“What a little survivor"

Happy New Year for dog, owner as pet survives Montana wilds

By John Grant Emeigh
The Montana Standard


BUTTE, Mont.
An Arizona man is ringing in the New Year with good news after a local animal warden found his dog — which had been missing for a month — near Butte.

Phil Nichols and his 6-year-old lab mix, Buddy, became separated in November while stopped in Dillon, he told The Montana Standard in a telephone interview Friday.

Exactly when and how Buddy jumped out of his camper, Nichols isn’t sure.

But the news received this week that Buddy is alive — albeit thin, haggard and nursing a badly hurt back foot — has Nichols brimming with happiness.

The mutt wandered rugged terrain, endured freezing temperatures and BB shots — all with the lame foot — before being rescued this week near Buxton, southwest of Butte.

Animal control officer Charlie Dick said Friday that he is amazed the dog is alive.

“What a little survivor. He was out there a long time,” Dick said.

Buddy’s odyssey started on Nov. 28 when Nichols, 79, was driving back to Arizona in his pickup truck after visiting his daughter in Helena. Buddy rode in a camper in the bed of Nichols’ pickup truck. Nichols recalls seeing Buddy in the camper while in Dillon to gas up.

But when he stopped again in Idaho Falls to let Buddy out for a quick walk, his dog was gone.

“I turned around and drove 150 miles back to Dillon to look for him,” Nichols said.

He stayed in Dillon for a day and a half searching for his best friend, which he had adopted from an animal shelter.

Buddy was nowhere to be found.

With a heavy heart, Nichols finally called off the search and returned home to Arizona. He assumed Buddy may have fallen out or just got out of the camper through a small side door.

It turned out to be a lucky thing that Buddy wasn’t in the camper, however. Nichols crashed near Pocatello, Idaho, when another vehicle cut him off. He hit a guardrail and rolled. Nichols survived, but the camper was smashed to bits.

Nichols suspects Buddy may have had a “sixth sense” about the accident and got out of the camper before it was too late.

“I think the dog has more brains than I do,” he said.

It’s not known if Buddy has a sixth sense, but he certainly has a survival instinct.

Animal services got a call about 8:30 a.m. Thursday of a wounded dog hanging around the Buxton area, about 10 miles southwest of Butte. Buddy had scratches on his face, a badly wounded right rear foot and was thin.

“He was just wandering around on three feet and was very skittish,” Dick recalled.

It took Dick about 45 minutes to finally coax the dog toward him with treats.

Animal control people found Buddy’s owner through a lost dog ad on Craigslist, which had been posted by Nichols’ daughter in Helena.

Erin Wall, shelter director, said Buddy was recovering Friday at the Amherst Animal Hospital in Butte and appears to be doing well. She said it is amazing the dog managed to survive so long in his condition.

“They (dogs) have such an instinct to live and a homing drive to get home,” Wall said.

She suspects Buddy found food and shelter in barns, because he was covered with hay. X-rays also showed Buddy was shot with a BB gun.

At the shelter, Buddy appeared in good spirits, but exhausted.

“He just sat down, then lay down and let out a big sigh,” she said.

Nichols said he plans to reunite with his dog within the next few days — as soon as the vet says it is fine for Buddy to leave.

He wants to call the veterinarian hospital to let Buddy know he’s coming.

“I just want them to put the phone to his ear and let him hear my voice,” Nichols said. “I think that would make him feel better.”

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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com

Pet Fest drew out dogs and people from all over the city to race and socialize

Wiener dog races attract a crowd, but Pet Fest has serious purpose ... adoption.
Missoula's annual Pet Fest drew out dogs and people from all over the city to race and socialize. See more of the story:

Flathead folks encouraged to check out "Date With a Dog"

Instead of asking potential pet owners to come look at adoptable shelter dogs, the Flathead County Animal Shelter will now start bringing dogs to the people in places where they gather.

Dog rescued from a wire fence

Dog Surprises Officer After Being Freed From A Fence

If you are feeling sad this will cheer you up, but it also may make you cry.

(Bear with the shaky cam -- it's mounted on the officer who is rushing to help the dog.)

Working dogs sniff out invasive weeds in Montana

Seamus, a specially trained scent dog, waits to be rewarded for finding its quarry of the noxious weed Dyer’s woad, during a training session at the base of Mount Sentinel on Wednesday morning.
For pictures, see:
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_796fd810-931d11e0-a643-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1Q55pPU6P

Moguls and celebrities now routinely pay $40,000 to $60,000 for a well-bred German shepherd that is certified as an expert in the sport of Schutzhund, which means “protection dog."

“When you compare the costs of a full-time bodyguard versus a dog, the dog makes a lot of sense,” Mr. Curry said. “And the dog, unlike the bodyguard, can’t be bought off.”

When animal owners love too much

Slide show: We talk to the man behind "Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves" about the sad hilarity of dogs in dresses

To calm stressed pooches, aromatherapy oils applied to their crates.

Dog trainer uses natural oils to calm stressed pooches.

Dog trainer Lynn Aitchison has been using her aromatherapy talents to help dogs at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (EDCH) after training in the unusual field last year.

She believes the techniques used help the dogs at the home, who are often troubled, become less stressed and anxious.

Got you with the dogs, but this is a very good long-form journalism site, primarily

Some Very Good Dog Stories. Yes, They Are!


What with a four-legged soldier helping to take out the World’s Most Wanted man, canines have been in the news quite a bit this past week. Which gives us an excuse to dive into the Byliner.com archives and surface some essential reading about man’s best friend:
Living in Dog Years, by Bill Vaughn
Dog Dancing, by Emily Yoffe
The Life of a Sportsman and the Lives of his Dogs, by Jim Harrison
Masters of the Hunt, P.J. O’Rourke
Mush, Mush, Mush, Dammit, Mush!, by Elizabeth Royte
Show Dog, by Susan Orlean
Catching Dogs, by Tom Junod

The ultimate dog tease -- use sparingly, please.

Oh how you'll Laugh...

Makes me glad I don't have a piano in the house

But I keep coming back to hear this singer . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiblYasnzWE&feature=player_embedded

History made as native son wins Iditarod in Alaska

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  • (CNN) -- Native son and veteran dog musher John Baker of Kotzebue, Alaska, made history Tuesday by claiming first place in the state's famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Baker's win marks the first time in the race's 38-year history in which an Alaskan Inupiaq has taken top prize. Baker's win triggered some raw emotional Alaskan pride, with native drums beating loudly at Iditarod's finish line. <see more of story at http://www.kpax.com/news/history-made-as-native-son-wins-iditarod-in-alaska/

John Baker won the Iditorad race. (Photo by Bob Hallinen, Associated Press)

Laika and Manolita Conner have been skijoring together for five years

Laika and Manolita Conner of East Missoula have been skijoring together for five years, http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/recreation/article_b9766906-3a30-11e0-b829-001cc4c03286.html. Their dog-plus-human traveling style moves staid skinny-skiing into the rocket age.

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• Related: Skijoring race in West Glacier

EAST MISSOULA - "Laika" was the name of the first dog in space. It's also the name of a 30-pound Alaskan husky who looks capable of flinging her owner into space.

"We're expecting 100 to 200 this year, with 25 to 50 competitors.