Episode 13 - website war, doggy concierge, pink poo and more

The Dog News Show

In Episode 13 of The Dog News Show Debbie has the story of the unhappy New York couple who are at war not over their dog, but over the website devoted to their dog. The dog in question is Pomeranian Sammy who inspired a website full of photos of him around New York called Sammy and the City. When his owners Scott Smith and Anna Camara were together all was well, but when their relationship came to an end they came to blows over who owned the financially valuable website. Neither Debbie nor Julie have much sympathy for the couple, and could understand more if their dispute was over who got the dog, not who got the dollars.
Next up, Julie has a story of doggy concierge services being offered in New York apartment buildings. Is this a force for good that will enhance dogs' lives, or is it a license for dog owners to act irresponsibly and pay someone else to pick up the pieces for them? Will the services result in dogs who are better looked after, or in dogs who are unsettled by a lack of routine?
Poor Bono the police sniffer dog has had his accuracy called into doubt - by a defendant in whose car Bono correctly detected the presence of drugs. Allegedly, Bono has only been right 26% of the time, which is about 1 in 4 - is this an acceptable success rate in a police dog? However, it may not be as bad as it seems, as it could be that Bono is being put off by the lingering scent of drugs that have been in the car, but have been removed by the time he is alerting to their smell. It all makes for an interesting legal discussion though.
Is the incident of a family dog saving a toddler from drowning in a swimming pool all it seems? We all know dogs and children can get into children when unsupervised, sometimes in the blink of an eye, and this case highlights the need to remain vigilant. Labrador Bear does seem to have saved the toddler he lives with, but it could have turned out so differently. For example, consider the events in Texas where an unsupervised dog caused severe injury to a three year old who approached him.

The weirdest news story in this show is that of West Dunbartonshire Council in Scotland who intend to spray paint dog mess left in public places bright pink. Yes it was pink dogs last week, and it's pink poo this week! The theory is that this will shame owners into picking up after their dogs - but will it work? Is it more likely that both poo and paint will be rained away before they can have any effect at all? And surely there are better ways to use council workers' time?
Finally to send you away with a smile we have the story of Hilary Swank's visit to Bucharest, Romania, to shine a light on the 35,000 stray dogs there in need of help. Hilary was there to see a project which brings together stray dogs and institutionalised people. Hilary has a rescue dog and is passionate about neutering pet dogs and about encouraging no-kill policies in shelters.