Golden retriever back home after dognapping incident

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A cross-country family dispute over a golden retriever from Medway took a series of dramatic turns this week, ending yesterday in Worcester with the arrest of woman from Hawaii who sued her son and daughter-in-law over the dog's ownership.

Worcester Police arrested Margareta Doughty, 61, of Ocean View, Hawaii, last night on a warrant Medway Police obtained earlier this week. She is charged with one count of larceny greater than $250 for allegedly not returning the dog to her son and daughter-in-law Sunday, violating a court agreement over the dog's ownership.

At some point this week, Doughty drove with the retriever in a rented car from Medway for a booked flight to Hawaii from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, police said.

Airport police stopped her yesterday morning, at the request of Medway Police, questioned her and detained her for a short time before deciding not to bring charges and released her. Yesterday, Doughty drove back to her lawyer's office in Worcester, where she was arrested at about 6 p.m., police said.

The retriever, named "Dux," was returned to Doughty's son, Tyson, and daughter-in-law, Melanie, at their Medway house last night.

"I'm beyond ecstatic," Melanie Doughty said. "I've done nothing but lie down and snuggled with him since he came in the door."

"He's our number one, and our number one is back home," Tyson Doughty said. Dux, looking tired but happy, spent much of a visit with a reporter with his stuffed rabbit in his mouth, relaxing and wagging his tail.

Margareta Doughty, a breeder, sued her son and daughter-in-law in November 2006 over breeding and ownership rights of Dux, who they jointly own. Dux, a 6-year-old male, first lived with Margareta Doughty i n Hawaii before he moved to Medway about three years ago because he had severe allergies, Melanie Doughty said. He now lives with Tyson and Melanie Doughty.

They reached a court settlement last month. It allows Margareta Doughty to visit Massachusetts for seven days and take Dux between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day to a Framingham veterinary hospital for a DNA sample and pre-freezing semen evaluation, according to a copy of the settlement provided by Melanie Doughty. Melanie and Tyson Doughty would then bring Dux back to the hospital within 40 days for sperm collection, and freeze and store it.

Afterwards, Margareta Doughty would cede her ownership rights to Dux and Melanie and Tyson Doughty would cede theirs to Dux's sperm and offspring, the settlement says.

Margareta Doughty picked Dux up Sunday to start the process, but did not return him to Medway Animal Hospital at 5 p.m. as arranged, prompting Melanie and Tyson Doughty to call police, said Medway Sgt. William Kingsbury.

Wrentham District Court issued a warrant for Margareta Doughty's arrest on the larceny charge later that night, he said.

Margareta Doughty then drove to Kennedy Airport for a flight to Honolulu via Los Angeles, Kingsbury said. Medway Police tracked her there through her rental car, and asked airport police to stop her. A spokesman for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, which oversees Kennedy airport, said police interviewed her briefly but did not press charges, leading to her release.

"When the interview was conducted and the Queens district attorney's office was consulted, the determination was made that this was a civil matter and not a criminal matter," said spokesman Pasquale DiFulco.

It is unclear what prompted Margareta Doughty to return to Massachusetts. Her attorney, Nisha Koshy Cocchiarella, could not be reached yesterday.

Margareta Doughty will likely be arraigned today in Wrentham District Court, Kingsbury said.

Melanie and Tyson Doughty's lawyer, Barbra I. Black of Boston, said she will also file a civil contempt charge against Margareta Doughty for violating the court agreement regarding Dux's ownership.

"She honestly never had any intention of honoring the terms of the agreement," Black said yesterday, describing the original lawsuit as "sour grapes by the mother."

Melanie Doughty said she was greatly relieved to have Dux back home, and profusely thanked Medway Police for their work.

"I am amazed at how seriously they took this," she said. "They went through every motion they could."

Source: By Merritt Melancon, www.onlineathens.com

Golden retriever helps motivate elementary students to read

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JEFFERSON - Raised to stay calm while under assault from blaring car horns, squeezed between pedestrians on a crowded city sidewalk or tempted by French fries just inches from her nose, she has the patience to wait as a 7-year-old tries to sound out rhi-noc-er-os.

