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If you ask if you can pet a Service Dog, and the handler says "no, he's working", then... DON'T: start making kissy noises talk in a high sing-song voice to the dog squat down and talk to the dog whistle at the dog like he's a ranch dog wrangling sheep Oy.

While shopping at Sprouts today, I had a guy in the next checkout lane actually whistle at Frankie. WHAT?! He whistled to him like he was calling the hounds back from the barn. Then he went to reach for him. I actually placed my hand on this guys chest and said: "He's not a ranch dog, you shouldn't be distracting him, he's working." Mr. Cowboy didn't even apologize... but he got schooled! Oy.

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.' The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Toby the Labrador Toby suffered a punctured lung as he fought off the intruder A Labrador who fought to protect its owners from a knife-wielding burglar has been honoured for his bravery. Toby was stabbed four times in the chest and legs by the intruder but still managed to chase him out. The Morton family, from Barnoldswick in Lancashire, had been staying at Leconfield Barracks in East Yorkshire. They awoke to find their pet in a pool of blood. But the eight-month-old survived and has been awarded by the animal charity, PDSA. The armed burglar, who attacked Toby with three knives taken from the kitchen, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for the offence. Toby suffered a punctured lung in the attack, in June 2007, as he fought to stop the offender going upstairs to the sleeping family. After succeeding in chasing the offender out of the building Toby then woke his owner, Jonathan Morton, by barking. Had it not been for Toby's determined barking and lunging at the intruder, Mr...

Russian scientists say that Moscow stray dogs became much smarter. The four legged oldest human’s friends demonstrate real smartness such as riding the Moscow metro every morning to get from their suburban places of living to the fat regions of Moscow center. Once they arrive to the downtown they demonstrate different new, previously unseen for the dog skills. Those skills can include “the hunt for shawarma” for example, the popular among Muscovites eastern cuisine dish. This hunt scene can be seen as this: Regular Moscow busy street with some small food kiosks. A middle-aged man buys himself a piece of hot fast food and walks aside chewing it without a rush. Then just in a second he jumps up frightened - some doggy has sneaked up on him and barked out loudly. His tasty snack falls out from his hands down to the ground and the dog gets it. Just ten minutes later, on the same place, the teen youngster loses his dinner in exactly the same manner. The mo...

When Jan Griffith's beloved dog, Sophie Tucker fell overboard from her family's yacht she feared her pet had drowned. But Sophie Tucker, a grey and black cattle dog, wasn't going to give up that easily. The determined pet swam six miles through ferocious shark-infested seas to an island, where she survived for more than four months by hunting wild goats for food. Sophie Sophie Tucker fell overboard in rough seas and swam through shark infested waters to safety The extraordinary story of the castaway hound emerged today when Miss Griffith was reunited with her beloved pet. 'I thought I'd never see her again, but she's proved to be a dog who can really look after herself,' said Miss Griffith. Sophie Tucker, named after the American vaudeville comedian, fell overboard from the family's yacht when they ran into bad weather off the Queensland coastal town of Mackay. Miss Griffith and her friends searched the area, putting their own lives at risk in the rough ...

Man's best friend serves as model for understanding human social behavior Chimpanzees share many of our genes, but dogs have lived with us for so long and undergone so much domestication that they are now serving as a model for understanding human social behavior, according to a new paper. Cooperation, attachment to people, understanding human verbal and non-verbal communications, and the ability to imitate are just a handful of the social behaviors we share with dogs. They might even think like us at times too, according to the paper, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Advances in the Study of Behavior. While there is no evidence to support that dogs and humans co-evolved their laundry list of shared behaviors over the past 10,000 to 20,000 years, the researchers believe adapting to the same living conditions during this period may have resulted in the similarities. Lead author Jozsef Topal explained to Discovery News "that shared environment has led to th...

"This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the U.S. Postal Service. " Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my four-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could, so she dictated these words: Dear God, Will You please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with You in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that You let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope You will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when You see her, You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her. Love, Meredith. We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey ...

Brown Recluse Spider He has been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years. Now a paraplegic man is walking again, and his doctors call it a miracle. CBS13 went to Manteca to find out how a spider bite helped get him back on his feet. "I closed my eyes and then I was spinning like a flying saucer," explains David Blancarte. A motorcycle accident almost killed David 21 years ago. At the time he might have wished he was dead. "I asked my doctor, 'Sir what happened? I can't feel my legs'," said David. Ever since, David's been relying on his wheelchair to get around. Then the spider bite. A Brown Recluse sent him to the hospital, then to rehab for eight months. "I'm here for a spider bite. I didn't know I would end up walking," says David. A nurse noticed Da...

