Facebook used Liz Marie was the one to come across Boo lying with the trash at the curb.  In her Facebook post, she describes how heartbroken she was just at the sight of him.  Her post came to the attention of Devin Oliver, the founder of the Detroit Youth and Dog Rescue.  He knew he had to go get him right away.

This picture absolutely breaks my heart, I am literally in tears. Meet Boo, this beautiful boy was left behind with the trash and belongings when the family moved out. He stayed right by their stuff and never left it, confused and lonely. He was rescued by Mike Diesel after a neighbor contacted him because Boo had been discarded outside for over a week. Mike spent 11 hours working to gain Boo’s trust so he could rescue him. He is being cared for by Mike and the Detroit Youth and Dog Rescue (which he founded). If anyone is interested in adopting him or donating to his care, contact detroityouthanddogrescue@gmail.com
Or call into Groesbeck Animal Hospital at 586-463-7387 Detroit Youth & Dog Rescue photo source: Mike Diesel and Detroit Youth and Dog Rescue.

It wasn’t easy.  Oliver took several days building trust with Boo before he could be rescued.  It was a lot of hard work, but it’s just what Oliver does.  Boo was eventually brought to a vet, and aside from being very hungry, thirsty, and understandably depressed, Boo was in good condition.

The whole rescue program is actually run through fosters, and does not have a physical address of its own.  Since 2014, Oliver and his team have been able to rescue and rehome about 75 dogs.  Boo has gotten some attention through social media, and some people have even called asking about him.  However, no one has stepped up yet.

If you think that Boo could be the dog for you, you can click here to be taken to the rescue’s website for more information.

The post Dog Dumped at Curbside After Family Moves Needs a Loving Forever Family appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

In mid-February, Lisa Parker (ßlink to her Facebook page… just in case you’re interested) posted a photo of her five-month-old puppy Ludo wistfully wearing a urine-soaked pad that had been taped to his head. The photo has since been removed, but some who saw it took screenshots.

Parker said that five minutes after having been outside, Ludo peed in the house, and as punishment, she soaked up the urine with a pad and then forced him to wear it.  Her friend, Nancy Stonehouse-Poitras, said she loved the idea, and her other friend, Chastity Kribble asked if it worked.  (Both have since made their accounts private).  Parker’s response revealed that she has inflicted even worse abuse on her dogs in the past:

Dozens of people have negatively “reviewed” the Everett Police Department’s Facebook page by demanding that they take action against Parker. In one of the reviews, someone sensibly commented “This dog could have a UTI, stones, kidney problems, etc. Instead of trying to figure out what’s going on, she decided to ‘shame’ him. She has done nothing but shame HERSELF!”

In a post she made about Ludo, Parker said: “Reminds me, a LOT, of his Mamma. So smart, so calm, so personable and friendly, so loving.” Really…. loving. Loving parents – of humans OR animals – do not punish their kids for having accidents by taping urine-soaked pads to their faces, or forcing them to eat their own feces!

The post Horrid Woman Who Taped Puppy’s Piddle Pad to His Face Being Investigated appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

In September 2015, while petting him after a walk, Jalk’s mom, Angela Valencis, noticed a small lump on his head. They visited a vet, received antibiotics, but nothing helped, and the lump only grew.

A week later, Jalk was diagnosed with stage-2 soft tissue sarcoma, a malignant tumor.

Jalk began treatment, starting with the removal of the tumor, which by that point had grown to the size of a baseball.

Unfortunately, the size of the tumor meant Jalk lost his left ear. Also, he had to wear this very embarrassing cone.

After his surgeries, Jalk began radiation treatment. His family drove 140 miles from their home in Farmington, Connecticut, five days a week, for a 45-minute appointment.

Thankfully, the treatment was a success, and to celebrate, Alicia posted this photo of Jalk, which has now been shared across the internet thousands of times.

Valencis told BuzzFeed News that the decision to put Jalk through the treatment was made after serious amounts of research and consideration.

“His eyesight was not affected at all, and he still hears the UPS and FedEx trucks coming down the street before I do,” she said. “He is truly our wonder pup, and in the center of the heart of our family, a beloved and adored member of our pack.”

The post The Story Behind How This Dog Lost His Ear Is Heartbreaking And Inspiring appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

According to arrest records, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office says the woman did this to stop the dog from barking.  It also says she then took photos of the dog, and posted them to her page on the popular social media site, Facebook with the caption of “Ha ha.”

