Rescue dog helps rescue dog

Thu, 08/30/2012 - 10:59am

PITTSBURGH — Behind every great dog story is an owner, and in the case of an injured, underweight mutt rescued this week from a garbage-can prison in a vacant lot, that owner is Peter Kreuthmeier.

Without the intervention of Kreuthmeier, who dialed animal control officers upon spotting a canine nose pop out of a chewed-through hole in a trash can with a firmly snapped-on lid, who knows where the imperiled pooch would be today.

Staff at the Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center in East Liberty, Pa., think someone either left a collar on the dog since it was a puppy or purposely placed a too-small collar on him, leading it to become embedded in his flesh and causing an awful-looking ring of gashes around his neck.

"It was a sickening sight," Kreuthmeier said Wednesday.

"For it to start to rub into the skin and break open the skin, our vets are estimating about two weeks that the dog was in this situation," Dan Rossi, the shelter’s executive director, said. "Obviously, somebody meant to throw this dog away."

Kreuthmeier modestly deflected all attention to his own dog, Zeke, because he was the one who fixated on the trash can and drew his owner’s attention.

Kreuthmeier, 50, an architect, was probably only half-kidding when he said, "Your headline can be, like, ’Rescue dog rescues dog.’ "

But that’s exactly what happened.

Zeke, who came from a shelter himself, was happily bouncing along with Kreuthmeier to the office of Loysen and Kreuthmeier Architects around lunchtime when he caught a scent too interesting to pass up.

"This garbage can was brown plastic, laying on its side, and my dog, Zeke, was insistent on checking it out," Kreuthmeier said. "You wouldn’t give it a second thought."

But a dog would.

"Zeke went up to it. He was sniffing and sniffing and pretty soon this dog nose pops out of a hole in the bottom of the garbage can. And then you hear this ’thumpthumpthumpthump’ from the bottom of the can like he was wagging his tail."

Kreuthmeier called Pittsburgh’s Animal Care & Control Bureau. Workers swiftly arrived and removed the dog from the can.

His fur was matted. Chewing gum stuck to him. He had fleas. And those cuts looked ghastly. No collar or tags could be found.

The dog, likely a terrier-poodle mix about 3 or 4 years old, was brought to the shelter. He weighed in at 12 pounds, several pounds under his expected healthy weight, but he was not dehydrated.

Workers shaved him, cleaned the wounds and treated him with antibiotics for a mild infection. He will have to be neutered. The shelter anticipates that the gash will heal on its own without requiring stitches.

"It’s certainly a serious injury but it wasn’t at this point life-threatening," Rossi said.

Despite his injuries, the dog is happy, playful and friendly. He even wagged his tail when he came to the shelter and did not put up any fight when being handled.

Jonathan D. Silver at silverjpost-gazette.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com

AMAZING DOG STORY

The Path to Safety
A survivor of the World Trade Center tragedy tells his story

Our country is in mourning over the events that have happened recently. Our hearts have been torn by the knowledge that innocent people, caring people, are now gone. We like to believe that all people are good, that civilization is strong, and that the world is a safe place to live. In the midst of such tragedy, it’s inspirational stories like the following that help outweigh the bad.
Michael Hingson was on the 78^th floor of the World Trade Center in New York on that fateful Tuesday morning when the building was struck by a plane under the control of terrorist fanatic.

His yellow Lab guide, "Roselle," was sleeping peacefully under his desk, and the two had been going about their daily routines. Michael is the district sales manager for the computer company Quantum ATL and had been hosting a meeting of field representatives.
"I heard a loud noise like a bump and then a lot of shaking. It was worse than any earthquake I’ve ever experienced," he said. Michael grew up in Palmdale, Calif., and had experienced the Northridge earthquake that struck the state in ’94, among others. He now lives with his wife Karen in Westfield, NJ.
"The building started swaying, and the air was filled with smoke, fire, paper and the smell of kerosene," he said. The plane had struck 15 floors above him. He knew something serious had happened, and his first thought was to call his wife and then make sure everyone in the office was evacuated safely. His wife would not hear from him again until he emerged from the building hours later.
"We knew the emergency exit procedures and people did a very good job of following them," he said. "Roselle" led him through the disheveled office and to the stairwell to begin the long decent, sometimes guiding, sometimes following behind him when things were tight.
Although they didn’t feel anything, Michael estimated that the second plane had struck the other tower when they were somewhere around the 50^th floor. "By the time we reached the bottom, it had become very hard to breathe," he said. "We were both very hot and tired. ‘Roselle’ was panting and wanted to drink the water that was pooled on the floor. "
They continued walking away from the building. They were about two blocks away when Tower 2 began to collapse. "It sounded like a metal and concrete waterfall," he said. "We started running for the subway." "Roselle" remained focused on her work and he kept his commands simple. When they emerged and were making their way from the scene, Tower 1 toppled, showering them with ash and debris. "Roselle" guided him to the home of a friend in mid-Manhattan where they stayed until the trains were running again. He finally returned home to his worried wife at 7 p.m.
When we spoke with Michael on the day after the tragedy, he said that they were both feeling stiff and sore, but were otherwise fine. "Roselle" had been sleeping for a lot of the time, but would get up occasionally and play with Michael’s retired yellow Lab guide, "Linnie." Michael said, "For me the saddest part was talking to the firemen as they were coming up the stairs—that’s what I’ll always remember most."
this story comes to us from Fall 2001 Guide Dogs for the Blind website

PIT BULL

During the 19th century, England, Ireland, and Scotland began to experiment with crosses between bulldogs and terriers, looking for a dog that combined the gameness, speed, and agility of the terrier with the strength and athleticism of the bulldog.

Funny Dogs

Great Danes

The Great Dane, also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound, is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size. The Great Dane is one of the world's tallest dog breeds; the current world record holder, measuring 109 cm (43 in) from paw to shoulder; 220 cm (7.2 ft) from head to tail, is George. Great Danes were originally bred to hunt deer and wild boar.

Wolf Dog

The gray wolf is also called the common wolf or Canis lupus. There used to be a lot more wolves in the world than there are now, but there are still enough around so that they are not considered to be a threatened species.

A wolfdog (also called a wolf–dog hybrid or wolf hybrid) is a canid hybrid resulting from the mating of a wolf and a dog. The term "wolfdog" is preferred by most of the animals' proponents and breeders because the domestic dog was categorized in 1993 as a subspecies of the gray wolf. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the United States Department of Agriculture refer to the animals as wolf–dog hybrids. Rescue organizations consider any dog with wolf heritage within the last five generations to be a wolfdog, including some established wolfdog breeds.

As of 1998, the USDA estimated the approximate population of wolfdogs to be around 300,000 in the United States , with some other census studies estimating the population could be as high as 500,000. In first generation, gray wolves are most often crossed with wolf-like dogs for an appearance most appealing to owners desiring to own an exotic pet.