Only a quarter of the people who took part in a recent AP-Petside.com poll said animal shelters should sometimes be allowed to put animals down as a population control measure.

Gisela Aguila, 51, of Miramar, Fla., believes shelter animals should only be euthanized when there is no chance they’ll be adopted — for example, if they are extremely ill or aggressive. “I don’t think shelters should be euthanizing animals to control the population,” she said.

She’d like to see an end to shelters destroying animals when they run out of room, saying, “We are way too civilized of a society to allow this.”

This undated photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society shows Turtle Dove, a Labrador retriever, resting at the Best Friends Animal Society in Kenab, Utah. Best Friends Animal Society operates the country's largest no-kill sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. (AP Photo/Best Friends Animal Society, Molly Wald)

But Leslie Surprenant, 53, of Saugerties, N.Y., believes shelters should be allowed to control populations. She says no-kill shelters that only accept animals with good prospects for adoption or that turn away animals once the shelter reaches capacity do not solve the problem.

“That doesn’t truly mean no-kill shelters. It means there are more animals out on the streets being hit by cars and starving and living in Dumpsters,” said Surprenant, who has two dogs and a cat. “It does not mean the general population is lower; it just means that they’ve opted not to kill.”

Surprenant believes spaying and neutering is the way to go. In fact, higher rates of spaying and neutering in recent decades have cut the number of abandoned puppies and kittens, which in turn has cut euthanasia rates. Before 1970, about 20 million animals were euthanized each year in this country. In 2011, fewer than 4 million abandoned animals were euthanized.

Younger pet owners are most likely to favor no-kill policies, with 79 percent of those under 30 saying shelters should only euthanize animals that are untreatable or too aggressive, compared with 67 percent of those age 50 or over saying that.

The poll results are encouraging to leaders of the nation’s no-kill movement, who’d like to see the U.S. become a “no-kill nation” with homes for every adoptable pet, and euthanasia reserved only for extremely ill or aggressive animals.

Any plan will take teamwork between shelters with government contracts that must accept every animal and the no-kill shelters that often only take animals they can help, said Ed Sayres, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Rich Avanzino, president of Alameda-based Maddie’s Fund, pioneered no-kill in San Francisco in the early ’90s through a pact between the open-admission city shelter and the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“We are just a breath away from doing what is right for the animals,” Avanzino said.

He believes the country can achieve no-kill status by 2015, partly due to corporate giving to animal causes, which totaled about $30 million in 2010 and is expected to reach $70 million by 2015. That money can help with spaying, neutering and outreach, he said.

Public attitudes are also changing, with more people saying it’s unacceptable for pets to languish or die in an animal shelter, Avanzino said.

Avanzino pioneered the no-kill concept in San Francisco. Sayres succeeded him and nurtured it, then went to New York and implemented it there in a much bigger way. The model is the same, but instead of two partner agencies like in San Francisco, New York has 155, Sayres said.

About 44,000 animals enter New York City shelters each year. Since Sayres has been there, the euthanasia rate has dropped from 74 percent to 27 percent.

The ASPCA has also teamed up with 11 communities from Tampa, Fla., to Spokane, Wash., in no-kill efforts, Sayres said.

He believes he will see a no-kill nation, at least for dogs, in his lifetime. Cats may take a little longer because of the large feral population, he said.

The euthanasia issue attracted some attention this week when it was reported that a stray cat being held at a West Valley City, Utah, animal shelter survived two trips to the shelter’s gas chamber. The shelter has stopped trying to kill the cat, named Andrea, and she has been adopted. Shelter officials are investigating why the gassing failed.

Best Friends Animal Society operates the country’s largest no-kill sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. The Kanab, Utah, preserve is home to 1,700 dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses and wildlife undergoing rehabilitation, said Best Friends director Gregory Castle.

More than 800 grass-roots rescue organizations belong to Best Friends’ No More Homeless Pets Network and are working to make their communities no-kill, Castle said. Attendance at an annual conference for network members has grown from 250 in 2001 to 1,300 last year.

The sanctuary’s newest venture is a groundbreaking effort involving what Castle believes is the largest public-private partnership ever forged in the no-kill movement.

Best Friends is going to operate a shelter for the Department of Animal Services in Los Angeles as an adoption and spay and neuter center, he said. All animals will come from six open-admission Los Angeles city shelters.

