| Crazy canine competition
- Dusty whimpered as he watched his toy duck float away, but the golden retriever was leery of jumping off a 3-foot-high dock to retrieve it. Chris Gates and his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, petted, coaxed and splashed Dusty, as other dog owners standing around the small pond at Forever Friends Pet Care Center yelled encouraging words. After several tries, Gates did what any dog-loving dad would do. He jumped into the pond. Dusty eventually followed. "Did I have the arc?" joked a dripping-wet Gates. Welcome to DockDogs, where dog owners end up having as much fun as their dogs - maybe more. The sport, often called "Big Air," first appeared on ESPN in 2000 and since has become the fastest-growing dog activity in the country, says Tina McLaughlin, president of Buckeye DockDogs, Ohio's only club.
Rusty's 1200km amazing journey
RUSTY, a dog given up for dead, has shocked everyone after appearing just north of Adelaide -- six months after disappearing from his backyard 1200km away in Canberra. The dog, who somehow travelled across state borders to Two Wells, yesterday received star treatment as he left Adelaide with a dog handler. Amazing journey: Click here to see a map of Rusty's 1200km journey. How did the microchipped four-year-old bull terrier-cross cover the distance? "One thing is for sure, he didn't walk," Rusty's owner, Shane Gowen, 21, said. "Maybe he met a truckie who took him for a ride?" SA RSPCA spokeswoman Aimee McKay said: "We have never picked up a dog so far from its home." Share this article What is this? .
Rusty's 1200km amazing journey
RUSTY, a dog given up for dead, has shocked everyone after appearing just north of Adelaide -- six months after disappearing from his backyard 1200km away in Canberra. The dog, who somehow travelled across state borders to Two Wells, yesterday received star treatment as he left Adelaide with a dog handler. Amazing journey: Click here to see a map of Rusty's 1200km journey. How did the microchipped four-year-old bull terrier-cross cover the distance? "One thing is for sure, he didn't walk," Rusty's owner, Shane Gowen, 21, said. "Maybe he met a truckie who took him for a ride?" SA RSPCA spokeswoman Aimee McKay said: "We have never picked up a dog so far from its home." Share this article What is this? .
YOUR WHOLE PET
In the next Your Whole Pet, I'll take a look at how to get a pet from ethical sources. In the meantime, when checking out a breeder, be sure that you can meet the puppy's mother and see where the puppies are being housed. And if the only test you have to pass to get the puppy is whether your check clears or your credit card charge goes through, that's a pretty good sign the breeder doesn't have the puppy's best interests at heart -- or yours. The following companies donated services, tests, medications, food and products to help the Oklahoma puppy-mill dogs: MWI Veterinary Supply, Fort Dodge, Purina, Bayer, Merial, IDEXX Laboratories, Antech Diagnostics and DVM Pharmaceuticals. Christie Keith is a contributing editor for Universal Press Syndicate's Pet Connection and past director of the Pet Care Forum on America Online.
Air Canada Stops Beagle Shipments
Passengers recently protested the shipments, which had been going on for a number of years, The (Montreal) Gazette said Tuesday. The protests began last month when passengers on a May 21 flight from Montreal to Paris heard the dogs barking in the cargo hold during takeoff and landing. They reportedly saw 70 to 100 beagles being unloaded in Paris. .
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