[BillF]

Great article. Thanks for posting this.

God Bless Ben Stein and his family (and that includes his dog).

Below is my pound puppy walking the back deck handrail last summer.

My dog was on "death row" in a high-kill animal shelter. She was rescued and put into the Pen Pals program which puts dogs into prison where they share a cell with a prisoner who trains them. (Pen Pals and similar programs are used for the "Cell Dogs" TV show on the Animal Planet cable channel.) After two months of training by the prisoner, we adopted her.

Although the dog has been a rascal on occasion, there hasn't been a day when she hasn't provided great joy to me and my family.

Hope that all reading this thread will consider adopting a pound puppy. At the risk of being flamed, and, if you don't think you have the time or facilities for a dog, I'll ask readers of this to consider adopting a cat from the pound.

[TASMANIANRED]

BillF, Was her rehabilitation successful? :-} She she looks like an escape artist.

[NeoCaveman]

A brown beagle with ticking. I bet he's a great company.

[over3Owithabrain]

I have a rescued rascal too, "Kirby". We found him running on our street early one morn causing a ruckus, apparently homeless and left to his own. We already had one dog and two cats, but we squeezed him in anyhow and saved him a visit to the pound. He is almost four now and still acts like a pup, raising some cain now and then but providing us unbounded joy and laughter. I too would encourage all who are able to make room for a dog in your life - whatever the effort, it pays back a hundredfold for the entire family.

[two23]

Your pound puppy is part beagle and part---? Very Cute! Does she get up on the deck rail all by herself?!!!
I have to put the dogs in the house when anyone goes in the pool because she will jump over the side to get in and she sinks like a rock! (not to mention what her huge feet and claws could do to the liner!) I would not get a dog any other way except by rescue agency/humane society. Our cat is also from the humane society. They are always the best.
I spent a few months raising the puppy in the picture (as I did with the other dog we have). I house-train them by taking them out every 20 minutes, after eating and after naps. I use a large kennel crate at night, but sleep on the floor or in a chair next to the puppy. They are never given the opportunity to "mess" on the floor because I take them out constantly. (I believe once a puppy tinkles or poops on the floor, it makes it harder to house train). It's a rough routine for a few months' but well worth it.

[ariamne]

Gosh, I hope you wouldn't get flamed; not everyone is a cat person but to rescue a doomed animal is a decent Christian thing to do. And I know lots of conservatives who have cats AND dogs.