Barney is the dog that jumped into the Gulf of Mexico after his person, Donna Chen, was struck and killed by a drunk driver. A kayaker out fishing in the Gulf rescued to dog and helped get him returned to his family. Not surprisingly, the Chen family is extremely grateful to have Barney safe at home and are focusing on him to help them through their grief. (thanks Holly!)
Kayaker Rescues Dog in Gulf Of Mexico
I saw this incredible video this morning. A kayaker was out fishing when, what looks like a Visla, comes frantically swimming towards him from who-knows-where. Happily, the kayaker rescues the injured & terrified dog. The dog was taken to a vet and identified by it’s microchip as Barney, but no one knew how the dog had ended up in the ocean.
In a heartbreaking turn, the kayaker made the connection after seeing a story about Donna Chen who was out walking her dog about 1 mile inland and was run down & killed by a drunk driver, Blake Talman, in a hit-and-run. It’s believed Barney ran off in a panic and jumped in to the ocean to escape. How lucky that this kayaker was at the right place at the right time so the family didn’t have to suffer another loss.
Happy New Year! Finally!!
Wow, sorry for the radio silence! I wasn’t planning on taking a vacation from the blog when we went to Texas to see my parents and their puppies, Bart & Sadie. But, those boogers are a lot of work—the puppies, not my parents. My husband & I spent a lot of time helping my parents with them. Puppies are hard enough to integrate into your home, but are even harder to cope with when you weren’t planing on getting them in the first place. Bart & Sadie weren’t doing well when they showed up at my parents’ place a few months ago. I think Sadie had kept them alive to that point, but they weren’t going to last much longer. Now they’re fattened up, have gorgeous shiny coats, and are loved to bits by my parents.
I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday and that the coming year brings you all joy, good health, & prosperity. My pet resolutions this year are to play more with our cats, put together their new cat tower (I’ll be doing a post on this great cat tower I’m making), finally make Saffron’s rain coat from one I got at a thrift store, and to be consistent about teaching Saffron new tricks.
Here’s what Bart (top) & Sadie looked like the day they showed up dehydrated and hungry.
And here they are now. Happy, healthy, and so much fun!
Sad News, Bella The Dog Died
Remember Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee? Sadly, it appears, Bella was killed—most likely by coyotes. Staff pretty quickly realized Tarra must have carried Bella back from where she’d been killed because there was no sign of a struggle where Bella was found and there was blood on Tarra’s trunk. An amazing friendship. Don’t you wonder what stories they told each other over the years?
Find out more about Tarra and Bella’s friendship and the important work carried on at the Elephant Sanctuary.
Tribute to Bella
Tarra & Bella playing in the snow.
Rez Dogs—A Documentary
Rez Dogs is a great documentary about a very complex issue. Our dog, Saffron, was a stray on the Yakama Reservation in central Washington and because of her, I’ve tried to become more educated about Rez Dogs. This documentary wasn’t easy to watch, but I think it’s important to know what’s going on and to try to understand the issues. (via our good friend Holly & her 3 awesome Rez Dogs)
I think poverty is at the root of the problem and until that changes, Rez Dogs will have a hard life. An understandable distrust of outsiders doesn’t help either. Animal control services on reservation are often underfunded or non-existant. Can you imagine running a shelter with $300 dollars worth of supplies per year? This problem isn’t unique to Reservations either. Many places with over-taxed, crumbling, or non-existant municipal infrastructures have problems with stray dogs—Russia, Iraq, Mexico, India, Bulgaria, etc. Please click below to watch Rez Dogs.
