Monday, 15 December 2014

15 heroic dogs that will leave you awestruck!


Dogs are truly amazing creatures. From welcoming you with a wagging tail even when you were away for only 10 minutes, to being the support pillar you need when sick or feeling low, your dog does all sorts of heart-touching and funny things that never fail to melt your heart.

But sometimes, when the situation demands, our goofy and playful furry friends go way beyond licking our faces and running around in enthusiasm and become “life saviors”.


Here are 15 such dogs, who went out of their way and emerged as true HEROES!


1. TRUE, the blind, deaf, three-legged dog who saved his owners from a fire.


The blind, deaf, three-legged dog who saved his owners from a fire.
via kfor.com


Katie Crosley was woken up by her dog, True, yapping way at her bedside in the middle of the night. She opened her bedroom door to a wall of flames. She grabbed her infant child and was navigated out of the burning home by True. The entire family was saved by a blind, deaf, three-legged dog.



2. LOUIE, who pushed a panic button for his disabled owner.



The dog who pushed a panic button for his disabled owner.
via express.co.uk

 Judith Shaw, a patient of glaucoma blacked out after suffering excruciating pains in her chest and back. She woke up to find her dog, Louie calling for assistance. Louie had pressed the panic button and was yelping into the intercom. Judith trained Louie to use the button, which provides a hotline to care services, so help was on its way. 




3. BUSTER, who saved his owner with Crohn’s disease.



The dog who saved his owner with Crohn's disease.
Facebook: My-Hero-Dog-Buster
Michael, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, was unable to climb the stairs to his bedroom, so he slept on the downstairs couch. Michael’s wife, Barbara, was asleep upstairs when their usually quiet dog, Buster, suddenly began barking in the direction of the bedroom door, prompting Barbara to check on her husband. Barbara found Michael unconscious on the floor and in critical condition. He was rushed to the hospital where he revived.



4. The stray dog who kept a lost boy warm in 14-degree weather.



The stray dog who kept a lost boy warm in 14-degree weather.
via gettyimages.com

While trying to rescue a stray dog in a nine-foot deep roadside service bank in Siberia, a 7-year old boy accidentally slipped in himself. No one could find the missing boy until more than 72 hours later when road workers heard the exhausted barks of a dog from the pit. The dog had wrapped itself around the boy and prevented him from getting hypothermia in such low temperature condition.



5. ZANJEER, the bomb detector





Zanjeer (aka Ginger) joined the Mumbai Police Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad on 29 December 1992. During the time of the 1993 Mumbai bombings in March, Zanjeer helped to avert at least three more in parts of Mumbai and alerted his handlers to a scooter bomb that contained RDX explosives and gelatin sticks, three Type 56 rifles, five 9-mm pistols, and 200 grenades and two suitcases at that contained nine Type 56 rifles. Apart from his contributions during the 1993 attacks, Zanjeer helped to recover 11 military bombs, 57 country-made bombs, 175 petrol bombs, and 600 detonators. 



6. NIKKI, who can smell changes in her owner’s blood to alert her before she has a seizure.



Nikki, who can smell changes in her owner's blood to alert her before she has a seizure.
via standard.net

Sandra Leavitt, has a rare seizure disorder that is triggered by stress. Her dog, Nikki is trained to be able to smell changes in Sandra’s blood leading up to a seizure. Nikki can give Sandra up to two hours of warning before Sandra has an episode. Sandra also has a special phone designed to enable Nikki to dial 911 should anything happen.



7. EDWARD, who helps his owner with her rare skin disease that can cause her throat to close up.



Edward, who helps his owner with her rare skin disease that can cause her throat to close up.
 Facebook: caninepartners

Wendy Hilling has the condition epidermolysis bullosa recessive dystrophic that causes her skin to tear and blister at the slightest scratch. The lining of her windpipe can also blister and close at any time. Her dog, Edward, wakes Wendy’s husband if Wendy stops breathing. Edward can also load the washing machine, get cash from a cash machine, and pick up anything she drops.



