Good Dog Rescue Story

Hitchener stars in dog rescue

Date: November 23 2012

Suzanne Carbone CHANNEL Nine newsreader Peter Hitchener enjoys a feel-good animal story but what viewers don't know is that he was the ''hero'' in a dog rescue. Travelling in a car with weekend newsreader Alicia Loxley to film community-service bushfire announcements in Eltham and Greensborough, she saw a whippet wandering across the busy four-lane Williamsons Road in Lower Templestowe and Hitchener, fearing for the dog's safety, said: ''We have to collect this dog otherwise someone will collect this dog.'' It was a natural instinct for the soft-hearted man who's the patron of Dogs Victoria. The 66-year-old who marks 40 years with Nine next year then plotted the rescue mission. The driver was instructed to mount the median strip and the duo tried to grab the dog but to no avail, so they got back in the car and parked elsewhere. Nine colleague Emma Norris found a packet of salt and vinegar chips in the car and the frightened dog was eventually enticed by the snack. A woman who saw the action took off her belt and with this makeshift leash, the dog was secured and Loxley rang Manningham council. The pet was taken to the pound and reunited with its owner. Hitchener told me: ''Thank goodness the dog wasn't hurt. It was a happy ending. It's a lovely story.'' Unfortunately there was no footage of the rescue to make the 6pm bulletin.

Kitten rescued from Florida's Abraham Lincoln statue

No one knows how a three-week-old kitten could get himself stuck inside of a statue, but this Clermont, Fla. tiny bundle of feline cuteness cried for days while trapped inside of the President's Hall of Fame Abraham Lincoln statue. By Sunday afternoon the kitten had been rescued.
For three days, WKMG/CBS reported hearing the faint meows of a kitten stuck inside of a hand made statue. The Humane Society accompanied by the Minneola Fire Department were able to drill an opening in the top of the statue, and a firefighter was able to lower himself inside and rescue the all gray kitten.
Upon his rescue, the kitten was given some milk through a baby bottle and whisked off to the local veterinarian for a medical evaluation.
John Zweifel, the curator who made the statue is hoping to adopt the kitten.
Are you surprised that the kitten has been named "Abe"?
Many thanks to the compassionate firemen of the Minneola Fire Department and to all of the animal lovers out there not willing to let a tiny life go by without a struggle.

Great RSPCA story.

A blind cocker spaniel that spent five years in a cage before being rescued from a puppy farm has had her sight restored, thanks to big-hearted dog lovers. Belle, 6, was one of 244 dogs seized by RSPCA inspectors in a raid on a Wondai puppy farm in 2009. Despite being blind from birth, Bella was bred from constantly for the puppy trade which is based primarily on “pretty” breeds such as poodles, cocker spaniels and beagles. Milena and Boris Butovski of Macgregor on Brisbane’s southside fostered Belle and a beagle called Lizzie when the RSPCA sought help finding temporary homes. In August, Michael Bernays from Animal Eye Services at Underwood removed a cataract and implanted an artificial lens in Belle’s right eye. Her first look at the world terrified her. “It was really scary,” Ms Butovski said. “She was afraid of her bed, afraid of the letterbox and flowers. “We made a big mistake at first when we took her home to reunite her with the other dog a big fight started straight away.” Ms Butovski said Belle had a second eye operation last month, which also was a success. “As much as I thought Belle was a confident and relatively happy dog before, the transformation after the second surgery was huge,” Ms Butovski said. “There was no more fear of strange things and she started running like a little racing horse, playing with a ball and showing an interest in everything. She is like a big puppy now. “The trust that you see in their eyes makes every cent (more than $5000) … worth it.” Ms Butovski said no dog deserved to be kept in a puppy farm where they were neglected and mistreated. “Belle was completely blind for five terrible years while forced to produce litter after litter of puppies, very likely genetically predisposed to blindness as she was,” she said. “When rescued, she didn’t play with any toy nor had an interest for anything but food and affection.”