Dog sperm frozen for two decades delivers 10 great danes

A GEELONG vet clinic has used dog sperm frozen for more than 20 years to produce 10 great dane puppies.

Bellarine Veterinary Practice Dr David Hopkins said Ballarat client Deidre McRae had frozen and stored sperm from one of her prized great danes, Liebendane Armstrong, in 1989.

Twenty-one years later, long after that dog's death, his sperm has been used to spawn these new pups. The puppies, now eight weeks old, are all happy and healthy.

Dr Hopkins said while breeding dogs using frozen sperm was not new technology, it was remarkable that semen frozen for so long could produce such a large, healthy litter.

Ms McRae yesterday said she was "over the moon" with the results. "I was hoping for one or even two, but to have 10 is just unbelievable," she said. Dr Hopkins said the technology was most commonly used to breed professional sniffer dogs for Australian Customs.

Ms McRae said she would keep some of the pups as show dogs, and would sell others.

Great Dane saves family from fire

Kim the Great Dane proved she really is man’s best friend when a fire broke out in the kitchen of her owners’ home just north of Carlisle.The resourceful pet simply used one of her hefty paws to open a door to the family’s nearby office before entering and escaping the smoke.

Fortunately, she made so much noise wandering around that she alerted her owners, John and Anne Collier, who run the Blackdyke Farm Riding Centre at Blackford.

Anne and her husband were then able to alert the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and ensure the safety of their four children – teenage twins Mark and Thomas, Sarah, 15, and 11-year-old Emma – before the fire could threaten their lives.

Anne said the blaze, which started in the family’s Aga cooker on Sunday morning, has not affected the running of their swimming pool and riding business.

But the family are grateful Kim open the office door and gave them an early warning of the danger they were facing.

Anne said: “I normally get up at about 6.45am, but at 6.30am I heard Kim wandering around in the office, which is usually shut.

“I couldn’t work out why she would be in there, so I went down to investigate and found Kim in there, looking as if she thought she’d been a clever dog for opening the door.”

It was then that Anne opened the office door to the living room and was met by a “wall of smoke”.

She explained that Kim, who sleeps in the kitchen, had managed to shut the door behind her after getting into the office, thereby protecting herself and the family from the smoke.

“It has been known for her to open doors before, using her paw to push down the handle,” said Anne.

“She’s just a friendly, good, all-round dog, and she’s certainly been a best friend to this family.”

Eagle Scout project will benefit Amity animals and beyond

By Bridget Albert

John Zdrowski with one of the 55 winterized cat igloos he is constructing.
When John Zdrowski was younger he couldn’t participate in many physical activities as he was under treatment for a cardiac condition. His mother, Caterina, noticed that he was missing companionship so she took him to the local animal shelter and they found his new best friend Jake, a beautiful and loyal feline. The two were inseparable for many years.

Jake has since crossed the Rainbow Bridge and John has two other animal companions that keep him company but he has never forgotten the bond that developed with the furry feline.

And because of this fond memory John has chosen to help local animals in his Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Service Project.

The BSA is an organization that promotes preparedness, leadership and responsibility. Attaining the level of Eagle Scout is the highest honor afforded a boy scout. Candidates for the Eagle Scout must satisfy a number of challenges. One of the requirements for the Eagle Scout is “to plan, develop and give leadership to others in a service project”.

John’s ambitious Eagle Scout project is three-fold. He is making 55 feline igloos for feral felines. Of those 55 igloos he is creating 45 of them for Amity Animal Rescue Fund, a 501c3 local organization that supports animals in the Amity region. The other 10 igloos will be donated to Dr. Kristine Matz for use with her feral cats.

The igloos have to be insulated and John will lead his team in cutting and gluing the insulation into place.

These will be distributed to the numerous cat colonies that AARF is assisting with.

Two other projects John is working on are at the municipal animal shelter, District Animal Control, located on Bradley Road in Woodbridge. There he will be repairing some damaged fencing and replacing a door.

The 12 active Scouts in Troop 907 in Woodbridge need to raise $1,400 for the cat igloos alone and are looking for donations.

John will be completing his animal related Eagle Scout projects with the assistance of Scoutmaster Paul Konweski and Assistant Scout Master Nate Case, both Woodbridge firemen.

John said the Eagle Scout badge will be an accomplishment as he couldn’t participate in sports for a number of years due to his heart issues.

His heart is now alright and he is on the hockey team where he plays on the Milford house league.

John said donations for the project are greatly appreciated and he would prefer to receive gift cards from Lowes or Walmart where he will be purchasing his supplies. Donations can be sent to Boy Scout Troop 907, C/O Caterina Zdrowski, 60 Tumblebrook Road, Woodbridge, CT. 06525.

Why does animal abuse happen in the first place?

In the past two years a dog was kicked repeatedly causing neighbors to come to the animals defense, another dog was thrown from a car on I-95, more than 100 animals were seized from a local kennel due to neglect, a family canine was poisoned, another dog was found scalded, multiple dogs’ remains were found burned in a park and three pit bulls were found emaciated and ill near an elementary school. A teacher saw them and gave the animals her lunch. One died in the care of animal control, another would have died except for the generosity of a local animal welfare group. The two surviving have new homes and new lives.

http://www.ctbulletin.com/articles/2010/07/28/news/doc4c503c6a8d286976006988.txt

Holiday wine tasting

Decide on your holiday dinner wine and support a good cause this Nov. 18. Amity Animal Rescue Fund and Orange Hills Country Club are hosting a Wines for the Holidays wine tasting at the Thursday evening event. The tasting will feature 12 wines from California, Spain, Italy and Argentina that will work well with any holiday meal. The 6 to 8 p.m. event promises to have plenty of tasty appetizers for you to munch on. Wines sampled can be ordered or purchased locally. Tickets are $30 each and can be obtained by calling 203-389-1996 or sending a check to AARF, P.O. Box 1042, Orange, CT 06477.

Rabies Clinic

Amity Animal Rescue Fund, Inc. will host a rabies clinic Sunday, Oct. 10, noon to 3 p.m. at Zoey Girl Pet Services, 185 Boston Post Road, Orange in the Hitchock Shopping Plaza. Bring proof of current rabies inoculation to receive two-year booster. All animals must be on leash or in carrier.
Cost for innoculation is $12 cash or check only. Orange resident Veterinarian T. C. Nanavanti is donating his time and services for this event. Questions may be directed to 203-389-1996.

Name the Dane

For the past few months we have been on the great dane rescue list for a gentle giant. At the same time we let our intentions be known that we would consider a puppy if no rescue came forward. We did have some specifics, a female, brindle in color and if an adult – one that would not intimidate poor Chester the Jester, our extremely mild-mannered Airedale.
Well, no rescues have come forward and the only person we would ever consider a puppy from has just bred beautiful Casanova.
While we have much work to do – getting up to speed on puppy care, food, and training we also need to choose a name for our new bundle of joy.
And we could really use some help with a name befitting a 120 or so pound beautiful brindle girl. Your help would be appreciated.