Max: World's Oldest Dog

From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia. <ericshackle*bigpond.com>

Max, a "mixed terrier" living in New Iberia, Louisiana, is probably the oldest dog alive today.  He celebrated his 28th birthday on August 9. If he survives 18 more months, he'll be the oldest pooch in recorded history.

An Australian cattle dog, Bluey, worked among sheep and cattle for 20 years, and survived until November 14, 1939, when he was put down. He had lived for 29 years, five months and seven days, on a diet of kangaroos and emus. He was the world'soldest dog, a record that has never been beaten.

"Though Max has 'slowed up' up a bit in recent years and his coarse, light brown coat is graying, he still manages to play with his owner, Janelle deRouen's visiting grandchildren in the backyard and trots through the house in search of a place to nap", Jessica Goff reported in the The New Iberian newspaper.

“He is really protective of us and the grandkids, said Janelle. 'Being an old man, he is set pretty in his ways. He is just like some elderly people. He goes to bed early and wakes up with the chickens."

Jessica Goff continued, "Derouen acquired Max as a 6-week-old puppy in 1983 from a local sugar cane farmer who had a litter of six, she said. Ever since, the dog has been a part of her family, which includes her husband, Billy, and her five children and now grandchildren.

"Other than having a tooth pulled, Max has never had any major health problems, Janelle Derouen said.

"In recent years he began suffering from cataracts, but his eyesight is still relatively keen. She said she doesn’t know the secret to his longevity, other than she keeps him up to date with his annual shots and keeps him away from table scraps.

“'These days he is just happy to wake up every day,' she said. 'He just sits and lounges till he falls off to sleep.'

"Though unofficial, Max has even been recognized as the world’s oldest dog by British newspapers The Daily Mail and The Telegraph which featured Max’s 26th birthday party two years ago in their publications.

“'It’s discouraging that we haven’t heard back [from Guinness World Records] so that it’s official,' she said. 'But we know, and everyone who knows Max already knows that he is the world’s oldest dog,' she said Thursday as the timeworn terrier dozed off by her feet.

“'It’s discouraging that we haven’t heard back so that it’s official. But we know, and everyone who knows Max already knows that he is the world’s oldest dog.'"

Here are photos of Max taken two years ago:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205517/Max-terrier-worlds-oldest-dog-celebrates-26th-birthday.html

Does your pet feel lonely?

From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia.  <ericshackle*bigpond.com>

You call yourself a petlover, but have you ever thought how lonesome your pet must feel when you are away from home? Don't fret, my pet. Sydney Pet Sitters provides professional pet minding and dog walking services in the lower north shore.

 "We will send a qualified and compassionate sitter to visit your home where your pet is most comfortable", says its website.

"Whether your pet needs regular walking or just a quick visit, Sydney Pet Sitters guarantees friendly, reliable service that will meet your needs. Ask us about our new companionship visits that last 2.5 hours".

A cattery in the Sydney suburb of Arcadia  says "Our Sydney cattery offers the best luxury cat minding service available

"If you're looking for a Sydney cattery that will treat your feline like royalty, you've come to the right place. Aragon Cattery prides itself on providing Sydney's best cat minding service.

"Our cattery stands out from the rest when it comes to cat sitting because we offer luxury five star facilities which boast reverse cycle air conditioning and oversized verandah penthouse suites to house your loved ones while you escape Sydney for a short or long break.

"We also have large apartment condos and soon new villa suites which are set in peaceful rural surroundings even though our cattery is located only 45 minutes from Sydney's CBD."

Melbourne's Happy House Sitters offers a free in home house and pet sitting service to all pet owners anywhere in Australia.

"Save big $$$ on kennels/catteries and dog walkers,"  it says on its website. "We have hundreds of registered pet loving house and pet sitters who would love to look after your house and pet while you are away, and they will do it for free. It doesn't matter if you are away for a week or a year."

What if you are away for only a few hours?  Well, in the UK, there are carers who will happily look after lonely humans, or their pets - dogs, cats, even goldfish (how lonely a solitary goldfish must feel, swimming around and around in his bowl).

First London Pet Sitting and its sister businesses "provide a loving alternative to boarding your pets outside the home. We are a family business and our priority is to provide first class care for your pets. Whether it is a dog, cat, turtle or ferret, we would love to care for them."

...And we used to think that only  another ferret could love a ferret!

In Downey, California, Uncle Denny's Critter Sitters website says, "With Uncle Denny’s help your pets will stay in the secure comfort of their own home amidst the familiar sights, sounds and smells of their own environment."

Phew!

Sarbi and Horrie: Two Brave Dogs

From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney, Australia. ericshackle@bigpond.com


Sarbi the Bomb Sniffer has saved many lives on both sides of the war in Afghanistan, and
Horrie the Wog Dog probably saved many lives in Egypt in the second world war.


