Actor Josh Duhamel - Rescue Waggin' - Tales From The Road

Besides a flourishing acting career, Josh Duhamel spends a lot of time speaking for the animals. He has a brand new web series and he's back to talk about it...and to flirt with the ladies.

Josh Duhamel and PetSmart Charities released the first 2 episodes of a brand new web series, "Rescue Waggin': Tales from the Road."

Josh never really set out to work with animals. He didn't have any cats or dogs growing up. He was more into catching turtles and frogs as a kid and always had a fascination in nature, even getting a degree in biology.

John bought his first dog during his second year of filming the television show Las Vegas, named Zoe, which he still has. Josh admitted that he bought his first dog, not knowing anything about rescuing. A co-worker on the show Las Vegas scolded him and said, "What are you doing you schmuck, you rescue, you've got to rescue, do you know how many dogs are out there that need a home?" Josh didn't realize that. So when he was searching for a second dog, he knew the only way to go was to rescue. This is when Josh first became introduced to animal rescue. The more he learned, the more passionate about rescue he became.

Meatloaf, his second dog, was so cute and who turned out to be such an incredible little friend for the last 6 or 7 years. When Josh adopted Meatloaf, his name was Dillon. While he said Dillon fit him, he was talking to his wife (Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas) and said that he looked like a meatloaf. He was a fat little thing and brown in color. Fergie said, "Oh My God, that's his name!" Plus, Josh loves Meatloaf the singer. So the name stuck. When Meatloaf passed away, Josh posted it on social media, mentioning that Meatloaf was an adopted dog.

Josh and Fergie recently had a baby boy. So how does his dog Zoe get along with the baby? At first, Zoe didn't want anything to do with the baby, because she saw him as running interference on her time. But now, she see's him as a potential playmate and ball thrower. She has even taken on a protective role over the baby.

Josh's new 8-episode web series, "Rescue Waggin': Tales From The Road," produced with PetSmart Charities, chronicles real stories of homeless dogs as they travel from overcrowded shelters, where they are likely to be euthanized, to shelters where they have a better chance of being adopted. The web series includes cameos from a cache of celebrity pet adoption advocates including Kristen Bell, Bret Michaels and Adam Shankman.

PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin' program has not only helped save the lives of thousands of pets, but also helps many shelters improve their operations through spay/neuter programs, grants and mentoring.

Visit www.rescuewaggin.org to view a new webisode each Monday in March.

No Pet – No Apartment!
Judy Guth, North Hollywood Landlord

Octogenarian and Landlord Judy Guth only allows tenants with pets in her apartment complex. Is this discrimination? Judy doesn't care! And if one of her tenants loses their pet, she'll even take them out to dinner and then to a shelter to find another roommate.

Judy doesn't care if you have great references, pay your rent on time, or are as quiet as a mouse. Without a dog or cat, you're not getting one of her cherished apartments.

Judy has a 12-unit apartment building in North Hollywood; she has been renting to only pet owners for the last 50 years.
Judy personally checks out all pets first. They must be friendly and well behaved. She accepts all sizes of dogs. Her limit of animals per household is set by the city.

The Federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, and disability, but pets are given a pass.

If someone wants to rent one of her apartments but doesn't have a pet, Judy tells them, "I'm sorry, it's no vacancy for you!" Judy is tired of seeing other rentals listed stating they won't accept pets, or only small pets or maybe a cat. She says these people are the ones who are discriminating.

Judy has all apartments specially prepared for a new tenant. The place is cleaned and new carpet is put down. The tenant then has to purchase the carpet for an extra $100 a month until it is paid off, usually within the year. When the tenant moves out, they can take the carpet with them if they'd like. If they leave the carpet, Judy cuts it up and takes it to the animal shelter. There are no pet deposits that have to be paid.

But what happens when an animal passes away? Does the person have to leave? Not if they get another animal. In fact, Judy gives them time to mourn, about six months. After that, she takes them out to lunch or dinner and then they all go together to choose their next pet.

As you can imagine, Judy's renters stay for quite some time. She currently has tenants that have been there 24 years, 20 years and 18 years.

Judy is a member of the Apartments Association, where she teaches other landlords how to prepare apartments for pet owners and how to rent and check out pets.

Judy grew up as a single child and always had pet in her life. She currently has a small dog.

Faking It
Colleen Demling, Pawtopia

A new trend is the unfortunate and fraudulent use of "Service Dog" credentials for owners wanting to bring their dogs into restaurants, airlines and hotels. Pawtopia's Colleen Demling explains the problem and why the disabled suffers.

You want to take your dog with you everywhere you go, so you go online and buy fake service vest. You can now enter restaurants, stores and even airports. Is this legal? No! Most people don't know that this is a misdemeanor and in some states it is a federal offense with possible jail time.

You have probably seen these fake service dogs. They might not have basic obedience training and are running all over the place. These dogs give true service dogs a bad name. So when people see a true service dog, they are being denied access, because of the experiences store owners, etc., have had with fake service dogs.

In order for a dog to be a service dog, they have to have a skill that's been trained. This causes much confusion. People may state that they are nervous when out in public, and when they pet their dog, it makes them calm. However, under the American Disabilities Act, that doesn't count. The dog has to have a special skill that's been trained, that directly relates to the person's disability.

So does this training have to be done by a professional and the animal certified? No. Because the American Disabilities Act doesn't want to disfranchise someone who doesn't have the monetary resources or the access to get to a trainer, so it doesn't mean they can't have a service dog. They can train the animal themselves.