The coalition’s initial goal is 3,000 adoptions and 6,000 sterilization procedures, Castle said.

Differences in the varying no-kill campaigns are mostly a matter of nuance, Castle said, and how you define sick and aggressive.

Nathan Winograd, director of the Oakland-based No Kill Advocacy Center, believes 95 percent of all animals entering shelters can be adopted or treated. And even though the other 5 percent might be hopelessly injured, ill or vicious, he said they should not all be doomed.

Some, if not most of them, can be cared for in hospice centers or sanctuaries, he said. As for pit bulls and other dogs with aggressive reputations, he said shelters need to do a better job of trying to find them homes.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted Oct. 13-17, 2011, by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,118 pet owners. Results among pet owners have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

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AP Global Director of Polling Trevor Tompson, Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

You will need to find a name that will convey the spirit of the animal but also endure throughout the animal’s life.

Oftentimes pet owners turn to the movies or modern culture to help name their pets. Other times they simply have a name that is dear to them. Certain pets names are more popular than others.

Here is the list of the top 10 names for both dogs and cats, courtesy of PetFinder.

DOGS
1. Buddy
2. Max
3. Daisy
4. Bella
5. Lucy
6. Jack
7. Molly
8. Charlie
9. Sadie
10. Rocky

CATS
1. Lucy
2. Midnight
3. Bella
4. Molly
5. Smokey
6. Tiger
7. Oreo
8. Max
9. Princess
10. Charlie

As admirable as that decision can be, it can also be difficult. Prospective adoptees, be it singles, young married couples or families, must decide which type of pet they want to adopt. For most, the decision boils down to cats or dogs. Both cats and dogs make wonderful pets, but those considering adoption should know what they’re getting into before deciding to adopt Morris or Fido.

The 411 on Felines

Before adopting a cat, it helps to know a thing or two about these often misunderstood yet lovable animals.

Cats are social. Contrary to popular belief, many cats love attention and social interaction. The misconception about cats as loners likely stems from the comparison between cats and dogs. Though cats typically don’t need as much attention from their owners as dogs, cats do require some daily play time with and affection from their owners. A cat is not simply a pet an owner can feed, house and forget about. Cats need and want attention and companionship from their owners.

Cats can live a long time. A cat’s life expectancy is longer than a dog’s. In his book, Caring for Your Dog: The Complete Canine Home Reference, Dr. Bruce Fogle says the median life expectancy for canines is 12.8 years. While a cat’s life expectancy varies depending on the breed, veterinarians routinely advise prospective cat owners that indoor cat owners will likely live 15 years and could very well live longer than that. Adoption candidates should recognize that adopting a cat is a 15-year commitment.

Declawing is painful. Prospective cat owners might be unaware that declawing, which involves removing the first knuckle of each toe, is extremely painful to cats. Many products, including scratching posts, are effective at keeping cats from clawing away at the furniture.

Families with very young children should avoid kittens. Parents of children three years of age or younger should adopt older cats and steer clear of kittens.

The 411 on Man’s Best Friend

Decided on a dog instead of a cat? Consider the following before visiting the local shelter.

All dogs go to heaven, but all dogs are different, too. Dogs differ greatly depending on the breed. Before choosing a specific type of dog, read up on the various breeds, including their behavioral patterns, and choose one you’re most compatible with.

Purebreds are available at the local shelter. Many people mistakenly assume the local shelter specializes only in mutts. However, according to the Humane Society of the United States, 25 percent of dogs in shelters are purebred. There are also nonprofit organizations that rescue particular breeds, be it English Bulldogs or Greyhounds, from unfortunate living situations and offer their rescues for adoption for a nominal fee.

Dogs need attention and affection. While cats need attention and affection, dogs often need much more. A dog that does not receive enough attention and/or affection from its owner will suffer both physically and emotionally. Don’t adopt a dog if you don’t have the time or desire to spend time with the animal and cannot provide it a loving home.

Not all dogs can adapt to their environments. An owner must not only be compatible with his dog, but that owner’s living situation also has to be compatible. Active dogs often struggle to live in confined spaces, such as apartments or small homes without a yard or nearby dog park to play in. Research breeds that are likely to thrive in your home, whether that home is a studio apartment or a mansion.

As rewarding as adopting a pet can be, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach pet adoption. Before signing any papers, consider the following do’s and don’ts of pet adoption.

