Memorial Day

What do Rifleman Khan, G.I. Joe, Simon, and Upstart have in common?

You might think they are all cartoon characters from the popular 80's t.v. series but, they were all very real heroes. Heroes that happened to be animals.

These animals have all been awarded the Dickin Medal for "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defense Units."

Photo from wikimedia

Rifleman Khan was a one of 27 dogs to receive the medal. He was a part of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and paired with Corporal James Muldoon. One night in 1944 the two of them were on a boat together on their way to an important battle when they were spotted and fired upon. Rifleman Khan was able to swim to shore, but he discovered that Muldoon was not a swimmer. The dog went back while still under fire and brought his handler to shore, dragging him far enough out of the water to be safe.

G.I. Joe was one of 32 birds to receive the medal. This pigeon saved an entire town in Italy from being bombed. Calvi Vecchia's bombing was scheduled for October 18, 1943 but G.I. Joe brought the message to the Allied Troops that the town had already been taken by some British Troops just in time. His speed saved over 1,000 lives including both the villagers and the British Troops.

Simon was the only cat to receive the medal. He started as a sickly stray cat that was stowed away on the HMS Amethyst. He quickly earned his keep on the ship by keeping the rat population in check. After an attack by the Chinese that killed Lieutenant Commander Skinner and seriously injured Simon you'd think that he'd retire. Instead Simon raised the men's morale by continuing his job of catching rats.

Upstart was one of 3 horses to receives the medal. He was a police horse on duty when a building was bombed near him. With the glass and other building parts flying around, not to mention the noise, you'd think that the horse would spook. Not Upstart. He was recognized for his ability to remain calm at that time, allowing his rider to direct traffic and maintain order.

If you're interested in reading about the other Dickin Medal recipients, wikipedia has a great list. Keep in mind that the award has been given out 63 times, so if you prefer a shorter list BuzzFeed has chosen 15 they think are the coolest. I previously wrote a post about Roselle, another dog that received the Dickin Medal, after helping her owner get out of the Twin Towers and to safety on September 11th.

Lastly, in my research for this post I found a beautiful poem called "The Soldier's Kiss". It's about a war horse dying and how the soldier responds. Here's a stanza from it:

"Only a dying horse! he swiftly kneels,

Lifts the limp head and hears the shivering sigh

Kisses his friend, while down his cheek there steals

Sweet pity’s tear, "Goodbye old man, Goodbye"."

Please go here to read the whole poem.

Today is a day to remember all of our fallen heroes both human and animal.

Diabetic Alert Dog Coming to Louisiana

Good news for a family in Louisiana!


They mentioned the possibility of Jeremiah going into a coma, but there are other unfortunate side effects of diabetes as well. Long term effects can damage eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels.

Teaming Jeremiah up with this dog will prevent some of this damage because he'll be able to keep from taxing his system. The other benefit is teaching Jeremiah how to work with a service dog. If his eyes fail him as a result of diabetes, he will know how to behave with a seeing eye dog, maybe he'll even be able to train the dog himself.

Thanks Veronica at The Eco Niche for sharing this story with me.

Good luck to Jeremiah and his family and Welcome to Louisiana, Warren Retriever!

I'd Catch a Grenade For You...Jump in Front of a Train For You

Lilly has that kind of dedication, a point that she proved literally by saving her owner from an oncoming train.

Christine Spain, had a history of depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. That's why her son (David Lanteigne) adopted Lilly, a pit bull, 3 years ago, so that she would have a companion. Lilly has proven much to be more than that.

Since acquiring Lilly, Ms. Spain has cut down on her drinking. She doted over Lilly and seemed to be in a much better state, until a few days ago, when she got some bad news and her old habit kicked in. As she was walking Lilly that evening she passed out.
On railroad tracks.
And a train was coming.

The train driver saw them and tried to slow down, but heard a thump and knew he hit them. When he went to check, he saw that the woman was miraculously untouched by the train.
Lilly had pulled her to safety!

In doing so, Lilly bore the brunt of the impact and was taken immediately to Angell Animal Medical Center where the doctors had to amputate a front leg and put steel plates in her shattered pelvis. She is doing well, despite all of that and even wagged her tail and tried to stand when David came to visit.

If you are interested in helping this amazing dog on her road to recovery, you can go here to offer your financial support.

I'm so glad that Lilly is a pit bull. They've been getting a lot of bad press in recent years and have become the breed to hate. Lilly proves that breed has nothing to do with it! Her love and devotion speaks volumes. When that train was coming at them, it went against every natural instinct she had to stay there. Lilly is definitely a guardian angel!

Bella, a shar-pei/pit bull mix, displays the angelic quality of dogs
(regardless of breed).
Thanks Kat Godfrey for letting me use a picture of your adorable dog!

If you're interested in reading about some other dog heroes check out these stories.

Dog Participates in Marathon

Spring is definitely marathon season, with big local races like the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and the Crescent City Classic here in New Orleans, and then national races like the Boston Marathon. For one man, this marathon season is extra special.

Mr. Kelly has run in 19 marathons, which is already impressive to me, so why will his 20th be any different or more spectacular? Because a lot has happened to him between then and now. This will be his first full marathon since an industrial accident, stroke, and bicycle accident shattered an arm and limited the use of one foot, among other things. Oh, and did I mention that he was born blind in one eye?

