ShiShi, pitbull

Service dog of paralyzed Milwaukee boy missing, possibly stolen
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
May 24, 2014

The family of a paralyzed Milwaukee boy who was featured in a 2013 documentary on texting and driving by famed filmmaker Werner Herzog is frantically searching for the boy's service dog, which disappeared from their home and is presumed to have been stolen.

The dog, named Shi Shi, is a blue nose pit bull owned by the family ofXzavier Davis, 9, who was left paralyzed at the age of 5 when he was struck by a texting driver while crossing the street with his sister.

Xzavier Davis, 9, who was left paralyzed at the age of 5 when he was struck by a texting driver, is pictured with his dog Shi Shi.

Xzavier's accident is one of the heartbreaking stories Herzog featured in the documentary, "From One Second to the Next," which went viral on social media last year. The 35-minute documentary on YouTube has been watched close to 3 million times.

"Anyone who knows us, and knows this family, knows exactly how important this dog is to our family," Valetta Bradford, Xzavier's mother and the dog's trainer, said Saturday.

The dog, which Xzavier has had for a little more than a year, has been both a companion and an assistant for the boy, alerting family members if his breathing equipment falters and helping him with opening doors and other jobs. Shi Shi was given to the family by friends when she was six weeks old.

The dog went missing on Tuesday, when Xzavier's sister left her on the porch to go into her kennel after a walk. Bradford went out on the porch five minutes later and Shi Shi was gone, she said.

The family has gone door-to-door in a two-mile radius, made appeals on social media and is planning to post signs with the dog's picture, Bradford said.

Shi Shi's disappearance has hit Xzavier hard, and he's constantly asking where the dog might be and wanting to do more to find her, his mother said.

The loss of the dog appears to be a double blow to the family: Someone also stole Xzavier's Xbox 360 video game system in May while the family was in New York to appear on the Katie Couric show to discuss texting and driving, Bradford said.

After WTMJ-TV Channel 4 reported the missing dog and game system, a viewer on the WTMJ website offered to give Xzavier her Xbox and others have said they would provide new dogs, but Xzavier will have none of it, his mother said.

Bradford said the boy has just one response to the offers: "It won't be Shi Shi."

Source: http://linkis.com/www.jsonline.com/new/A3H9E

Angel, German shepherd

Lost for five years, dog found, returned home
May 23, 201

MANSFIELD — This story was not supposed to have a happy ending.

Five years ago on Christmas Day, the Sinnett-Dekrell family lost their dog when the wind blew open the door and the dog bypassed the electric fence and wandered out onto the streets.

From left, Maggie Sinnett and sons Brandon and Andrew Dekrell were reunited with German shepherd Angel on Wednesday.

The family did everything they could to find their dog. They roamed the streets, distributed countless fliers, offered a reward and contacted everyone they could on Facebook.

All to no avail.

“No one answered any of our fliers,” said mother Maggie Sinnett. “You go looking everywhere, but you don’t know where to look. You feel lost. You feel hopeless.”

A year passed and there was no sign of their beloved German shepherd. Two years soon turned into four, and no one had seen or heard anything about their dog.

It came as a surprise to Sinnett, now nearly four-and-a-half years to the day, when Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan called her at work Monday with some unexpected news.

“He said, ‘We found your dog,’” Sinnett said. “I was not expecting that.”

The dog warden had picked up the German shepherd on Reed Street near North Trimble Road. A microchip implanted inside the dog upon adoption from the pound made the reconnection possible.

The family went to pick up the dog Wednesday and they found her in great condition. Sinnett said their dog was found with a collar, meaning someone had taken her in as a pet during the four-year absence.

Sinnett said she was a little upset that someone kept her dog for so long, but she also was appreciative that person was kind enough to keep her dog healthy.

“She was like my child,” Sinnett said. “She was obviously very well loved and we are very thankful for that.”

The Sinnett-Dekrell family rescued the then 6-month-old puppy from the pound nearly nine years ago as a present for then 7-year-old Andrew Dekrell.

Andrew was the last person to know about the fated reunion this week; he turned 16 on Wednesday — the same day they picked up the dog — and the rest of the family figured there would be no better gift for him than to see his longtime friend.

“We kind of kept it a surprise from him,” Sinnett said. “He had no idea.”

The family had taken care of the dog for about four-and-a-half years until the Christmas runaway incident, and there were a few runaway incidents along the way.

Andrew recalled a time when Angel ran away but was rescued by a stranger from Mifflin. They printed fliers and offered a reward that time, too, and someone was kind enough to promptly return her home.

The time lapse was a bit longer this time around, but well worth the wait.

The family has moved twice since Angel ran off. One of the places — Heatherwood Apartments in Mansfield — had a rule that prohibited ownership of pets heavier than 20 pounds.

