How I start my day

 It's like were leading parallel lives...except for reading Cosmo.

When dogs do amazing things.

This one is pretty cool. Got this in an email. I stripped out most of the overwrought narrative.

During an early morning response, to a house-fire in Santa Rosa de Temuco, Chile ,

firefighters witnessed the unbelievable. A mother dog risked her life to save her

puppies from the fire surrounding the burning house, which started because of

a car bomb. 

The mother dog, Amanda, raced back and forth between the house, putting

her 10 day old puppies in the safest place she could find - a fire truck!

She didn't stop racing back into the fire until all of her puppies were safely away

from the fire.

After rescuing all of her pups from the blaze, Amanda sat down next to them,

protecting them with her body. Onlookers called an emergency veterinary

service, and she and her pups were rushed to the hospital. Aside from one

puppy being treated for serious burns, the entire family are alive and well

- thanks to the bravery of Amanda!

Not a lot of dogs would have done that. The coolest dog I ever met was one who woke up his family when the smoke detector failed and there was a fire. His name was Theo. Everyone was fine. The cynical could say that the dog was just saving his own skin but I prefer to give him more credit. I miss Theo.

9/11 Dogs

This is from an email I received. Most email like this I toss but this one is pretty cool. I'll paste it as I got it. I didn't do any fact checking but I'm pretty sure I don't need to.

[Note (11/17/12): Some people have had trouble viewing these images so here is a link to an article that contains them]

Nearly 100 dogs worked at the Trade Center ten years ago; only 12 are left. THESE OLD WONDERFUL FACES SAY IT ALL These are the surviving dogs that worked the trade center that are still alive but retired, they are heroes too, their eyes say everything you need to know about them. Just amazing creatures True heroes of 9/11 still with us today. Moxie,13, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days. Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived at the World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days. Kaiser,12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble. Bretagne and his owner, Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days. Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days. Merlyn and his handler, Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days. Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27th as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines. Abigail, above, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 p.m., on the day of attack to start working early the next day. Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days. Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors. During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors. Now, ten years on, just 12 of these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled 'Retrieved'. The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public. Traveling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland , Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11. Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted 'Retrieved' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs.' I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human stories involved,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam. 'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.

Grieving Pet Owners want Imported Treats Pulled From Shelves

Have you heard about the chicken jerky treats? While it would be wrong to pre-judge before science gives us an answer, our gut tells better safe than sorry.