As you might suspect, he has not let any of his medical issues stop him, but he is also smart about it. Four years ago he got Murphy, a Rhodesian ridgeback dog, to walk with him. Murphy was made for walking he found out after doing some research. It turns out that this breed of dog was used to hunt lions in Africa and they need long walks to be at their best.

Normally, dogs aren't allowed in the marathons, but Dan Kelly was able to get special permission for Murphy to accompany him. They will both be wearing t-shirts with "assisted walker" and their race number to identify that they are together. Their pace might be a little slower than the other runners, but they should still be able to finish the race. (They've been walking a mile in 12-13 minutes and the sweeper truck does a mile in 13 minutes and 42 seconds.)

So if you get a second today, think about Dan and Murphy as they race in the Pittsburgh Marathon.

***This is another big race going on today as well, the Maryland Half-Marathon. Last year, it passed by Dozer (the goldendoodle's) house and he got through his invisible fence to join the race. There's video of him crossing the finish line after running 8 miles. This year, he's fundraising on behalf of the half-marathon and the donations are going to the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center.***

***UPDATE*** They've posted the results of the Pittsburgh Marathon and Dan Kelly finished the race! Congrats to him and Murphy!

Thunder Dog

Over this winter break from school I was required to read a book about a person with a disability and then write a reflection paper about it. While looking through the long list of approved books, I noticed that not a single one included human-animal interactions. I was sure that such a book must exist and I was determined to read it. I did some research and found I was right; several people have written about how their animals have helped them with their disability. This gave me an idea for my blog; I will read one such book and write about it once a month.

This month's book is Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory.

Michael Hingson was born blind as a result of a medical procedure that was administered to premature babies at the time. He did not let that stop him from anything though, as a child he'd ride his bicycle unaccompanied throughout the neighborhood, in college he drove his car around the campus, and he even flew and landed a Cessna airplane from Boise to Hailey, Idaho (~100 miles).

He was first paired up with a Guide Dog when he was 14. I love how he explains that experience; you get excited along with him as he's waiting to meet his new teammate, Squire. Michael describes the training process he went through to learn the commands, as well as a brief history of Guide Dogs.

"Squire and I developed a partnership, and I learned how to read Squire's body language through the handle of the harness; I could almost tell what he was going to do before he did it. I think he learned to read me too. He was much more than just a pet. Squire was my best friend, and we became a team as he guided me safely through the halls of Palmdale High School for the next four years."

Most of the book is about his partnership with Roselle though. She is the one that was with him in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Roselle is described as having two personalities, one playful and mischievous, stealing socks and hiding them, and the other when she's in her harness calm and focused.

That calm and focus allowed Michael to remain calm and clearheaded about the situation as they walked down  1,463 stairs to escape Tower 1. When a woman started to panic, Roselle nudged her hand; a moment after rubbing Roselle, the woman was able to continue on.  As a team, they demonstrated that it was going to be ok, they would make it out alive.

Michael talks about how wise his Guide Dogs are and included this list in his book:

"What I learned from Roselle on 9/11

1. There's a time to work and a time to play. Know the difference. When the harness goes on, it's time to work. Work hard; others are depending on you.

2. Focus in and use all of your senses. Learn to tell the difference between a harmless thunderstorm and a true emergency. Don't let your sight get in the way of your vision.

3. Sometimes the way is hard, but if you work together, someone will pass along a water bottle just when you need it.

4. Always, but always, kiss firefighters.

5. Ignore distractions. There's more to life than playing fetch or chasing tennis balls.

6. Listen carefully to those who are wiser and more experienced than you. They'll help you find the way.

7. Don't stop until work is over. Sometimes being a hero is just doing your job.

8. The dust cloud won't last forever. Keep going and look for the way out. It will come.

9. Shake off the dust and move on. Remember the first guide dog command? "Forward"

10. When work is over, play hard with your friends. And don't forget to share your Booda Bone."

Sadly, Roselle passed away on June 26, 2011. You can learn more about her life and make a contribution at Roselle's Dream Foundation.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned that being blind is not necessarily a disability, it just means that you experience life differently, and we all experience life differently. At the end of the book there are some neat extras including a timeline of the events of September 11th, courtesy rules for blindness, a dissertation about blindness, resources for blindness, and a glossary of terms related to blindness.

Faith, the Dog

Last week I introduced Ricochet, a "SURFice" dog.  Today I'd like to highlight Faith.  This amazing dog only has two legs but is able to get around on her own.  She does it by walking on her two hind legs!  Faith is often an inspiration to the people she meets allowing them to believe that they too can overcome enormous odds.

Listening to the different things Faith's family says, I hear all of the ways this dog has played a healing role.  She literally gave her human family faith again, she was an answer to their prayers.  She has been a therapy dog, a reading dog, and part of a motivational speaking team (her owner does the speaking).

Here's her website where you can see what she's up to.  I just found out that she was in New Orleans this past weekend, promoting the grand opening of Belladoggie, a place for your dog to go to heal.

Amazing, Inspiring Dog

Unfortunately, Ricochet couldn't be a service dog, but she is still helping and giving hope to millions of people.    Make sure you have some tissues nearby.

A Dog Helps Too Much?

Recently the NY Times presented a legal debate that some therapy animals might "help" too much.  The article is about Rosie, a golden retriever, who went on the stand with a rape victim.  The accused was convicted and the defense team thinks that Rosie is partly responsible for that.  They believe that the jury might have been swayed by the cuteness of the dog, rather than the facts.

What do you think?  Should animals be allowed on the stand?  Why or why not?