DO

Know why you’re adopting a pet.

The ASPCA recommends that prospective pet parents ask themselves why they want to adopt a pet before beginning the process. Men and women have all sorts of reasons for adopting a pet, be it companionship, a gift for the kids or to fill the void left by a recently deceased pet. Before beginning the process, prospective parents should determine their reason for adoption. If the reason is viable, continue with the process.

Honestly assess your lifestyle.

Just because you love animals does not mean your lifestyle is suited to having a pet. Today’s men and women are arguably busier than ever before, something that can be detrimental to pets, who still need lots of affection and attention regardless of how busy their owners are. An honest lifestyle assessment should give people an idea if their lifestyle is conducive to pet ownership.

Choose the right pet.

Choosing the right pet involves more than finding the friendliest puppy or the cutest kitten. While compatibility is important, it’s often additional factors that determine if a pet and pet owner are a good match. These factors include space restrictions in the home, amount of time spent in the home and the presence of others, be it children or roommates. For example, a big dog like a St. Bernard is likely not an ideal fit for a man or woman who lives in a studio apartment, nor is a pet who requires lots of attention good for a person who is rarely home. Individuals who don’t spend much time at home might be better off with a cat who prefers solitude, while those who live in small apartments might be best suited to a small dog or cat. Choosing the right pet involves careful consideration of these external factors.

Pet adoption candidates should expect and be willing to train their animal should they be approved for adoption by the local shelter.

Be willing to train the pet if need be.

The ASPCA notes that lack of training is one of the most common reasons men and women cite when returning an animal to a shelter. Pet adoption candidates should be willing to train the animal, as effective training opens the channels of communication and results in a longer, healthier relationship.

DON’T

Adopt on a whim.

Adopting a pet without carefully considering all the pros and cons is a great way to find yourself returning the pet to a shelter. Shelter animals are often most victimized by adopting on a whim, as the cost of adoption greatly pales in comparison to purchasing an animal from a breeder. Because those adoption fees are so low, it’s not uncommon for men and women to write off the fee as a loss and return the dog to the shelter. This is cruel to the animal and can be easily avoided if people who want to adopt do so after carefully considering everything that goes into being a pet owner, as opposed to adopting a pet after a weekend visit to the local shelter.

Adopt if finances aren’t great.

Pets make great companions, but they can also be expensive. Men and women considering adoption must make an honest assessment of their finances to determine if they can truly afford having a pet. The cost of pet ownership extends well beyond the initial adoption fee, as pets need food, shelter and sometimes medication just like their human counterparts. Prospective adopters can visit the ASPCA “Pet Care Costs” chart at www.aspca.org/adoption/pet-care-costs.aspx to get a better idea of just how much caring for a pet will cost.

Consider pet adoption a minor commitment.

Pet adoption requires a significant commitment that will no doubt alter a person’s lifestyle considerably. Men and women who enter the adoption process with a carefree attitude are likely to be among the many people who unfortunately return their animals to shelters every year. If you’re not willing to make that lifestyle change or commit fully to the animal, don’t adopt.

For more adoption tips or information about adoption, visit the ASPCA at www.aspca.org

Probably not. But on Tuesday, the black-and-tan coonhound from Boulder, Colo., gets the 2012 Guinness World Records title for “longest ears on a living dog.”

In this photo taken Oct. 10,2010 showing Harbor, an 8 year old coonhound from Bolder Co. displays his winning ears after winning a Guinness World Record titlefor 2012 for the Dog With The Longest Ears in Bachelor Gulch, Co. (AP Photo/Ryan Schude/Guinness World Records)

His left ear is 12.25 inches long and his right is 13.5 inches long.

Owner Jennifer Wert says when her 8-year-old was a puppy, he would trip on his ears and roll down stairs.

These days, Wert says people often stop them to ask questions, take photos or tug on his ears.

Tigger, a bloodhound from Illinois who died in 2009, still holds the record for longest ears ever. One was 13.5 inches long, the other 13.75 inches long.

Coonhounds use their ears to help with scent.

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Online: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

But Naki’o is not just any other excitable puppy. The 8-week-old red heeler mix has four custom-made prosthetic legs that help him walk, run and chase balls. He is touted as the world’s first dog with four prosthetic legs and was featured recently on “ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer.”

Associated Press - Aspen Grove veterinary technician Christie Pace, 25, and her dog, Naki'o, pose in Loveland, Colo. in this undated photo.