There's been discussion about proposing legislation to make one centralized certification agency. The current difficulty with this is again back to those people who don't have the money or access to these facilities.

So how do you help the people who do have legitimate disabilities with service dogs? How do you test the skills of these service dogs? For example, if a dog is trained to alert for a seizure, you don't want someone to have to have a seizure, to demonstrate that the dog has been trained for this skill.

These days it is so easy to lure people online and make it look legitimate to get everything you need to make your dog look like a service dog, from vests to id tags.

There has to be a solution!

http://www.pawtopia.com

The Dogfather's Grooming Tip with Joey Villani

Prepare Your Pets For Summer
It's that time of the year. Spring is just about upon us and it is time to get your dogs and cats ready for the summer.

If your dog needs to be shaved or cut down for the summer, the time to do it is now! This will leave them with a nice coat by the time summer arrives, which will protect them from the elements, particularly the sun.

If you wait too long, and clip your dog when it is warm, when they go outside they will get sunburned. If you clip it now, it should be about one inch in length by June.

If you want to do it yourself, get out your brush and comb. You need to comb out all of the undercoat. The easy way to do this is by spraying a little bit of water on the coat, which will help loosen up and remove the undercoat. Brush and then comb the water through. When the comb goes through nice and easy, then you know you have removed all of the old undercoat. This method works for longhaired and double-coated dogs.

For shorthaired dogs, use a rubber curry brush, which is a very short, rubber pinned brush. This will pull everything out by friction.

Do this, and your pet will be protected and ready to go for the summer!

Animal Radio® News with Tammy Trujillo

Not Every Service Dog Is Really Doing A Service
Guide dog advocates in California say there is a growing problem with people dressing up their pets as fake 'service dogs' so they can take them places where the animals would otherwise not be allowed. A Senate committee recently heard testimony from organizations for the disabled and business groups who are asking lawmakers to deal with the problem. It's actually pretty easy to go online and purchase service dog harnesses, badges and vests and there is even one on-line company that is allowing anyone to register their dog as a service animal and get an ID card for the pet.

There's Help Out There For People Dealing With Staggering Vet Bills
We all know that vet bills can be enormous and sometimes cash strapped pet owners have to turn to euthanasia to end an animal's suffering when they don't see any other choice. A quick check of the Internet might offer a solution. Numerous charitable organizations are out there to keep this from happening, paying for at least a portion of the medical care for people on limited incomes. Some focus on specific medical conditions, others work in certain geographical areas, while others offer assistance to certain breeds. Certainly worth a look, if you and your pet need some help.

The Catalina Island Fox is Back!
There's good news for the endangered Catalina Island Fox. The annual survey found more than 1,800 foxes on the Island, about 350 more than last year. The fox sub-species are only found on the island. Canine distemper nearly wiped out the population in 1999, leaving only about 100. Conservationists started a recovery program that included captive breeding and vaccinating the foxes. The program ended in 2004 after the fox population tripled. Since then, the population has been growing steadily. The Catalina Island Conservancy says it's one of the fasted recoveries of any endangered species on record.

The Next Time Your Cat Gets A Vaccination; The Vet Might Go For Its Tail
Don't be surprised if the next time your cat gets an injection, it's in the tail. We're all used to the vet giving our kitties shots in the shoulder area, but recently concerns have come up over treating rare, but potentially deadly injection site sarcomas. Some vets then shifted the site to the hind legs, since an amputation, if necessary, would be easier and more successful. Now, Dr. Julie Levy at the University of Florida is suggesting that a cat's tail might be an even better choice, since dealing with a tumor in the tail would be a much simpler surgery. She did a study and it showed that cats tolerated the injection well.

There Are Sharks In Baltimore!
The National Aquarium in Baltimore's renovated centerpiece exhibit is a hit! Attendance is way up after the opening of the new 12.5 million dollar "Blacktip Reef." The exhibit now features 779 animals and over 3,000 hand-sculpted coral replicas. It includes sharks and one very large sea turtle.

If A Dog Is Aggressive - Blame The Owner - Not The Breed
Some dog breeds have the reputation of being aggressive, but researchers in the U-K took a closer look recently at the situations under which dogs aggress. They checked with over 4,000 dog owners with a variety of breeds and logged reports of negative responses toward family members, around strangers in the home and outside the house. About 3-percent reported aggression toward family members, about 7-percent reported aggression toward strangers coming into the house and about 5-perent reported aggression toward strangers off the property. It also found that dogs from breeders were less aggressive than those gotten from pet shops and rescue groups. But to really sum it up, the lead researcher in the study put a post in her blog. She said, "Dog aggression has little to do with the breed, so test the owner!"

Penguin Sweater Knitters Wanted
The call has gone out worldwide for knitters to make little pullovers for penguins in rehab. The Penguin Foundation says the little jumpers keep the rescued penguins warm and stops them from trying to clean the toxic oil off with their beaks before they can be properly cleaned. The Foundation is based at Phillip Island Nature Park in Victoria, near Melbourne, Australia. It also distributes the jumpers to other wildlife rescue centers.

Did You Name Your New Cat Or Dog Bella? If You Did, You're Not Alone!
We like to follow the trends, and yes, there are trends in what people name their pets. Max was the top name for male dogs in 2013, while more male kitties were named Oliver last year. Oddly enough, the top name for girl dogs AND cats in 2013 was Bella. The annual survey comes from a website called Rover.com that connects dog owners with pet sitters and is based on it's US database of several hundred thousand registered clients. The trend of giving pets 'people names' has caused quite an overlap in dog and cat names, which hasn't been the case in the past.

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