California: Hungry bear breaks into a house to snack on bread and fruit before being chased away by deputies

LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA -- A hungry bear broke into a California home and snacked on bread and fruit before deputies were able to chase it away.

Footage from inside the house in Northstar, North Lake Tahoe, shows the bear rifling through bags of groceries on a kitchen island.

It was posted to Facebook on Thursday by the Placer County Sheriff's Office, which branded the animal 'hungry and fearless'.

Bears are coming out of hibernation and deputies say this particular bear broke into the house specifically to look for food.

Fortunately the bear was chased away without causing any injuries or property damage.

The Sheriff's Office wrote online: 'This afternoon, this hungry and fearless bear broke into a home at Northstar, North Lake Tahoe, to get some groceries.

'The homeowners called us, and our deputies were able to chase him out of the house, after he snacked on some fruit and bread!

'As bears are coming out of hibernation, please use utmost caution if you encounter them.

'In this case, the homeowners were very grateful to the deputies who got the bear out of their house with no injuries and no property damage.'

FACEBOOK POST
Placer County Sheriff's Office is at Northstar California Resort.

This afternoon, this hungry and fearless bear broke into a home at Northstar, North Lake Tahoe, to get some groceries. The homeowners called us, and our deputies were able to chase him out of the house, after he snacked on some fruit and bread!

As bears are coming out of hibernation, please use utmost caution if you encounter them. In this case, the homeowners were very grateful to the deputies who got the bear out of their house with no injuries and no property damage.

 

(Daily Mail - May 5, 2018)

Missouri: Stuck 8 days in a Taney County pipe, Jack the Labrador catches a break

MISSOURI -- No one's sure why Jack crawled into a Taney County culvert.

But the hefty pooch somehow got himself stuck about eight feet into the 15-foot underground pipe — and may have been there for as many as eight days before his owners found him.

With no way to get Jack out, his owners called for help.

The cavalry — a Central Taney County Fire Rescue crew — was quick to arrive Wednesday afternoon.

Volunteer firefighter Jeff Romines photographed Jack's ordeal, which involved one fire truck, one service truck, a backhoe and six human rescuers.

Romines, the department's training officer, said Jack's owners said the dog had been missing for more than a week.

When the owner went to check the mail, he heard whimpering and called for help.

"Jack's a pretty good-sized Labrador, and he's a little chubby," Romines said. "One end of the culvert was blocked, so when he tried to turn around, he got stuck."

Romines said the dog's hind legs had fallen asleep, exacerbating the problem.

Jack was lucky in another way, too. Taney County had some significant rain while Jack was in the pipe.

"He's lucky the ditch didn't fill up while he was in there," he said.

According to the fire department, Jack was lodged so far into the pipe that firefighters had to dig out part of the homeowner's driveway to access the pipe.

Then they used a special saw to cut through the metal culvert, made a bigger hole with the Jaws of Life, and pulled the weakened pup to safety.

Jack was so weak that rescuers had to help him out of the hole.

After some water and a brief rest, Jack was taken home to rest on his favorite bed. Firefighters said it appears Jack will be fine.

Assisting with Jack's rescue were Taney County Animal Control and Taney County Road & Bridge, which responded with a backhoe.

(Springfield News-Leader - May 2, 2018)

New Hampshire: Firefighters rescue cat frozen in ice on pond

NEWTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Firefighters have come to the aid of a cat that was frozen in the ice on a New Hampshire pond.

Sean Kane, a firefighter and EMT in Newton, New Hampshire, tells The Boston Globe the cat's two back paws and tail were frozen in the ice Thursday morning. It also had a chunk of ice on its back. Wind chills were in the single digits.

Firefighters think the brown and gray long-haired cat lay down and ended up freezing into the pond. They poured warm water on the cat, wrapped it in towels and used a heating pad.

There was no ID on the cat, and firefighters posted a photo on Facebook.

The animal now is being cared for by the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

(WJTV - Jan 25, 2018)

Kentucky: Sheriff responds personally to rescue kitten frozen to dock

KENTUCKY -- A Mercer County couple say they're grateful the sheriff helped them rescue a stray kitten that was frozen to their boat dock.

Roy and Lori Jasper said they noticed,  on their security cameras before they went to bed, the kitten walking around.

They said they debated what they could do to help it, but as cold as it was - and being 75 years old - they said they did not think they could safely get down the hill to the dock to catch it.

Eleven hours later, the kitten showed up again on their security camera, but they were sure he was now stuck to the metal steps of the boat dock.

"He had fell in the water and came up on the little piece of rock, just left of the steps and froze right there," said Roy Jasper.

Knowing the situation was now dire, they called the Mercer County Sheriff's Office for help.

They were surprised and grateful when Mercer County Sheriff Ernie Kelty himself responded to the call to save the little kitten.

 

 

"I poured the water on his front feet, and in a few seconds, they did come loose," said Mercer County Sheriff Ernie Kelty. The sheriff continued to cut free the kitten's fur that was also frozen.

"I'd say he was down there about 15 minutes breaking it loose," Roy Jasper said, "because its stomach was froze, paws was froze, everything."

"And then he put him under his shirt, and walked up here and gave him to me. Of course, Laurie took him in and wiped him down with towels. He was solid wet," said Roy Jasper.

Sheriff Kelty said that at first, the kitten had a bit of an attitude.

 "But I probably would have too. It seemed like, that he realized I was there to help," he said.

"I think it's just wonderful that [the Sheriff] dropped everything he did, to come down here and get one little old kitten," said Roy Jasper.

 

The stray kitten that was once stranded in the cold now has a new home with the Jasper family - and a heroic new name.

"We're naming him after the Sheriff. We're naming him Ernie," said Roy.

