A dog’s sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than that of a human being. So-called cadaver dogs, for example (working dogs trained to detect human remains), can even locate a drowned victim whose body is still underwater.
“The first water-detection dog in the U.S. began working in Arkansas several years ago,” said Lohr. “That K-9 program proved so successful, and now there are a dozen or more such dogs scattered throughout the country.”
Golden retrievers are beautiful and affectionate dogs. They’re great with children and get along with other dogs and, usually, cats. Those characteristics make them among the most popular dog breeds.
In Ohio, 102 golden retrievers were enrolled in the study. Among them is Montana, now 9, who lives in Oberlin with his owners, Kim and Scott Faulks, members of Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative.
Montana was a full brother to Ryder, the Faulks’ first golden retriever. “Ryder gave us three wonderful years,” says Kim Faulk. “He was never upset or angry, always loving and trusting.”
The Faulks were devastated when Ryder died of cancer at only 3 years old. Ryder is the reason that Montana is a “Hero,” which is what GRLS participants are called.
Al Gill believes well-trained German shepherds can mean the difference between life and death in many law enforcement situations.
The property is now home to a world-class training facility as well as housing units for male and female officers who come from across the country to participate in academy classes. There is also a kennel that can accommodate 60 adult dogs as part of the business’ breeding operation.
On 28 Mondays a year, Greg Mahle climbs into his semitractor-trailer in Zanesville and heads south on a mission through Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to give formerly homeless dogs the loving homes they deserve.
One of his first stops on the weeklong, 4,200-mile journey is Shaggy Dog Rescue in Houston, where he finds dogs waiting for him that have been saved from overcrowded shelters across the Lone Star State.
Mahle gets the dogs into kennels, which are then secured — three shelves high — along the walls of his custom-built, air-conditioned trailer. Though they don’t realize it, the dogs have taken their first step toward much better lives, thanks to Rescue Road Trips, the nonprofit organization Mahle founded.
Ohio is generally a dog-friendly state — more than a third (36.6 percent) of the state’s households include a canine resident — and research tells us that nearly two-thirds of dog owners consider their pup to be a member of the family. So when summer travel beckons, it’s nice to know where your tail-wagging pal can come along for the ride.
For some 25 years, I raised beagles for hunting cottontail rabbits. Reluctantly, I gave it up about a decade ago when my oldest dog died. What I miss most about the sport is the sound of the chase.
Hunters call it hound music.
My longtime friend and fellow outdoors writer Mike Tontimonia is another who knows the sound well. A member of Carroll Electric Cooperative in eastern Ohio, Tontimonia estimates he’s owned 150 beagles during his lifetime — both hunters and field-trialers — with as many as 20 dogs in his kennel at any one time.
War must be waged against these formidable enemies — the sooner, the better, considering that one mating female can potentially produce about 20,000 more fleas in just sixty days. These tiny tormentors can attack your pampered pet just as readily as a rescue at a crowded shelter. Fleas can’t be ignored, because they won’t go away on their own and, left uncontrolled, can seriously jeopardize your pet’s well-being.
The relatively mild winter this year in Ohio would hardly make a person think about dog sledding. Yet Ohio does have a connection with the famed Iditarod sled dog race, held annually during March in Alaska. The Iditarod race is named for the Iditarod trail that was originally used for getting mail and supplies to the interior of Alaska and bringing out gold, which was being mined by prospectors trying to make their fortune.
