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Calif. Group Gives Texas Dog National Hero Award
Associated Press | Los Angeles | Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
Three years ago, Bear was a 100-pound Shiloh German shepherd nobody wanted at a Texas shelter.
Debbie Zeisler came to his rescue. She has lost count of the times since then that he has come to hers.
On Monday, Bear was honored with the 30th National Hero Dog award by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles.
Last May, Zeisler had a seizure, fell down some steps, hit her head and lost consciousness in her front yard. Bear scratched on every front door in their Millsap neighborhood but nobody answered. A Parker County animal control officer saw the frantic dog and went to help. Bear led the officer to Zeisler.
As a by-then conscious Zeisler was being loaded into an ambulance, Bear did not hesitate to jump in with her and accompany her to the hospital.
The dog recognizes the signs of imminent seizures and will lean on Zeisler's legs so she can sit down before they happen, explained the society's Ana Bustilloz.
Bear never had any training, but three days after Zeisler took him home he started alerting her to possible problems. "He figured it out on his own," Bustilloz said.
The sometimes daily seizures started after a horse riding accident 18 years ago.
Zeisler said she initially went to the Weatherford Animal Shelter to get a German shepherd for her mother. When she asked about shepherds, she was told they only had one, but he was in the back because nobody wanted him.
They brought out the dog and it was love at first sight, she said.
Zeisler has fallen a couple of times when she didn't heed Bear's warning. The dog will fetch her medicine or stay with her, whichever she seems to need, she said.
As National Hero Dog, Bear gets free dog food for a year, the trip to California for him and Zeisler, a stay at an oceanfront hotel in Huntington Beach and a plaque.
The ceremony honoring Bear was held at the Nokia Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
By Sue Manning
spcaLA's Shelter Cats Get Their Art On
Shine from Yahoo! - Pets | | Friday, April 13th, 2012
Animal Planet's "Must Love Cats" filmed its eighth episode at the spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center; the ep features cats playing with game apps -- including Paint for Cats. The shelter felines got really into the apps, and created some beautiful works of art (especially for painters with no thumbs!).
The paintings have become notecards that you can buy online and/or at spcaLA marketplaces; proceeds will benefit all spcaLA's shelter pets (canines too). Watch the "Must Love Cats" ep on Saturday, April 14 at 8 PM PT (or check your local listings).
Click here to see photos of the shelter cats!
By Sarah D. Bunting, Pets Editor
iPad Art By Cats: Local Shelters Hope To Raise Money With Paint For Cats
Huffington Post Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | Thursday, April 12th, 2012
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles animal shelter that lets its cats chase toys on top of iPads hope the digital art created by the movement will encourage donations of money and tablet computers.
An Animal Planet crew visited the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles for the April 14 episode of "Must Love Cats," where they documented how four cats used an app called Paint for Cats.
The results were so compelling that the shelter turned them into notecards. The cards with drawings named "Study in Feather Toys" and "Movement in Catnip" are being sold online for $5.99 a pack.
Shelter president Madeline Bernstein says the cats had so much fun, they put used iPads on their wish list so other cats can paint, too.
By the Associated Press
LA shelter hopes cats' iPad art draws in donations
The Associated Press | | Thursday, April 12th, 2012
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Los Angeles animal shelter that lets its cats chase toys on top of iPads hope the digital art created by the movement will encourage donations of money and tablet computers.
An Animal Planet crew visited the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles for the April 14 episode of "Must Love Cats," where they documented how four cats used an app called Paint for Cats.
The results were so compelling that the shelter turned them into notecards. The cards with drawings named "Study in Feather Toys" and "Movement in Catnip" are being sold online for $5.99 a pack.
Shelter president Madeline Bernstein says the cats had so much fun, they put used iPads on their wish list so other cats can paint, too.
