1999 Germany

2000 New Zealand

2002 USA

2003 France

2004 USA

2005 Bulgaria

2007 USA

2008 USA

Here's are the Stories

1999 Bad UrachGermany (Reuters) - A German dog has shot and killed its owner, police said Wednesday. The 51-year-old man, who had been out hunting with his shotgun, was found dead beside his car near the south-western town of Bad Urach. Police ruled out suicide and foul play and said the gun must have gone off when the dog jumped on top of it on the car seat.

2000 Tokora, North Island, New Zealand Kelly Russell was hunting pigs when he put down his loaded shotgun. His six year old mongrel, Stinky stood on the trigger and blasted Mr Russell in the foot. Unfortunately it was five hours before a passing car spotted his plight and notified emergency services. It is not known whether he lost the foot or not.

2002 South Dakota USA On October 19th 2002, Michael Murray suffered an identical accident when out hunting on the first day of the hunting season. Like Mr Russell he put his loaded shotgun on the ground and was shot in the foot when Sonny his English setter pup stood on the trigger.

2003 Espelette, France

An unnamed Frenchman from the village of Espelette, in the Basque region was in his car on a hunting trip with his two gun dogs. Unfortunately he had left his loaded shotgun in the rear of the car with his dogs, and the gun discharged while he was driving.

He was admitted to hospital in the nearby town of Bayonne with a gunshot wound with lead pellets injuries to the hip.

2004 Florida USA

It was reported by Escambia County deputies that a man who was trying to kill seven puppies with a .38 calibre pistol, was in turn shot by one of his own dogs.

He was apparently holding two of the shepherd mix puppies when one of them got its paw on the trigger, and shot 37 year old Jerry Bradford in the wrist, needing him to receive hospital treatment.

Three of the puppies were found in a shallow grave at his home: the other four were taken by animal control to be offered for adoption.

The sheriff's office charged Bradford with animal cruelty.

2005 Bulgaria

A Bulgarian hunter got more than he bargained for when he began beating his Deutsch-Drahthaar hunting dog with his rifle.

The dog had refused to release the killed bird and in the ensuing tussle the dogs paw had caught the trigger, blasting the man.

Apparently the local media did not report the extent of the man's injuries, but said that the dog had injured a paw.

2007 Tennessee USA

King George and owner

According to a Fox news report, King George, a twenty two month old Great Dane shot its owner in the back with a .22 pistol.

The incident occurred when the dog's tail knocked the gun off a table causing it to fire.

The victim's fiancée Miesha Lucas said “I knew he was smart but I didn't think he was that smart.”

The unnamed man was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Lucas said that she does not know how her 21-year-old fiancée will react to King George when he was out of hospital, but she says she cannot blame the dog. "That's my baby," she said. "I feel for my dog. Now people are really going to notice him."

2007 Iowa, USA

While out hunting for pheasants with a pack of dogs, James Harris put his loaded gun on the ground to retrieve a fallen pheasant. One of the pack of hunting dogs stepped on the trigger firing the gun into Mr Harris's left calf. At only three feet (90 cm) away, this put 120 pellets into a four inch (10 cm) area of his leg. Alan Foster, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, told the AFP news agency the injury was "not life-threatening, but will give him trouble for a long time.

He had surgery and is doing pretty well,"

2008 Texas USA

Perry Alvin Price III had been on a goose hunt in south east Texas. A tracking dog apparently stepped on a loaded shotgun in his owner's pickup truck, which fired a fatal blast into the man's thigh, officials have said.

According to reports Price was hunting geese near Stowell about 60 miles east of Houston, when he shot down the bird. He placed his gun in the back of the truck to open the tailgate to release his retriever dog, and it is believed in the dog's excitement, to get the bird, it stood on the gun. The shot penetrated the tailgate before hitting Price in the leg.

He died shortly afterwards, in hospital from severe blood loss.

Paw prints of Arthur, a Labrador retriever, were found on the gun.

Other news items by this writer:

Fake Penis Drug Cheat Pair Found Guilty

Smiley’s is an old-fashioned whiskey and beer bar where locals have been bringing their dogs for decades of not for more than a century. The saloon carries the reputation of being the old continuously-operating bar in the state, established in 1851 and remaining open even during prohibition. Dogs have been part of the interior of the saloon for decades and possibly generations.

I know for a fact that there are customers who could say that their parents and grandparents used to sidle up to the bar at the end of long day and have their canine sitting or laying on the floor near their feet. Just think how many centuries that would be in dog years!

