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Bleu, a Pit Bull mix became markedly concerned for a 7 year old neighbor as she was about to be attacked. Bleu, recognized the distress in the girls screams in an adjacent backyard as she tried to fight off the pervert and began barking incessently trying to draw attention to the attack.

From the NY Daily News
“He was going wild barking,” Fretes said. “I looked out and I saw two people. The girl was screaming.”
Fretes ran outside and yelled at the man, who witnesses said had been watching the girl and her friend before the attack. The suspect tore down part of a fence to escape the backyard on 171st St. in Flushing. The girl wept as she told Fretes about the attack.

Bleu is an absolute hero. We hope that more people recognize the good nature of Pit Bulls; and like all other dogs, when raised correctly they too are gentle giants with hearts of gold.

It appeared to be a normal birthday party for two girls, ages six and seven.

Party goers gathered at a skating rink in Depew, New York - kids donned pink and purple helmets as they toddled around the rink – pop music blasting from nearby speakers.

What made this birthday party unique was the gift table.

Instead of Barbie dolls and hair bows, guests brought dog food, cat food, treats, toys and other pet products.

There were no gifts for humans at the joint birthday party for six-year old Victoria Bogucki and her seven-year old sister Isabella - instead every one of their gifts will be donated to the SPCA and Buffalo Animal Shelter. It is exactly what the girls wanted.

“We have too many toys,” Victoria said.

Victoria came up with the charity gifts idea after asking her mother what the word “donation” meant.

As for which charities to donate to, that was easy.

“We’re animal lovers,” said Victoria.

Victoria cherishes her dog, Butkus, her hermit crab and fish, and plans to become a veterinarian. Isabella aspires to do the same.

As for the SPCA and Buffalo Animal Shelter - they haven’t heard the last from the Bogucki sisters.

Victoria asked her mother if they can do the same charity gift giving for her first Holy Communion.

Source: www.BuffaloNews.com

Do you wonder what breeds make up your beloved mixed mutt? Now you can find out, thanks to a new DNA diagnostic test developed by MetaMorphix, a company specializing in animal DNA analysis and pedigree certification. With the Canine Heritage test MetaMorphix is able to genetically identify 38 popular breeds. The company is hoping to increase that number to 90 by the end of 2007.

The test costs $65.00. It is simple and painless for your dog. Just rub the inside of your dog’s cheek with a cotton swap and mail it to MetaMorphix. DNA cheek-swab kits, along with instructions are provided by the company. For information check out the company’s website www.metamorphixinc.com or call them toll free at (800) DNA-DOGG.

A similar DNA test will be launched by Mars Veterinary this summer. Mars Veterinary is a division of MARS Inc., a company specializing in pet care. The Wisdom Panel MX is conducted with a small blood sample and will be available through veterinarians. It is the first and only vet-administered mixed breed analysis test and can detect more than 100 AKC recognized breeds. Visit the company’s website for more information. www.marsveterinary.com

A short clip of a winery that cuts fuel costs by half by bringing in sheep to clear the grass and weeds. Of course with sheep running around in the field the only way to round up is to summons Gracie the Border Collie. Watch her go to work!

There are certainly a lot of different pet ID tags for your pups, but how many dog tags let Rex carry around his MP3s? The Top Tag™ pet ID tag is a tiny USB stick that when plugged into a computer instantly launches Rex’s complete profile including his name and home address, diet and medical needs, and it doesn’t stop there! This dog tag even stores what words and commands Rex understands, a photo album, and a function to print the data for records. And because the Pet ID tag has 64 MB, Rex can carry with his favorite tunes, word docs, any anything else he finds essential.

Top Tag™, $39.99.

This little gadget may be digital, but it’s as rugged as your dog is. It comes enclosed in a clear rubbery plastic mold that snaps together to keep out dust, water, drool and hair. Bear our Newfoundland can be one dirty dog, and is always in the mud or water when outdoors and this little thing comes back clean and dry every time.

We happened to wrangle a couple out of the company to give away, so if you’re interested, let us know in the comments and we’ll pull from the hat. As usual, we want to hear what you think so keep us posted!

* Don’t post your addresses online. We’ll contact two random dogs (people) in two weeks for their home address.