You believe you don’t deserve to be in a relationship with somebody who will treat you with dignity and respect... You believe you don’t deserve to be in a relationship with somebody who will treat you with honesty and integrity... You believe you don’t deserve to be in a relationship with somebody who will protect rather than attack you... and you don't believe you're entitled to peace instead of chaos and turmoil... so you settle...

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Guide dogs for the blind go everywhere with their human partners, but when their destination is a plane ride away, it's not always so easy. ...

More than 50 law enforcement officers pay respects to Ringo A grieving Jesse Ray Jordan, who became acquainted with K-9 Ringo at Anderson County High, is comforted by his father, Spartacus Jordan, during Friday's memorial service for the police dog. Ringo, the Anderson County Sheriff's Department K-9, died of kidney failure Feb. 20. Sherri Prewitt, with Samuel Franklin Florist, places a wreath atop the cruiser where K-9 Ringo CLINTON - During an elaborate memorial, Ringo the police dog received a final send-off Friday befitting canine aristocracy. A motorcade of 30 police cruisers rolled slowly beneath a giant American flag stretched between fire department ladder trucks. A floral arrangement spelling out the dog's name was put across the windshield of the cruiser in which the Belgian Malinois traveled with his human partner, Anderson County Deputy Rick Coley. Taps played so...

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When police park at HQ, regular rules do not apply (Boston.com) Illegal parking in a handicapped spot is no trifling matter. Boston issues 11,000 tickets a year, each of which carries a $120 fine and often a $93 towing charge. And it is not uncommon for passersby to loudly rebuke able-bodied drivers who use parking spots reserved for the disabled. But violators who use the 11 handicapped-designated spaces in front of Boston Police headquarters are immune from any sanction at all - or even a sidelong glance from the scores of police officers who enter and leave the building every day, according to Globe observations over the past two months. One repeat scofflaw: the driver of a Toyota Corolla registered to Irene Landry, the city's supervisor of Parking Enforcement, who oversees the 194 parking enforcement officers who write 1.3 million tickets a year. When a Globe reporter called Landry's office on Feb. 10 to ask about the Toyota, Landry was stunned. "I will investigate,...

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Thomas Brent Mowrey and his service dog, Lady, were denied service at a Baton Rouge Waffle A disabled man who uses a dog for assistance was denied service at a Baton Rouge restaurant last month and said ignorance of federal disability rights law was probably the reason. Thomas Brent Mowrey, a former Arizona resident who has lived with his wife in an RV in Baton Rouge for two months now, said he was denied service Jan. 26 at the Waffle House on Siegen Lane near Interstate 10. Mowrey said a cook and the restaurant’s manager both said he had to leave because he had a dog with him. Mowrey, who said he is deaf in his left ear, uses a service dog to assist him. Mowrey provided documentation showing his dog, Lady, is certified as a service dog. Staff members at the Waffle House, however, told Mowrey that state health laws prohibit dogs from going inside restaurants, he said. “My dog has been on airplanes, inside Wal-Mart, CC’s (Community Coffee) and I’ve never had a problem,” Mowrey said Tues...

Entering their freshman year at Oscar Smith High School, Adam and Wessley Amick did most everything together. If Adam dropped a pencil, Wessley picked it up for him. Whenever Adam's wheelchair moved through the crowded school hallways, Wessley always lumbered right behind him keeping an eye out. And when a class got rowdy, Wessley stood up to get between Adam and the noise. Adam, 17, has moderate cerebral palsy. Wessley served as Adam's service dog, accompanying the boy through middle school and nearly four years at Oscar Smith High. Wessley died Jan. 21. He had lymphoma. The flat-coated retriever left behind a young man who is much more independent than when the two first met. "Wessley helped Adam gain his confidence," said Terry Langdon, the guidance secretary at Oscar Smith. "Adam and Wessley weren't just a dog and a boy. It was just amazing the bond that these two had." The bond began when Adam was 10. He and his parents, Kevin and Tammi, went to For...

A police drugs sniffer dog has died of a rare nose cancer after years sniffing cocaine during his work. Springer spaniel Max, aged nine, may have caught the disease because of the effect of cocaine and other drugs he was taught to detect. Police Inspector Anne Higgins, the dog's owner, fears the training may have led to the disease which led to him being put down last week. Max worked as a drugs dog with the Avon and Somerset police but lived with Insp Higgins, who is based at Tiverton police station in Devon. She said: "It is ironic the wonderful organ that made him successful in his work has been his demise. "It may or may not have been connected with what he used to do. Up until a couple of weeks ago he seemed fine and was doing well but it was an aggressive tumour. "It was very hard to have him put down but we had to do it. "I took him to the police station which he usually loved and was his favourite place but he did not show any reaction to being there and...