8. YOGI, who saved his owner’s life after a bike accident



via dogguide.net
Paul Horton of Austin, Texas, went over the handlebars on his mountain bike and landed on his head. When he regained consciousness, he found Yogi by his side. Horton whispered for Yogi to get help. Reluctant to leave, the dog finally went to the main road and barked at neighbors who were walking by. Bruce and Maggie Tate know Yogi and had never seen him act so frantic, so they followed him back to the place where Horton lay still. Doctors found that Horton's vertebrae had pinched his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Yogi was named the “2011 Valor Dog of the Year” for saving Horton's life. 




9.  BRUTIS, who saved a young child from a coral snake


via dogguide.net

Brutis was a 7 year old golden retriever when he became a hero in 2004. The loveable pooch snatched up a coral snake as it was slithering dangerously close to a young child, suffering a near-deadly bite from the snake in the process.

 "When we give an award like this, we're looking for something extra, something that would make people wonder why a dog would do what he did", said the committee who awarded the medal.



10. SHANA, who rescued a couple from a snow storm


via dogguide.net

Shana, a half wolf dog/half German shepard saved an elderly couple from a treacherous snow storm. When Shana found Norman and Eve trapped by snow, she went to work, diligently digging out a tunnel through which she would pull the couple back to the safety of their home.




11. MOTI, who took a bullet for his family

  

via dogguide.n

Moti, the five year old German Shepherd literally “took a bullet” for his human family. When a masked intruder made his way into the Patel household, Moti wasted little time, leaping to his feet and barking to draw the gunman's attention. Faced with the furious dog, the gunman shot him and ran off without harming any of the Patels. Luckily, Moti has made full recovery.



12. HERO, who saved a paralyzed man



via dogguide.net
A four year old Golden Retriever was credited with saving a paralyzed man who got his wheelchair stuck in the middle of a muddy field. When Gareth Jones found himself unable to move, the former soldier's service dog was ready to answer the call, dutifully pulling the rope Jones threw to him until the wheelchair was pulled free.




13. SHELBY, who saved the family from carbon dioxide poisoning



via dogguide.net
Shelby earned the title of a Hero by saving two adults and two children from carbon monoxide poisoning. The dog was the first to detect the rising C0 levels while the rest of the family was asleep, nudging each of them out of their sleep and refused to stop barking, scratching, and whining until the family was safely outside. Luckily, each family member was treated at a nearby hospital and made a full recovery.



14. BELLE, who dialed 911 to save her owner



via dogguide.net

Belle, a beagle literally bit "911" into Kevin Weaver's cell phone after the diabetic man collapsed from a seizure. Evidently, the dog had been trained to bite down on the phone's keypad in the event of an emergency!



15. TOBY, who performed the Heimlich maneuver on his owner



via buzzfeed.com
Toby, a golden retriever heroically saved owner Debbie Parkhurst from choking to death on an apple in her Maryland home. When it became apparent that she was choking, Toby leapt hard onto her chest and forced the lodged morsel to come loose from her throat and meanwhile kept licking his owner’s face to prevent her from passing out.
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Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Facts Which Make Dogs Interesting

We, the arrogant primates, have trouble when it comes to caring about something other than our own lives. We have pushed, cut and killed our way to the top of the food chain, with little regard to the other animals who inhabit this amazing planet. However, one species has managed to remain close to the hearts of men: Dogs.
ineteresting dog
                                                                                          Picture credits: Shashank Shekhar Singh

 A dog owner will tell you the various advantages of having a dog as a pet. They are loyal and obedient and perform various fun tricks like playing dead, fetching sticks, rolling over, smelling out cancer, sensing magnetic fields and possessing a definite idea that other beings have different and valuable perceptions. Wait, what? Hold up there. All little Timmy does is sniff his own posterior the whole day, those last few points don't seem to match at all. Well ladies and gentlemen, dogs are not the innocent playthings you suspect them to be, to be owned like you own cars, houses, jewellery, as a means to show your status to others. They are complex beings that are actually self aware, a trait which most of us think is exclusive to our species. Here are a few little know facts about dogs, which may cause some of you to love these adorable little creatures a bit more.