(Lex18 - Jan 3, 2018)

Michigan: Dog rescued after being found frozen to the ground

MICHIGAN -- An injured dog spent the night out in the bitter cold, but he's been given a second chance after an animal rescue group found him.

The dog has been through a lot. They believe he was hit by a car, then frozen to the ground, yet somehow he survived.

They are trying to find out where he belongs.

"This is not a stray dog. This is somebody's loved pet," said Bill Heatley, founder of Streethearts Animal Rescue.

"He has a fractured femur. His leg bone is broken very high up, and I can't fix it. He would need anesthesia to have more X-rays done to completely determine whether anything else is broken," said Dr. Lawrence Ehrman with Veterinary Medical Hospital.

His ordeal began on New Year's Eve, when a witness says he was hit by a car in a Flint neighborhood.

"She heard the impact, looked out, heard the dog cry, looked out, ran to her backyard. As soon as he entered her backyard, he went and laid down at the back of the yard and didn't move for over 24 hours," Heatley said.

She called 911. The dispatcher called Heatley, who found the dog badly injured but still alive.

"When I got to the point where I meant to move him, I had wrapped him. And I went to lift the blanket and it wouldn't move," Heatley said. "I actually had to peel him off the ice."

Once he was safely removed from the ice, the dog was rushed to a veterinary hospital.

"The first consideration with this dog was organ damage or failure, and thankfully the veterinarians both say because of his very thick heavy coat, that probably saved him," Heatley said.

"We've just been taking care of him, giving him pain medication, let him relax making sure he eats and awaiting decisions on what goes on from here," Ehrman said.

 

 

As the dog they named Feliz continues to recover, Heatley is hoping his owner comes forward or they find him a new home.

In the meantime, they will continue to try to save other animals from suffering a worse fate than Feliz.

"The sad thing ... is that's one dog that we found," Heatley said. "There are a multitude of dog out here in the city of Flint and cats, they're not being found, that we don't know about."

They are hoping the owner comes forward, and they also have set up a Youcaring page to help with Feliz's medical bills, which are expected to run into the thousands.   

On the Youcaring page, the rescue group saidFeliz is expected undergo surgery on Thursday to try to save his leg.

(MSNewsNow - January 3, 2018)

Ohio: Victor Vallejo Sr. facing Animal Cruelty charge after his Pit Bull was found dead on porch, curled up in a ball and "frozen solid"

OHIO -- The Toledo Area Humane Society is investigating the death of a dog in central Toledo that was found outside and “frozen solid.”

The female dog had died after curling up on the front porch of a house at 1057 King Street.

“I don’t know how long she was out there,” Megan Brown, a cruelty investigator with the humane society, said. “She was frozen solid.”

The recorded low temperature the night of Dec 28th in Toledo, Ohio was -8 °F.

Ms. Brown said an underweight male dog was inside the house. She saw him through a window and seized him that afternoon after obtaining a search warrant.

“He was visibly shivering,” Ms. Brown said, adding that his ribs and spine are prominent and the house was very cold.

Contacted by The Blade on Thursday afternoon, Victor Vallejo Sr., 40, said the dogs are his and added he was unaware of any issues. He said he last saw them two or three days ago and left them both inside.

The utilities to the house were recently shut off, he said.

“I wasn’t staying there, but I was going back and forth and feeding them. They had plenty of food and water,” he said. “I’ve been staying here and there at the moment. I kind of fell on some bad times.”

So he locked them inside an unheated house that, based on the looks of it, has 40-year old insulation and 40-year old single-pane windows - the kind you have to put plastic up in the winter to try to keep the cold out. Then he says he only goes by every "two or three days" to bring them food and water. So for "two or three days" at a time they're starving. 

Meanwhile, he looks well-fed and certainly doesn't look like he's been sleeping on the freezing streets.

CAN'T PAY HIS BILLS, WANTS TO BREED PIT BULLS
He said both are American bullies (aka Pit Bulls). The 3-year-old female was named Nanas, while the 4-year-old male is Haze. He said claims he loves his dogs, paid a lot of money for them, and intended to breed them.

Mr. Vallejo said he isn’t sure how Nanas got outside.

“I don’t know how they would have got out,” he said. “Everything was locked up tight.”

Ms. Brown said neither dog had any food or water, and Nanas was in the fenced front yard. There were blankets and a pillow on the porch, which had a roof, but no shelter from the bitter temperatures.

“She didn’t appear to be in poor health, but it’s hard to tell when she’s curled up and frozen,” Ms. Brown said.

Mr. Vallejo said Nanas had gotten loose in August. Records from the Lucas County Canine Care & Control show she was taken to the county shelter by a citizen Sept. 21 as a stray.

 

 

An initial medical evaluation there noted Nanas had fleas and swollen ears but seemed otherwise healthy. Mr. Vallejo reclaimed her the following day and purchased a 2017 license for her.

Mr. Vallejo said claims when he got her back, she had lost weight and was sick. He said he hadn’t yet been able to get her back to full health.

OK so that was in September... three months ago. He just admitted he never took her to the vet despite his allegation that she "had lost weight and was sick" the entire three months.

CITED TO COURT, DIDN'T BOTHER TO SHOW UP
Nanas was seen by a canine control officer Oct. 22 running loose on King Street, but Mr. Vallejo contained her while the officer was there. He was cited for a dog running at large and has a bench warrant from Toledo Municipal Court for failing to appear for a hearing on the citation.

Ms. Brown said other than being underweight, Haze appears OK.

“He looks to be pretty good,” Ms. Brown said. “He’s sweet. He was malnourished and dehydrated, but I think he’ll be fine.”

She said the humane society is pursuing possible animal cruelty charges in Toledo Municipal Court.

(Toledo Blade - Dec 28, 2017)