Caesar von Steuben
USMC war dog “Caesar von Steuben” is x-rayed by Navy corpsmen
after being wounded on patrol during the fight for Bougainville.
As with most of the dogs that fought with the United States
military in World War II, the three year old German shepherd had been a
civilian, owned by a family in the Bronx who volunteered him for service, one
of thousands of families to offer their pet up for the war effort.
Only a select few were accepted into service, and even then they
would undergo rigorous training to prepare them for life in the combat zone. In
total, 1,074 dogs were ‘enlisted’ in the Marine Corps, and 29 would die in
combat, along with just under 200 fatalities from disease or accidents. After
the war, an outcry ended plans to euthanize the remaining veteran animals, and
instead they were put through demilitarization training, with almost universal
success. Many were returned to their families, although in more than a few
cases, the Marine handler would bring the dog back to civilian life with him.
In Caesar’s case, he recovered from his wound quickly, and he
received an official commendation for his communication runs prior to his
wounding, including completing his ninth and final one while injured. Returned
to service however, he would be killed in combat while fighting on Okinawa in
1945.
(National Archives)
Mail union not amused as pet company releases treat for dogs called 'Postman's Leg'
By Jane Barrie
THE Communication Workers Union
says the tongue-in-cheek treat is making fun of a serious threat to posties.
POSTIES are barking mad after a
dog bone called Postman’s Leg was launched in stores across Scotland.
They say the natural beef bone,
more than a foot long, is making fun of dog attacks on postal workers.
But the manufacturers of the
£1.49 treat insist the name is purely tongue-in-cheek and pet owners see the
joke with several thousand of the bones sold every week.
A spokesman for the
Communication Workers Union said: “Whilst we appreciate the intended humour in
the name, over 26,000 postal workers have been attacked and injured by dogs in
the last six years.
“Two postmen were nearly killed
in attacks in 2007 and 2008, and many others have lost fingers and parts of
limbs.
“Reckless and negligent owners
who fail to act when their animals attack and injure postal workers or anyone
visiting their home, can now face prosecution.”
More than 26,000 posties have
been attacked since 2008
The Postman’s Leg bone is sold
all over the UK and Europe and is produced by Dugdale Davies Pet Treats, based
in Lancashire.
The firm’s director, Phil
Garvey, said: “The name is in no way intended to make light of the excellent
work done by the Royal Mail.
“Our logo features a picture of
a cartoon dog, which is why we decided on Postman’s Leg as the name, hopefully
providing a little amusement.
“We recognise there is nothing
remotely amusing about the problems faced by postal workers, especially with
regard to dangerous dogs.
“But we would hope they too
would see that it is meant purely to be tongue-in-cheek.”
Royal Mail said they were not
anti-dogs, but support responsible ownership.
Their spokesman added: “Dog
attacks are a significant hazard faced by postal workers on a daily basis.
“Since April 2011, there have
been over 5500 attacks on Royal Mail postmen and women, some leading to a
permanent, disabling injury.
“Attacks have resulted in the
loss of 4100 working days due to injuries.
“Nobody should have to endure
this and postal workers should not be at increased risk of such attacks simply
because of the job they do.”
Pet Owners Look to Muzzle Police Who Shoot Dogs
Brittany Preston
Bereaved owners argue that when
police shoot dogs it a violates their Fourth Amendment rights
Lexie, a Labrador mix, was
barking in fear when the police arrived at her owner’s suburban Detroit house
early in the morning last November. The officers, responding to a call about a
dog roaming the area, arrived with dog-catching gear. Yet they didn’t help the
one-year-old dog, who had been left outside the house, according to a lawsuit
filed in federal court: Instead, they pulled out their guns and shot Lexie
eight times.
“The only thing I’m gonna do is shoot it
anyway,” the lawsuit quotes an officer saying. “I do not like dogs.”
Such a response, animal
advocates say, is not uncommon among law enforcement officers in America who
are often ill-equipped to deal with animals in the line of duty. And now
bereaved owners like Brittany Preston, Lexie’s owner, are suing cities and
police departments, expressing outrage at what they see as an abuse of power by
police. Animal activists, meanwhile, are turning to state legislatures to
combat the problem, with demands for better police training in dealing with
pets.
There are no official tallies
of dog killings by police, but media reports suggest there are, at minimum,
dozens every year, and possibly many more. When it comes to Preston’s dog,
officials from the city of St. Clair Shores and the dog owner agree on little.
City police say the dog attacked, prompting officers to open fire in
self-defense. But the lawsuit filed by Preston cites police audio recordings to
argue that the November 2013 shooting was premeditated, prompted by officers
eager to kill a dog. Preston is suing the city for violating her Fourth
Amendment right to protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
“We want whatever it takes to
make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Christopher Olson, Preston’s lawyer.
“Before this case I wasn’t a dog shooting lawyer, but I am now.”
St. Clair Shores defended the
officers’ actions.
“The animal was only put down
after a decision was made that it was in the best interest of the residents,”
said city attorney Robert Ihrie, who is defending the city in the lawsuit.
“Sometimes police officers are in a position where they need to make very quick
decisions for the protection of themselves and others.”
The Fourth Amendment argument
gained traction in 2005, when the San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels sued the
city and the police department because officers had killed dogs during a gang
raid in 1998. A federal appeals judge found that “the Fourth Amendment forbids
the killing of a person’s dog… when that destruction is unnecessary,” and the
Hells Angels ultimately won $1.8 million in damages. In addition to the St.
