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Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp was never much of a dog person until his wife brought home an energetic goldendoodle named Daisy about a year and a half ago. Since then, the robotics researcher's work has literally gone to the dogs. Inside Kemp's Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, he and co-workers are developing a robot dog they say could someday perform the same functions as the service dogs that are vital to many physically disabled people. At a skinny 5 feet 7 inches, with wheels instead of paws, their robodog named El-E (pronounced "Ellie") doesn't look anything like a real dog. But El-E can open doors and cabinets, fetch dropped objects and do other service dog functions -- all without ever needing to eat or relieve itself. Ultimately, Kemp and co-researchers plan to train El-E to do things not even highly skilled service dogs can do, such as dial a cellphone for help or relay information about its companion's condition to a doctor.

RACINE, Wis. (AP) -- A Maltese dog named Max is headed home to Florida after he was spotted in Chicago - 1,000 miles from where he vanished. Richard Gonzalez had reported a pet theft after Max disappeared several months ago from his daughter's yard in Brandon, Fla. Gonzalez says he thought that Max would never get far. But the pooch was identified in Chicago by an implanted microchip. Gonzalez contacted the Northcentral Maltese Rescue to retrieve Max. Rescue director Mary Palmer had the dog taken to Racine, Wis., and he will be flown Saturday to Florida. Gonzalez says he has no idea how his dog got so far away. He says he was so thrilled about the find that he almost asked Palmer to put Max on the phone. --- Information from: The Journal Times, http://www.journaltimes.com

Dogs are the only animals that can read emotion in faces much like humans, cementing their position as man's best friend, claim scientists. Dogs have a sense of right and wrong Dogs 'may be able to read their owner's minds' Dogs display aspects of human intelligence Research findings suggest that, like an understanding best friend, they can see at a glance if w e are happy, sad, pleased or angry. When humans look at a new face their eyes tend to wander left, falling on the right hand side of the person's face first. This "left gaze bias" only occurs when we encounter faces and does not apply any other time, such as when inspecting animals or inanimate objects. A possible reason for the tendency is that the right side of the human face is better at expressing emotional state. Researchers at the University of Lincoln have now shown that pet dogs also exhibit "left gaze bias", but only when looking at human faces. No other animal has been known to d

When his chief told him there was no money for a new narcotics dog, Polk County Sheriff's Deputy John Maney went to the pound, adopted and trained a dog himself. Maney, who has previously worked as a handler for five canines, turned down several dogs. He focused on ones that showed alertness, lack of fear and an eagerness to learn. He adopted an eleven-month-old black lab mix in March and named him Rezadu. They trained in abandoned phosphate mine property and open fields for 12 weeks, detecting illegal narcotics. Rezadu did so well that he was nationally certified in August.

This puppy may be able to take on this kitty now, but in two years, this cat will dominate!

Service dog turned away from local hotel Indianapolis - A woman says a local hotel told her that her service dog in training is not welcome to stay there. Colin Zinn says she's been staying at InTown Suites at 86th and Michigan while her house is being renovated. Zinn also helps train service dogs and a new dog, Lady, has just arrived from Oregon. "This dog could allow somebody to work when they might not be able to work, or be in public where they might not be able to be in public, or function in a way that they normally would not be able to function," said Zinn. But Lady's training is at a stand-still. Zinn said she went to the hotel manager to tell him Lady would be staying with her. She says she was told Lady was not welcome. "He said upper management says no service dogs in training are allowed. No pets. And I explained it was not a pet, this is a service dog in training and he still said no," said Zinn. "I never expected there to be a problem with

A dog has risked its life to protect four kittens trapped in a house fire in Melbourne, Australia. Firefighters found Leo guarding the kittens which were in a cardboard box in one of the bedrooms. When the fire broke out inside the house, the family of four plus their other dog managed to escape. However Leo paid the price for his bravery. He succumbed to the smoke and heat. Firefighters rushed the dog to safety and revived the unconscious Leo with a heart massage and oxygen. Link to video