At 5 weeks old, Naki’o and his litter were found in an abandoned home in Nebraska. His mother was dead and Naki’o was frozen to a puddle. While he was rescued by a shelter, Naki’o’s two back paws, front toes and part of his nose and tail were amputated due to frost bite.

Christie Pace, 25, of Loveland, a veterinary technician at Aspen Grove, was looking for a new puppy last February when she came across Naki’o online when he was only 8 weeks old and four pounds. His story touched Pace, who decided to adopt the injured pup.

“I fell in love with him,” said Pace, who fostered Naki’o before officially adopting him. His name stands for “puddles” in Hawaiian since he was found frozen in a puddle, said Pace, who is originally from Hawaii.

While Naki’o is able to walk around all right on his amputated legs, as he grew, it became clear he would need some assistance.

As a result, Pace held a fundraiser at the vet clinic to get Naki’o one hind prosthetic leg, which was $1,000.

The outpouring of support was amazing, she said. With the money, she was able to have the leg made at OrthoPets in Denver. The leg is molded from plastic and can be attached via straps to Naki’o’s legs. With the success of the first leg, OrthoPets made an exception for Naki’o’s special case and made him three more prosthetic limbs.

At first, it was a bit awkward for him and Naki’o did not like to have his legs touched, but Pace said he took to them quickly and it has made a big difference in how he moves and plays.

“It’s amazing. The difference is remarkable,” she said. “Usually, I had a stroller or I would carry him a lot.”

All the attention doesn’t faze Naki’o, who happily chases other dogs through the clinic’s yard. Pace said, aside from the injury, he is like any other dog who loves to chew on a good slipper.

“He is a normal dog who just needs a little more special attention,” she said. “He loves life, and he loves to play with other dogs.”

“When I give Lacey a bath she knows she’s going somewhere special,” said the corgi’s owner, Dorothy Sayers.

Both Buhl women are among the dog owners and breeders who spend their summers on the road, competing in a dog show circuit that takes them across the Western U.S. Months of breeding and training lead to the annual season of weeks-long road trips.

The RV is the summer home of Magic Valley’s most devoted dog show families.

“You don’t figure gas mileage because if you do you leave it at home,” Sayers said. “It’s kind of a costly hobby.”

Associated Press - Dorothy Sayers shows a Pembroke Welsh corgi June 15 at the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds in Twin Falls, Idaho. Sayers, a breeder and owner, goes to at least 20 dog shows a year.

For Sayers and Stotz, the Snake River Canyon Kennel Club Dog Show in June in Filer kicked off the Idaho-Montana competition circuit.

In a room filled with more than 40 dogs, the lack of barking seemed strange. But then again, these dogs were competing for coveted titles like Champion and Best in Show. The dogs looked nearly as serious as the owners, breeders or handlers who were showing them.

Sayers is all of those things to the Pembroke Welsh corgis she showed June 15. And something else, too.

“They are family,” Sayers said. She travels and shows them because, she said, they enjoy it. “It’s fun for the dogs.”

Some of the dogs at the Snake River club show pranced around the show rings beside professional handlers, who transport and show more than 20 dogs at a time, Sayers said. Because shows take place all over the U.S., some dog owners and breeders choose to send their dogs with hired professionals.

That’s not a cheap enterprise, but neither is a summer of traveling.

Sayers, who has shown dogs for about 21 years, goes to at least 20 shows a year. She has taken her corgis to compete in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska — and she’s not alone. More than 650 visitors come to Magic Valley for the Filer show every year, said Stotz, the show chairwoman.

Sayers’ Lacey received her first points in the June 15 show and was headed to Blackfoot to compete again the next day, with two other corgis that Sayers is showing this season.

Most of the dogs competing at the Filer show would go on to Blackfoot and then to Billings, Great Falls and Missoula, Mont.

Owners and dogs that did not do well in the preliminary rounds left Filer early in the day to get to Blackfoot the night before that competition began. In RV parking lots, dog owners park beside other members of their home club and swap show tales.

But competition — not camaraderie — is Stotz’ motivation for showing her Lakeland terriers.

“It’s a matter of pride,” Stotz said. It’s a chance to compete with, and often beat, professionals.

Like Stotz, Sayers breeds her own dogs. “Usually out of one litter you only get one show dog, and I sell the rest as pets,” Sayers said.

