Dog Daily News

The best canine news and features, paw-picked by our staff of intrepid news hounds

 

Kelsey and his handler working and training in Iraq (Dept. of Defense photo)

People think dogs have it easy. And most of us do. The majority of us don’t have to work, unless you count walking from the couch to the food bowl hard labor.

But then there are the working dogs. They may work as bomb sniffers in the military, or alongside police, or pulling sleds in the frigid Arctic. Some help children with disabilities, some are constant companions to the blind, others rescue people out of disaster zones. A few of us even edit dog news blogs, but somehow that just doesn’t compare.

A heartwarming story in The Topeka Capital-Journal today tells of Gera, a German shepherd who is a veteran of the Iraq war. She spent her time in the service sniffing out roadside bombs. She’s back stateside, where she’s wearing a new hat: She’s sniffing out narcotics in Kansas. A round of applause for this hard-working canine heroine! (Wait, is that heroine? Or heroin? You don’t want to make a spelling mistake like that with a giant narcotics dog.)

So on this Labor Day, let’s raise a glass to the working dogs of the world. They work for free, and they give completely of themselves in the line of duty. (Except for Zulu, who is listening to his relaxation CDs again and snoring under his chair.)

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There are working dogs, and there are playing dogs. A fun video in today’s Huffington Post shows a dog who’s a real player. A real pool player, that is. This dog can really play! Jasper, my personal assistant, is about as green as the billiard table, because he is far too short to do this (the entire staff is, except Ida).

And there’s more playing going on during this semi-official end of summer. This weekend in El Paso, dozens of canines are expected to do the dog paddle in a large city pool on the day before it’s drained and cleaned. It’s an idea that’s really catching on around the US.

Admittedly, dogs don’t belong en masse in pools. Our hair alone would clog the drain and make the pool otherwise disgusting in no time. And don’t get me started on the personal hygiene of certain of our species. But there’s one time when it doesn’t matter, and that’s the end of the season! The pools have to be emptied and sanitized, so why not let a few (or a few hundred) of us dogs have a giant pool party?

I’ve already got by best trunks picked out.