25/06/2009 by Arielle.

Five clones of a search and rescue dog which helped locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks were formally presented to their ancestor’s former handler.

James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd named Trakr, who died in April.

Symington was presented with Trakr’s offspring after winning a competition organized by California firm BioArts International — the “Golden Clone Giveaway” — to find the world’s most “cloneworthy” dog.

Symington said he hopes the puppies — Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and Deja Vu — will go on to follow in Trakr’s footsteps.

“We’re here to celebrate that Trakr’s legacy lives on in these five beautiful puppies,” he told reporters. “If they have the same attributes Trakr did, then hopefully they’ll develop into world class search and rescue dogs.”

Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse, commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene.

After working nearly non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last human survivor found in the rubble of the twin towers.

“Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero was the culmination of his career,” Symington said.

BioArts International, which says it offers the world’s first commercial dog cloning service, partnered with South Korea’s SooAm Biotech Research Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.

BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne said canine cloning would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs costing an average 144,000 dollars each.

Hawthorne defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of obtaining new pets from rescue shelters.

“I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters,” he told AFP.

“But can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go to either a breeder or a cloner?”

Hawthorne said Trakr had been chosen for cloning because of his heroics on 9/11. “We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing some truly amazing dogs,” he said. “But Trakr’s story blew us away.”

Symington meanwhile said that one member of his new litter — Trustt — was an exact replica of Trakr.

“The physical similarities are uncanny,” he told AFP. “He’s the spitting image of the Trakr that I first met in 1995. He has exactly the same markings, the way he moves, everything. Very alert, very intelligent and intuitive.

“I respect that cloning’s not for everyone. But there are few dogs that are born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs,” he said.

“I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr’s footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did.”

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15/06/2009 by Arielle.

A week old Cocker Spaniel puppy was accidentally flushed down the toilet by a four year old boy who felt the pup needed a wash.

Frantic attempts to find the flushed puppy began, but all efforts by the fire brigade and the RSPCA at the house in Northolt, Middlesex, failed.

The ‘plumb’ job landed to drain experts Dyno-Rod, who used specialist camera gear to locate the crying pet in a pipe 20 yards away from the Blairs’ home.

Neighbours were warned not to flush their toilets to prevent him from being pushed into the main sewer and an engineer from the firm was called.

Will Craig, 22, from Harrow in Middlesex, said he was initially reluctant to nudge the pup towards a manhole cover, “because I was scared of hurting (him)”.

“But the RSPCA said I was his only hope,” he told the Daily Mirror. “Eventually I pushed him far enough for the firemen to grab.”

Cheering broke out as the pet was plucked out of the manhole to complete the rescue.

The young dog is recovering well after his draining experience and has been named Dyno in tribute to his rescuers.

Distraught Daniel said he was “so, so sorry” about flushing Dyno down the toilet, vowing: ” I won’t do it again”.

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12/05/2009 by Arielle.

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. –Denis Waitely

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12/04/2009 by Arielle.

 An Easter-egg hunt proved to be anything but fun for a sweet-toothed Labrador called Buster.

The five-stone pooch ended up with chocolate poisoning after wolfing down a stash of chocolate eggs which he found hidden away in his owner’s spare room.

Five-year-old Buster had to be taken to animal hospital where he was admitted to intensive care after devouring 12 eggs and their foil wrapping.

Buster’s owner, Brenda Dawes, bought the eggs as Easter treats for her grandchildren.

She said: “When I arrived home one afternoon, Buster came down the stairs, wagging his tail and licking his lips. I knew immediately he’d been up to something.

“He’s a terror and chews everything he gets his paws on - mobile phones, video tapes, the remote control.”

At first, Buster did not appear to be affected by his binge. However, Ms Dawes was woken in the early hours of the morning by the pet’s cries.

“He couldn’t stand up, his back legs just kept buckling underneath him.

“His stomach was swollen and he was obviously in a lot of pain. Panicking, I called PDSA and they told me to bring him straight in.”

