Free Republic

Trained for 2 Years, Retriever Helps Mr. Montalvan Get Back on His Feet NEW YORK -- Like any other golden retriever seeking a treat, Tuesday nudged his owner's hand with his snout one recent morning and waited expectantly. Luis Carlos Montalvan got up from a chair in his small Brooklyn apartment and walked to the kitchen. Tuesday followed close behind, eyes fixed on a white cabinet. The retriever sat alertly as Mr. Montalvan, an Iraq war veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, reached for a vial of pills, lined a half-dozen on the table and took them one by one....

Spot, the service dog belonging to an 8-year-old autistic boy, is home."Words are indescribable, really," said Rebekah Bowe, whose son, D.J., has been despondent since Spot went missing on Oct. 24. "It is a relief, a big relief."A man apparently found Spot while attending a party in Grand Prairie on Oct. 24. He later gave the Walker Coonhound to his mother, who has been taking care of the dog.The woman called 911 Monday night after reading an article in the Star-Telegram and watching a news report about the missing service dog. A Grand Prairie police officer went to the woman's...

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. -- The service dog to a 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was shot point-blank in an alley behind the house. The gunshot shattered the dog’s hind leg. Pumba was the best friend and lively motivator of Kathleen Micholas, 5, but is now forced to hobble around on three legs. The organization Animal Protectors of New Kensington came to the rescue to provide cash for veterinarian bills for a temporary cast for the dog’s shattered leg. However, an expensive operation costing thousands of dollars will likely be necessary in order to save Pumba’s leg. Animal Protectors is asking...

On the day Kevin Weaver almost died, he remembers walking inside his Ocoee home with his dog. Then, nothing. He has no memory of the diabetic seizure that caused him to collapse and hit his head. Or when his dog, Belle, got the cell phone that is always on the coffee table and bit into the number 9 on the keypad. This automatically dialed 911. The next thing Weaver recalls is waking up in the hospital. The dog was there, too. "There is no doubt in my mind that I'd be dead if I didn't have Belle," said Weaver, 34,...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- The interest in the story over Shuma the service dog continues to be overwhelming. Last Thursday, KCTV5 News told you about a hurricane evacuee from Mississippi who wants his dog back. After fleeing the storm, John Wyrick gave his dog to Lynn Nevills of Independence, because his temporary housing arrangement would not allow pets. Wyrick said he made a mistake and wants Shuma the German Shepherd back, but Nevills refuses. Several KCTV5 viewers have offered her money, as much as one thousand dollars if she will just return the dog. But, Shuma is still in Independence with...

On 7-year-old Cheyenne Gilliam's first day at Mount Vernon Elementary yesterday, her new principal, Leon Davidson, explained to her classmates that the dog she brought to school isn't a pet: It's a working dog trained to respond to Cheyenne's epileptic seizures. But the pair's first day in second grade ended abruptly when Rockcastle County Schools Superintendent Larry Hammond notified Cheyenne's parents, Jennifer and Anthony Gilliam, that the dog was, in a manner of speaking, being suspended. Two hours after the day began, the family took the dog, and their daughter, home. Hammond said in an interview that he wants to...