1. Dogs can dream.


One of the most common dream in human beings is where we've given an exam without preparation and have been laughed at by others. We assume because we have dreams we are a superior species. Well, dogs can dream too, and they probably dream about cooler things than you, nerd. Although research into the exact content of a canine's nighttime reveries is limited, research tells us that like rats, dogs have vivid dreams are abstract or may also replay day's events and allow them to learn from their dreams. Maybe they're dreaming about flying or giant bone shaped houses or chasing cats or chasing cats while flying through bone shaped houses. Dog dreams might even be more complex than 'Inception' but we may never know.
sleeping dog
                                                                                Picture Credits: Shashank Shekhar Singh


2. Fall in love



The science geeks among you might know that love is nothing other than a few chemical reactions in our brains, producing the neurochemical Oxytocin whenever humans engage in an act of bonding like a hug or a kiss. Research has proven that whenever we are treated with kindness, Oxytocin is released. The same neurochemical is also found to be released by dogs when they are interacting with humans. This means your dogs probably feels the same amount of love which you feel for him, a fact which most dog owners might have already guessed.

dog waiting
                                                                                           

3. Smell diseases


A man from Michigan, USA had come home after a wild night partying out with his friend and passed out immediately. When he woke up, he found out that his toe had been chewed off completely by his pet dog. Did the dog develop a taste for human flesh suddenly? No. The man had a long festering infection caused by diabetes which had spread to his bone. After a trip to the hospital, the man was informed that his blood sugar was at a dangerously high level of 506 and the toe would have had to be amputated anyway. The dog successfully saved the life of his owner by using it's keen sense of smell to determine, and using a not so keen logic, decided the right thing to do would be to bite the toe off. Dogs are now being used by various medical researchers to detect a wide array of diseases, including cancer. Cancer has a definite smell, and dogs can sniff it in the early stages, and the only way to smell cancer in early stages is through dogs.

cancer detection dog
                                                                                         

4.Inner compass

Dog owners might know that feeling of irritation when walking a dog. They are extremely picky when in comes to choosing a place to do their business. Well, there is an incredibly unbelievable method to this madness. When stopping during walks to do defecate or urinate, the dogs do so along a north south axis. This means that these furry creatures have an inner compass and are aligned north to south, more so when they need to poo.

dog inner compass

This means that dogs, aside from their amazing sense of smell also have a magnetic sense. There are a lot of stories which talk about dogs returning home even after being left hundreds of kilometers, and the explanation tho these stories could be that they use earth's magnetic field for orientation, to find their way back home.


5.Feel jealous


Emotions are generally categorized into two categories, Primary and Secondary emotions. Primary emotions include basic emotions like fear and anger which almost all animals experience, and Secondary emotions like jealousy, guilt and sadness which were thought to need self consciousness to be experienced. An experiment was conducted by scientists at University Of California, San Diego where humans engaged with three different objects in front of their dogs, one of the objects being a realistic looking stuffed toy dog, and the others being objects like book. When the human was paying attention to the fake dog, their dogs would try to draw attention to them by barking, touching the owners or whining, which was not so prominent with the other objects.

funny cute dog
                                   
 When walking your dog after a healthy session of exercise and pooping, if you stop to pet another dog, your own dog tries to buy your attention by strangling your legs with the leash. Mother dogs often gets jealous of the attention her own babies get by the owner and if the owner is not careful will also get aggressive with the puppies. All of this behavior goes to show that dogs experience a wide array of emotions and feelings which we human beings thought were exclusive to us. All this means that canines are actually quite similar to us, if not better.

cute puppies
                                                                                 Picture credits: Shashank Shekhar Singh
                                               
Not to mention cuter. Just look at them.









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Wednesday, 12 November 2014

10 things dogs can teach you!

Ten valuable things dogs can teach you! 