It’s a good thing that the health department didn’t come into Smiley’s when I was tending bar in 1994, and used to feed a very sweet dog named Betty some maraschino cherries as she waited patiently across the bar, perched on a stool.

I also fed “Nacho,” who some in town called “Barfy,” who was basically roaming free after the death of his Master, and who many in town took under our wings for years. Barfy (as I knew him) was an over-friendly, stocky Golden Lab – a beautiful creature – who would sleep off long afternoons of chasing sticks on the beach on the floor behind the bar on some of my shifts. Once, I hid Barfy from the Humane Society, who had come into the saloon looking for him. And more than once, I hid him from Don Deane, the saloon’s owner, who had made one of his occasional pronouncements at a Smiley’s staff meeting (an informal event as one might imagine). Immediately after the meeting, the saloon owner's instructions were forgotten.

Jackson was a dog that all of the bartenders loved – and we used to feed beef sticks and hot dogs. How could you not when it made him so happy?

And of course there have been the legions of dogs from virtually every regular, which would keep track on their master’s drinking from the floor near their feet.These are just a few of my own stories. It's a foregone conclusion that any regular of Smiley's would have five or six of their own - and with or without alcoholic impairment, the stories would all be different, and, I think, true.

Dogs are part of the Bolinas sub-culture, with most of the people I know talking about their animals as though they were people and telling colorful stories of canine encounters in their neighborhoods. My favorite is the story of the lady that lived on the Little Mesa, the upper echelon of homes in the town. The woman did not have a dog, nor did she have any farm animals – but she nonetheless arrived home one afternoon to find a goat standing on her living room table with six strays lying on the floor around it that were all sound asleep.

Saloon owner Don Deane, who had become the worst perpetrator of dogs in the bar with three of his own canines taking up partial residence, downplayed the matter as being just a layer of red tape that the county officials had to wrap him in. He said that the animals had been 86’d – bar code for banished – because the saloon also serves food for hungry patrons.

“It's really all about that we serve pre-cooked food out of the convection oven and the microwave. We have delicious hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, muffins, cookies, potato chips, etc.," Deane said.“Even if we were a snack store the health dept. would say no dogs. I've managed to recondition my mutts by providing them with snacks upstairs. Annie, Matilda and Cassie were in the bar all the time and couldn't understand the change until I bribed them. It's sad you can't drink with your dog or parrot or at least have their company."

Deane said that the new rules have led to a kinder, gentler saloon: "The good news is (there have been) no dog scuffles or beefs, no dogs or snakes getting stepped on and we haven't had a bear drag a customer out onto the street for weeks!

Out in California, the Supreme Court, made up of people who really should know the difference between a dog and a cat, recently called something by a name that it is not. And calling it by this name doesn’t change what that something actually is, or isn’t.

The court said that couples who want to marry legally may do so, even if they are of the same sex. The court called a dog a cat. The court called the relationship of two men or of two women marriage. It is not marriage, and calling it marriage doesn’t make it so.

Marriage is a legal, moral and social contract between one man and one woman. That’s what marriage is by definition. That’s what it has always been. Those who are now coming along and applying the word "marriage" to homosexual couples are just playing a word game.

You have to sympathize with the citizens of the 31^st state. They put up with a lot. They are home to the movie industry, for one. The industry may be full of talented people who know how to tell a good story, but many of them lack the skills necessary to properly distinguish one thing from another. Come to think of it, Hollywood people have always had a difficult time with marriage, even real marriages, between a man and a woman. They often could not keep those marriages intact. Now these people are putting their money and their talent to work to support the Court’s decision to legalize gay unions, even though many, perhaps even a majority, of the citizen’s of the state do not want gay unions authenticated as real marriages. Californians have a real opportunity to defend true marriage on election day, November 4. Proposition 8 simply states, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

That makes sense. In fact, it is a little disconcerting that such a fundamental truth has to be placed in a state constitution. For centuries, the simple words of Proposition 8 have gone unchallenged. No one needed to give them legal authority because they had common sense authority and were universally accepted by politicians and citizens alike.

That is, until some folks came along and tried to pass off their dog as a cat. Saying it doesn’t make it so.

This couple had a toy poodle, very cute by the way. One night, the poodle starts to choke, so they jump in the car to take it to an animal hospital. On the way there, the gentleman is speeding on a freeway, but of course he is trying to get there quickly as their beloved pet is dying in there arms. I admit, going 100 mph is a little much, but when a part becomes part of your family, what can you do?  

