December 28, 2005
Beau, the Guide Dog Who Took the Senate Floor
Beau, the Guide Dog Who Took the Senate Floor:
One hundred pounds of loyalty and quiet determination in his prime, Beau became a minor celebrity for a couple of days in 1997 when the Senate barred the visually impaired Shea, then a nuclear policy aide to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), from bringing the dog onto the Senate floor.
The Senate had decided earlier that it would abide by workplace rules, including the ADA, which meant that it had to allow Beau to accompany Moira Shea to work.
"It sounds crazy but it gives me comfort," Shea said. "I'm trying to figure out how to preserve his legacy. He wasn't like a member of my family, he was a member of my family. . . . This dog, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be working today. He totally changed my life around. I trust[ed] him with my safety. It was just the most incredible, amazing experience."
Beau was put to sleep on December 9, 2005.
December 25, 2005
Frisket of Pennsylvania Avenue
Last weekend, Frisket took me for a ramble around downtown Washington, DC. She'd been there before, in 2002, and wanted to return to chase some squirrels around Lafayette Park and The Ellipse.December 14, 2005
Firefighter saves dog with "mouth-to-snout" resuscitation
Firefighter saves dog with "mouth-to-snout" resuscitation - Boston.com: Pixie, a 12-pound terrier crossbreed, was not breathing Tuesday when firefighters pulled her from a Salem home filled with smoke and flames.
Pixie was "seizing," with her back arched and mouth wide open. Firefighter Richard LeBlanc put his mouth on the dog's mouth in attempt to breath for the dog and revive it. After another firefighter gave Pixie oxygen, the dog was taken to a local veterinary clinic for emergency treatment.
December 09, 2005
9/11 search dog gets helping paw
Aww....New York Daily News - City News - 9/11 search dog gets helping paw: Coby was of the hundreds of dogs who went to the World Trade Center site after Sept. 11, 2001, to help search for victims of the terror attacks. But when his eyesight started to fail, 16-year-old Coby needed some help of his own.
But the hospital [Animal Medical Center] performed the delicate and complicated surgery on Coby's eyes this week at no cost to Vider. A patient-assistance fund paid for the treatment.
Donate to the Animal Medical Center.
December 06, 2005
To reach Frisket, please dial...
Caught this article this morning: Wired News: Fido's First Cell Phone: As of next March, pet owners will be able to drop the photocopier and staple gun and pick up the phone instead. That's when PetCell, the first cell phone for dogs, is due to hit pet-store shelves.
Apologies for not posting more notes and musings from Frisket...she has been pretty much in hibernation since returning from Boston.
Her daily routine is to groggily wake up, slobber on one of us, get walked, run upstairs for Frisket food, and then return to our her bed and curl up in front of the TV.
(Of course, as I write this she's actually lying on the floor in reverse-paw-tuck mode).
Frisket has no travels coming up, though she will be taking in a couple of days of merriment at Monstermutt later this week while her people travel to Chicago.