Episode 32 - furious and irresponsible owners, an overview of 2012 and more

The Dog News Show

In the last episode of The Dog News Show for 2012 Debbie gets things started with a story about a "furious" dog owner who wants his dog back. Roger Winter left his German Shepherd Frodo tied up outside a shop unattended in Banff, Scotland. He went outside to his dog when he heard Frodo barking and found two children he claims were taunting his dog. One issue this story highlights is that it's a bad idea to leave a dog unattended in public at any time as they are at risk of being stolen, or being deemed out of control in a public place. Frodo was taken away from Roger by the rescue who homed the dog with him originally and re-homed in a new home, which is why Roger is so furious, but the story has many twists and turns to explore.
If you suspected your child was taking drugs and hiding them in your house would you resort to using a sniffer dog to check out your home? Courtesy of Laa Crosby, Julie has the story of Ava from Houston who called on the services of German Shepherd sniffer dog Roxie to nose around her house - with surprising and happy results. A child psychiatrist suggests that such action might be damaging to the parent-child relationship, but might it actually highlight problems that can then be solved? However what does it really mean if a dog indicates the presence of drugs?

Debbie returns to her "furious" theme, but this time with an owner who is angry for all the wrong reasons. Tita Macauley, of Wandsworth, let her dog roam free, and when a dog warden followed the dog home and spoke to Ms Macauley she became so enraged that she has been sentenced to an anger management course as well as a 12-month supervision order and was ordered to pay a £50 fine and £265 costs. What's the answer to such irresponsible ownership?

Dogs Trust recently revealed some of the ludicrous excuses people have given for handing their dogs into one of their shelters. Reasons vary from the incredibly sad, “My dog was too old and no longer brought me any joy”, to the ridiculous, “He keeps scaring the goldfish”. The silly and shallow things that have put people off dogs are genuinely shocking, and are another example of irresponsible ownership.
For her last story of 2012, Debbie sums up her view of the dog world this year - the highs and lows, and where she sees the future of dogs and owners in 2013. Can we solve the problems of puppy farmers - and not only those who breed with no thought, but those rescues who get it wrong and fail both the dogs in their care and those who adopt from them. What do you think of the state of the dog world, and what would you like to see happen next year?
Julie rounds off the show as usual with Schmaltz Corner, this time with the happy and high profile story of Michelle Obama taking her dog Bo with her on a visit to a children's hospital. It's great to see such a well known person promoting the value of dogs as both a family pet and as a visitor to patients.
All of us at The Dog News Show would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year - see you for more dog news stories in 2013.