Fame Finds Frankie!

Frankie has an important new job!

Woot! Woot!

Guess what, folks? Everybody's favorite dachsie-on-wheels, Frankie the Walk n' Roll Dog, has been named the official mascot of National Disabled Pets Day, the newly minted observation by the Animal Miracle Network! Check out their website, where you'll see an absolutely ADORABLE photo of Frankie and her mom, Barbara Techel.

We covered Frankie a while back and have since come to be friends with Barb (who has also become a frequent commenter here at Almost Perfect Pets). You just knew then that it wouldn't be long till this furry little tube of cuteness with the sweetest face on earth would be recognized as the stunning creature she is.

We are so proud, and we know Frankie will do a great job in her new role as NDPD spokesdog. We know Barb will help Frankie with all her new responsibilities, and I'll let Frankie tell you the rest.

Congratulations, little wonderdog!

Here's Something Just A Little Different...

Here's one from the "curiouser and curiouser" file -- but lots of fun and a good example of how animals so enrich our lives. These particular pets aren't disabled, but many of those they help to heal are. From the Pet Tales column of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Therapy dogs 'wed,' with home residents as witnesses

Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette

The groom, clad in black top hat and tails, stood solemnly at attention while the bridal party marched down the aisle to the strains of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Wedding guests "oohed" and "ahhed" at the lovely dresses, but some chuckled and nudged each other as they noted that the four bridesmaids were dogs. No offense was taken, for the bridesmaids were literally dogs: a silver toy poodle named Lexi, a Maltese named Sadie, an Irish setter named Cherry and a golden retriever named Heidi. Read more...

Great news from our neck of the woods

When I'm not writing or blogging or playing with my kitties, I am the volunteer weather coordinator for our township's Emergency Management Agency. Have been for about 6-7 years now. And in that capacity, I occasionally go to trainings at our county training center.

Last year, I learned about a new program called BCART, or Bucks County Animal Response Team. I was thrilled to learn that there was a group of trained people who were tasked with making sure that the awful situation that happened after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans never happened again anywhere else. This organization takes care of animals -- both domestic and sometimes wild -- in the event of an emergency. Sometimes during evacuations, when people don't know how long they'll be gone or can't take their pets with them, and sometimes when people can't get back to their homes and farms to take care of them during or after an emergency that has happened while they were away.

Maryann King-Hasbrouck

I learned about this from the BCART Coordinator, Maryann King-Hasbrouck. She gave the training presentation for this segment, and I got to meet her personally. Earlier this year, some of her colleagues exhibited for BCART at the Be Kind To Animals Week Celebration we held here in Upper Bucks. But right now, Maryann's in the spotlight, and I wanted to share that news with you.

Maryann is also the Pennsylvania State Coordinator with the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), and is the winner of the United Animal Nations' 2008 Heart and Soul Award. This award is given to an individual who shows outstanding commitment to UAN and a strong personal devotion to animals.

An EARS volunteer since 1998, Maryann is also coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team. In this capacity, she helps local organizations with their animal disaster plans and leads county animal response teams during disasters. With Bucks CART, Maryann participates in numerous disaster drills. Last October, she coordinated EARS volunteer involvement in a large, multi-county disaster drill.

When not in disaster mode, Maryann educates the public about disaster preparedness and provides useful resources, including low-cost pet micro-chipping events. She teaches pet first aid and CPR to disaster responders, and last year offered two free classes to EARS volunteers. She says, "In a disaster, many veterinary offices are closed and you may be the only one available to offer lifesaving first aid care to a pet until a vet can be reached."

In 2005, Maryann spent a week volunteering with UAN's Hurricane Katrina response. She currently volunteers for a local cat rescue group and is a member of the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Task Force Animal Group. She has six cats and one dog of her own, is a trained vet tech and works full time as a registered nurse.

Let's hear it for this selfless animal lover who understands the value of "just doing it!"

Woodson and We

John Grogan, author of Marley & Me

Most of you have heard of John Grogan. He's the author of the runaway (pun intended) bestseller, Marley & Me.

What you may not have heard is that he's now got a new yellow lab named Woodson. Turns out Grogan's a fellow Pennsylvanian (go, Keystone State!), and when he adopted Woodson, a 15-week-old ball of fur, from the set of the movie made from his book, the pup immediately loved his new surroundings.

Woodson

But there was a surprise in store for Grogan and his family. As he puts it, "What we did not know that day -- what no one knew, not the trainers or the producers or the breeders -- was that Woodson was, indeed, special. And not just because he had enjoyed a brief run as a movie star."

