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“Bad dogs have an overwhelming desire to bring you things,” Megan Parker told The Guardian. “Dogs love telling you what they know. They have an inability to quit.”

Parker is the director of research at Working Dogs for Conservation in Montana. She searches shelters for difficult, “unadoptable” dogs who’d have no problem putting poachers in their place.

Ruger was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. When he was young, his owner shot his littermates, but he was able to flee. He wound up in a shelter, where he was noticed by a trainer who told WD4C about him.

At first, Ruger was aggressive, and would bite people. Parker had a hard time getting him to the vet, and he hated small spaces. But there was something about him that encouraged her to keep working with him. However, there was something else that stood in Ruger’s way of becoming an anti-poaching dog at all.

“Early on in his training, Meg was under pressure from her colleagues to decide if Ruger would make the cut,” said Pete Coppolillo, executive director at WD4C. “If a dog doesn’t work out, we make sure they have a forever home. We all wondered if Meg should start finding a place for Ruger, who was losing his sight.”

But she knew that Ruger had the drive necessary to make the cut.

“These dogs have an unrelenting drive,” she said. “For a dog that doesn’t stop, you can train that dog to bring you things.”

Parker was eventually able to match up Ruger with the Delta Team scouts, a law enforcement unit operated by the South Luangwa Conservation Society and the Zambia Wildlife Authority.  The scouts had little experience with dogs, and were leery of the idea that a dog could help.

Ruger proved his worth at his first day on the job.  Roadblocks were set up to search vehicles for illegal paraphernalia.

“It takes humans an hour or more to search a car,” said Coppolillo, “whereas it takes dogs three to four minutes.”

Ruger sat down and glared at one of the passing cars.

“That’s his alert [signal],” Coppolillo continued.

Several pieces of luggage were inside the vehicle, and the scouts who searched them came up empty-handed.  But Ruger kept his eye on one bag, which contained a matchbox in a plastic bag.  Inside of it was a primer cap, which ignites gunpowder in the illegal muzzle loaders that poachers rely on.

“At that moment, everyone believed that Ruger knew what he was doing,” said Coppolillo. “They learned to think of Ruger as a colleague.”

Now he’s been a valuable team member for a year and a half.

“He’s a hero who’s responsible for dozens of arrests and has convinced many skeptics of his detection skills,” Coppolillo noted.

Some people likened his skills to witchcraft, but at a courthouse demonstration, a scout hid a piece of ivory and Ruger found it in only a couple minutes.  And his deteriorating vision hasn’t impaired him one bit.

“His skills have sharpened.  He’s working with a few younger dogs, who are somewhat goofy and get distracted like most puppies do,” Coppolillo said. “Ruger remains focused despite many distractions, such as having wild animals close by. Baboons are the worst. His lack of eyesight works in his favor because he almost entirely focuses on his sense of smell.”

Because the work is very dangerous, Ruger does not have to work every day, and Godfrey, a scout, rewards him with games of tug-of-war when he nabs someone.

“Poachers are well-armed and well-trained,” Coppolillo said. “African elephants don’t live throughout the continent. Poachers kill elephants where they reside and smuggle them to places where they don’t live to throw law enforcement off their tracks.”

Though it is illegal to hunt within South Luangwa National Park’s boundaries, poachers do it anyway, and over the years, many scouts have colluded with them.  Good scouts are hard to come by, and in Africa, it’s even more difficult to find dogs like Ruger.

“Good dog selection is absolutely essential,” Coppolillo said. “Village dogs simply don’t have the drive to do this kind of work. There are only a handful of suitable and reputable kennels in Africa. Most are focused on selling security and military dogs, so they’re not as well socialized as a conservation dog needs to be. Plus, they generally sell those dogs for much more than what it would cost us to source a dog in the US.”

Parker will continue her dedicated work of finding suitable American shelter dogs to send to Africa to keep saving the lives of countless elephants.

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On October 3, a dog who fell on a 20-foot crack in Hawaii Volcanos Park was rescued by 6 park rangers.

It was a Saturday evening when Marta Caproni was walking her dogs off-leash near the volcano golf course and the park boundary. Her dogs suddenly ran towards a heavily vegetated area. One of them came back, but the other one did not. When Romeo the chocolate Lab didn’t return, Marta searched for him the whole night but couldn’t find him.

She and her boyfriend went back to the area the next day, they heard a faint cry coming from a crack. And there they saw, Romeo stuck 20-feet below the earth. Marta didn’t know what to do, so she called the park rangers who immediately responded to the call. Rangers don’t usually execute rescues, but luckily they came to Marta’s aid.

Watch the video below for the full story!

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Well, a typical dog would probably have a blast running around. And if you bring a toy–like a ball or a frisbee, then the two of you sure are gonna have one fun day playing catch or fetch!

But the dog in the video below has something totally different in mind. This French Bulldog has his own unique way of having fun in a open field. What does he do? He runs really fast, then he slides his body on the grass! Watch the video below and see how he does it!

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New York Bully Crew welcomed the dog into their program and named her Jesse. She was immediately seen by a vet and tests were done to determine the reason why she could use her legs. Unfortunately, veterinarians and neurologists were not able to find a cause for the paralysis.

Nevertheless, a medical rehabilitation program was set in place to help Jesse regain her mobility. She goes swimming in a therapy pool, gets acupuncture treatments and does additional physical therapy sessions each week, and this therapy is paying off.

Jesse who once couldn’t support her own body weight and just dragged herself on the ground learned to stand for a few seconds, take her first steps, walk with an assisting harness, and is now walking all on her own (see the video here).

Her rehabilitation has been nothing short of a miracle and New York Bully Crew is thankful for the community’s support and the more than $10,000 in donations that made Jesse’s progress possible.

We might never know what truly happened to Jesse and we can only guess how gruesome her abuse most have been. However, we are glad to know Jesse is moving forward, leaving that horrific past behind, and getting ready for the next chapter in her life – adoption.

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The dog in the video below doesn’t want to leave the park too! He just loves the park so much that he’s doing everything he can to stop his mom from going home. Whenever his mom would try to get a hold of him so they can go home, he lies down on the ground! Such a clever dog! Watch the video below and see what his mom had to do so he would stand up!

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http://youtu.be/Y-L5cK9eLC4

I could watch this pup forever, but there’s fresh air to be enjoyed, and roses to stop and smell! Get out there and relish the weather just as much as this impressive dog — before it gets too hot.

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Of course, then you get home (or maybe before you even make it back), and they are so tuckered out that you’d think they just ran a few marathons instead of just a few blocks. It’s as adorable as it is hilarious.

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Now this dog is so ready to go to the dog park! His name is Baxter, and his buddy’s name is Pluto! Once Baxter gets inside the car, he picks up his leash so his human could close the car door. But wait, his buddy’s leash is still hanging out and blocking the car door from being shut! So what this good doggy does is help out his buddy by picking up his buddy’s leash, and placing it inside the car! Watch the adorable video below!

Awwww…what a good boy! Now the car door can be closed and they can finally go to the dog park!

What does your dog do when he or she wants to go to the dog park?

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