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If You Want a Friend, Get a Dog!


Carl Icahn, the hostile takeover master who was THE original corporate raider, is often quoted as saying, "In this business, if you want a friend, get a dog!" The rest of us already knew that dog was man's best friend, and with good reason. Dogs as pets date back at least as far as the days of Pompeii, where the remains of a dog stretched out next to a little boy were recovered from the rubble at Pompeii.

We all know that dogs are cute, warm, and cuddly, requiring little more than food, water, shelter and affection to return unwavering devotion. Dogs have earned their rightful place as a family member. In fact, what family portrait is complete without the family canine?

Dogs earned their place of prominence years ago among their blind and deaf owners and in local, state, federal and international law enforcement. Hint: be sure to rid your coat pockets of doggie biscuits the next time you travel, unless you want to be attacked by a drug and bomb-sniffing dog.

A quick glance through the amazing true stories ripped from the headlines below demonstrates that dogs may never fall from their pedestal as man's best friend! While it's true that we must do for dogs what they cannot do for themselves, have a look at the things that dogs have done for us that we could not or did not want to do for ourselves.

Dogs CAN smell cancer

On September 24, 2004, the Associated Press reported that the first scientific experiment to prove what has long been suspected-that dogs can smell cancer-was successful. A dog's sense of smell is far superior to that of a human's: 10,000 to 100,000 times better. The results of the study appeared in the British Medical Journal. The study proved that dogs could indeed smell cancer. What remains to be determined is whether dogs can effectively communicate the presence of cancer. What's most promising is that dogs may well be able to detect the presence of cancer before high-tech medical testing.

Dogs help seniors live longer

In 1999, a study reported in the Journal of American Geriatrics concluded what many have known intuitively and anecdotally for a long time: seniors with pets live longer and fuller lives both physically and mentally. Once again, science proves common sense. Dogs require walking. Active seniors with pets have lower blood pressure, visit their doctors less frequently, require hospitalization less frequently and when they are hospitalized, the duration is shorter. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes have moved almost en masse to allowing visiting pets or housing a resident pet for their residents. The Delta Pet Partner certifies pets to visit nursing homes and hospice facilities. If you have an elderly parent, consider giving the gift of life, a companion dog.

Hostage miniature dog escapes and eludes captors

In 1992, a teeny tiny 11-year-old Pomeranian was reportedly stolen from its home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The following January, a father/daughter team in Corpus Christie, Texas, saw a van chasing the little dog. The driver abandoned the van and began chasing the dog on foot, but could never catch the dog. Finally, the dog's captor fled the scene, abandoning the dog, an animal perhaps 1/20th the size of its captor. The daughter chased the dog, and the dog willingly jumped in her arms. Since the dog wore tags, the father/daughter team returned the dog to its owners.

What's next? Courier dogs?

Actually, that's old news! In 2001, it was reported that a then five-year-old golden retriever named J.C. delivered its owners' prescriptions from the pharmacy. The pharmacy was located in the same strip mall as the owners' shop in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, and J.C. always accompanied the owners to the pharmacy. The dog began carrying the prescriptions back from these outings. J.C.'s not just any old dog. It was reported that he took instruction well, and when instructed, he ran down to the pharmacy and returned with prescriptions in tow.

Since the beginning of their relationship with humans, dogs have fended for their owners, rescuing them from all sorts of perilous situations. Won't you consider rescuing a dog from the loneliness of life without an owner?

M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online for dog supplies, dog toys, and more. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.


MORE RESOURCES:
familypets - Google News
Family pet dies in frozen Macclesfield pond as fire crew wait for help - Manchester Evening News

Family pet dies in frozen Macclesfield pond as fire crew wait for help
Manchester Evening News
A family watched their dog dying in a frozen pond while Macclesfield firefighters stood by ? because they didn't have a raft or water rescue training. The Oldfields lost their beloved King Charles spaniel Alfie, pictured, after he fell through the ice ...

Rustlers butcher family's pet - Gisborne Herald

Rustlers butcher family's pet
Gisborne Herald
A MATAWAI family is left heartbroken after the deer they called Rosie, and hand-reared from birth, was shot and killed on their property over the weekend. Caroline Rau said Rosie was a much-loved member of their family, so tame she slept beside her and ...

A Beloved Family Pet Dies. What Does a Mother Tell Her Children? - Voice of America

A Beloved Family Pet Dies. What Does a Mother Tell Her Children?
Voice of America
07 February 2012 A Beloved Family Pet Dies. What Does a Mother Tell Her Children? TO DOWNLOAD the MP3 of this story, click on the MP3 link in the upper right corner of the page. Double-click any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster ...

House fire kills family pet - This Is Cheshire

House fire kills family pet
This Is Cheshire
AN overheated laptop is thought to have started a blaze on Fletcher Street, off Wilderspool Causeway. Residents managed to escape the flames but their pet cat died. Firefighters were called at 5pm yesterday, Wednesday, after the blaze started on the ...

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'She killed the family pets': Frances Bean Cobain slams mum Courtney Love's ... - Daily Mail

Daily Mail

'She killed the family pets': Frances Bean Cobain slams mum Courtney Love's ...
Daily Mail
By Mike Larkin Frances Bean Cobain accused her mother Courtney Love of causing the death of their family pets in a newly revealed testimony. The 19-year-old filed a restraining order against Love in LA superior court in December 2009 after they got ...
Courtney Love killed family pets, daughter claimsTruthDive
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Family's pet mauled by pit-bull type dog - Lake County News Sun

Family's pet mauled by pit-bull type dog
Lake County News Sun
BY DAN MORAN dmoran@stmedianetwork.com February 7, 2012 8:02PM Diane Hewitt gets a kiss from her bichon maltese Cindy, 9, in their driveway on Rice Street in Waukegan. Cindy has scars on her neck and other areas from being attacked by a pit bull.

Francis Bean Cobain Says Courtney Love Killed Their Family Pets - RTT News

RTT News

Francis Bean Cobain Says Courtney Love Killed Their Family Pets
RTT News
(RTTNews) - New legal documents have been leaked in which Francis Bean Cobain accuses her mother Courtney Love of killing their family pets. In 2009, Fancis filed for a restraining order against her mother and claimed in the documents that Love's ...

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Family pet recovers from mauling - The Daily Iberian

Family pet recovers from mauling
The Daily Iberian
Watching 4-year-old shih tzu Sophie jump around the kitchen and living room of her New Iberia home, it's hard to imagine the horror she and her owners faced only months ago. Roger Snyder took Sophie, whose full name is Sophia Marie Snyder, ...

Coyotes kill family pets - WSB Atlanta

Coyotes kill family pets
WSB Atlanta
Channel 2's Michael Buczyner went to the Riverside subdivision on Smith Street, where one resident described his close encounter with a coyote. Barry Batts said he took his dogs and cat out in the morning when a coyote stared him down.

Family Pets Killed in Keller House Fire - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Family Pets Killed in Keller House Fire
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Most of the family's pets, two cats and a dog, died from smoke inhalation. A second dog, a golden pomeranian, is missing. The fire is believed to have started in the living room, though investigators have not yet determined what started the fire.
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