Via Oregon Live

Here are even more reasons to visit Maui.

One of the most desirable vacation destinations in the U.S. now has a way for visitors to connect with pets.

Due to quarantine requirements, visitors rarely bother bringing their own pet to Maui. But that doesn't mean they won't get lonely for the love they left at home.

Starting in April, the Maui Humane Society will start the "Helping Paws Visitor Program.'' Island visitors can sign up to volunteer at the shelter from 1-4 p.m,. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The facility is conveniently located along the highway between Kahului and Kihei.

Read the full story

Maui, unfortunately, has more pets than it needs. It is an island, after all.  The Humane Society is looking for air travelers back to the Mainland to bring a pet with them. Sound crazy? Not at all, because they have it all figured out.

The Wings of Aloha program flies shelter animals to areas in the U.S. and Canada where, working in partnership with local rescue organizations, pets are guaranteed adoption _ particularly in communities with no animal overpopulation issues.

Over the past several months, nearly 200 homeless Maui pets have found families in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Canada through Wings of Aloha.

Read more about how you can help for free

Read more about the program at mauihumanesociety.org.

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Celebrate National (Grouchy) Puppy Day

Animal assistance therapy dog, at your service. No really, I can hear kids reading inside.

via grouchypuppy.com

Read the original post from 2012 via grouchypuppy.com

Some of our local rescues 

• Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society
• Furry Friends Rescue
• Grateful Dogs Rescue
  The oldest all-breed rescue group in San Francisco
• Marin Humane Society
• Muttville: Senior Dog Rescue
• Northern California Family Dog Rescue
• Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA
• Pets In Need
• Rocket Dog Rescue
• San Francisco SPCA
• Stray from the Heart
• Urban Cat Project

Today is about sharing all these amazing groups who try to save abandoned puppies, educate people about how bad puppy mills are and work hard to get pet stores to stop selling pets.

via cleosday.grouchypuppy.com

It's week eight of celebrating fabulous senior dogs! In case you missed it we decided 2013 would be a great year to offer you a cute photo of me every week. Enjoy and sign up for our mailing list if you want to get goodies delivered to your inbox, and follow GrouchyPuppy on Instagram!

As someone who has lived in San Francisco for years, I know there are all types at dog parks. Just walking down a street, you can encounter all sorts of folks who fit various images that you'd expect to live here with a dog. However, we know silly, and we know exaggeration...the show Portlandia employs both.

Do you watch Portlandia? Is this scene a parody or reality? If you know, or just have an opinion tell us in the comments! 

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Life is good with a buddy

Via Indy Channel

An Indiana woman says her heroic dog saved her from a fire.

Amy Donaldson was serving as a foster parent for Cherry, a pit bull, after a family decided not to adopt her the day before.

The next day, Donaldson was sleeping when Cherry began jumping up and licking her face until she woke up.

Donaldson said she noticed a space heater had caught fire and her home was filling with smoke.

"She's my favorite flavor of Life Saver, now. She's Cherry Life Saver," Donaldson said.

Read the full original story

Via Huffington Post

LOS ANGELES (AP) — People want their dog to be a friend, not afraid.

But sometimes, fear grips dogs so tightly they shake, cower, bite, growl or pee. It can be constant, painful and hard to overcome. Such dread can consume a dog when it's freed from a cage at a puppy mill or hoarder's home because that's the only life the dog has ever known.

Until now, it was up to animal shelters to ease the fears, knowing if they didn't, euthanasia was the likely alternative. But this week, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opens its Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, N.J.

It's a two-year research project being financed by the ASPCA.

San Francisco Aid for Animal's (SFAfA) is a local animal charity raising money to help people pay for life-saving vet medical care. They are included in Sport Basement's March Madness Challenge.   

Starting March 16th when you and your friends shop at the Sport Basement mention San Francisco Aid for Animals at the register - 10% of your purchase will go to helping those who struggle to pay for their vet care.

If you're planning on buying new bike accessories, replace worn out ski equipment, getting outfitted in new exercise clothes or equipment for that summer camping trip - now is the time to stop in to Sports Basement.

Via Discovery.com

A pointer named 'Major' was identified this week as being the first known modern breed of dog.

Read the full story and see all the photos!

Via Live Science (NBC News)

A canine skull found in the Altai Mountains of Siberia is more closely related to modern domestic dogs than to wolves, a new DNA analysis reveals.

The findings could indicate that dogs were domesticated around 33,000 years ago. The point at which wolves made the transition to man's best friend is hotly contested, though dogs were well-established in human societies by about 10,000 years ago. Dogs and humans were buried together in Germany about 14,000 years ago, a strong hint of domestication, but genetic studies have pinpointed the origin of dog domestication in both China and the Middle East.