The DogChannel Newswire (07-08-09)

Leaving Dog in Car Can Bring Serious Legal Trouble
If you think leaving a dog in a car this summer – even for just a few minutes – is no big deal, consider this: a $1,000 fine, six months in jail and a broken window. That's what could await if Salt Lake County Animals Services has to rescue your distressed animal from a hot vehicle, The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune reports.
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More to Job Than Just Saving Dogs
The “Dog Catcher” of old was the butt of many jokes and the villain of many a comic book and two-reel comedies of the 1930s and ’40s. But that image is a thing of the past. Dog warden or animal control officer is no longer a position of political patronage. Nor is he the villain whose sole purpose in life is to deprive little boys of their dogs, Mount Vernon News reports.
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A Helpful Dog in a Difficult Time
Every morning when Kelsey Swan, 16, wakes up, she has to lie in bed and pop her joints back into place. As she does this, her dog Mack turns on the lights. This is just one of the many ways Swan gets help from her canine friend. Swan suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, connective tissue disorder that leaves her tendons and ligaments defective and makes getting around difficult, the Boston Globe reports.
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K9 Officers Howl They’re Not Paid Enough
What’s feeding and poop-scooping worth? Several million dollars, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week. About 50 K9 officers claim that over the past few years, the Houston Police Department should have paid them more for time they spent at home looking after their dogs, the Houston Chronicle reports.
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No Doggin’ It: Canines Have Work to Do
From detecting heart attacks and seizures before they happen to pulling people to safety, it's hard to imagine any technology that could surpass the uncountable number of ways in which dogs lend us a helping paw. In selectively breeding dogs for the skills that help them help us, human beings have changed the dog inside and out, The Sacramento Bee reports.
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