That's what makes Dottie, Jefferson Elementary School's four-legged literacy coach, hall monitor and unofficial mascot, such a good tool to help teach kindergartners, first-graders and second-graders that reading can be fun.

Jefferson Elementary School speech pathologist Marie Underwood adopted the golden retriever in November to try to break down barriers with some special needs students.

But Dottie inspired all of the students, seeming to improve their academic performance and their behavior. They're all doing better, and they're doing it for Dottie, Underwood said.

"You can't find a child in this building who doesn't believe this is their dog," Underwood said, pointing out the hundreds of valentine cards and letters that students wrote to Dottie.

Dottie gets students excited about reading and writing, said Lauren Garrard, whose first-grade students take turns reading to their four-legged audience. The more they practice, the more confident they become, Garrard said.

"I like her because she's calm and she's still," said Jordan Bolton, a first-grader in Garrard's class. "She's good at listening."

A couple of afternoons a week, Underwood brings Dottie to Garrard's classroom, where the dog heads straight to a colorful reading rug in the corner of the room.

During Dottie's visit, a student reads two or three pages aloud to the dog while Garrard continues her lesson. Each student taps the next reader on the shoulder, working down a predetermined list.

When Dottie can't be there, the students write letters to the dog, draw her pictures and bring her photos of their dogs at home. Underwood has a stack of fan mail in her office about 6 inches thick. The cards, letters and photos are slipped under her office door while Dottie is making rounds.

"I write her thank-you notes to her for letting us read to her," said Chloe Pruitt, one of Dottie's most prolific pen pals. "I draw her pictures. I write notes to her doctor thanking her for making Dottie feel better when she's sick ..."

Garrard has watched some her most reluctant readers blossom this year. As they read to Dottie and to their pets at home, they are more willing to read aloud in front of the class, a task they would have found mortifying before Christmas.

"It's been incredible. For children who are shy or who hated to read in front of class, it's just been a complete turnaround," Garrard said. "She's had a really amazing effect on the entire school."

They love Dottie like a family dog, but they know she's more than a pet, Underwood said.

Dottie is classified by the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind as a therapy dog, the kind used to help patients cope with a long stay in the hospital. She's 2 years old and originally was trained to be a guide dog for the blind.

But, after two years of intense training, Dottie turned out about half an inch short of the program's height requirement, 20 inches at the shoulder. What she lacks in stature, she makes up for in heart, Underwood said.

"She's big enough where (the students) can't really hurt her, but she's small enough that they aren't scared of her either," Underwood said.

"One thing I worried about is that because we pet and play with Dottie at school, that they would think it was OK to do to that with guide dogs they might see out at a restaurant or store," Underwood said. "They know that if they see another guide dog or even Dottie while we're out in public - they're not supposed to pet them. They know they're working."

Source: By Merritt Melancon, www.onlineathens.com

Golden Retriever Helping Putnam Family Deal With Autism

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A Hurricane couple purchased the dog for the autistic son.

HURRICANE -- Kodiak is a beloved member of the Bush Family of Hurricane. Michael and Sarah Bush purchased the golden retriever last November to help their 5-year-old son Cory with his autism. For starters, the dog helps calm Cory down during tantrums.

"Go and lick lick him in the face, rub up against him, it breaks the habit. Cory can still be in a bad mood, doing it once or twice, snaps him out of it," said Michael Bush, Cory's Father.

He said having Kodiak has dramatically reduced the stress of having an autistic child. Some early childhood development experts believe a specially-trained dogs like Kodiak could be wonderful additions where a family member is autistic.

"Be a constant, be a comfort. There's also very sensory issues. Dog's going to be furry, and it will be their friend," said Rhonda Young, an early childhood development coordinator with the West Virginia Department of Education.

The Bush's purchased Kodiak from an Ohio company. The dog's price tag was $25,000, and the Bush's were responsible with coming up with half that amount.

"Kodiak's job basically is to stay with him, relax him and give him some freedom," said Michael Bush.

If Cory accidentally wonders off, Michael said Kodiak is trained to track Cory. He was told it would take 6 months for the two to connect, and so far it looks like Cory will have a four-legged friend for life.

Michael Bush said that Kodiak was trained by a prisoner in the Ohio Corrections System.