Clair lawsuit, other lawsuits stemming from police shootings of dogs are being
planned or filed in Idaho, California, and Nevada.
At the same time, animal-rights
activists are lobbying police departments to implement pet training for all
officers. Several states including Illinois and Colorado have enacted measures
to reduce dog shootings, and others states are considering legislation. In 2011,
the Department of Justice published a report on dog-related police incidents,
which included advice on how to handle dogs without killing them.
“It’s much more likely that a
cop is going to encounter a dog than a terrorist, yet there’s no training,”
said Ledy Van Kavage, an attorney for the advocacy group Best Friends Animal
Society. “If you have a fear or hatred of dogs, then you shouldn’t be a police
officer, just like if you have a hatred of different social groups.”
Brian Kilcommons, a
professional dog-trainer who has trained more than 40,000 dogs and published
books on the subject, said some police officers accidentally antagonize dogs
right from the start, without even trying. “Police officers go into a situation
with full testosterone body language, trying to control the situation,” he
said. “That’s exactly what will set a dog off.” Kilcommons is developing an app
that could help police officers evaluate the best way to handle a dog,
including tips on reading body language and non-lethal strategies for
containing them. “A bag of treats goes a long way,” he said.
But Jim Crosby, a retired
Lieutenant with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Florida who now works in
dog training, said there are sometimes cases that require police force.
“If you’re executing a
high-risk, hard-going entry with an armed suspect, the officers don’t have time
to play nice and throw cookies at the dog,” said Crosby, who was commenting on
police handling of dogs in general and not any specific case. But he emphasized
that such situations are few and far between: “Police absolutely have the right
to protect themselves against a reasonable and viable threat—but the presence
of a dog is not necessarily a reasonable or viable threat.”
Ronald Janota, a retired
Lieutenant Colonel with the Illinois State Police who now serves as an expert
witness on use of force, acknowledged that officers are often at “heightened
awareness” when confronting dogs. “If you’re the first or second through the
door, you don’t have time to put a collar on the dog if the dog is literally
lunging at you,” he said. “If you’re entering the house legally, you have the
right to protect yourself.”
Regardless of the
circumstances, a dog’s death at the hands of police can be devastating to
owners.
“People are getting married
later, if at all, people are having children later, if at all, and pets are
filling an emotional niche,” Kilcommons said. “Before, if you had a dog and it
got killed, you got another one. Now dogs are in our homes and in our hearts.
They’re not replaceable. So when they’re injured or killed, people are
retaliating.”
In St. Clair Shores, where
Lexie died, the city is fighting the lawsuit but the police department now
requires its officers to undergo animal control training.
Van Kavage said that kind of
training is crucial, even if just to instill a sense of trust in the police.
“If a cop shoots your pet, do
you think you’re ever going to trust a cop again?” she said. “To control a dog,
99% of the time you don’t need a gun. You just need to yell ‘sit!’ ‘stay!’”
Correction: The original
version of this story misidentified the person who said, “To control a dog, 99%
of the time you don’t need a gun. You just need to yell ‘sit!’ ‘stay!’” It was
Ledy Van Kavage.
Yes, Dogs Can Get Jealous Too
Kiley Benson
A new study offers scientific
backing to a long-reported anecdotal phenomenon. But canine envy is a little
different from the human kind.
This article originally
appeared on RealSimple.com.
We’ve long treated our dogs
like humans, dressing them in sweaters, letting them sleep in our beds—even
painting their nails. So it makes sense that we’re eager to attribute their
canine behavior to human emotions, crediting a wagging tail to joy or lowered
eyes to shame. Yet while research has shown dogs feel love and affection, more
complicated emotions like embarrassment and guiltdon’t seem to be in their
repertoire.
• But here’s one that might be: Scientists at UC San Diego
have found evidence suggesting that dogs could actually be capable of jealousy.
• Although Charles Darwin wrote about dogs’ jealousy in 1871
and dog owners have been quick to offer anecdotal evidence ever since, there’s
never been scientific proof of the phenomenon.
• This experiment involved 36 dogs and their owners. The
owners petted an animated toy dog while their real dog was in the room. They
also petted and played with a jack-o-lantern, and sat reading a noise-making
children’s book. Observers wrote down and cataloged the dogs’ reactions to each
of these three situations, which ranged from biting, barking, and pushing at
either the toy or the owner.
• The dogs were more likely to show signs of aggression,
attention-seeking behavior, and a heightened interest in their owners when the
fake dog was the object of affection. Most of the dogs clearly thought the
stuffed dog was real: 86 percent inspected and sniffed its butt at some point
during the experiment.
• “We can’t really speak to the dogs’ subjective
experiences, of course,” study author and psychology professor Christine Harris
said in a release. “But it looks as though they were motivated to protect an
important social relationship.”
• So is this behavior really the green-eyed monster as we
know it? Not quite. Researchers called the envious emotion that dogs experience
a “primordial” type of jealousy rather than the complicated thoughts that
torment adult humans.
• Infants show this instinctive kind of jealousy, too, when
their mothers shower affection on another baby. The scientists behind the study
say this could be evidence that jealousy is an innate emotion, like fear or
anger, that humans share in common with other social creatures.
• So if it seems like Fido is giving you the cold paw after
you’ve shown some love to another dog, it might not be your imagination.
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