1. Live in the moment 

While we humans are busy crying over our past and worrying about our future, a dog knows how to live in the present.
Whether dogs play, eat or go around exploring things, they remain engrossed in whatever they are doing at that moment.

                                 


2. Forgive!

Humans lack a lot when it comes to forgiveness. We have an unhealthy habit of holding grudges. On the other hand, a dog never holds a grudge. It'll still wag its tail when you pat him after yelling at him for an hour. A dog will never be angry with you for neglecting him or even hitting him in anger. 
                                      
                             



3. Character over appearance

We usually make a notion of a person by their looks. But a dog doesn't see if you're fair or dark, pretty or ugly, tall or short, slim or fat, rich or poor. If you are kind to him, he'll love you like nobody else does!
                                              
                                           



4. Accept yourself

Short ones want to be tall, Too tall ones want to cut out few inches, Fat ones want to shed off some weight, Skinny ones want to put on weight and blah blah. But a dog never remains conscious or has a low self esteem because of his appearance. A mongrel dog will show his emotions without any hesitation and so will a St Bernard. They accept the way they are.

                                     
                           


5. Enjoy the Nature

Surrounded by concrete walls everywhere, we've forgotten to go out and enjoy the breeze brushing against our faces. On the other hand, dogs enjoy going on walks, playing in parks, getting wet in the rain, etc.
                                   
                             


6. Be loyal and trust your loved ones

We fail to be loyal even in our immediate relationships. While, give a stray dog a slice of bread one day and he will walk along with you from then on to make sure you're safe. Loyalty and trust are the reasons why dogs surrender to you when you take them to the vet or groom them.

                               


7. Be happy with what you have

While we are never satisfied with our grades, jobs, homes, families, cars and what not, dogs are happy in what they get. My dog plays as enthusiastically with an empty juice can as he does with a chew toy. A dog will be grateful to you whether you give him meat or leftover stale bread.


                             


8. Never lose the kid in you

We have restricted ourselves to activities that comply with our age. We hesitate to go out and play with the kids on the street just because we have outgrown our childhood. Whereas, a dog loves the simple things in life and does not have an age limit for the activities he likes.
                                       
                             


9. Emotional support

We fail to render emotional support to our loved ones at many times. But remember, no one will remember our grades or monthly income the day we die, all that remains is what we did for them. Go home with a sad face and your dog will try his best to cheer you up. I sleep with my dog in my arms when I'm having a bad day and it goes away in minutes!
                                        

                             


10. Unconditional love

Being such amazingly designed, we still fail to understand what unconditional love is, while your dog loves you unconditionally in its true sense. We limit love with the barriers of expectations. But a dog will love you the same even if you go from riches to rags.

                             




They give us so much to learn and still so many people hate dogs.


Break the barriers, go Hold a Paw!




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Monday, 10 November 2014

Animal Sexual Abuse - A Matter of Shame for Humans.


Note: Some of the content in this post can be disturbing and graphic. Do not continue if you are below 14 years of age. 


dog scared sexually abused
STOP ANIMAL SEXUAL ABUSE!


What is Animal Sexual Abuse?

Animal Sexual Abuse is also known as zoophilia, bestiality and zooerasty. It is the nasty act of molestation of an animal by a human being. Animal sexual abuse can be in the form of vaginal, anal or oral penetration; oral-genital contact; penetration using any body part or object. It may include killing or injuring an animal for sexual satisfaction.
Sexual abuse in itself is a disturbing yet hush-hush issue all over the world. The abusers usually target victims who can’t speak against the abuse and hence in India itself, 53% of the children have been sexually abused in some point of their life. In most of the cases, animal abusers have also assaulted women or children and when they didn't find a way to do that, they molested animals.

Legality of Bestiality around the world.

Statistics

There are no clear statistics as to how many animals have been sexually abused because these cases are carried out secretly and the victims can’t indicate, let alone speak about it.