Source: By Gil McClanahan, www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk

Golden Retriever

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A LARGE cuddly dog who helps to boost charity funds and bring a smile to the faces of children with cancer is back on the road today (Saturday).

Caleb, a two-and-a-half-foot tall leonberger, takes part in Samaritans collections at Morrisons store in Rochdale and at the Gordon Riggs and All-In-One garden centres.

Two-year-old Caleb is owned by the Samaritans’ west Pennine branch treasurer Don McKay and his wife Jacqueline.

They hope the people of Rochdale will put their paws in their pockets when he returns to Morrisons to help collect cash today and tomorrow.

Mrs McKay said: "Caleb goes out collecting with the Samaritans to raise funds to keep the branch going.

"He is like a big cuddly teddy bear and he gets lots of attention. Children love him and adults have been known to get down on their knees to stroke him."

But Caleb has a second role – in the summer he plays with youngsters from Chernobyl during their four-week stay in and around Rochdale. The children, aged between 10 and 16, are in remission from cancer and spend the day with Caleb at Cowm Reservoir during their four-week stay.

The children, who take part in water sports at the reservoir, enjoy patting and cuddling Caleb and he loves to splash in the water with them.

Two of the group get to spend extra time with Caleb because they stay with Mr and Mrs McKay during their visit to Rochdale.

Mr McKay said: "Caleb helps to cheer up the children from Belarus who may be homesick. They love to play with him and we find that it helps them a lot."

Samaritans are collecting at Morrisons from 9am-6pm on Saturday and noon-4pm on Sunday. Caleb will join them from 4-6pm on Saturday and 1pm-3pm on Sunday.

Source: Katie Fitzpatrick, www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk

A Dog's Stem Cell Life

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Golden Retriever Shows Quick Improvement After Being Injected With His Own Stem Cells

Meet Hunter, a 9-year-old golden retriever. His big, friendly personality dominates life at home with Frank and Linda Riha in Burbank, Calif.

"This is like our child," Linda said. "I mean he is such an important part of our family."

Whether eating, sleeping or going on his daily walks, Hunter calls the shots.

According to Frank, "life revolves around Hunter." And everybody knows him.

"He's a celebrity on the street," said Linda.

But Hunter has a serious problem: severe arthritis in his left hip is so painful that he can't run or leap like a healthy dog.

"His leg, it's almost like it's lifeless and it'll drift back," Linda said, referring to Hunter's tendency to favor his right leg.

X-rays show that Hunter has hip dysplasia, a common ailment in purebred dogs that causes the ball of the leg bone to loosen from its socket, causing painful wearing on the joint.

"You can see that the edges of the bone are very worn away. They're not nearly as smooth," said veterinarian Jerry Bausman.

Facing the possibility of a shortened life for Hunter, the Rihas were considering a $10,000 hip replacement when the doctors offered something new, different and much less expensive. For only about $2,500, they could treat Hunter with his own stem cells, the healing and regenerative cells that live in both humans and animals.

"This is an excellent in-between that may mean he may never need a total hip," Bausman said.

Source: By BRIAN ROONEY and PETER IMBER, www.abcnews.go.com

The Best Veterinary Breakthroughs of 2007

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These New Vaccines and Medicines Help Keep Your Cats and Dogs Healthier Than Ever Americans now spend more than $41 billion a year on their pets, according to Business Week magazine.

This year much of that money has been spent on a wide range of exciting breakthroughs in pet care. Marty Becker, veterinarian and author of two new books, "Bow Wow" and "Meow Wow," joined "Good Morning America" to talk about 2007's innovations in pet veterinary medicine.

Source: By BRIAN ROONEY and PETER IMBER, www.abcnews.go.com

Golden retriever nurses stray kitten (AP)

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AP - A stray kitten has found a new mother in a golden retriever, who began producing milk for the gray tabby after hearing its cries.







Source: www.mypagenetwork.com

Golden Retriever Gives Birth To Green Puppy

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The typical life span for Golden Retrievers is 10-13 years. In many A dog breeder in Alhambra, Calif., is mystified after his golden retriever gave birth to a green puppy, according to a Local 6 News report. The green puppy, named Wasabi, was one of four puppies born five days ago.



Source: Katie Fitzpatrick, www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk