August 2018 Newsletter

Here are Forrest and Wilson, relaxing and showing off their tiny jewelry tags.

Many thanks to Megan Wilson of Everett, WA for this great pic!

And this sweet girl is Gogo! She's enjoying girls weekend and wearing her purple flower tag. 

Thank you to Kristin Carter of Henderson, NV for this picture.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted pictures of their pets! If you have a great picture of your pet (showing off our tag would be nice!), you can submit it here.

If you haven't seen your picture submission in our newsletter, check out our facebook page. Once there, you can see lots of pet pics, submit more and chat with us or other pet fans!

Sometimes, a story makes you wonder if it was really just coincidence that all the characters ended up running into each other. Such is the story of a dog named Columbo.

From what we can piece together, Columbo (named after where he was found, "Bo" for short) has had it pretty rough lately. He'd been living in a desolate area outside of Columbus, Georgia, surrounded by swamps full of alligators. Then, sometime in the two weeks before our story starts, Bo was likely hit by a car; an impact great enough to have broken his rear leg in several places. He needed some help.

On July 10th, Jarrett Little was with a group of cyclists, out for a ride south of Columbus, GA. When they happen to stop for a break on the road near him, Bo took the chance that they would help him. The terribly underweight dog hobbled out to the road on three legs.

“When we stopped he immediately approached us and we could tell he was hungry and thirsty,” Little said. Little added that they were in "the middle of nowhere. Leaving him out there wasn't an option."

Now they had to figure out a way to carry the severely injured, 38 pound dog out to get help. With few options, Little tried the only thing he could think of; he carefully lifted Columbo onto his back. Bo seemed to understand. He tucked his feet into the back pockets of Little's jersey and put his front paws on his shoulders. The two rode this way for 45 minutes, back to town. Finally they stopped at a bike shop Little knew. He set Bo down and went inside to get him some water.

By chance, that was nearly the same moment that Andrea Shaw walked by. She was in town on a business trip, had just had dinner with a friend and decided to go for a walk. She noticed the obviously injured dog. As she looked at him, he hobbled towards her. She went closer to pet the poor dog.

“I knelt down and he jumped into my arms, gave me kisses and let me hold him,” she said. The bond was formed.

When Little came out and explained the circumstances, there was no hesitation; Shaw was ready to take Bo to an emergency clinic and do whatever was necessary to help.

In the next couple days, Bo had surgery to have his leg pinned back together and Shaw scoured the internet for any signs of someone looking for any dogs that might be Bo. Then, with no leads, she adopted him and flew him back to her home in Maine.

She set up a Facebook page about him and his story has struck a chord. People, touched by the story have been wanting to help and have been sending gifts to Bo. But as Shaw says, you can only have so many bones and chew toys. Shaw hopes to redirect the attention of Bo's story to create awareness for all the other dogs out there who need some help. She's set up a way to donate in Bo's name to her local shelter. Jarrett Little summed it up well:

“Most people would have taken him to a no-kill shelter (and) gotten him the surgery there. She went the extra mile and provided all of that for him,” Little said. “To say that he was the luckiest dog I've met would be an understatement.”

I'd say Columbo was lucky to find both of them that day. Read more and see pictures on the Portland Press Herald website.

This is a simple story but like so many stories these days, it is documented with video, allowing us to enter the story and be there - and that makes all the difference.

Esther Atkins lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and if you follow long distance running you may know her name. Atkins won the USA Marathon Championships in 2014 and won a spot on the 2015 World Championships team. A few weeks ago, Atkins was just finishing a walk with her dog, Grace, when she spotted a dog playing in a puddle at the park across the street. Not seeing anyone with him, she called him over. He came over cautiously and eventually followed Atkins home.

She spent the morning checking the internet for "lost dog" postings but didn't find any that matched. She posted his picture all over social media and hoped that whoever was missing this dog would see her posts. As she waited, she decided to walk him to her veterinarian and have him scanned for a microchip. He was chipped but as happens way too frequently, the information registered to his chip was not up to date and went nowhere.

But because he was registered at a Humane Society, that Humane Society's info was registered as well. Atkins contacted the Greenwood Humane Society nearly 70 miles away. They didn't have any better contact information but they had an idea: they'd used Facebook to try and contact them... and it worked. "Ratchet" had been missing for a full year and his home was 70 miles away! The surprised and delighted family squealed over the phone and went to go get him the next day. Atkins caught the reunion on video.

Read more and you have to watch the video on the Runner's World website. While watching the video, see if you think Ratchet's nose starts twitching a bit just before his family comes in to get him. And watch that tail when he sees them!

Love this video- it's called "Lab helps potty train Husky puppy". I wasn't sure what to expect but it's totally sweet and you'll want to snuggle the lab! (40 sec)
YouTube

Watch what happens when a dog picks up a GoPro and takes it for a spin around the yard. Watch his eyes! (39 sec)
You Tube

A quick one but you've got to see it; proving that cats are always on the wrong side of the door. (14 sec)
YouTube

You may also call 1-800-543-TAGS and mention the coupon code; one of our happy, helpful customer service representatives will gladly give you the discount.