Sarbi received an award for bravery at a formal ceremony at the Austalian National War Memorial in Canberra last week.

RSPCA president Lynne Bradshaw presented Sarbi, who went missing in action in Afghanistan for 13 months, with the medal at a ceremony attended by Chief of the Army Lieutenant-General Ken Gillespie.

"I think there is no doubt that Sarbi has shown an incredible strength and resilience that should be recognised," Ms Bradshaw said.

Sporting a new coat in the bright green of her Special Forces unit and with two campaign medals pinned to her side, Sarbi was presented with her Purple Cross in front of the Animals in War Memorial at the Canberra Australian War Memorial.

The labrador's adventure began back in 2008 when she was separated from her handler in a battle that left nine soldiers wounded.

The story made headlines around the world.

In London, in 2009, The Guardian reported
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/12/bomb-dog-safi-found-afghanistan


A highly trained Australian special forces combatant who disappeared during a firefight in Afghanistan has been found safe, well and waggy-tailed after surviving for more than a year in the desert. 

Sabi, an expert in detecting improvised explosive devices who also happens to be a four-year-old black labrador, went missing 14 months ago during a battle in which nine Australian soldiers, including her handler, were wounded. Months of searching revealed nothing and the dog, on her second tour of Afghanistan, was officially listed as missing in action.

Last week, however, a US serviceman known only as John spotted Sabi wandering in a remote area of the southern province of Oruzgan and, knowing his Australian counterparts had lost a bomb-sniffing dog, tried out some commands to which, Lassie-style, the labrador responded.

Back at Tarin Kowt base, Sabi was a little grizzled but otherwise unharmed. Her trainer checked she really was Sabi by means of the tennis ball test: he nudged a ball to her; she picked it up. "It's amazing, just incredible, to have her back," the trainer said.

Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who was coincidentally visiting his country's troops during a brief visit to Afghanistan, posed for photographs petting the dog, alongside US General Stanley McChrystal, overall commander of the US and Nato missions to Afghanistan. Rudd declared Sabi "a genuinely nice pooch".

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Sabi showed no signs of stress after her ordeal and greeted strangers "with a sniff and a lick".

It is not known whether the dog spent the past 14 months eluding Taliban forces in the area, as befits a special forces combatant, or whether she was captured and held as a prisoner of war, but the fact that she was in good condition when found suggested she had been well looked after, military spokesman Brigadier Brian Dawson, told reporters in Canberra.

She is now being tested for disease, with a view to returning to Australia, although Rudd suggested that passing quarantine tests "might be the greatest challenge".

Trooper Mark Donaldson was awarded a Victoria Cross for his part in the battle in which Sabi disappeared in September 2008, when a joint Australian-Afghan patrol was ambushed. He declared her return "the last piece of the puzzle.

"Having Sabi back gives some closure for the handler and the rest of us [who] served with her in 2008. It's a fantastic morale booster for the guys," he said.

Horrie the Wog Dog was owned by a WWII digger, Jim Moody. His cousin,
Neil  Moody, was a colleague of mine on the staff of the Sydney Daily
Telegraph in the 1930s.


And here's the Australian National War Memorial's tribute to Horrie:

Early in 1941, Private Jim Moody, VX13091, 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion found a puppy in the Ikingi Mariut area of the Western Desert, Egypt. He became the unofficial mascot of the battalion, travelling with it from Egypt to Greece, Crete, Palestine and Syria then back to Australia in 1942.

Horrie was intelligent and easily trained. He acted as a guard dog and many times gave early warning of the approach of enemy aircraft. He survived the sinking of the Costa Rica on which the unit was being evacuated from Greece to Crete, wounding by a bomb splinter in Crete and the effects of the severe cold in Syria. 

Ion Idriess, in his book Horrie the wog-dog: with the A.I.F. in Egypt, Greece, Crete and Palestinepublished in 1948, related the entertaining story of Horrie written from the diary of Jim Moody. Horrie is also mentioned briefly in the book The long carry: a history of the 2/1 Australian Machine Gun Battalion 1939-46 by Philip Hocking and published by the 2/1 Machine Gun Battalion Association in 1997.

The Memorial has on display Horrie's uniform shown in the photograph as well as Horrie's travelling pack. This pack, lined with wood and with slits cut in the back for ventilation, was used to smuggle Horrie back to Australia in 1942. 

Here he survived for three years before being discovered by Quarantine officials after being exhibited in a Red Cross charity appeal. Following Quarantine Regulations Moody was ordered to surrender Horrie to be shot. 

Instead he found a look-alike dog at the pound and surrendered it. This dog was duly shot and Horrie was sent to live out his life near Corryong, Victoria.

Horrie in Syria. He is shown in his uniform

provided to give protection from the cold.
AWM 076877 Let's put aside sentimental thoughts about Sarbi and Horrie, and reflect on this:  Are dogs truly brave, or do they merely respond  obedientlyto the commands of their very brave handlers?