community news - [ Good samaritins ]

Animal Control Officers Respond To Home
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A deer was trapped after taking a swim in a Macomb Township pool on Tuesday morning, Local 4 reported.

The deer apparently jumped over a 4½-foot high fence to get into the in ground pool in the back yard of Lucy Dedene's home. more...

Slideshow: See Deer's Escape From Swimming Pool
Video: See Deer Pool Rescue

DORA, Ala. -- A lost Alabama toddler was found Wednesday after a neighbor’s three-legged dog came to his rescue.

The incident began in Walker County, Ala., Wednesday morning when Mitchell Lachance wandered out in the yard and went a little too far. 

"He just walked the wrong way, went out in the woods, you know. It was just an accident," said Ron Lachance, Mitchell's father.

Firefighters, police and neighbors scoured the woods in a four-hour search that turned up nothing.

With the search getting tense, neighbor Gary Hagood and his dog Sasha joined in.

"(Sasha) could hear Mitchell, but I couldn't. So she went right to Mitchell, and I followed her, and he was in a ravine, and there was a bunch of briers and thorns," said Hagood. "She went right through the briers. She was all over him, licking him, and Mitch was petting her." read more...

Video
	Witness Says Llama Was Hurt In Attack

Stray Animal Was Attacked By Dogs

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Strange noises in a rural Canton Township neighborhood led residents to discover an injured llama outside their homes Monday night.

The llama was trying to fend off a German shepherd and another dog that were attacking her along Ridge Road, near Warren and Joy roads, according to witnesses. Neighbors said they ran out to help the llama.

"The noises she was making sounded like a pig screaming," said neighbor Junnie Morrow.

The llama suffered injuries on her back and legs. Neighbors collected money to pay for veterinarian bills.

more...

Proof that a little compassion goes a long way...yet another reason to believe that there IS hope in this world...

Iraqi Dogs Have Plenty of Food After Response To Soldier's Plea

LAS VEGAS -- Just before the New Year, Army Reserve Capt. Gabriella Cook sent an urgent e-mail from Iraq requesting food shipments. Not for her or her unit - for Iraqi police dogs.

"The dogs are starving and urgently need dry dog food," Cook wrote in a Dec. 28 e-mail that said the Iraqi Interior Ministry's only bomb-sniffing police dogs were eating table scraps and garbage.

The response to the canine crisis has been overwhelming: Offers of help poured in from New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, Ohio and New York. One sports gambling handicapper alone ponied up $5,000. more

dogs  donations  feel-good  fundraising  good samaritins  U.S.  world  

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A California man is now wondering why he risked the lives of his family members in order to help a stray dog.

Jefferson Silveira pulled his minivan off the freeway Sunday night, to try to shoo a stray dog away from traffic near San Jose.

While Jefferson Silveira tried to save the dog from wandering into traffic, his wife, Catherine, her 12-year-old son and the couple's three younger children waited in the family minivan. He then watched in horror as the minivan was slammed from behind by a passing pickup going at least 60 mph. The driver reportedly told police he didn't notice the van until it was too late. Charges have not been filed and there was no alcohol in the driver's system. read on...

BETHLEHEM, Ind. -- Some 90 people searched through the night for a missing 2-year old girl before she was found safe Wednesday morning with a family dog on an Ohio River bank.

Daisy Smith was found more than a mile from her home by a Clark County conservation officer taking part in a search that began after she and the dog disappeared from the family's back yard about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Conservation Officer Mac Spainhour said the family dog was to thank for the girl's safety.

"This girl has a guardian angel," Spainhour said. "And it's the dog. He stayed with her throughout the night, and in the end he led us to her." more...

At age 51, Badger, the oldest horse in the world, may have expected to live his golden years in green pastures.

Unfortunately, his keepers kept him in such sqaulor that he was neally starved to death.

Four months aga Jullianne Aston, founder of the Veteran Horse Society, rescued him. "Badger was in an awful state, disgusting. When we first saw him he looked similar to a greyhound. His age didn't warrant that sort of condition... read on from Ananova...

Jefferson decided he would go down fighting, and because of his efforts, he has been granted permanent sanctuary. Jefferson is a steer who was delivered to the slaughterhouse.