Ms Dawes immediately took the dog to animal charity PDSA’s PetAid hospital, near her home in Derby, where he was treated with fluids and kept in for round-the-clock observation.

Buster made a full recovery, but his ordeal has prompted animal welfare officials to issue a pre-Easter warning to anyone who keeps hungry hounds and chocolate under the same roof.

Senior veterinary surgeon Vicky Sims said: “Buster was quite lucky. Creme eggs have a fairly low theobromine content because they’re half fondant.

“Higher quality ‘posh’ chocolates are the most dangerous as they have high concentrated doses of theobromine - which poisons pets.

It seems that greedy Buster has a long way to go before he learns his lesson.

Ms Dawes said: “He’s already tried to eat a bag of crisps and a toilet roll since he’s been home - I’ll have to keep a close eye on him from now on to keep him out of trouble.”

The effects of chocolate poisoning in dogs usually appear within six to twelve hours of ingestion, and can last as long as 72 hours, the PDSA says.

Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal tenderness, restlessness and increased heart and breathing rate.

In severe cases there may be fits, heart beat irregularities or coma.

If dogs ingest a large quantity of chocolate and are left untreated, the poisoning can prove to be fatal.

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24/02/2009 by Arielle.

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08/11/2008 by Arielle.

Jem is a gorgeous Blue Merle Border Collie. She was a rescue dog and being a typical intelligent Border Collie, she has a slightly nervous disposition.

Her owner knows of her fear of fireworks and managed to get very organised for this season (with bonfire night on a Wednesday this year, we seem to have more fireworks then ever) and she purchased a ‘Sounds Scary’ cd months ago. Jem was made to listen to fireworks on the cd to completely desensitise her. Her owner  said it worked so well and eventually Jem was just sleeping peacefully through the cd.

Jem came in today as she had signs of a bladder infection or cystitis. She was too scared to go out and wee in the garden last thing at night as she usually did and was not going at all. This led to the urine sitting in her bladder for far longer than normal and the bacteria then multiplying happily.

I tried very hard to collect a urine sample from Jem. I took her for a walk round the back where so many dogs wee but being a typical Collie, she just wanted to look for her owner  and did not sniff the ground at all. We knew she had not emptied her bladder since 3 that morning. We did have some success just as they were leaving - she weed by the reception desk and I was finally able to test her urine.

Jem did have to be treated for a cystitis, but the cause was fireworks!

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15/10/2008 by Arielle.

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02/09/2008 by Arielle.

While we were away last month, my husband had to attend the funeral of an admirable and very brave young man. He was a soldier and dog handler who was killed in Afghanistan along with his explosives sniffer dog Sasha (as both seen in the picture).

My husband spoke little about the funeral except to say that this brave young man Lance Corporal Rowe; had said that one day for his funeral, he wouldn’t like traditional English hymns but rather rock songs (It’s My Life) played. My husband found this the most moving as it made you realise just how young these soldiers are.

I have every respect for this young man and his loyal happy companion Sasha - a golden Labrador. The Military Working Dog Support Unit wrote a poem entitled In Memory of Sasha which I thought I would share with you:

My dog is more than my partner you see,

Because she is a very good friend to me.

She’s the nose I don’t have, the eyes I have not,

She’s one of the best partners most soldiers ain’t got.

Day by day we do what we do best,

Her four paws never seem to rest

She always does whatever I ask,

Seeming to enjoy every task.

I know one day her work will be done,

But for now we can only have fun.

For my dog is more than a partner to me,

My dog is my best friend and she always will be.

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02/07/2008 by Arielle.

This has nothing to do with pet sitting or with animals but a friend (who was my old biology teacher many years ago and now lives in Australia) sent it to me. Thought I’d share it with you all.

Hot Chocolate

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
And enjoy your hot chocolate!!

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07/05/2008 by Arielle.

We so often see albino small pets (especially rats and guinea pigs), but I had to share this picture with you that I have received from a friend in New Zealand - how beautiful he is - like a giant snowball!

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