In recent years, there has been a rumor running through dog shelters and kennels that black dogs aren’t adopted out as often as their fair-haired roommates. Although there is no official study thus far to back up this commonly-held assertion, Fred Levy — a photographer — is not taking any chances, so he has started up the Black Dogs Project to promote dog lovers choosing his darker-furred friends! (HuffPo)
When I saw the title of Lorrie Moore’s latest book, Bark, I was hoping there might be a tale or two about dogs included in the short story collection, but it appears to be metaphorical — hence, the pic of tree ‘bark’ on the cover.
However, after listening to author, Walter Kirn, on NPR talking about his new Talented Mr. Ripley-like thriller about befriending a master manipulator (wait, that definitely sounds like a dog!), Blood Will Out, I learned that a Gordon Setter plays a big supporting role in the story. Like all great books, Kirn’s starts with a dog — when he agrees to shuttle a crippled rescue dog across the country to meet a supposedly wealthy, pooch-loving Rockefeller — who turns out to be a psychopath. But don’t worry, at least the dog doesn’t get killed! (NPR)
What with all the poor diplomatic relations going on between countries today, I think the world could use some talented Ambassador Dogs — with a strong foreign policy background, of course.
And luckily for readers, Extreme Dog Lover/Trainer, Lisa Loeb (no, not the singer, Lisa Loeb, who also happened to come up with one of the greatest pet-friendly titled pop songs of the 90’s, “Stay”) has come out with a sweet, colorful photography book filled with heartwarming stories of all kinds of therapy dogs and service dogs who are doing their part to make this world a better place!
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Okay, it’s not just for dogs — but for all of our animal friends — and it’s called The National Museum of Animals & Society, located in Los Angeles, California. And I bet there free days are a real zoo!
Anyway, their current pooch-friendly exhibition is My Dog My Home: The Experience of Human-Animal Homelessness.
With the Major League Baseball playoffs in full swing, The Wall Street Journal featured a nice cat wrangler piece on former World Series champ/Champion of Animals manager, Tony La Russa, who years ago also started the winning animal rescue non-profit, ARF.
Seth Casteel, the scuba dog-diving photographer/creator of Underwater Dogs — has gone deeper under the surface to bring out a new child-friendly version of his best-selling dog photo book, Underwater Dogs – Kids Edition. Although both books are entertaining for kids of all ages, Casteel also uses the money from his funny pics of water-logged dogs to raise money for dog rescues.
The New York Times Magazine has a long profile on the treatment of celebrity elephants in India — and it’s not a pretty tale. Photo by Brent Stirton. (NYT)
If you’re in the SF Bay Area tomorrow (July 13), pop on by the Love A Senior Saturday / Muttville Dog Book Party.
There will be books, there will be dogs, doggie photographers, a doggie kissing booth — honestly, it’s just too much fun to cover in a single dog blog post! And the best part is that 100% of sales go to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue.
Last week, Dogster HQ hosted a special pet adoption day for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue — and there was lotsa love in the air! Read the story on Dogster.
Of course, if you’ve checked out Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs by Gene Weingarten, then you already know the joys of older dogs!
If you haven’t heard of Sam Simon, you know his work — as he was one of the original creators of The Simpsons TV show. But what you might not know is that he has spent millions of dollars on animal rights, as well as training service dogs for PTSD veterans through his Sam Simon Foundation. Not to mention, PETA even named their headquarters after him!
Last week, Simon was interviewed on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast where he talked about his love of animals, TV jobs, his highly-acclaimed check-writing ability — and, sadly, his recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. But he still hasn’t lost his sense of humor!
Here’s a 2007 clip from 60 Minutes…
We’ve heard about heroic bomb-sniffing dogs, but check out this cancer-sniffing Pug who alerted her owner, Marian Cooper (who also happens to run The Animal Rescue House Center in the UK) of a cancerous tumor? Sounds like a lifesaver to me! (NY Daily News)
It looks like one of The Hardy Boys — make that Tom Hardy (star of Warrior and Inception) — is going to crack a lost dog case in a new movie called Animal Rescue, which is based on a short story by Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River).
Lehane himself recently happened to have a reward out for his own missing dog in real life, a pretty Beagle named Tessa. (Yahoo)
Looking for a coffeetable dog book? Frank Bruynboeck has pretty pictures of rescue dogs! (Compawssion)
Meet Buck. He was shot in the face, and stuffed in a garbage bag left for dead.
But now he’s coming home after eye surgery — and has lived to tell the tale! (Yahoo)
Brian, a rescued Pit Bull, lives on a farm with cats. Lots and lots of cats. (New York Times)
ItsJustADogBook.com 