From the last litter of Sayers’ dogs, four competed in Filer this month for various owners — a reason for Sayers to be excited.

This summertime life on the road is well known to Bernice Richardson, 83, of Twin Falls, who showed and bred dogs for 63 years. She no longer travels due to a recent stroke, but when she was active with the Snake River Canyon Kennel Club she traveled as far as Texas, Massachusetts and Connecticut as a judge and dog owner. For Richardson, dog shows were a career.

“I started with collies and then got a poodle and learned to groom it,” Richardson said. “I started a grooming business in 1958 and have been self-employed ever since.”

The folks involved in dog shows usually start with a pet or a hobby but eventually become experts in their breeds, Richardson said.

“I got my first Lakeland as a pet,” Stotz said. Now she talks with ease about grooming techniques and the Lakeland standards for ear position and facial expression.

And she’ll do it all summer long.

Cats ingest a lot of hair because their tongues have tiny tentacles (papillae) that act like brushes when they clean, explained Dr. Karen Halligan, author, TV consultant and director of veterinary services for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles.

When hair builds up in a cat’s stomach, it turns into balls or wads, causing the cat to vomit. Once a week is normal and nothing to worry about, “but more than once a week is too much,” Halligan said.

A number of over-the-counter dietary supplements such as Petromalt can be given to cats to help prevent hairballs, but Halligan uses a simple home remedy. She puts a dab of petroleum jelly on her fingertip and lets her cats, Kinky and Nathan, lick it off.

Associated Press - Lynea Lattanzio pets some of the cats June 21 at The Cat House on the Kings sanctuary in Parlier, Calif.

Lynea Lattanzio has a lot of experience with hairballs as founder of a sanctuary where 1,000 cats live called Cat House on the Kings, located on the Kings River in Parlier, Calif. “I give people a lot of advice on hairballs,” she said. “You can put mineral oil on their food to help them slide it out, or Vaseline on their shoulder so they can lick it.”

Just “don’t put it on their paws,” she added. “They shake and it gets all over the walls. Put it where they can’t shake it off.”

Halligan and Lattanzio agree brushing is probably the best remedy.

“I brush mine every day. It pulls out all the dead hair so they don’t ingest it when they groom,” Halligan said.

If your cat doesn’t like being brushed, you might be pressing too hard or using the wrong type of brush, she said.

At Cat House on the Kings, the 20-plus employees — including one who does nothing but change litter boxes all day long — don’t have time to brush all the cats, and the feral cats wouldn’t allow it anyway. But this is the time of year when cats are shedding their coats and getting ready for summer, so workers brush as many cats as they can each week, Lattanzio said.

“Their hair goes poof, it seems to come off of them in clouds. If you don’t remove it by brushing, then they will remove it by grooming and then they will eat it and they will get hairballs,” Lattanzio said.

Lattanzio says older cats get brushed first because “they are less likely to groom and more likely to suffer the adverse effects.”

She also gives some of the long-haired cats what’s called a Himalayan cut, leaving hair only on their heads, feet and tails.

But Halligan advised caution in close cuts for light-skinned cats as they can get cancer from exposure to the sun, even if they live indoors and lie in front of a window.

If a cat is vomiting and there is no hair in it, hairballs probably aren’t the problem.

“The most common is kidney disease, then pancreatitis and then food allergies,” Halligan said. Even flea sensitivity can cause a cat to vomit — and go bald.

Some owners swear by grain-free food as a way to reduce tummy troubles, or by adding bran or fiber, pumpkin, prunes, psyllium hulls or slippery elm to the cat’s diet. But Halligan advises consulting with a vet before making dietary changes.
She’s added pumpkin to cat food to remedy constipation, but she noted that cats are carnivores, programmed to eat animal protein, and may have trouble processing carbohydrates.

On the other hand, she said, a diet of nothing but grain-free food is not necessarily good either. “Grain-free is low in carbohydrates and high in protein,” she explained. “Some of the cheaper foods use corn or other vegetables as the protein source, which is not good for cats. The grain-frees have done well because they have lower carbohydrates and essentially are a high-protein diet. But we are not sure how that’s going to affect the kidneys long-term because it’s a lot of protein. It might be too much. You can feed some grain-free but that shouldn’t be their main diet.”

