Texas woman raises $10,000 on Facebook to help dog that was SHOT REPEATEDLY in the face

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A dog that was shot several times in the face with a shotgun and thrown away in a garbage bag is on the road to recovery thanks to the efforts of one Texas woman, who raised more than $10,000 for the canine's medical care.

Tami Augustyn took the 60-to-70 pound dog to an emergency clinic Saturday after a neighbor in Conroe, Texas spotted the garbage bag tied to a fence on a road. The garbage bag was moving.

The clinic was able to stabilize the dog, who doctors say may have suffered some brain damage and permanent loss of his vision. But Buck, as he is now called, is going to get the help he needs.
"Today he's great," Augustyn told the Daily News on Tuesday. "He's very happy when he sees me, when he hears my voice."
Buck may be home with her now, but Augustyn had genuine fears about the dog's future when she realized she did not have the money to cover Buck's medical expenses.

She created a Facebook page in order to raise funds. When the Montgomery County Police Reporter did a story on Buck, the money started pouring in.

Augustyn said the donations reached more than $10,000 the last time she checked on Monday night.

"I was shocked," she said.

Buck will now get all the medical attention he needs. Augustyn plans to take him to an ophthalmologist on Wednesday, something she could only dream of doing a few days ago. She also plans on using the money to create The Buck Foundation, which will focus on helping abused dogs.
Fate may have had a hand in putting them together. When neighbors found Buck, they were not able to reach animal control. If they had been, Augustyn said it's possible Buck might have been put to sleep.

Augustyn has always had a passion for helping animals. She said she recently saved three starving puppies on the side of the road, and helped an ailing horse find a home. But she’s formed a special bond with Buck, and plans on keeping him for herself.

"What I did with Buck was no different than what I did a million times, except this dog was in a garbage bag tied to a t-post," she said.

Oregon brewer Daniel Keeton creates nutritional, non-alcoholic brew for his dog

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Oregon man Daniel Keeton enjoys serving beer to customers at the brewery he works for, so why shouldn't he serve up some healthy brew for the dog he cares about?


The dog brew is non-alcoholic of course, but it is a big hit with Keeton's canine Lola Jane.
And now Keeton's special brew is available to anyone who wants it. After years of planning, Keeton launched his company Dawg Grog over the summer.
Keeton, who works at Boneyard Brewery in Bend, says Dawg Grog is good for the dogs, and they can't seem to get enough of it.
"Bend is a dog-loving community and a beer-loving community," Keeton told the Daily News on Monday. "I wanted to marry those two together in some way."
Keeton spent years refining the ingredients to his special brew, which includes low-sodium vegetable broth, water and spent grain from Boneyard Brewery.
"After a couple of years of trying recipes I came up with one that I am really happy with, and one that my dog is really happy with," he said.
The 16-ounce bottles of Dawg Grog are sold locally at the Visit Bend visiting center and at Muddy Paw's, a pet-washing center in Bend.

Kangaroo runs amok in Australian airport parking lot

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An Australian airport was pretty hopping Monday when an adventurous kangaroo ran loose around the facility’s parking lot.
The runaway roo leaped around cars, stunning tourists and police at Melbourne Airport, until wildlife authorities arrived.
An official tranquilized the 3-year-old eastern gray kangaroo, which showed signs of distress as it jumped around the lot, and put it a wildlife rescue van, according to Australia’s Courier Mail.
The marsupial will reportedly be inspected by a vet and then returned to the wild
Anna Gillett, an airport spokesman, said appearances by one of Australia’s most iconic animals are pretty rare.
"There are a number of kangaroos around the airport and some living on the land,” Gillett told the Courier Mail. "It is very unusual for them to get into the carpark though."
A different rogue roo, however, took a spin around the Melbourne Airport parking lot just last year.

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There was just so much devastation this year… We just wanted to see something survive Rescuers face long odds to save beached whale in Queens

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The thought of another loss in Breezy Point was too much for Diane Bassolino to swallow.
The Queens mom, joined by her family, neighbors and local firefighters, battled Wednesday to save the life of a beached 60-foot whale found struggling in the sand.

“There was just so much devastation this year,” said DianeBassolino after using a water bucket to keep the creature hydrated. “We just wanted to see something survive.”
The giant blue-grey finback, bleeding from its mouth and tail, fought for its life as the beachfront enclave did its best to soothe the stranded beast.
The best-case scenario was for the tide to float the seriously-ill whale out to sea and into better health — although the odds were against its recovery.

“It’s severely emaciated,” said Kim Durham of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, a Long Island rescue and research facility.
 We don’t think it will make it,” she warned. “We’re going to let nature take its course.”
Experts theorized the whale, an endangered species which would typically weigh about 60 tons, was injured by a ship and never recovered before washing ashore in the hours after Christmas.
“New York Harbor is like a four-lane highway, so it could have been struck,” Durham said.

But Breezy Point residents, already scarred this year by fire and flood that destroyed dozens of homes, were rooting for the whale to provide a happy ending to a difficult 2012.

