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CHAMPLIN, Minn. (WCCO) ― A Minnesota service dog doing is recovering after its owner fought off an attack by pit bulls -- with her wheelchair. "I didn't know what to do. It was really scary," Tara Wirtjes said. Wirtjes, who is a quadriplegic, said she thought the pit bulls might kill Rue, her golden retriever. Rue is a service dog for Wirtjes. Whatever she can't do... Rue can. But on Monday night, it was Wirtjes who came to Rue's aid. "These two dogs came just running out," Wirtjes described. She was walking her dog in a quiet Champlin neighborhood when the pit bulls charged out of a yard and lunged at Rue. The dogs bit the golden retriever so Wirtjes started spinning her wheelchair to break the dogs hold. "I just thought this is how she was going to die," she said. The pit bulls were finally called off by their owner but not before they had broke open Rue's scar that was healing from an recent operation. A neighbor, who did not want to id

A $20,000 grant will benefit a program created to serve veterans with disabilities. Paws for Purple Hearts, a project that uses service dog training as therapy for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, was recently awarded with a $20,000 grant. The donation supports the Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute in Santa Rosa, Calif., to help fund its Paws for Purple Hearts program. The goal of the project is to create a national network to serve veterans with disabilities across the United States. Soldiers with PTSD train service dogs, who are then placed with other returned military men and women who have mobility issues sustained from injuries during the war. A $10,000 grant from Planet Dog Foundation, which backs programs in which dogs serve and support people, matches a $10,000 grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for a total of $20,000 to the dog institute. President and CEO of the Reeve Foundation, Peter Wilderotter, said the two groups share a mission to en

PALM HARBOR, FL -- The Florida Highway Patrol says an 85 year old Palm Harbor man was killed before dawn while trying to cross a busy road in his motorized wheelchair. John Panarak was on his way to meet friends for breakfast when he was hit on Alderman Road near Alternate US 19. The FHP calls it an accident. Panarak's grandchildren told ABC Action News.com they warned Panarak about riding in the dark and asked him to add safety features like a light or a flag. Panarak refused. Family members say Panarak was a decorated veteran who was shot in World War II while running through enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers. His nickname was "Scooter" because he spent so much time riding around in his motorized wheelchair.

Original story Aug 26, 2:53 PM EDT FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) -- A judge has decided that a suburban Seattle woman who registered her Australian shepherd-terrier mix to vote has spent enough time in the legal doghouse. Jane Balogh (BAY'-loh) had been charged with making a false statement but entered into a plea agreement last year. A King County judge dismissed the charge Monday after Balogh showed that she had paid $240 in court costs and completed community service. Balogh says she registered her dog Duncan to protest a loophole in the law that she says makes voter registration so easy a nonexistent person could be added to the voter rolls. She says she made no secret of her action after the fact, telling a number of elected officials she had registered her dog. And she says Duncan never voted.

A deaf geek diligently tinkered with the firmware on his cochlear implant, trying to get it to faithfully render out Ravel's composition, Boléro, eventually meeting with success. Michael Chorost was born with partial hearing, and at 15, he discovered that Boléro was audible to him, and it became a touchstone for him, a piece of music that he developed a deep emotional attachment to. In 2001, Chorost experienced the sudden, total loss of the remains of his hearing, and Boléro was lost to him, seemingly forever. In this Wired feature, Chorost chronicles the amazing journey he embarked upon, learning the science of acoustics, of music, and of signal processing, reprogramming the firmware in his implanted prosthetic with the help of experts around the world with various theories about the psychoacoustic basis for music. The story is gripping, fascinating and informative -- a template for a tale that I believe will become more and more prevalent in times to come: a person who relies on

Original article Aug 25, 10:13 AM EDT ATLANTA (AP) -- The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy muscle, and turn it into a computer control pad. Georgia Tech researchers believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person's mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard - and tongue into the key that manipulates it all. "You could have full control over your environment by just being able to move your tongue," said Maysam Ghovanloo, a Georgia Tech assistant professor who leads the team's research. The group's Tongue Drive System turns the tongue into a joystick of sorts, allowing the disabled to manipulate wheelchairs, manage home appliances and control computers. The work still has a ways to go - one potential user called the design "grotesque" - but early tests are encouraging. The system is far from the first t

Original story Aug 25, 2:48 PM EDT WYCKOFF, N.J. (AP) -- If only Goldilocks had a cockapoo. A 15-pound cocker spaniel-poodle mix named Pawlee scared off a mother bear and her two cubs Sunday morning after they strayed into his owners' back yard. Whether his bark was worse than his bite, Pawlee's tactic worked just fine. These three bears got the hint and took off. "We had just let him out for the morning and he ran into the yard and started barking his head off," owner Fran Osiason said. Osiason said her 9-year-old son, Jacob, went outside to see what the commotion was about and came running back in to report there were bears in the yard. She was worried that the mother would come after Pawlee to protect her cubs, but the pugnacious pup, just 8 months old, had other plans. His barking drove the two cubs up a tree, and they eventually climbed down and hopped over a fence with their mother and retreated into the woods. Osiason said she, her son, husband Andrew and daug

Sweet!