Another Facebook user caught wind of the pictures, and after checking them out, reported the page to Facebook, and the local sheriff’s office.  When police reported to the scene, she advised them that she took the tape off immediately after taking the picture and posting it.

After the arrest and arraignment, Howell posted the following to her Facebook page:

“Wow!  OK.  Maybe I should of said I was joking when posting that.  But honestly though people would know better anyone who spend (sic) a week at my house would see how spoiled and loved my dog is.  Anyways guess I really didn’t think through but anyone who knows me knows when I got Leah she [was] skin and bones how (sic) that animal (was) abused (sic).”

“I have made my mistakes in life too, and believe me either I’ve paid for them or am still paying for them.  But to call me an animal abuser or child abuser, that’s so not true.”

Regardless, animal abuse is abuse, no matter what light you paint it in.  As of the writing of this article, it is not known what type of or how many sanctions Howell will be facing.

The post Woman Charged with Abuse for Taping Dog’s Mouth Shut appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

When service dog Kai went missing from his home last November, owner Alexandra Melnick was distraught.  But after many months of ardent searching and Facebook posting, Kai was found hundreds of miles away, and has finally been sent home to his overjoyed family.

Melnick served a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan and came home with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.  She got a German shepherd puppy and trained him to be a service dog.

“He helps me with things like PTSD and insomnia, she told ABC 10News in December. “He puts me to sleep. He wakes me up for nightmares.”

Kai was stolen from Melnick’s Vista backyard the day after Thanksgiving.  She set up a Facebook and GoFundMe page to get the word out and have money for a detective and a reward.  She handed out thousands of fliers and drove thousands of miles, looking for him.  Months later, she still hadn’t given up.

“I spend my days searching for him, I spend my nights dreaming about him and having nightmares still and I really hope that we get him home,” Melnick told San Diego 6 in April. “He saved my life, I owe this to him. I want to do anything in my power to get him home.”

In August Kai was found, and a week ago, a happy update was posted by Bring Kai Home:

I want to thank every single one of you for all your constant support and help. I also want to say from the bottom of my heart how sorry I am that I have left you in the dark this past week. I had suspected he may have been stolen but didn’t have any idea who it may have been. So, I had to search for him as if he was running around the wilderness. For all I knew, someone took him and got spooked by the media attention and dumped him. I have been looking for breadcrumbs for months with no luck. I have driven thousands of miles the last 9 months looking.

Last week, I found him searching through social media posts. I flew to Texas the very next day. The people who had him didn’t initially know he was missing, stolen, or that I was looking. When they found out, they didn’t want to give him up. In Texas, they have laws regarding this situation. While the Denton County dispatch, deputies, constables, ACOs and clerks were extremely patient, understanding, and worked on this more than I expected, they wanted to make sure I got him back legally and wouldn’t have any issues down the line. We feared him being moved again before the hearing. Animal Control seized him and has had him for time being. They have a beautiful facility and spoiled him for me while I’ve waited. My San Diego County detective worked hard and fast to get the needed paperwork to them.

Relaxing after a much-needed trip to the salon to be flea-bathed and have his painfully overgrown claws clipped.

This morning the judge ruled that Kai is to come back home to California with me.

There is still an investigation to be done over how he left my home and ended up in Texas. In the meantime, I feel beyond blessed to have my baby boy home. I’m focusing on his health right now. The people who had him allowed him to become flea infested to the point he was going completely bald in many places with open sores. He has some trust issues. I believe, the people who had him used heavy negative reinforcement.* He cowers if you move too quickly, has scars that resemble strikes across his body, and his nose has some damage to it.

The Gofundme account is how I was able to find him. Without all your donations, I wouldn’t have been able to spread the word so far and get help from professionals. The remaining money will be divided up between various organizations, ones that helped me find Kai and ones that help others find their missing animals.

This picture is from the shelter last week in Denton County. I will post a video that will help answer questions that you may have. Right now, I’m taking some time to be with someone who I’ve missed very much.

*What she meant is positive punishment.  Negative reinforcement is a misnomer.  What it actually means is subtracting something to reinforce a behavior (i.e. hitting snooze on the alarm – when the noise is taken away, a person will repeat the behavior of shutting the alarm off).  Positive reinforcement is adding something to reinforce a behavior (i.e. giving a dog a treat for learning a trick).

Positive punishment is the addition of something to curb a behavior (i.e. striking a dog – adding pain – to stop it from barking).  Negative punishment is the removal of something to stop a behavior (i.e. taking away a video game because a child misbehaved).

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