Saving an animal's life is still tax deductible

If you foster an animal for a nonprofit rescue any costs you incur might be tax-deductible.

In 2011, a landmark court ruling, which allowed fosters to write off expenses, had rescue volunteers barking up a storm about the paw-sitive news. Experts tell us the recent changes to federal tax laws have not changed this benefit.

Accountant Annie Whittington said hard-working fosters should claim their expenses. “Being a rescuer is like having a second job that you never get to clock out of, and although it’s food for the soul, you don’t get paid either,” she said. “I think it’s a great benefit that a lot of people don’t know about.”

To read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s article in Grit Daily, click here.

Swim therapy for your dog may be just what the doctor ordered

Oh, the doldrums of winter! It’s that time of year we all feel out of shape, and for most of us living in the United States it sure isn’t swimming weather, even for our dogs.

But if your Lab is itching for some exercise, has arthritis, or has an orthopedic injury you’d like to mend, swimming is not only good for them, there’s a good chance a heated, indoor pool designed for dogs is just what the doctor ordered.

Experts tell us the number of dogs now bobbing on underwater treadmills and paddling their way through pools across the country is on the rise.

Read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s article in Just Labs magazine.

Officials looking for man they say stole dog from animal shelter

Picture released by San Antonio Animal Care Services

UPDATE 2-14-19: It’s a happy Valentine’s Day for Trixie. San Antonio Animal Care Services reports she was found! The agency’s Facebook post says:

TRIXIE HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS HOME SAFE!

A Good Samaritan found Trixie tied up at a local gas station two days ago, took her to the veterinarian who found out who she was...the reunion took place this morning and now Trixie's HOME! The investigation is still ongoing so keep those tips coming if you have them.

Just found out it's National Pet Theft Awareness Day...WOW, we can't think of a better Valentine's Day gift. ♥️ Glad you're back home sweet girl...maybe no more adventures for a while😍

Original article 2-13-19:

San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) just released pictures and a description of a man they say appears to have stolen a dog from its shelter.

Trixie, San Antonio Animal Care Services

The agency’s Facebook post calls it a theft and is desperately looking for clues on where Trixie, a female Staffordshire Terrier, is now.

ACS says last Thursday, February 7th, the dog was apparently stolen from the ACS kennels by the man in this picture.

Picture released by San Antonio Animal Care Services

The agency said in its post:

“He is described as a clean shaven Hispanic male in his thirties with shaved hair and a slim build. The suspect has full length tattoos on both calves.

Security video captured the man heading directly to the dog's kennel before leading her to his car--a white newer model BMW with paper plates. The suspect, who witnesses say is a heavy smoker, was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, Adidas brand track jacket, khaki cargo shorts and a blue t-shirt.”

Picture released by San Antonio Animal Care Services

ACS says Trixie’s owners were coming to the shelter to pick her up and now they are begging for help finding her so she can be reunited with her family. She is microchipped.

Many are asking why it took ACS a week to release pictures and a public alert about this stolen dog.

If you have information about this missing dog and live in San Antonio you can call 311, or else contact the San Antonio Police Department.

Puppy found with mouth taped shut thanks man who saved him

​Bob Hoelter wonders if some divine intervention was at work one frigid winter night in Griffith, Indiana, last month — because if he hadn’t decided to walk two miles to his local store that evening, things may have turned out a lot differently.

“I usually drive. That night I decided I needed some exercise,” Hoelter said.

As Hoelter crossed a bridge, he heard a noise. He stopped. Then he heard it again. It was the saddest, most heartbroken whimper, coming from below.

Read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s article in The Dodo. 

Confession: My Lab had a weight problem, how we beat the bulge

There was a time she was fit and trim. When she was first flown to New England, as a rescue dog from Puerto Rico, she was skinny and looked like she needed a hot meal. My goal was to show her all the luxuries of having a loving home, including good food.

But somewhere between the day I picked her up from the shelter in 2012 as a one-year-old dog…and 2018, the weight crept on. She went from 70 pounds to 93 pounds.

Oh, in between those years we tried to keep the weight off. First, our household cut back on her human food consumption.

We’d say, “No Daisy, no matter how longingly you look at us with those determined Lab eyes, no matter how you try to convince us you’re starving, no, you cannot eat this.”

Read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s article in Just Labs Magazine.

The new six pack?

Every day terrifying headlines fill news websites predicting the end of many animal species, glaciers in Antarctica, and pretty soon, the world. If climate change and people’s carbon footprints don’t take an extreme turn around, we’re all doomed.

Experts say if each person gets concerned, gets angry, and makes a small dent by changing their polluting and garbagey ways it will help this global crisis.

And one pissed off guy, who works at the startup company, E6PR, did just that. “Our story begins in 2016, when one of our team members decided it was enough, he had had it with plastic and the environmental harm it’s causing and teamed up with an engineer,” company spokesperson, Ricardo Mulas Ochoa said.

So the company set out to make a better six pack ring. Read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s story in Grit Daily.

Having a fat pet can cost you big bucks - and not in food!

