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CALVERT, Md. - Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman’s chest. The dog’s owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life.

Debbie Parkhurst, 45, of Calvert told the Cecil Whig newspaper she was eating an apple at her home Friday when a piece lodged in her throat. She attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself but it didn’t work. After she began beating on her chest, she said Toby noticed and got involved.

“The next think I know, Toby’s up on his hind feet and he’s got his front paws on my shoulders,” she recalled. “He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest.”
That’s when the apple dislodged and Toby started licking her face to keep her from passing out, she said.

“I literally have paw print-shaped bruises on my chest. I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK,” Parkhurst said.

“The doctor said I probably wouldn’t be here without Toby,” said Parkhurst, a jewelry artist. “I keep looking at him and saying, ‘You’re amazing.”‘

Featuring Romeo and the pups at our previous location in Austin, when we were still called “Source Menagerie” (which no one could spell).

We sell Canidae and Bil-Jac dog foods at our Austin store. They are NOT part of the mass recall of 60 million cans of dog and cat food announced recently.

According to the Associated Press, the recalled foods are manufactured by a contractor called Menu Foods and sold under a wide variety of store brand names, plus Iams and Eukanuba. According to the AP:

Below are lists of specific brands recalled by Menu Foods, in addition to Proctor & Gamble’s recall of certain Iams and Eukanuba products. Menu Brands lists the brands on its Web site, www.menufoods.com, and advises consumers to call 1-866-895-2708 for more information.

Beagle rescued from Tenn. mountain ledge
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 07:17:26 PM

A young beagle stranded on a mountain ledge proved a bark can be better than a bite by repeatedly howling until help arrived.

A six-man team from the Blount County Fire Department trekked two hours through thick undergrowth on Tuesday to reach a ridge 30 feet above the dog near the Foothills Parkway, bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Then firefighter John Matlock rappelled down to the foot-wide ledge where the dog was stranded, overlooking a sheer drop of about 125 feet below.

Matlock tucked the pooch in a red bag and, with help from his fellow firefighters, brought the dog back to the top. The beagle was thin and thirsty but OK.

Read the rest of this entry »

FALL RIVER, Wis. - Third-grade teacher Tom Pawlisch is trying to encourage reading by having his students read to his pet Kayla, the school’s official literacy dog.

The Chesapeake Bay retriever listens to the students, which encourages them to read expressively, said Irene Pawlisch, Kayla’s co-owner and .

“The dog doesn’t judge if the kids make a mistake, so the kids relax,” Irene said. “They sit down and read and get to play with her afterward. They relax a little bit. … It’s about getting kids excited about reading.”

(Story by the Associated Press, image from our greeting card collection)

We’ve had teacher friends who have used “reading dogs” with their classes with great success. There is nothing more non-judgemental than a dog, and it’s fun for the pooch, too, being with all those kids.

On the other hand, as nigel’s mom notes in the comments:

You know how you buy your kids great toys and they wind up playing with the boxes and plastic pellets the toys were packed in? Here is our current litter of puppies - heirs to a whole store full of great dog toys - playing with the duct tape that we use to fasten the mats in their play pen.

Watch The Duct-Tape Pups

Sacramento jurors Friday (Mar 10) awarded $45,000 to a woman who said she had been told unfairly by her boss that she could no longer bring her dog to work as a calming influence.

Jurors found the plaintiff had been retaliated against by her employer after asking for permission to continue bringing the dog to her job, but they did not find she had been discriminated against.

The case lasted for weeks in Sacramento Superior Court, where plaintiff Chris Storm has sat quietly with her dog, Lacey, a tiny white Maltese, which has been the focal point of Storm’s suit.

The Sacramento (CA) Bee (registration required) reported the story.