Follow Skylar's service dog training journal, a daily update of the progress Skylar makes as she trains with her owner: 'Skyler is my deaf white Boxer puppy. In spite of her disability I am training her to be my handicap assistive Service dog since I have Multiple Sclerosis...' [via Super Special Canines via About.com's Veterinary Medicine]

Want an endless stream of great dog photos? Try Flicker's free rss photo service [Boing Boing Cory Doctorow]

Wanted: alligator with pocketknife in head FL [Washington Times, DC] Owner's pointed message to alligator: Don't mess with my Shar Pei!

Blogskins contains a treasure trove of elegant templates.  Check out the puppies! At least 12,000 people have downloaded this ad-free template which is available for Xanga, Blogger and Movable Type.

Bloglet, an ingenious service for news subscription services, allows you to easily subscribe to interesting newsletters via email; at last count, they include 11,903 free newsletters. Like us, The World Veterinary Association uses Bloglet's handy service to offer a free email subscription to their daily news headlines. Other sites which include this service:  Current News in Veterinary Medicine, Dancing with Dogs,  Miscelanea (veterinary and cat information)

National Geographic's Photo of the day:Today's photo

 [via Wilson's Blogmanac]

DVMvac.org has just announced its presence on the web and promises to provide veterinarians with the latest news on vaccines and disease outbreaks which vaccines can address. Today's latest press release tracks Leptospirosis:

"... veterinarians across the country are keeping a close watch on the recent outbreak  Leptospirosis, a potentially deadly canine disease that has already killed several dogs this summer. Leptospirosis thrives in water sources and is commonly found after periods of heavy rain. Animals which come into contact with water sources that have been contaminated with urine of infected wildlife are most at risk ..." [PR Newswire]

Catfish eats dachshund dog Germany A giant catfish may have lived up to its name by attacking and eating a small dog in a German Lake. [Independent Online]

Man stabs alligator to free his dog from reptile's jaws FL [NBC Sandiego] Those pesky alligators are at it again... snacking on Florida's local pets

Hitchhiking dog rides 85 miles in pouring rain NE A plucky dog avoids becoming roadkill and survives his long-haul ride in the back of a semitrailer. [AZ Central]