Dogs are the best
 

The morning after Chancer’s first night in the house outside Atlanta, the Winokurs woke up after a full night’s sleep for almost the first time since 1999. They looked at each other in semihorror: was Iyal still alive? They found him snoozing beside the big yellow dog, the latter hogging the mattress. Since Chancer’s arrival in the house, they’ve rarely been disturbed in the night. Iyal may still wake up, but he’s evidently reassured by the dog’s presence and returns to sleep.

If you're up for some eye moisture read this article.

Thanks Griff, bittersweet but great read.

That was a hard read for me. Good though. Thanks for sharing.

Article??? That's a freakin book!

I know a boy who is waiting on a dog from this very organization. As the article says, the family has to pay (in this case, fundraise) $13,000 of the cost of their dog. I think as of now they only have about $5,000.

This particular boy is a runner, and gets away from his parents on a too-frequent basis. The last time he got out was right after Christmas, when he discovered he was finally tall enough to scale the 6-foot privacy fence in their backyard. In the few minutes before they realized he'd left the trampoline, he ran through several backyards, eventually finding someone's back door unlocked and bursting inside. A 9-year-old girl was home alone, and she freaked and ran to a neighbors. Fortunately, the parents had already called 911 (to which the responder said, "Oh, is this the boy who likes Christmas carols?" and the mother said yes, that's us,) so when the police were called about "an intruder" at the other house they didn't try to shoot him. When they entered the home, they found him under the covers in the master bedroom, chanting "camping!"

So yeah, the family needs a trained dog to 1.) prevent him from running away, and 2.) find him faster when he does. If anyone wants to donate towards this kid's dog, PM me and I'll give you the name to include with your donation so it gets credited to them.

Most halfway smart dogs can "Fetch!"

I'll offer my Weimaraner to these folks. He can bring back a Mack truck!

I'll hand-deliver best friend's dog, Crash, for $13,000...

Thanks Griff, that was a wonderful article. Extremely well-balanced from what I can tell.
Clod - damn I wish I could.