1. When the cargo plane touched down on the tarmac at Kennedy International Airport on Friday afternoon, a cacophonous barking could be heard coming from the hold. Maad Abu-Ghazalah stood on the runway below, anxiously waiting. There were exactly 69 dogs onboard, most of whom came from his shelter in the West Bank. The dogs were mostly abandoned, many were feral and a number of them had lost legs after being hit by cars. The shelter had been “like paradise,” Mr. Abu-Ghazalah said. But in December, as conditions in the West Bank deteriorated amid the Israel-Hamas war, he decided he could no longer keep it running. So he called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International. And the S.P.C.A. called the ARK. (via The New York Times)
2. Considering how much so many of us love dogs, it’s a bit surprising more of our cars aren’t named for them. I’ve got a little three-legged part-chihuahua, part um, gremlin right next to me, and a half-husky, half-Australian shepherd at my feet as I type this, in fact. Dogs are a big deal in the lives of so many of us, so you’d think cars like a Ford Dalmatian or a Honda Bloodhound or a Kia Spaniel would be all over the place, but they’re just not. Still, there are a small set of those that are. Let’s start with the pleasingly alliterative Bedford Beagle. Bedford was a subsidiary of Vauxhall, which was in turn GM’s British subsidiary. (via The Autopilan)
3. When Holy Cross University Police Officer Michael Salerno responds to a call for a student in crisis, he often has his partner, Gracie, a 4-year-old Goldendoodle, in tow. “They might have just experienced the worst moment in their life. Gracie’s able to provide a safe space to feel a little more comfortable. They’re no longer talking to me, they’re talking to Gracie,” he said. For several years, therapy dogs have been increasingly common sights on college campuses across the U.S., working to relax students during finals week, provide a quiet setting to connect with a canine friend, and even remember the connection with a beloved pet at home. In addition, they can also provide increased awareness of campus mental health services. (via Holy Cross Magazine)
4. Longtime readers of this column should recall my prior coverage of pet tech company Halo Collar. The company, founded by brothers Ken and Michael Ehrman, are makers of a internet-connected dog collar that, with help from a complementary smartphone app, makes watching one’s dog(s) more accessible by creating a virtual fence around their location. The impetus for Halo Collar came from a place of accessibility, since the brothers’ mother is elderly and isn’t capable of chasing after her dogs should they get loose in the neighborhood. What’s true for Halo Collar is also true for the team at Petcube. At a high level, both the Halo Collar and Petcube aspire to the same goal: to leverage Wi-Fi and cellular positioning to track one’s pet. Klen, who’s based out of Kyiv, Ukraine and poignantly described himself as focusing on product launches as the “devastation of air bombs” decimate his city, explained Petcube has been in existence for 12 years and are the originators of the connected pet category. (via Forbes)
5. Shannon Keith sends letters to animal testing labs around the country offering to take any animals they no longer use for research. She rarely gets a reply. “They deserve a second chance at life when they’re done with them,” said Keith, an animal rights lawyer who founded Beagle Freedom Project in 2010 to rescue and rehome animals used in research. Beagles are the most-used breed for testing, though Beagle Freedom Project, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, rescues all animals. John Riner — the owner of Animal Health Innovations, a dog and cat testing facility in Nowata, Okla. — had been receiving Keith’s letters for years, but in 2021, he replied to her for the first time. As a contract researcher for flea and tick products, Riner would euthanize lab animals — a common practice in the industry — if they had health issues or couldn’t find a home after testing. He began giving Beagle Freedom Project the dogs and cats he no longer needed for research purposes. After visiting Riner’s facility a few times, Keith took note of his 30-acre property, which has several ponds and sprawling fields. “It’s a gorgeous piece of land,” Keith said. She thought it would be the perfect place for an animal sanctuary. A few months ago, she pitched the idea to Riner. (via The Washington Post)
6. The golden retriever was Seattle’s most popular dog breed in 2023, according to the American Kennel Club, which maintains the United State’s oldest purebred canine registry. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the golden retriever was Seattle’s most popular dog in 2022, too. Nationally, the French bulldog took the top pup spot for the second year in a row, but “Seattleites march to the beat of their own drum,” said AKC executive secretary Gina DiNardo in a news release Wednesday. Using registration data pulled from Seattle ZIP codes, the club found Labrador retrievers are Seattle’s second most popular pup, followed by the French bulldog, Pembroke Welsh corgi and Havanese. Those are the same top five, in the same order, from 2022. (via The Seattle Times)
7. People in South Korea have faced international criticism over dog meat for decades. Now the government has finally moved to prohibit the practice - to the jubilation of the Western media. Dog meat supporters decried the ban as a travesty, even threatening to unleash two million dogs in protest. While politicians expected opposition, not a single parliamentarian from any party voted against the ban. But the debate raises deeper questions: is the narrowly applied outrage over dog meat justified, or do we just have a blind spot when it comes to our own meat practices? Morally speaking, are animal products like pig meat familiar to consumers in the West any different to dog meat? (via The Ecologist)
8. It's now been a year since Ullr, a border collie-Rottweiler mix, disappeared after surviving an avalanche in Colorado's backcountry that hospitalized his owner and killed another skier. The search for the dog — who first went missing on March 17, 2023 — remains ongoing as new clues about his whereabouts continue to pop up, his owner Jacob Dalbey recently shared on his GoFundMe page. Last week, solo canine tracks were spotted and reports of distant barking also came through. The tracks led to parts of a deer carcass, indicating Ullr is "still feeling strong and healthy" and able to hunt, Dalbey wrote. "The search for Ullr has turned into a marathon versus a sprint. I'm sure Ullr is very much in survival mode," Dalbey said. The latest traces come about a month after the dog was seen alive and in good condition on trail cameras, renewing hope about his return home. (via Axios)
Dog Photo of the Week
Portrait by Michele Trifiro, “Magic”.
In last week’s newsletter, we included a guest submission by Jill Abramson on the wonderful work of pet portraitist, Michele Trifiro. This week, we are excited to share the inspiration for the news item: the portrait of Magic, beaming with joy! And, an added bonus candid photo of Magic, in a sleepier mood.
To commission a portrait, please contact Michele at looselead@aol.com.
Dog Video of the Week
Video by PBS Wyoming, “Working Dogs - Our Wyoming”.