He escaped from the Al-Badr Slaughterhouse in Detroit's Eastern Market on December 2nd and ended up at McDougall and Jefferson (Hence his new name). His story captured the hearts of thousands nationwide.

The slaughterhouse received hundreds of calls and emails urging the saving of Jefferson's life. Due to the public's concern, he has been donated to the Sasha Farm Animal Sanctuary. In return, Sasha has agreed to help pay for the expenses related to his escape and capture.

See the video of Jeffferson's escape...

A very rare condition was fixed on a small stray dog in North Carolina WDIV Channel 4 Reports.

Popcorn was found alone in a North Carolina State Park. At first, her rescuers thought she had a limp, but it turned out that she had five legs.

Donations totaling over $3000 have poured in from across the country to help pay for the lengthy surgery that removed two of the legs. One of the amputated legs was severely curled while the other was rotated 90 degrees, giving Popcorn painful arthritis. more about Popcorn...

The Dexter Fire Department spent three hours pulling a horse from the mud on Wednesday. A tow truck had to be called in to assist.

"AJ" was stuck all the way up to his head in mud that resulted from the pouring rain earlier this week. He is expected to recover completely.

The firefighters refuse to be called heroes, but we give them 5 paws for their efforts!

read more from WDIV Channel 4...

A rail inspector became a hero after temperatures dropped in Helena Montana enough to stick three mountain lion cubs to the train tracks as they crossed.

One cub was on its back, another was stuck by the tail and the third was attached by his paw. The cubs kept licking the tracks which made the problem worse.

Rail inspector Pat O'Rourke found the cubs and tried to free them with warm coffee. When that didn't work he called in the warden who brought hot water. The cubs were freed and made it to their frantic mother on a nearby ridge.

read on from WDIV Channel 4...

Jordie, a German Shepherd from Jordan, was brought to the United States by a caring citizen, Carmen Brining, and Four Paws Trail, a local non-profit that helps animals find homes.

He suffers from a birth defect giving him bow legs and floppy feet.

Donations are being taken to help pay for the $5000 surgery.

Read on to find out how to help...

The owner of the dogs, living on Detroit's East Side, was found dead on Sunday morning.

Concerned neighbors could hear the dogs barking and scratching inside the home and threw food inside on Tuesday.

The Michigan Humane Society investigated and was in the process of getting a warrant when animal control cut a lock to get inside.

There was some initial question as to the proper procedure and which organization should perform the rescue, but the two have been turned over to the Humane Society.

They may be up for adoption soon. more from WDIV Channel 4...

The Singapore government is killing about 45 cats a day.

Cathy Strong, president of the Animal Lovers League, said over 2,000 would be sent to Noah's Ark animal shelter in Johor, Malaysia.

About 100 cats already are on their way and have been placed in quarantine. The rest would follow in the coming days, she said.

"We are trying to save as many as we can," she said. "Volunteers are taking turns, they are about to collapse from rounding up the strays."

more from Ananova...

A rare albino squirrel has had a lucky escape after being knocked from its nest by a football.

Staff at London Wildcare Centre in Wallington, Surrey, say the animal would probably have been picked off by a predator because of his distinctive colour had he not been spotted by a passer-by.

Experts say the five-week-old squirrel, named Persil by staff at the centre, beat odds of 100,000 to one to be born completely albino.

more from Ananova...

The fifth floor of the Fisher Building in downtown Detroit was the spot that Mom and Dad Peregrine Falcon chose to house their nest.

Unfortunately, the spot was a little too unsafe. The fifth floor houses the offices of the Girl Scouts, and some good samartins brought the 18 day old chicks to saefty. The little ones will be tagged and then put back in their nest, moved to a safer place in the fifth floor.

Pepegrine falcons were once endanged and unheard of in the Detroit area.

more from WDIV channel 4...

An American soldier resqued a German Shepard from the hands of a few Iraqis. He found them beating the dog and dragging it by a wire.

The soldier, who happens to be a veterinarian, cared for the dog at camp, and then spent $1,500 of his own money to fly the dog to the care of a friend in Michigan.

When the soldier returns, he will bring the dog home with him to Texas. BRAVO!  WDIV Channel 4