“We wanted to save the whale,” said Louis Bassolino, 66, who was hunting for a boat lost in Hurricane Sandy when he came upon the beached finback.

He initially thought the beast was a capsized craft until he came closer — and spotted its huge tail flapping in the surf.

Bassolino quickly woke his family before calling the local NYPD and FDNY.
Wife Diane and daughter Deirdre, 23, were soon tossing buckets of water on the weakened beast.

“We didn’t know what to do,” said Deidre. “I was shocked. I never saw anything that big wash up before. We just wanted to help. We went out there and lo and behold — there’s a whale.”

The Bassolinos worked as a team for about an hour before police and firefighters arrived to pump water on the whale. The Long Island experts were then summoned to the shore to take a look.

“Just seeing it there, it was helpless and injured,” said Louis Bassolino. “It was sad.”

Ed Manley, 50, was among the other volunteer rescuers trying to keep the whale from succumbing. Its tail moved sporadically in the grey morning, offering a hint of its power.

“It’s a beautiful whale,” said Manley. “It’s a shame. I hope we can save her.”
Plumber Paul O’Donnell, 50, rushed to the beach after seeing helicopters in the winter sky above.

“I’ve never seen a whale like that,” he said. “A day after Christmas, that’s pretty wild.”

The finback — second in size only to the blue whale — is an endangered species that can grow to 70 feet in length and 70 tons in size. It also features the deepest voice of any animal on earth.

When healthy, the massive whale can still hit speeds of 35 mph and cruise at about 14 mph. Riverhead rescue director Durham planned to stay at the beach until the whale’s situation is resolved.

A necropsy was planned if the whale can’t survive. The tide starting coming in as the sun went down over Breezy Point.

“This animal has not been fed in a long time,” she said. “It’s a very sick whale. It’s on its last legs.”

It was unclear if the whale was a male or a female.

Louis Bassolino, after surviving the fierce hurricane and its aftermath in Breezy Point, said the tale of the whale seemed like just another day at the beach.

“Nothing surprises me any more,” said Bassolino, “The last year has been crazy around here. Who expected to see a whale after Christmas?”

Arizona cat badly injured by a cactus, Prickly Pete, adopted by proud new owner

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No one stepped forward to claim Prickly Pete after the unlucky cat received emergency medical attention for cactus injuries. But Pete’s luck turned around when a Sun City, Ariz., woman adopted him Wednesday.

“I fell in love with him the minute I saw him,” Jean Mann, the cat’s new owner, told the Daily News.
Mann, 72, thought Pete was adorable as soon as she saw his yellow eyes and orange and white markings.

“He’s beautiful and loving,” she said. “We were lucky that he was there waiting for us.”

Mann, a retired nurse’s assistant, visited the Arizona Humane Society with her son and 8-year-old granddaughter to buy the child a kitten for Christmas. She did not expect to get a cat for herself, but when she heard Pete’s sad story, she knew that she wanted to give him a loving home.

“It’s really sad,” Mann said. “I can’t imagine that he survived, and he’s such a nice kitty.
ust last week, Pete was recovering at the society’s Second Chance Animal Hospital from an unfortunate incident that left cactus spines in his eyelids, muzzle, face, and body. Pete will be safe with Mann partly because she shares his dislike for cacti.

“Even if he was to go outside, there will be no cactus. We only have grass and trees,” she said. “And he won’t be alone, because he’s got a brother and a sister.”

His new siblings are Mann’s Maltese dogs, with whom Pete already gets along.

Mann is thrilled about the energy Pete has brought to the household. Her husband passed away in June, and the home has not been the same without him. She said that she and her dogs miss him tremendously.

“We’re kind of bored around here,” Mann said. “We’re ready for a new person in our life.”
Pete is not skittish in his new home. He has spent almost the entire time by Mann’s side.

“The minute I sit down, Prickly Pete is right there. He likes to sit on the chair with me,” she said. “He’s gonna get a lot of loving.”

Dog’s best friend Heartbroken pooch bravely stands in traffic for SIX HOURS to guard dead companion struck by car

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Heart-stirring photos out of China show a stray dog braving traffic to stand vigil over a dead female companion, who appears to have been hit by a car.
The brown and white mutt, a stray known to some locals in Zhangzhou, in southern China's Fujian Province, licks his partner's head and nudges her with his nose, as if trying to gently coax her awake.
The loyal pooch reportedly stood watch over his slain friend for more than six hours.
Xiao Wu, a local butcher, said the dog was a stray he had recently started to feed.
He often saw the two playing together, and he watched as the heartbroken pup tended to his partner's broken body, the Daily Mail reported.
The heartbroken pup licked his mate's head and tried to hug her with his front paws. The butchers swore he saw tears.
"He stayed beside her the whole day, keeping licking her and pushing her, trying to wake her up. It's very touching."
"Then he pushed her with his head, and licked her face," he told the Mail. "I even saw tears."
Witnesses said the dog stayed with his fallen companion for six hours.