New York Prostitute With One Leg Dies After Being Knocked From Wheelchair New York police said Friday a prostitute with only one leg was murdered in Brooklyn after a client hit her on the head and she fell out of her wheelchair, hitting her skull against a wall, the New York Post reported. Elizabeth Acevedo, 38, was found unconscious in a 13th-floor hallway of the apartment building where she lived in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Acevedo died Friday morning in the Long Island College Hospital after being removed from life support, the Post reported. She wore a prosthetic leg, but also used a wheelchair after losing her leg in a train accident. The prostitute had 67 previous arrests for prostitution and drug charges Investigators are looking for a suspect, who they believe was a client who hit Acevedo over the head with a heavy object. Original story

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Original story RENO, Nev. (AP) -- You've heard of man bites dog. What about, dog saves cats? A two-year-old dog that had been turned over to the Nevada Humane Society's shelter in Reno is being credited with rescuing six abandoned kittens. Shelter Director Diane Blankenburg said it happened Monday while the two-year-old Boxer/Pit Bull mix named Angel was on a walk with a pair of volunteers, Frank Gomez and his 9-year-old stepson, Joel Fontes. They were walking on the hot day with temperatures in the 90s when the dog became obsessed with something in the bushes. When she refused to move on, Gomez investigated and discovered a box full of 3-week-old orange tabby kittens that were frightened and hungry. One of the abandoned kittens escaped before shelter staff were summoned to the scene, but Angel tracked it down and Gomez handed it over to safety.

Plea Rejected In Dog Sex Case Oklahoma couple set for arraignment on crimes against nature charges AUGUST 8--An Oklahoma woman facing arraignment Monday on charges that she engaged in lewd acts with dogs rejected a plea in the case after learning that she would have to register as a sex offender. Diane Whalen, 55, and her boyfriend were arrested in late-June after Whalen's son discovered explicit videos in his mother's home and turned them over to Tulsa cops. A District Court affidavit, a copy of which you'll find below, shockingly details what Whalen is alleged to have done with several canines. Donald Seigfried, 55, allegedly filmed Whalen during these acts. According to the affidavit, Whalen sought to sell the obscene videos--with titles like "Buddy" and "Lucky"--online. Whalen and Seigfried... this week waived a preliminary hearing and are each scheduled for an August 11 arraignment on two felony counts of crimes against nature. Full story here

Republicans and military men on John McCain

Republicans and military men on John McCain

Original article There were the fireworks and the 'not-cute-enough' scandals, and the still brewing underage Chinese gymnasts scandal. And now, there's paralysis-gate. According to the New York Times, a talented, 26-year-old Chinese dancer was seriously injured during a rehearsal for the opening ceremonies 12 days before the show and is now facing the prospect of being paralyzed for the rest of her life. But, organizers seemed intent on keeping the injury from taking away from the pageantry of the event. They reportedly asked witnesses and friends not to disclose the tragedy ahead of the production last Friday. However, after an inquiry from the Times about the injury and rumors about it on the Internet, members of the Olympic Committee visited the dancer in the hospital with a television crew and said they would do everything possible to help her. They also announced that they would soon hold a press conference to offer more details about her condition, according to famil

Original story Sandy Allen , the tallest woman in the word at 7 feet 7 inches, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 53. A friend of the family, Rita Rose, confirmed that Allen died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, Indiana. Allen had been hospitalized in recent months as she was suffering from a recurring blood infection - not to mention diabetes, kidney failure, and breathing problems. However, the cause of death is not yet known. Allen's height is attributed to a tumor which caused her pituitary gland to produce way too much growth hormone. Luckily she underwent surgey in 1977 to remove the tumor and prevent further growth. Rose said Allen later learned to be proud of her height. She says Allen "embraced it. She used it as a tool to educate people." Back in 1974 Allen even wrote to the Guinness World Records in 1974, saying she'd like to get to know someone her own height. She wrote, "It is needless to say my social life is practicall

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Republicans and military men on John McCain

Original source Aug 8, 9:26 AM EDT NEW YORK (AP) -- Harvard scientists say they have created stems cells for 10 genetic disorders, which will allow researchers to watch the diseases develop in a lab dish. This early step, using a new technique, could help speed up efforts to find treatments for some of the most confounding ailments, the scientists said. The new work was reported online Thursday in the journal Cell, and the researchers said they plan to make the cell lines readily available to other scientists. Dr. George Daley and his colleagues at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute used ordinary skin cells and bone marrow from people with a variety of diseases, including Parkinson's, Huntington's and Down syndrome to produce the stem cells. The new cells will allow researchers to "watch the disease progress in a dish, that is, to watch what goes right or wrong," Doug Melton, co-director of the institute, said during a teleconference. "I think we'll see in years