Turns out Woodson was a dog with a disability. Grogan goes on to explain that when he found out, "I called the breeders, not to complain, just to inform. They were mortified. 'Just bring him back,' one of the breeders said, 'and we'll swap him out for a new puppy, your pick of the next litter.' I have to admit the offer was tempting, like turning in a lemon automobile for a gleaming new model. But dogs are not commodities to be discarded when they break, and I assumed that if Woodson were returned, he would be euthanized."

You can read the whole story at Grogan's blog, but I wanted to post this introduction here, because it's a great stride forward for the special needs pet community that he recognizes this issue and has become such a strong champion of the concept that disabled animals are not trash to be thrown away. He even wrote about it in a piece for USA Today. Thanks, John!

Good news for disabled pets!

Maybe things ARE changing for the better, at least a little. We've often mentioned on this blog the fact that disabled pets have a difficult time getting adopted from shelters, and how they constitute the majority of euthanized animals. But today I discovered some GOOD news on this topic and want to share it with you!

Dr. Walton Schalick, a physical and medical historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says animal disability is an emerging field of study and he challenges his students to consider its complexity. Schalick also is a specialist in pediatric rehabilitation at American Family Children's Hospital in Wisconsin and associate editor for Encyclopedia of Disability.

He coined the terms "xenodisability" and "zoodisability" to refer to animal disabilities and said humans owe disabled animals an enormous debt for what they teach us about ourselves.

"They tug at our heart strings and bring out the best in us," Schalick says. "With their big eyes and heads that are sometimes larger than their bodies, they can look like children. How we approach an animal with a disability says a lot of how we, in general, treat people with disabilities."

Now, here's the surprising statement:

A disabled animal will often find a permanent home sooner than a healthy one will, said Larry Ringbauer, facility manager of the Will County Humane Society in Shorewood (Chicago area).

"It's a sympathy thing," Ringbauer said. "If they have the patience for it, people can help handicapped animals live a normal life. But we won't let people adopt disabled pets just because they feel sorry for them. Having a handicapped animal is like having a handicapped child"

Sound familiar? Check out the whole story for yourself, and give yourself a little smile today.

Good night, sweet prince...

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I can be a little obsessive. Nothing indiscriminate; I'm particular about these obsessions -- animals, art, weather, chocolate -- but they are obsessions, nevertheless. And weather, particularly severe weather, is one of the biggies for me. And so, when I read about the recent passing of Nin, the mascot kitty of the weather observatory atop New Hampshire's Mount Washington, of course I had to pay tribute here.

Nin, the Mt. Washington mascot, died on July 14

For those less weather-obsessed than I, Mt. Washington is consistently home to the official "worst weather in America." The highest winds ever recorded outside of severe phenomena such as hurricanes or tornadoes have been clocked right there (231 MPH on April 12, 1934, for those who care). It's on the highest peak in the White Mountains, and so is the perfect place to observe some of the most punishing weather on earth (or at least in the U.S.).

You can imagine that it takes a pretty special cat to be the mascot at such an important laboratory. And especially one so remote and isolated. He was believed to have been 19 or 20 years old, and had lived at the nearby home of one of the park rangers after retiring from his twelve-year post on Mt. Washington in 2007. You can read more here.

So, here's to a long life, well-lived. Nin, may you always have a warm square of sunshine to lie in on a kitchen floor somewhere on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. And as you doze there, may you dream often of the wind whistling through the wires and enjoy loving hands caressing your beautiful fur. Thank you for your service to everyone whose lives are affecting by the weather.

Adios, Gidget. Te amo, little friend.

A bit off-topic here, but significant news in Critterland, nonetheless:

Today we say goodbye to dear little Gidget, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday after succumbing to a stroke at 15. She passed at the Los Angeles home of her longtime trainer, Sue Chipperton.

Gidget is probably better known to most folks as the Taco Bell Chihuahua. Playing a male, beret-wearing spokesdog for the Americanized Mexican fast food chain, Gidget was digitally enhanced to utter the often-parodied expression of tortilla love, "Yo quiero Taco Bell!" And yes, I have one of the little stuffed dogs that says so when you squeeze it. And no, it's not for sale.

You couldn't help but fall in love with this little ball of personality with those huge brown eyes. The best spot was the one where the little "boy" dog tried to seduce the female with those expressive eyebrows and blinking eyes. I'll admit that it was one ad campaign I wished would never end. Beats the hell out of "FourthMeal," anyway.

Whatever you think about it, Gidget in her Taco Bell persona became a cultural icon of the 1990s, and will likely live on long past that in people's memories.

We'll miss you, Gidget. Adios, little friend.