Meet Officer Sammy of the Walnut Cove Police Department, Walnut Cove, NC Did you think all police dogs were German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois? Not so! A mixed-breed dog who was abandoned by his owner is a valued member of a police department in North Carolina. Officer Sammy was not always deemed law enforcement material. […]

Meet Maya Belle who has earned AKC’s top Therapy Dog title of THDD for making more than 400 visits to help others. She and her owner, Raymond Rauen of Livonia, MI, spend hours every week to cheer patients at St. Mary Mercy Hospital Since Maya Belle and Ray began volunteering at St. Mary Mercy Hospital […]

One day in April of 2010, I was walking past a cemetery with my Standard Rat Terrier, Lucky, when a puppy came from behind a house across the street and began following us. Despite my efforts to shoo her off, she followed us for about three blocks. When she nearly got hit by a car, […]

My husband, Donald, became permanently disabled a year prior to us purchasing Klaus.  On May 1, 2012, as he was driving home from work, he smashed his car into another car while going 50 miles an hour and then hit a wall. At first we thought he fell asleep at the wheel but after months […]

Stella was found as a puppy in a warehouse, and I adopted her at 4 months of age from a rescue group that advertised her as a Border Collie-terrier mix.  Stella didn’t act like a terrier and kept growing, and growing. A DNA test indicated that she is 25% Great Pyrenees, 25% Old English Sheepdog, 25% […]

Illinois resident Cathy Mitchell rescued Millie eight years ago from a humane society when the dog was just an 8-week-old puppy. The German Shepherd mix started competing in agility at age 4 years, jumping in the 24-inch height division. Then she suffered a rear leg injury and was sidelined from competition for nearly a year. […]

Clark's Logan UD BN GO RN THDX CGCA owned by Kathy Clark of Chino, CA Logan is a rescue dog who has earned the AKC Obedience title of Utility Dog (UD) – the most advanced class level in competition obedience. Utility requires dogs to perform many difficult exercises, including Scent Discrimination in which the dog […]

Finding Tank was the most unexpected event. My husband, Pete, and I recently lost our beloved German Shepherd Dog, Wolf, to old age.  He was the dog that brought us together as a search team and then a married couple.  His passing left a huge hole in our lives and our pack. I hadn’t even […]

This training tip is contributed by dog trainer Kay Lackey of Lodi, OH, owner of Katie’s Ark Dog Training. She is the owner of an AKC Canine Partner named Rocky, a pitbull mix who is a certified therapy dog and rally competitor. Lackey, who has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife science, has worked with animals […]

“We both enjoy doing this because we like seeing how the residents light up when Max enters the facility,” Burn said.  “It provides joy to all involved in the encounters.” Steve rescued Max from the Arlington (TX) Animal Services Center in December 2009. He is a mixed breed and, according to a DNA test, he […]