carefully

he handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy.

"No charge," answered the farmer,

"There's no charge for love."



--- Author Unknown ---
It's nice to be important,but more important to be nice.
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Pheasy
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A tribute to dogs

Post by Pheasy »

Imagine being a dog .... I look at mine. :-4

I love you without question. Whatever happens I will always be by your side, never questioning you, nor questioning your treatment of me. You are my life, I trust you with everything - my life and my death. I dedicate my life to you, and protecting you in the best way I know how. You might not like the way I do this, but it is all I know.

The recent news item about the rottie that so called ripped his owner apart comes to mind. I didn't ask to be in your pack. But I am, and I love in the only way I know how. :-4:-4
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mrsK
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A tribute to dogs

Post by mrsK »

After reading your post I went out & brought the dogs a bone each from the butcher.

Now they are happily munching away,they look like they are smiling:-4:-4
It's nice to be important,but more important to be nice.
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Accountable
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A tribute to dogs

Post by Accountable »

Super dog saves another


Tokyo - Japanese police on Thursday heaped praise on a Labrador retriever who found an elderly man who fell over in freezing conditions at night, the second time the dog was credited with saving a life.



The three-year-old black Lab, named Dor, suddenly started barking when she was taking a walk with her owner, Koichi Wada, in the western city of Iwade one evening last month, a police officer said.



"The dog led Mr Wada to a nearby irrigation ditch, where an elderly man was lying face up," the officer said.



The ditch was a metre deep and the 86-year-old man had been soaked in water up to his ears.



"Since it was cold and already dark, the man would have been frozen to death if she had not smelled something and told it to her owner," he said.



The elderly man soon had even more luck. Wada stopped a passing car and found that a doctor was behind the wheel.



The doctor drove the man to his clinic, where he was treated for minor wounds in the head and hands.



Iwade police on Wednesday gave a certificate of gratitude to Wada for saving the man's life.



"The certificate went to the owner as there is no precedent for a dog getting a certificate," the officer said.



It wasn't the first time that 'Dor saved a human life, according to police.

She started barking at a car parked under a bridge last year, prompting Wada to check on it. Wada called police, who brought to safety a middle-aged man who was about to commit suicide.

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Accountable
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A tribute to dogs

Post by Accountable »

ALBANY — As she prepares for her son and his faithful working dog, Lex, to be honored today at a ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Rachel Lee said this:

"Dustin and Lex represent the military. Dustin is no better than anybody else. Lex is no better than any other dog. They are just a symbol of every other guy and every other dog. It’s just patriotism. It’s just the love."



Marine Corps Working Dog Lex survived the March 21, 2007 rocket attack in Iraq that killed his 20-year-old handler, Cpl. Dustin Lee. The following December, after months of petitioning, Rachel and Jerome Lee were allowed to adopt Lex, in a ceremony at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany where their son and his dog were stationed.



The former explosives- detecting and patrol dog has adjusted well to life with the Lees, including Dustin’s younger brother and sister, who take the German Shepherd out every afternoon to exercise.



"His spirit has lifted us up, and it’s like he has been a part of the family his whole life," said Rachel Lee.



Lex’s new life is different from his military career — he stays in the house and often sleeps in a bed with one of the Lees.



But when it’s time to play, or go to what they call "Dustin’s Place," Lex is ready, she said.



"We have to give him his time and his exercise. He still does his basic commands very well," she said.



Sometimes, at rest or at play, the Lees are reminded of Lex’s military career, she said.



"He wakes up at night, and I know he’s having nightmares," Lee said. "He’s barked out. He shakes; he’ll growl or moan. I’ll put my hand on him and he’ll be tense. I’ll rub him down and he’ll relax."



Lex has presented no problems for what Lee has called "a dog family," that already included Doenja, a retired Belgian Malinois who was Dustin Lee’s first partner.



Doenja was retired from service for medical reasons, while the Marine Corps granted Lex an early retirement so he could be adopted by the Lees.



Though Lex was injured and spent several months in rehabilitation at Camp LeJeune, N.C., he could have returned to work, though not the work he knew in a war zone.



"He was really able to ride around and follow commands, but as far as doing a tremendous job, an awesome job as a explosives dog or a patrol dog, I don’t think he could have given it his all anymore," Lee said.



"It’s like if you were walking around with steel in your back," she said. "You never know if you’re going to be paralyzed the next day or not."



Lex’s bond with her son has lasted through her son’s death and burial at a cemetery near their home.



"When we go to ‘Dustin’s Place,’ he knows," Lee said. "His demeanor changes. When we go over there, his goes straight to where Dustin is placed and he lays down on what would be Dustin’s left side."



At her son’s left would be where Lex attended his military handler, she said.

"Once he’s there, he doesn’t move until I say ‘let’s go home,’ and Lex will get up and he’ll go home," Lee said.



In Lex, her oldest son’s companion, "I can visualize Dustin’s spirit. It just totally amazes me."



Since the family adopted Lex, it has seen another adjustment, Jerome Lee’s deployment with the Mississippi Air National Guard.



Deployed to an air base at Curacao in the Caribbean, not to Iraq as the Herald previously reported, Jerome Lee won’t return until May or June, she said.



While the response to Lex’s adoption has been extremely positive, the family received its first piece of hate mail just a couple of weeks ago, from an Albany individual who was critical of Lex’s being taken out of service.



The gist of the signed letter was "they had two family members in (the military). and Lex could have saved their lives. We took Lex away from saving other people," Lee said. While family was upset, the critic "didn’t know everything they needed to know. If they would have known a lot more, he or she wouldn’t have written that letter," Lee said.



Since he returned to their Mississippi home with the Lees, Lex has visited the National Guard base in nearby Meridian and a nursing home, where he delighted elderly patients, including several retired veterans, she said.



"All the phone calls that we have gotten, from World War II veterans, Vietnam veterans, say, ‘Hey, we are proud to be American and we support our veterans and we stand behind you,’" she said.



"That’s the biggest love I got out of it. My family is so proud to be American. It’s just unreal, the patriotism that has been shown," Lee said.



Today, Dustin Lee, three other military dog handlers and three working dogs, all of whom were killed in the line of duty, plus Lex will be honored at a ceremony at Air Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.



Lex visited the groomer Thursday, Lee said, in preparation for the ceremony, where he will be presented with a commemorative Purple Heart medal, for injuries sustained in the line of duty.



"For the handlers and the dogs to be honored, it’s a step in the right direction," she said. "These guys and these dogs that are handling them, they are doing a tremendous job."



To be honored is Marine Corps Military Dog Handler Sgt. Adam Cann, who on Jan. 5, 2006 became the first handler killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.



Working Dog demonstration teams will perform at the ceremony, and Vietnam veteran dog handler John C. Burnham will speak.
Victoria
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A tribute to dogs

Post by Victoria »

I cant even begin to tell you of the things that my dogs have done for me and my family over the years, Saved me from muggers, warned me when a plug started to overheat, stopped a break-in at my home.

But its just the day-in day-out, never failing love and devotion that makes them special to me.:-4



My daughter now has her own house and told me this week that its the not people she misses but being greeted by a tail wagging when she gets home, its the 'someone' to go for a walk with, the small warm body next to her on the couch while she watches TV.. and so she has applied to adopt a dog from a rescue charity.

She has chosen Lexy a small cross breed who was thrown from a car on the motorway, luckily her injuries were not too bad.

Remember the Good that dogs do far outweigh the bad
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