Consequences

Sexual abuse may cause injuries or even death to a victim animal. Cases of dogs with severe rectal tearing from anal sexual contact; cats killed by penetration by a human male; chickens decapitated to increase the abuser’s sexual pleasure; animals beaten stabbed, or mutilated during or after sexual contact; and animals crushed for sexual gratification are commonly reported. In some cases, the animals may not have been physically injured.

dog raped sexually abused
A sexually abused Dog.

Until it is consensual from both sides, any sexual relationship is considered as sexual abuse. And since animals don’t have an ability to respond, sexual relationships with animals is an indisputable form of sexual abuse.


Who abuses animals?


Men are the primary abusers, although women and children may be forced or coerced into sexual acts with animals or may be abusers themselves. Reports indicate a wide age range of abusers. Abusers may feel isolated, insecure, and powerless. They may have difficulty in forming healthy interpersonal relationships with other adult humans and may have experienced neglect, physical abuse or sexual abuse as a child. Some may suffer from mental illness.

*A recent appalling case included three pit bull puppies who had been sexually abused in North Carolina. Various objects, including metal screws, had been placed into their rectums, which caused intestinal perforations. Sadly, one of the puppies had later died as a result of her injuries. The other puppies have each had four surgeries due to their injuries.


Why do people Sexually Abuse animals?
 

People sexually abuse animals for a variety of reasons. Many abusers fall into one or more of the categories below:


1. Opportunistic/Experimental:

This type of abuse is often viewed as the act of a curious youth or a lonely man. These individuals may seek out animals for sexual gratification because animals are accessible, vulnerable, and non-threatening. They may abuse an animal out of boredom, insecurity, curiosity or as a substitute for a human partner.

2. Fixated/Primary: 

In this category of animal sexual abuse, animals are the primary or exclusive focus of a human’s sexual desires. These abusers often refer to themselves as "zoophiles".

3. Domineering/Sadistic: 

Batterers, rapists and pornographers may force women, children, and other vulnerable individuals to have sex with animals in order to humiliate, dominate, control, and exploit the human and animal victims. Children who have been sexually abused may act out their abuse on animals in an attempt to gain a sense of control.
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Abandoned...





Remember how excited you were when you brought me home? You called your friends to your place so that they could meet your new dog.







I was naughty and tried to chew almost everything but you forgave me every time with a warning..


..Even when I chewed our Mom's favourite shoes

..Or your pillow

My innocent face was enough to melt your heart.



We were the best playmates!


You called me your best friend!


And did strange things to me

We slept in the same bed

You made me wear your clothes in the winters.


You shared every story with me and when you felt low, I gave you a lick on your cheek.


Your feet were my favourite pillow!


But as I grew older, I started getting sick. You took me to the vet so often.

One morning, I couldn't hear you...or anyone from that day on.
I didn't know what was wrong. I was craving to listen to your voice!

You took me to the vet but even after coming out I couldn't listen to anything.

I stopped understanding things. I was confused all the time.



When I peed in the home, you beat me. But you didn't do that when I was a child!


You didn't hug me like before and didn't let me sleep on the bed. I didn't like it in the yard.
Was it because I couldn't listen to your stories anymore?



One day you and Dad made me sit in the car. I thought we were going on a nice picnic!
Wait, where's Mom?

I loved the place you took me to for the picnic. As we got down from the car, you patted me and drove off.

I waited for you all day long, but you didn't come. I waited for some more days, but soon I realized that you have ABANDONED me.

Is it because I'm old and couldn't listen to you? Or is it because I pee and poop in the house?
I promise I won't do that anymore. Please take me back!



You didn't come so I went to search for food. I haven't eaten anything in days. Finally an old lady gave me some leftovers. I wagged my tail and licked her hands in return. That's all I could do.


As I was roaming around one morning, something came rushing towards me and hit me hard!


A man came and took me into an ambulance. I felt weak and hurt. I could see wounds all over my body. Would these people save me?

My pain didn't stop. All that came to my mind was your hugs and kisses.

The man who brought me here tapped my leg and injected something in my leg. It gave me a tingling sensation. I suddenly lost vision and closed my eyes...forever.




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