Aug 5, 5:55 PM EDT SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Booger is back. An American woman received five puppies Tuesday that were cloned from her beloved late pitbull, becoming the inaugural customer of a South Korean company that says it is the world's first successful commercial canine cloning service. Seoul-based RNL Bio said the clones of Bernann McKinney's dog Booger were born last week after being cloned in cooperation with a team of Seoul National University scientists who created the world's first cloned dog in 2005. "It's a miracle!" McKinney repeatedly shouted Tuesday when she saw the cloned Boogers for which she paid $50,000. "Yes, I know you! You know me, too!" McKinney said joyfully, hugging the puppies, which were sleeping with one of their two surrogate mothers, both Korean mixed breed dogs. The team of scientists working for RNL Bio is headed by Lee Byeong-chun, a former colleague of disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who scandalized the intern

Original source Aug 3, 7:44 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is putting millions of Medicare dollars at risk by authorizing fictitious sellers of wheelchairs, prosthetics and other medical supplies to submit reimbursement claims with only limited review, congressional investigators say. The study by the Government Accountability Office obtained by The Associated Press sought to follow up on oversight gaps that have plagued the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since at least 2005. Roughly $1 billion of the $10 billion in annual Medicare payments the government makes for medical equipment are later deemed improper. The investigation found that CMS approved two companies in the past year for Medicare billing privileges that the GAO had set up as sham businesses. The companies did not have clients or medical inventory to supply prospective Medicare patients. These fictitious suppliers, based in Maryland and Virginia, won privileges even though GAO investigators deliberate

A boston terrier participates at the 3rd Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort surf dog competition (the largest surfing competition for dogs) in Imperial Beach, south of San Diego, California, on June 28, 2008. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) Original source

Original story Jul 31, 5:04 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Using a new technique to reprogram cells, scientists are growing neurons from people with Lou Gehrig's disease, a possible first step in understanding how the deadly illness develops. Technically known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, eventually leading to death. The ALS Association estimates that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time. "What we now have in the culture dish is cells that have the same genetic makeup as the ALS patient and they are the same cells that are affected by the disease," said Dr. Chris Henderson, co-director of the Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease at Columbia University. That means that, for the first time, scientists hope to be able to observe the development of the disease in the cells and, from that, possibly begin studies of treatments. "There is no way we could go to an ALS patie

Original story ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (AP) -- Tourism officials on the Caribbean island of Grenada say they are concerned about dog owners snatching starfish out of the sea and throwing them like flying discs for their dogs to catch. Russ Fielden is president of the local hotel and tourism association. He says officials have received several reports of the practice and are launching an education campaign to stop it. Fielden said Saturday that treating starfish this way is "cruel and should be strongly discouraged." He said the sea creatures are being left to die on the island's popular Grand Anse beach and also are creating a foul smell.

Original article here Jul 31, 8:48 PM EDT Drug gives couch potato mice benefits of a workout NEW YORK (AP) -- Here's a couch potato's dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat? Scientists reported Thursday that there is such a drug - if you happen to be a mouse. Sedentary mice that took the drug for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. And when tested on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice. Just how well those results might translate to people is an open question. But someday, researchers say, such a drug might help treat obesity, diabetes and people with medical conditions that keep them from exercising. "We have exercise in a pill," said Ron Evans, an author of the study. "With no exercise, you can take a drug and chemically mimic it." Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif.,

Original article here Delta makes woman with muscular dystrophy crawl off plane On July 20th, Julianna's (delayed) Delta flight landed in Atlanta at 7:30pm, with a connecting flight scheduled for 8:05pm. Julianna, who has muscular dystrophy, missed the connecting flight because nobody came with a wheelchair until 8:05—the same time the connecting flight took off. To make matters worse, the plane crew told Julianna she might make the flight anyway if she stopped waiting for help and got off the plane right now, so she crawled down the stairs on her own. When the wheelchair came she was "wheeled into a back room and advised" that her plane had taken off. But that was just the first half of her ordeal, and the next eight hours only got worse. Letter Julianna has sent to Richard Anderson, Delta's CEO: The employees in this room were debating who would get me to the ticket gate to be re-ticketed because it was no one's job and the appropriate personnel were not respond

Original article by PerezHilton.com This seems like they're going just a little too far. And by "a little" we mean a whole helluva lot! It's somewhat of a common trait for single guys here in the U.S. to walk their dog in the park in order to pick up chicks. Well, it seems Saudi Arabia isn't too happy with that happening in their country. In an attempt to keep the sexes apart, the extremely religious Islamic country has made a new law. All sales of dogs and cats as pets have been banned in the capital of Riyadh. Walking your previously purchased pets in public is also banned. We're not making this up! Othman al-Othman, from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said the ban was ordered because of "the rising of phenomenon of men using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families." Not to mention they are apparently "violating proper behavior in public squares and malls." The new law took effect

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