This is a story that cheered me up enormously today. A soldier, Gwen Beberg, on assignment in Baghdad, found and adopted a stray puppy who she named Ratchet. At the end of her tour of duty, Gwen arranged for Ratchet to fly back to the States with her luggage. At the last minute Sgt Beberg faced a new battle with bureaucrats who tried to prevent Ratchet’s return. But with the support of a charity, Operation Baghdad Pups, the six-month old dog was flown back to Minnesota where Gwen’s parents cared for him. This week Gwen herself flew home, and was greeted by her lovely dog – who has grown much bigger while they were apart! An enthusiastic welcome nearly knocked the soldier off her feet – aaah!

http://blogs.dogtime.com/the-news-hound-blog/2009/01/ratchet-and-soldier-finally-reunited

Teaching your Dog New Tricks

We all know for a fact that dog ownership brings about a lot of responsibilities. Out of the many important duties needed in taking care of a dog, one must consider obedience training or teaching your dog a few basic commands. As a new dog owner or trainer, here are a few basic tricks that you can apply to your pet.

Trick # 1: Heel – The essence of the heel command is to tell your dog to walk directly beside you. This trick lets your pet stay by your side rather than going through various places which will make it difficult for you to take control of his sense of direction. This order is very simple and effortless which can be easily learned by your dog within a short period of time. Read more »

Here is a great story about a poodle who has been trained as an assistance dog to help and protect a young woman who has epilepsy.
A specially-trained dog is helping to transform the life of a young woman who has epilepsy. Hannah Baker, 20, from Dedham in Suffolk, has severe epilepsy, brought on by a non-malignant tumour diagnosed when she was six years old. Poodle Milo has been trained by the charity, Support Dogs, to spot changes to her pupils or skin tone before she has a seizure. He then stares at her until she knows something is wrong. Before she had Milo, Hannah used to have up to 80 seizures a day – now she has about 10 seizures each day, and most of those are small. “Milo is like a security blanket for me,” said Hannah. “He’s made a huge difference to my life and to my family’s life.” Milo alerts Hannah about eight to 10 minutes before she has a seizure and she then sits down on the floor or with her back against the wall to make sure she is out of any danger. Milo stays with her until she regains consciousness. Hannah’s mother Nicola Baker said: “I’ve gone from worrying about her every minute of the day to worrying about her half a dozen times a day, which is a significant difference.” Hannah says she is now more confident in doing ordinary activities such as going for a walk or making a trip to the cinema because of Milo.
You can watch Milo and find out how he helps his owner.