Well, a cop pulls them over. The man jumps out of his vehicle in a frenzy explaining to the cop what's going on and why he is speeding. The cop actually tells the man, " Dude, it's just a dog, you can get another one ". Then pulls him to the side of the road and continues to issue this ticket. All the while, the woman is in the front seat holding her precious puppy in her lap watching it die. 

Needless to say, the animal ended up dying after the cop took an amazing twenty minutes to issue their ticket. The ticket was dismissed, and the cop got a slap on the wrist. Now I ask you, Is that really fair? I don't think so. My thoughts were, " he could have just escorted them to the animal hospital, then given them a ticket".

Migaloo's Back in Our Waters

Click here for more images of Migaloo the White Whale.

This white whale was sighted near Yorkey's Knob by a group of fishermen. They saw this albino giant near Pixie Reef, about 40 minutes from Yorkey Knob. Accompanying this white whale was two huge humpbacks. He was spotted on July 15, 2006, July 24, 2007, and July 22, 2008.

Frogs with Disease-Resistance Genes May Escape Extinction

Many amphibians die off around the world, but researchers at Lincoln University in New Zealand may have found certain genes that can help frog populations resist infection to save them from extinction.

New Bird Species

This bird was found on Stratton Mountain in Vermont, and caused quite a stir for scientists. The bird is thought to be a "hybrid of two species, the trush and the veery birds."

A DNA testing will reveal if this new bird species is a result of climate change. Further reading for bird lovers can be found here.

Unicorn Lives in Italy

This one-year-old deer represents the fabled unicorn, a mythological animal, and was born in captivity. He is called, you guess it, "Unicorn", for the single horn on his head, and the director of the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato believes he has a genetic defect, since his twin has two horns.

Giant Shrimp

A giant creature was caught in the Donetsk region of Western Ukraine, and scientists think that it could be related to the shrimp species. This creature can live in any watery area, including puddles, and is almost 20 centimeters long.

South American Stork

On July 31, 2008, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries showed these jabiru storks. They have a blocky, slightly upturned black beak, and the are shown along with wood storks, egrets, and ibis. These jabiru storks are rarely seen in the North, but are plentiful in South America.

New Manta Ray Species Discovered

Scientists discovered two new types of manta ray species. The more commonly known rays are smaller, and are more commonly seen near the coasts. The larger rays avoid human contact, and have a non-poisonous barb on their tail.

The manta rays can weigh over 4,400 pounds, and their wingspans can reach almost 25 feet.

Golden Retriever Nurses Tiger Cubs

This golden retriever adopted three tiger cubs at the Safari Zoological Park, when their tiger mother abandoned them. Isabella had just finished weaning her own puppies, and Tom Harvey, an owner at the park, put the tiger cubs in her care.

The Safari Zoological Park opened in 1989, and specializes in the care of endangered species.

Tiny Tree Shrew

These tiny pen-tailed tree shrews were discovered by researchers sipping fermented palm nectar, and "show no sign of intoxication." These creatures live in the Malaysian rainforest, and the alcohol concentration that they drink for hours every night was recorded at 3.8 percent.

"Cat Angel"

This cat has two four-inch long wings, and he belongs to Granny Feng. The owner lovingly called him a "cat angel", and complained that after being sexually harassed by many female cats in her area, her cat sprouted wings within a month.

Experts believe that this phenomenon is more likely caused by a gene mutation, and the cat can live a normal life.

Fish Pedicure

This is a new trend in spa pampering, where you can have these little carps nibble at the dead skin of your hands and feet. This fish pedicure is creating a buzz in the D.C. area, and so far 5000 people have taking part in this experiment.

These fish are called garra rufa, also known as doctor fish, and were first used in Turkey.

Rosy-Lipped Batfish

This is the quote directly from the National Geographic website. I thought you should read the comparison: "Like a marine Mick Jagger, a rosy-lipped batfish pouts near Costa Rica's Cocos Island. Batfish are poor swimmers, preferring to use their strangely adapted pectoral fins like legs to crawl about the seafloor."

Venus Comb Shell

This shell is called the Venus Comb, and it is one of the most exotic shells.

With so many wonderful and strange things around the world, these 13 items seem to speak for themselves.

