Dog as personal trainer: RX: take one dog a day to get fit and slim...  IN 'Doctors at the Wellness Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago are embarking on a controlled study to determine whether canines and humans exercising together can achieve better weight-loss results — for both man and dog...' Even little dogs have proven themselves as apt personal trainers: 'Ron Fariss of San Francisco runs with his 2-year-old Shih Tzu, Buster: 'Buster is responsible for me being active during the winter months...' [Bedford Times Mail]

Dog owner searches for lost dog... without luck, but finds supportive friends...   PA ' I hid her old Frisbee and rope toys and favorite blanket ostensibly so my kids didn’t have to be reminded when they came home for the holidays. Dog-owners know how my heart felt when I turned out the porch lights on Christmas Eve and heard the tapping of the freezing rain...'  [Daily Local News] (If only someone would invent a usable GPS for dogs... )

Man loses life to saving stray dog from icy pond NC  ' Being an animal lover led him up to his fate'.  A sad story, but a wonderful story... a must read... A man who died in an act of voluntary heroism is described by all who knew him as 'o ne of those good people that had a big heart and would do anything for you...' He knew the risk of drowning and wisely told his wife to hang on to something when she followed him into the pond... She survived and so did the dogs.  ' He really had three main passions: Golf, his dogs and his wife. Being an animal lover led him up to his fate. He just had a big heart for anything living...' [Charlotte Observer]

New laws with teeth... to prevent dog fighting Although dog fighting is a felony in 44 states and attending fights is prohibited in 49 states, the United States Humane Society estimates 40,000 people are actively involved in it. 'Tougher legislation now makes it possible for police to build a case and make arrests by finding evidence of dog fighting...' [The Journal Gazette]

This month, in  Montgomery County, Maryland, police found a ring operating out of an abandoned Gaithersburg apartment; when they raided the apartment, the news media coverage mercifully would not show images of the raided apartment's gruesome finds: a dead dog and two dogs near death without food or water. In dog fighting raids, such finds are typical. Unfortunately, rescuers must also euthanize most of the rescued dogs; abused dogs trained to fight are difficult to rehabilitate; dog fighters often force dogs to eat drugs and steroids. 'Pit bulls are not innately aggressive... But irresponsible ownership and selective breeding can cause violent behavior in the animals...' It is their muscular jaws, which can snap a leg like a matchstick, that makes them attractive to dog fighters.

Soprano's star saves dog with help from 911 police 'A dog that tumbled into the Hudson River was rescued after "The Sopranos" star Edie Falco flagged down a passer-by to call 911. Falco was walking the dog, a mixed breed named Gracie who belongs to a friend, on Friday when the dog broke free and jumped a fence, falling into the river...'  [Los Angeles Daily News] (Falco was also walking her dog, Marlie, when Gracie attempted her ill-fated getaway. In the future, a gentle leader or  head halter trainer might save Falco some emergency 911 calls (plus some dog training).

Related: Woman calls 911 for her dog "When a frantic Covington woman called 911 on a pay phone and said her 3-year-old had stopped breathing, dispatchers sent two fire trucks, two sheriff's deputies and an ambulance crew to a gas station near Mandeville. Five emergency vehicles rushed to the scene with their sirens blazing. 'The rescue workers raced to the scene only to discover that the youngster in question had four legs, a tail and a cold, wet nose." (June 20, 2002)  This woman was later fined:  Woman charged for 911 call for her dog PA Of course... she says she didn't mean to mislead dispatchers when she told them her "child" had stopped breathing... [Arizona Central July 22, 2002 article: link now dead]

In June of last year,  Police officers, firefighters called ... for dead pomeranian  Mississippi When a woman saw two men throw a box in the water at a Long Beach pier, she called police. Firefighters and police hoped to rescue whatever was in the box, but it was too late. The pomeranian found floating next to the box was already dead...