Yesterday it was a brave cat.  Today, it’s Italian canines.  With at least 300 fully trained dog lifeguards, about 3,000 people are saved each year from drowning according to MSNBC.com,

Hundreds of specially trained dogs form Italy’s corps of canine lifeguards, are deployed each summer to help swimmers in need of rescue.

These “lifedogs” wear a harness or tow a buoy that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.

I once dated a guy who was training to be a lifeguard. I learned quickly that I’d be a terrible victim because I couldn’t stop myself from struggling.  But if it were a dog who swam out to me, I think I’d be calm enough to just grab hold and kick.  Canine lifeguards - we salute you!

Photo from MSNBC.

If this isn’t the most awesome exercise in the entire world, then I’m going to lay down and sleep for a thousand years.  There’s a new (well maybe not new new, but new to me) dance in town and disco it ain’t.  Called musical freestyle, it is a dog obedience and dance technique combination.  From Final Boss Form,

Musical canine freestyle—also known as musical freestyle, freestyle dance, and canine freestyle—is a modern dog sport that is a mixture of obedience, tricks, and dance that allows for creative interaction between dogs and their owner.

Want to see it? I thought so…

I may have found a new hobby for my daughter. 

H/T Brittney.

Life with Gob - Kat’s new puppy - has been interesting.  I’ve ready about him tearing out of the house and Kat chasing the pup with a migraine.  This may be why the black dog was tethered to a leash all the while on vacation.

Now Gob is jealous of Kat’s knitting.  The proof is in the yarn…

Silly Gob. I can’t wait to see pictures!

I keep thinking that the ring will be missing from the basket.

A couple of pit bulls in Colorado saved a chihuahua from a coyote recently, according to Pawesome.  When Buster went outside to do what dogs do, a coyote nabbed him.  His Mom heard him screaming, witnessed the coyote brutally shaking the Buster, then dropped him and ran.  It seems that the neighbor’s pit bulls heard the commotion and came to Buster’s rescue.

The conclusion:  1) Not all pit bulls are bad by any stretch, and 2) Buster is recovering nicely.

H/T Brittney.

The story that I saw today on Yahoo News broke my heart.  A highly-trained military dog with the assignment of sniffing out bombs returned to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado a changed animal.

Before she went, Gina was a playful two-year old.  Upon her return, she was scared to enter buildings, jumpy, and withdrawn.  The diagnosis from a military veterinarian was post-traumatic stress disorder.  Her rehabilitation is underway,

Haynes and other handlers coaxed Gina on walks, sending someone ahead to pass out treats for bystanders to give her. They got her over her fear of walking through doors by stationing someone she knew on the other side to reward her with pats and play. They eased her farther into buildings with the same technique.

“She started learning that everyone wasn’t trying to get her,” Haynes said. “She began acting more social again.”

According to the article, she’s not expected to make a 100 percent recovery, but should still live a full life of work and play.

Photo by Associated Press.

It’s hot here in the South right now.  So hot that even the little mean Alpha dog had to be brought inside.  But because of her dominance, she has to stay in her cage.

Even from her cage, she established dominance.  Here’s my Alpha, now the Omega.

She’s thinking, “Sheesh. What crawled up her craw?”

My  brother is here to re-do our ceiling from the “wind driven rain” damage we took on during the torrential rains of early May in the South.  He has two dogs: Cassi and Vicky.  Cassi is a huge black Labrador with a sweet disposition.   Vicky is a little terror - the alpha dog.

Last time they were here she bit the beejeepers out of our sweet Libby (an omega dog), so now Vicky is not allowed to play with my pooches.  She misbehaves, so this is where she now remains for visits.

The problem isn’t establishing her role as Alpha dog.  It’s that I also have an Alpha - Coco.  And once one of the two Alphas comes out on top - and it doesn’t matter which one it is - Vicky relentlessly challenges the other dogs, even when she’s already Alpha.

I am not a dog whisperer to figure this one out.  So she stays separated from the others I’m sad to report.

One thing I love about my animals… we’re on vacation this week.  Everyone except Grandma, that is.  She’s home all alone, except she’s not.

Both dogs are sitting in the chair under her and the cat is in her lap.

I think the companionship of pets is a true blessing in so many lives.  Whether a busy, stressed person needs someone to help relax or an elderly person needs a companion, our four-legged friends are the perfect true friends.

My thanks to Libby, Cocoa, and Kitty for being there for Grandma this week.

Photo by EdenPictures via flickr creative commons.