Bear Attacks

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The most recent case was on April 23rd, 2008. Stephan Miller was killed by his grizzly, Rocky, who was known as "one of the most gentle and affectionate animals" in Hollywood. Rocky is the star in Will Ferrell's movie Semi-Pro, and he is awaiting his faith after the death of his trainer.

Whale Attacks

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An orca whale attacked its trainer, Ken Peter at Sea World. Fortunately, the trainer only suffered a broken bone in his left foot. The orca whale is known as Kasatka, and for more than a decade they had worked together, she had attacked Peter only two times.
Two year earlier, Kasatka's father, killed his trainer during a show in Canada, at Sealand of the Pacific.

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Another trainer at the Loro Parque was attacked by an orca at a pre-show warm up in Puerto de la Cruz. She was dragged down to the bottom of the pool, and was rescued by two colleagues. The whale injured the trainer's right lung, and broke her forearm in two places.

Elephant Attacks

Arna the Stardust Circus Elephant killed trainer Ray William who has worked with her for three years. He suffered "a broken back and a ruptured aorta", and died from "severe blunt drama". It is said that if the elephant killed once, often will kill again.
In 1974, 1983, and 1987, an elephant named Abu from Ashton Circus killed three workers. Arna and her partner Gigi (who had been Abu's partner before sold to Stardust Circus), are retired at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo after the incident.
In another case, an elephant named Poabson Unnikrishnan, turned wild when a spectator touched its tusk, killing three people at Koodalmanikya Temple in Irinjalakuda, Kerala, in Southern India.

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Lion Attacks

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Three lions, Pearl (a lioness), Rudi and Sultan (males) attacked their tamer, Geoffrey Lennon, in front of an audience at a Lennon Bros Circus performance in 2001. Although the lion tamer was seriously injured, he survived the attack by the rescue effort of fellow-trainers who used fire extinguishers to tame down the lions.

Jaguar Attacks

Image Source-(This jaguar is not related to the story)

A zoo keeper at the accredited Denver Zoo was killed by a jaguar named Jorge on February 24th, 2007. It is an occupational hazard that is accepted by animal trainers, handlers, and keepers.

 

Wolf-Dogs Attack

Image Source -(This wolf-dog is not related to the story)

An owner was found dead in the cage with her nine half-wolves, and half-dogs that she was devoted in raising. The 50-year-old lady was bled to death, and the nine wolf-dogs were euthanized later.

Most Recent Attacks

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On Thursday, June 26th, 2008, a golden lab mix and Australia shepherd mix, mauled and killed their owner. The 74 year-old lady, Lorraine May, was bit on the face, head, shoulders, and arms. By Saturday, the dogs were euthanized.

Monkey Attacks

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This macaque monkey, Chico, had bit three people after escaping from its owner, and was scheduled for euthanized for rabies testing. Dr. Larry Jecha made the decision to euthanized Chico when the three victims didn't want to pay for expensive rabies vaccine, and the owner failed to response.

These are just some of the sad stories in this world. Our fascination and desire to befriend with these creatures have caused them to lose their lives, as for some of their owners/trainers.

 

 

My top five best picked relationships that I have come crossed are below.

Ladder of Love

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If you have not read this story from the news yet, then you should. Not only that I was speechless, and thinking about them for days, I also admired their determination, devoting, and commitment to each other despite living in such seclusion.

Their love story unfold in 2006, won the greatest love story for China, and the world discovered more than 6,000 hand-carved stairs up a mountain from the love of a husband for his wife.

Holocaust Siblings

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The best relationship does not have to be between two lovers, it can be with brother and sister across the globe and this story is one of those.

After 66 years of not knowing whether or not the other sibling made it alive through the holocaust, the American Red Cross had reunited them. Through years of anxiety, dreaming, and hope, 73 year-old Wssewolod Galezkij, and 83 year-old Irene Famulak is finally together.

The Last Lecture

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His spirit is strong enough to move millions of people over the internet, and his love for his family is so incredible that Diane Sawyer of ABC did a series of interviews on his life, following by Oprah with her special show.

Randy Pausch, a phenomenal professor faces his pancreatic cancer head on. There is no need to feel sorry for him. He would not like that! His courage, his love for life, his love for family will move you to tears, and convince you to look at your own in a different way.

The Last Lecture is an overnight internet sensation, and has helped bringing magic to millions. You have to read the story, and listen to his lecture here.

Keep Randy Pausch and his family in your prayer, close to your heart!