13 Golf Balls Found Inside Dog Owner Chris Morrison had been taking five-year-old black labrador Oscar, round the Pitreavie golf course in Dunfermline for few months. He took Oscar to the vet after he heard a rattling sound coming from his pet’s stomach. After oversight they discovered 13 balls - each weighing 45 grams - lodged in his stomach. Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in his stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing. He said: “He finds golf balls like truffles. We’re not sure how long exactly this happened over, but it must have been a fair period - several months at least. “I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around. “He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many. “The vet hadn’t seen anything like it, it was bizarre. “He is a black lab so he is a fair size, but to swallow 13 is quite amazing.” The balls were removed two weeks ago in a successful hour-long operation. Oscar is now on the road

Calif. woman allegedly abducts dog over barking HEMET, Calif. (AP) -- An officer at a San Diego County correctional facility who had complained about the barking of her neighbor's dog was arrested after being accused of stealing the animal and abandoning it some 15 miles away. Diane M. Brown, 42, was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of stolen property, Hemet police Sgt. Kevin Caskey said. She was booked Thursday and released on $5,000 bond. Brown had filed multiple noise complaints about Spike - a white Maltese - who lives next door to her Hemet home, Riverside County Animal Services officials said. On Monday, Spike went missing, but Brown was spotted unloading the dog from the trunk of her car outside a water district building in the town of Beaumont, Animal Services Sgt. Lesley Huennekens said. A surveillance camera captured Brown when she returned to the scene to remove to dog's collar. Two water district employees took Spike to a veterinarian, who located the dog&

Police: Man urinates on dog after owner spurns sex MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) -- A 36-year-old man took revenge on his roommate after she refused to have sex with him by allegedly urinating on her dog, police said. Police said the man was arrested early Thursday morning on tentative charges of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct related to domestic violence. According to police reports, the man was drunk when he argued with the woman. After she resisted his advances the man went to the basement where he urinated on her dog and the floor. Police said the argument continued, and when the woman's sister stood up in defense the man pushed her into a wall. He then allegedly stormed from the home and punched out a window.

Sarah Palin: Ignorant and anti-science Posted on: October 24, 2008 10:17 PM, by PZ Myers This is too much. Sarah Palin gave a policy speech today in which she claimed that she wanted more support for children with disabilities, more tools to test for disorders, and while also decrying the expense of scientific research. Where does a lot of that earmark money end up anyway? […] You've heard about some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not. I am appalled. This idiot woman, this blind, shortsighted ignoramus, this pretentious clod, mocks basic research and the international research community. You damn well better believe that there is research going on in animal models — what does she expect, that scientists should mutagenize human mothers and chop up baby brains

Wassup 2008

Leukaemia drug can halt, reverse MS Thu Oct 23, 5:26 am ET LONDON (AFP) – Researchers at the University of Cambridge said Thursday they have found that a drug originally developed to treat leukaemia can halt and even reverse the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis (MS). In trials, alemtuzumab reduced the number of attacks in sufferers and also helped them recover lost functions, apparently allowing damaged brain tissue to repair so that individuals were less disabled than at the start of the study. "The ability of an MS drug to promote brain repair is unprecedented," said Dr Alasdair Coles, a lecturer at Cambridge university's department of clinical neurosciences, who coordinated many aspects of the study. "We are witnessing a drug which, if given early enough, might effectively stop the advancement of the disease and also restore lost function by promoting repair of the damaged brain tissue." The MS Society, Britain's largest support charity for thos

Well folks, it's time to simmer down. Without going into any detail so as to retain Bobby's well-deserved privacy, suffice it to say that the saga ends here. Over the last week or so, I've been "talking" (internet-wise) to Bobby. I now know the entire story behind Fake Service Dog Gate and it is completely a non-issue that was borne from an off-hand conversation Bobby had with Rosie O'Donnell. It was that conversation that elicited Rosie's comment on HSN. Bobby did NOT try to sneak his dog onto a flight (recent or otherwise) by lying that it was a Service Dog. Bobby has NEVER claimed his dog was a Service Dog. Not only did Bobby explain the whole story, he provided me with definitive proof: the receipt he received after purchasing an extra airline seat for his dog. So it all needs to stop. I do fault myself for going off the deep-end with this story. I realize now that I was being overly sensitive due to my own personal experiences with coming into contact