Think it’s no big deal your cat or dog packed on pounds over the holidays too? Having a fat pet can hit you in the pocketbook, and endanger your animal’s life.

New stats just out show for the seventh-straight year in a row, pudgy pets are on the rise. Nationwide reported, in its most recent count, twenty percent of all pet insurance claims the company received were related to pet obesity.  

What are the most common pet obesity related conditions? How can your pet slim down?

Click here to read the rest of Watchdog Mary’s article in GritDaily.com

Woman hears noises from boxes left in alley - what’s inside shocks rescuers

Animal rescuers will tell you nothing surprises them anymore, but that usually doesn’t last long. That appears to be the case for the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.

The organization’s Facebook post says they got a call late last week from a woman who walked past an alley and she noticed several cardboard boxes that were taped shut. All of a sudden she heard meowing! 

Rescuers raced to the alley in Stratford, England, grabbed the boxes, raced to their shelter, and quickly worked to unseal them.

They found eleven young cats inside. They would have suffocated if everyone didn’t act as quickly as they did. 

The rescue group’s Facebook post reveals their heartbreak over whoever did this: “We can only assume the intention was for them to die as surely everybody knows animals need to be able to breathe to survive. The boxes cannot have been there very long as without oxygen our vets estimate they probably wouldn’t have lived more than an hour or two. One really strange thing is that these cats are really friendly and have clearly once been loved, handled and cuddled - what on earth would drive an apparently loving owner to do something so terrible? Perhaps it was a family member or neighbour who hated the cats enough to do this.”

All the cats were underweight and covered in fleas. The group is nursing them back to health right now. You can click here to donate toward their care. The group also has an Amazon wish list

If anyone has information about who left the cats in the boxes, or if you’re in the area and have unwanted cats, the shelter asks you to email them at canningtown@celiahammond.org.

Puppy found with muzzle taped shut

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Absolutely horrified. That’s how employees at the Griffith Animal Hospital in Indiana reacted when a man walked through their doors Thursday night carrying a puppy whose mouth was taped shut.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Lori Kovacich, hospital manager, told Watchdog Mary when she heard about the case she could not get to the puppy fast enough. “I was out of my chair and in the lobby to get him in seconds. I think I kinda had tunnel vision,” she said.

Kovacich said the man claimed he found the puppy in a ditch with his nose wrapped in electrical tape. She raced the dog back to the medical team immediately, and didn’t stop to ask questions. She was worried the pup’s life was at risk. “In my panic, I didn’t even get all the info of where he was found,” Kovacich said.

Veterinarians examined the puppy and discovered he was emaciated, and his flesh was rotting under the tape. They estimate the tape must have been around his muzzle for days.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Their staff removed the tape and gave the pup antibiotic injections and ointment.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

The pup, which vets estimate is about four-months old, was actually quite hungry. “He would eat as much as you gave him,” Kovacich said.

The terrier mix is now starting to recover and act like a puppy. He’s getting lots of love and care from the staff at the animal hospital, and some stuffed animal friends.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

One of the hospital’s clients, whose dog recently passed away, texted Kovacich expressing interest in the pup. She has her fingers crossed he may have a forever home soon.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Kovacich said in her thirty years of working with animals she’s never seen anything like this.

What astonished her the most is the pup’s spirit and resiliency despite everything he’s gone through. “It makes you want to cry! He’s known nothing but abuse, but wags his tail when you talk to him, snuggles up against you, and rolls over for a belly rub. He trusts us,” she said.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Kovacich is going to contact local animal control officers about the circumstances surrounding how the pup was found.

Griffith Animal Hospital, Griffith, Indiana

Watchdog Mary will keep you posted on what happens!  

Lab mix waits in shelter with teddy bear hoping for new home

BARC Animal Shelter, Houston, Texas

She’s stealing the hearts of everyone who sees her picture. Sierra just got posted for adoption at the BARC Animal Shelter in Houston, Texas.

The pretty white Lab mix either got dropped off with her teddy bear by her former owners, or someone at the shelter gave it to her to keep her company, as shelters can be stressful places for animals.

BARC Animal Shelter, Houston, Texas

Sierra is about five-years-old and looks sweet, but a bit confused in her shelter photo. BARC does work with in and out of state rescues to help save dogs.

She’s not posted on the shelter’s Facebook page yet, but if you’re interested in adopting or rescuing her BARC has a lot of information on its website.

Many animal advocates are starting to share her post in order to network her to be sure she gets saved from the shelter.

Sweet 14-year-old shelter dog gets adopted just in time for Christmas

Her old family dropped her off right before the holidays. Read the complete article in The Dodo.

Eel in a seal

When field biologists walked the beaches of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands looking for Hawaiian monk seals earlier this year, they did a double take. Click here to read the rest of the article in The Dodo.

Dog waited outside school every morning until someone helped him

When Houston, Texas, elementary school teacher Caleb Schaffer arrived to work one morning last month, he didn’t see kids waiting to get in; instead, he saw a dog.

To read the entire article in The Dodo, click here.