The Kiss

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This is a beautiful love story that truly can touch the core of your heart also. This love is between a fireman, and a dog, and there is not much to tell, just a very short story to read if you click on the title or image source.

This picture alone is enough to touch my heart, and change my mind about the canine species.

Love at First Flight

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As wonderful as this story is, love can be found everywhere and with anything. In this case, the relationship begins with a black swan named Petra with a swan paddle boat. She caused quite a stir when she refused to fly south without her partner.

Petra remains faithful to the paddle boat, and waits for her mate's arrival the very next season. She is rather a celebrity herself, since the press was there to capture the moment her paddle boat was returned to the water.

Grab some tissue paper when you are ready to read some of these stories.

Gardasil, a vaccine that hit the American market in 2006, has become the recent target of health complaints. This vaccine is given to young girls between the ages of 11 and 21 and claims to prevent certain types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that have been linked to specific cancers of the female body. From the time this vaccine began to be administered, there have been fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA and claimed to have been caused by the vaccine. Ten of those deaths were confirmed by the CDC, but none of have been directly linked to the vaccine. There have been a total of 7,802 reports of adverse side affects caused by this vaccine, symptoms ranging from nausea to the previously mentioned deaths.

Merck, the company that produces the vaccine, indicates that these adverse affects and deaths are likely nothing more than a coincidence. However, they do intend to continue evaluating every claim of adverse reactions to the fullest.

If your daughter has not yet received this vaccine, it may be a good idea to wait until theses concerns can be completely investigated. As with all new medications, the fact that the FDA approves the drug for use does not mean that the drug has been completely and fully studied with regards to all the possible affects that may occur within the general population.

Researchers in Sweden and Hungary have recently undertaken a training project like no other. It seems that they have succeeded in training dogs to sniff out certain types of female specific cancers. Ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancers can now be detected by specially trained dogs with the talent to determine the grade and type of the cancer being discerned. This is an important step in detecting cancers early and allowing treatment to begin in the early stages of cancer. Cancer detected early is often curable through aggressive treatments.

Dogs have long been employed in sniffing out substances, such as bombs and drugs, so it stands to reason that researchers would delve into the possibility that dogs could be used within the realm of medicine to help diagnose specific illnesses. Scientists did note that this new development is still within the beginning stages of study and the use of dogs in clinics is not likely to be something to see in the near future.

Macular degeneration is a condition of the eye that typically results in a partial or complete loss of vision. Lucentis, a new drug that has recently been approved by the FDA, has shown such dramatic results in treating macular degeneration by not only slowing the disease process but also correcting damage that has already been caused to the eye.

This drug is administered by injection to the eye once every four weeks for an entire year. The drug then works to stop the bleeding within the eye that causes the disease. This is a big step in maintaining quality of life for the elderly patients that are typical victims of this particular eye disease.

The people trying to find the evidence of human remains brought some fancy equipment with them to try to locate the remains. One piece of equipment sticks some kind of sensor in the ground and can pick up chemical remains of what could be humans. Another was ground penetrating radar that can locate the remains.

I read this article and a big thought crossed my mind. How in the world did they pinpoint where to bring all this fancy equipment to look for these remains in the first place? That was a pretty big task and one that would be hard to accomplish. Well, it was until I read how they found out in the first place where to start looking! They brought a dog in to get them started; specifically, a cadaver dog.

We might have a lot of technology to help us out with a lot of things, but in the end it's usually the old tried and true ways of doing things that matter the most.

And one addendum to this short piece. You might see a cadaver dog, but you will never see a cadaver cat!

Although some of these breeds may have been classified previously as dangerous by some, Lee County Animal Services has many different dogs in their custody for biting someone, including a Chihuahua.

Donald Cohen, of the Gulf Coast Humane Society states, "Condemn the deed not the breed. It worries me a great deal because there are good pet owners out there that love their animals and banning a pet just because it's a particular breed is wrong."

"I don't think there's any such thing as a dangerous breed. I think there's something called a dangerous owner," said Cohen.

PETA believes this bill will keep negligent dog owners from intentionally raising particular breeds to be vicious.

The Humane Society strongly believes that if the bill passes, a lot of pets would be pointlessly euthanized.

Personally, I believe that this bill could become a serious problem for residents of Florida, like myself. More should be done to punish the individuals who train dogs to be vicious. More should be done to stop dog fighting rings. Punish the people, not the animals.

A dog's breed is only the half of it, a dog's personality and behavior are a direct reflection of their owner.