Dispute of Ownership of Nashville Dog Heading to Court

Several months ago Chris Morris found this dog, a Bernese Mountain dog, wandering the streets in his neighborhood, no ID, no tags. Morris took the dog in, got him cleaned up, got him licensed and vetted and began the months long search for the dog’s owner even placing ‘Found Dog’ ads online.

“If we found the dog and it had a name on it and had been wearing a tag, the first thing we would’ve done is taken him back,” said Morris.

Months later and no one claimed the dog that Morris named Ellis. He and his family loved the sweet and affectionate dog and he quickly became part of the family. Finally they gave up the search and happily accepted their new furry family member.

All was well until the day the dog disappeared from the Morris’ yard. They searched for their beloved Ellis, finding the dog in the yard of a neighbor, Virginia Gonzales-Garcia.

Gonzales-Garcia claims that the dog is hers. She says that someone stole the dog out of her yard months ago and that she and her family looked for the dog, a dog she adopted from a local shelter. She said he was wearing tags but that someone must have removed them.

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Just off a 13 week training course, Drug Enforcement Investigator Sonny Smith and 1 1/2 year old German Shepherd, Chico, a trained narcotics dog, made a big hit or bust the first day on the job, worth about $100K! Way to go Chico!!

You’ve got to have the greatest respect for these dogs and their handlers. Sure, we’re heard some stories that are not so positive but all in all, these incredibly trained service dogs and their handlers are an unbeatable team. The dogs are true canine heros!

Chico, who was provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Denton County, was trained at the Canine Enforcement Training Center in Washington, D.C. The training is designed to teach law enforcement officers all aspects on handling, training and employing a detector dog.

“The dogs are worth $15,000 but we were able to get this one for $5,000 because of Sonny Smith, who has an excellent reputation in law enforcement,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Wawro.

“He’s a very passive dog,” Smith said. “Not aggressive with people. They train them to be very independent of their handlers. He has a routine that he does on his own with a people search. He does it for his reward, which is his towel. He’s very possessive of his towel and he knows he will get it afterward.”

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Well, the 4 of July is over and things are quieting down. Now it’s time for dog owners to round up or find their dogs who escaped from homes and yards and are now filling animal shelters all over the country.

Animal control officers pick up more dogs after the 4th of July than at any other time of the year. We may love fireworks with their festive colors and booms and bang but many dogs are not quite so enamored of the festivities.

Too often, dogs will do anything to escape the fear and anxiety the the loud, sudden noises of fireworks instill in them, including jumping fences, digging under them, digging through walls and even going through windows.

So this holiday weekend, many shelters will be open and shelter workers will be putting in some OT so that people whose dogs escaped can retrieve them.

Hopefully next year, people will listen and take the proper precautions when it comes to their canine companion’s safety on what for us is a festive holiday but for them can be a terror!

In a case that shocked and stunned Hawaii and the nation, a judge ruled that statements made by Nelson Domingo and Saturnino Palting, who were indicted in January for stealing and eating a pet dog, will not be thrown out.

On December 16, Palting and Domingo stole Frank Manuma’s eight month-old puppy, a German shepherd-Labrador mix named Caddy. Manuma had taken Caddy with him to Moanalua Golf Club and had permission to leave his pet at an equipment shack near the clubhouse while he golfed. When he went to retrieve Caddy after he finished golfing, Caddy and the leash used to keep him at the shack were gone.

The two maintenance workers admitted to taking the dog, but said it ran away when they pulled over on the side of the road.

The state says, when the men were separated and questioned by their boss, their stories didn’t match up.

“Mr. Domingo stated the dog had been in its car, but because it was licking its ear, he stopped to open the door and the dog ran away… I believe he said by Circuit City in Aiea,” said judge Randal Lee.

But Palting said they pulled over at another location miles away.

Their attorney’s claim, the men made the comments without being read their miranda rights and wanted the comments thrown out. But the judge said miranda rights were not necessary because police didn’t question the men. Their boss at the golf course did, and eventually fired them after that meeting.

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Greyhound racing is officially over in Colorado. The state’s last live dog racing track in Commerce City closed at the end of June.

This is really mixed news, both good and bad. I’m no fan of greyhound racing. There are so many horror stories associated with it and like most anything, you have wonderful caring people who love their dogs and then you have others. All in all, I won’t shed a tear to see this over, so that’s the good news.

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Old dog in a locket,
That lays next to my heart;
I will always love you,
As I did right from the start.

You were right beside me,
Through the darkest of my days;
It was your kind and gentle nature,
That made me want to stay.

Now I hold you in my arms,
Your breath still warm against my hand;
Our hearts still beat together,
And I wonder if you understand.

Through the hours that I held you,
Before the light did leave your soul;
I knew a way to keep you,
Forever in my hold.

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