It would have been a problem for the family had they found their dog two months earlier.

“There was absolutely no way we could have kept a dog that size,” Sinnet said of her 100-pound pet.

Once they brought the dog home, Sinnett said the family went to town and bought her everything and anything she could ever need.

Their dog, once lost, has now been found.

“(Angel) is back in our lives for a reason, and I do believe that,” Sinnett said. “I don’t know what God’s plan is, but she’s here now and we’re all thankful.”

Source: http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20140522/NEWS01/305220029/Lost-five-years-dog-found-returned-home

Cookie, Staffy Mastiff Amer Bulldog

Dog Stolen From Kent Home Reunited With Owner
by Ryan O'Meara
May 22, 2014

A dog has been reunited with her owner thanks to the use of social media, the work of a Safer Neighbourhoods Team and the local community.

Cookie – a six-month-old Staffordshire mastiff American Bulldog cross – was taken from her home address in Neptune Walk, Erith on Wednesday 14 May. Her owner, June Gosling, had left Cookie inside the house at 9am and when she returned at 2pm she noticed that a ground floor window was wide open and Cookie was missing.

Police were called and officers attended to take a statement. Following this the owner posted an appeal on Facebook for anyone who had seen Cookie to contact her.

She received several messages saying that a dog matching Cookie’s description was seen around Picardy Street, Belvedere.

This was followed up by Belvedere Safer Neighbourhood Team officers with residents coming forward saying they had seen a man in that area walking the dog.

The following day Tuesday (20th May) at approximately 1pm the officers were on a crime prevention stall at Picardy Street, Belvedere when a man walked past with a dog that looked like Cookie.

He was stopped and spoken to. The dog he was in possession of was taken to a local vet by the officers and as the dog was microchippped when it was scanned, it revealed the dog was Cookie.

The man, 23 years, was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. He is currently on bail whilst police continue with their investigation.

The dog was immediately returned to her family, who were thrilled to be reunited with her.

June Gosling, Cookie’s owner, said: “I am over the moon to be reunited with my baby Cookie – she is family too me, it was like loosing a child. “It was the worst week of my life and I had almost given up hope but thanks to some wonderful members of the public, Facebook and the police, in particular PCSO Jay Worrall, I have my puppy back I couldn’t be more happy. “Being reunited with her was an incredible relief – I won’t be letting her out of my sight!”

Acting Sergeant Chris Molnar, from Belvedere Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: “This is a lovely story that shows that social media, when used correctly, can give us huge assistance with investigating an allegation of crime.

“The initiative shown by the owner, residents and then officers who immediately followed it up has ensured that Cookie has returned home where she belongs.

“What this case also demonstrates is just how important micro-chipping your dog can be as we were able to immediately identify that it was Cookie. From the 6 April 2016 the law is changing and people who keep dogs as pets must have them micro-chipped and this highlights just how beneficial it will be.”

Source: http://www.dognews.co.uk/dog-stolen-kent-home-reunited-owner/

Pluto, Australian Shepherd

Dog Stuck Neck Deep In Mud Rescued By Police Officers In Willistown Township
By Todd Quinones
May 16, 2014 11:09 PM


WILLSTOWN, Pa., (CBS) — Police officers rescued a dog after he was found stuck in the mud in Chester County.

You have to look closely to see the dog.

In the middle of the screen you can just see his head poking out of a mud pit that nearly swallowed him.

“We just knew we had to get the dog out of there. It was in distress. It wasn’t really moving a whole lot,” Willistown Township Police Officer Mike Kushner said.

“It just followed us with its eyes, so it was exhausted,” Willistown Township Police Sergeant Michael Martin said.

The officers used some boards just to get to Pluto, a 13-year-old Australian Sheppard that had been missing for two and half days.

“I just pictured my own dog and what I would want somebody to do and that’s to go get it,” Kushner said.

It took the strength of both men to be able to pull him out of the muck.

And when they did, it still wasn’t clear if Pluto was going to live.

“I was frantic,” dog owner Sheila Shorr said.

On her third day of looking, Shorr found Pluto in a two-foot deep mud pit right near a creek not too far from home.



“It looked dire,” she said.

Shorr believes Pluto must have fallen into the mud pit right away; otherwise he would have come home that first night. That means the 13-year-old dog spent roughly 60 hours encased in mud, struggling to survive.

“[Dogs] have so much heart and soul,” Shorr said

Pluto has come a long way since being pulled out of the mud May 9th.

His fur is still matted, he walks with a limp, and has some sores that are still healing, but the veterinarian says he is going to be okay.

“This was a dream come true on top of a dream come true to find him and have help come right away,” she said.

Shorr can’t thank the officers enough.

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/05/16/dog-stuck-neck-deep-in-mud-rescued-by-police-officers-in-willistown-township/