A Home for Cesara by/ Edward R. Moats
We have all heard stories regarding pet adoption that tend to tug at our heartstrings. Recently, I met a family that shared their story of adoption that truly touched my heart. But before I continue with this adoption story, I need to give you a little back history regarding a sweet American Staffordshire Terrier and […]
Natural Therapies to Reduce Stress in Cats and Dogs
Cats and dogs are highly sensitive to physical touch and energy flow from humans. We can help our pets by employing special massage techniques and strategies catered for their unique senses. Complex Senses Gifted with heightened senses of vision, hearing and smell originating from their ancestral need to survive in the wild – domesticated cats […]
Intertwined – A Dog’s Life and the Heart it Belongs To
When we start a new chapter in our lives with an animal, we aren’t always aware of how profoundly that journey will affect us. Sure, we know of the daily things – feeding, cuddling, company, probably cutesy nicknames and more pics on our phones than family. But the little niche they carve out in our […]
Lessons Learned: Living With a Fearful Dog
Note: The owner wished to share this story to help shed light on the challenges faced when adopting a fearful dog; the names in this story have been changed to maintain their privacy. Love can fix everything, or so we’re told, but when it comes to dog behavior, it’s certainly (and sometimes dangerously) a view […]
Roxy’s Final Journey
The photogenic little Italian Greyhound was adopted in October of 2009 and started her whirlwind life at 4 months of age; her parents – Mona Gray and Jason Dunkle – had no idea what a celebrity she would become. She was a spunky little puppy with a personality that was larger than life and a […]
LOWER KISKI SEARCH AND RESCUE By Kathy Otruba
A dementia patient wanders from home. The family calls 911. A search is initiated. The government agency in charge of the search decides that a search canine team would be helpful. Through Armstrong County 911 Lower Kiski Search and Rescue is dispatched. All available members respond to the scene and work to help find the lost […]
The Bunny Bond… It’s more than you think By April Minech
Most of us have special memories from our childhood that include pets. The dogs we played ball with or secretly fed under the table with whatever we didn’t like on our dinner plates. Cats that cuddled up to us in bed or brushed their love softly against an arm or leg for comfort on a […]
Service and Therapy Dog Training: Different Paths but Both Rewarding By April Minech
Therapy dogs are not service dogs. Service dogs are dogs who are specially trained to perform specific tasks to help a person who has a disability.  Service dogs stay with their person and have special access privileges in public places such as on planes, restaurants, etc. Therapy dogs, such as ones who work toward earning therapy […]
Team Valor – Puppies on a Mission
Army Veteran Omar Brooks and his wife Nicole Malesic began fostering dogs after their dog Lotus passed away. Omar saw very quickly how working with dogs helped his mood and PTSD. He wanted fellow veterans to feel the way he felt following his five years of service in the Army, where he was deployed with […]
Old Dogs and Bucket Lists
When Annie, a 19-year-old black Labrador retriever mix was brought to the shelter, she wasn’t in the best shape. She had trouble walking and not much of an appetite, common signs of stress for senior animals in a new and often scary environment for them. The medical assessment at the time said she likely had […]