NEW YORK (AP) -- Monkeys taught to play a computer game were able to overcome wrist paralysis with an experimental device that might lead to new treatments for patients with stroke and spinal cord injury. Remarkably, the monkeys regained use of paralyzed muscles by learning to control the activity of just a single brain cell. The result is "an important step forward," said Dawn Taylor of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, who studies the concept of using brain signals to overcome paralysis. She wasn't involved in the new work. The device monitored the activity of a brain cell and used that as a cue to stimulate wrist muscles electrically. Researchers found it could even use brain cells that normally had nothing to do with wrist movement, said study co-author Chet Moritz. So a large untapped pool of brain cells may be available for letting paralyzed people do things like grasping a coffee cup or brushing teeth, Moritz said. But he stressed the approach is years,

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"Drug-smuggling grandmother jailed A grandmother who smuggled cocaine worth £1m in her mobility vehicle has been jailed for 13 years. Ambrozine Heron, 77, and her daughter Paulette Chambers, 49, both of Smethwick, West Midlands, were arrested at the port of Dover in March. The court heard 16kg (35lb) of cocaine was found hidden in Heron's specially-adapted Nissan Pathfinder. Heron was found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court while Chambers admitted her role and was jailed for 14 years. The court heard Heron, who has a range of illnesses including diabetes, asthma and hypertension, was a "willing participant" in the smuggling operation. 'Visiting relatives' Sentencing her, Judge Adele Williams said: "I have no doubt that your role in the car was to add some respectability to the journey in respect of your age and your ill-health." But she added: "The vehicle in which you were travelling was the mobility vehicle which you, Ambrozine Heron, were ent

Great article from blog " Service Dogs: A Way of Life " Everyday in the service dog community there are discussions of what to do about people who do not have disabilities passing their pets off as Service Dogs. Furthermore, just because a person happens to have a dog, does not automatically make the animal a service dog [See my previous post What is a Service Dog ]. The combination of the presence of a disability, the fact that a dog can be trained to mitigate the effects of that disability, and the facts the animal has been individually trained to performs tasks that mitigate that disability are the key elements to defining whether or not a person and animal comprise a working service dog and are protected under the ADA. People buying service dog gear and passing off themselves and their pets as service animals are not only possibly committing federal fraud, they may also be breaking state and local laws. The definition of fraud according to Free Dictionary.com is : fraud n

Original source There was a moment in last night’s debate that sent a cold shiver down my spine. That moment was when moderator Gwen Ifill asked Sarah Palin whether she agreed with Dick Cheney’s rather extraordinary claim that the Vice President’s office is outside of the Executive Branch (truthfully, Cheney argued that it was outside the Legislative branch too , apparently occupying some nebulous and untouchable fourth branch of government). Wouldn’t you know? That pitbull with lipstick agrees with Cheney. Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president’s agenda in that position. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we’ll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans

How much do you love your pet? Enough to leap into the ocean and fight a shark to save it? Yeah, us neither. But one Florida Keys man does, and he proved it by punching a shark in the face when it tried to eat his wittle bitty doggie, Jake. The rat terrier got into trouble during his daily swim off a pier, when a 5 foot long shark lunged and caught him in its teeth. His owner, carpenter Greg LeNoir, chose the “I’m a durn fool” option and leapt into the ocean on top of the shark. ”I clenched my fists and dove straight in with all my strength, like a battering ram,” LeNoir, 53, said Sunday, reliving the frightening ordeal. “I hit the back of the shark’s neck. It was like hitting concrete.” We can’t help but be sort of stunned by that choice. Maybe we just saw Jaws too many times but sharks are definitely on our top 10 “do not f*ck with” list, right up there with killer bees and our older sister. LeNoir explains his reacton: ”The shark put almost all of Jake in his mouth, except fo