Halligan’s cats eat only canned food. She recommends pet owners feed their pets at least 50 percent canned food — and believes 75 percent would be better. “The only benefit of dry is that it’s cheaper,” she said, adding: “My cat Nathan, if I give him regular dry cat food, he vomits like crazy. Once I switched over to canned, no vomiting.”

Excessive vomiting may require blood tests or X-rays to reveal the problem. Cats will eat catnip mice, needles and thread, buttons, earrings, erasers, tin foil balls, and almost any other small thing they can bat around, Halligan said.

“They will play with it, then swallow it. My cat has a fetish for rubber bands. Those things keep vets in business.”

Hairballs can also get stuck in a cat’s intestines. A cat that stops eating for 24 or 48 hours and repeatedly vomits is at risk for dehydration and liver failure. In as little as three days, jaundice can set in, with telltale symptoms of yellowing of the gums, ears and whites of the eyes. Fast treatment by a vet is essential.

“If you get them to us on time, we can probably save them,” she said.

Doctors and the medical staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington worked to heal most of those wounds.

But 10 months after Endicott, 20, of Columbus, was hit and ultimately evacuated from Afghanistan, the emotional scars remain.
Endicott, like many coming back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, lives now with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Previously outgoing and carefree, the Purple Heart recipient now says he’s constantly “stressed out” and always alert. Once an avid runner and swimmer, he now can do neither because of his injuries. “I don’t feel safe, ever,” he said.

For the first few months of his recovery, Endicott was assigned what the military calls a “non-medical assistant” — in this case, his brother-in-law, Jack Brock, who stayed with him as he navigated the recovery process. But in late May, Brock had to go home.

Endicott was alone.

Associated Press - Dog breeder Jennifer Stotts holds a newborn Labrador retriever June 13 at her home/business in Dresden, Ohio. The puppy will join the rest of its litter in the "Puppies Behind Bars" program which will train the puppies to be used as guide dogs for soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But he has an idea of what might help him. He’d seen dogs aiding other injured veterans and had read about dogs helping victims of PTSD. Alone in Washington, he believes a companion dog might be what he needs.

“I have nothing,” Endicott said. “A companion dog would be perfect for me.”

While a number of initiatives use dogs to help service members, there is no current process to provide a dog to an individual soldier with PTSD, said Lt. Cmdr. Kathleen Watkins, deputy director for family programs in the behavioral-health division of the Office of the Surgeon General for the Army. The Army is developing a policy regarding service animals and also is involved in an overarching Defense Department policy on the use of dogs, she said. “In the course of treatment, health care providers may on occasion facilitate contact between a service-dog non-governmental organization and a soldier in need of a dog.”

Among those organizations is Puppies Behind Bars, which began in 1997 as an organization that uses prisoners to train service dogs. In 2006, the organization began training dogs for service members. So far, they’ve trained 34 dogs for veterans.

The organization also has trained guide dogs and dogs that sniff out explosives.

Founder Gloria Gilbert Stoga said the organization’s dogs are trained in 90 commands, including turning lights off and on, opening and closing a refrigerator and retrieving a bottle of water. But the organization made up five commands specifically for veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injury to help them in public.

“They’re petrified to leave their homes,” she said of the veterans. “They’re scared there’s a sniper in the mall; they’re scared that bag on the sidewalk is an IED; they’re scared to drive because the car that comes up behind them could be an insurgent.

“Our dogs work to mitigate the fear of soldiers in public.”

One command is called “got my back.” If someone comes up behind a veteran in a public place, the dog is trained to sit behind the veteran. “They trust the dog,” she said. “If the dog behind them is calm, then the person is a normal person.”

Another command, called “clear,” helps veterans afraid to go into a dark room do so. The dog is trained to go through the door, turn on the lights, circle the room and come back to signal that the room is clear.

The organization works with prisoners in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but it has paired veterans with dogs in 29 states.

One of their breeders is Jennifer Stotts of Frazeysburg, in Muskingum County. Stotts has bred more than 75 Labrador retrievers for Puppies Behind Bars, including dogs for veterans with PTSD. She has been working with the organization for almost seven years.

Stotts has trained dogs for all sorts of dog shows, including the prestigious Westminster Dog Show. But one of her proudest moments was watching one of her dogs featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The segment tracked one of her puppies from its prison training to a veteran, and the soldier’s wife was interviewed.

Winfrey asked the wife what having the dog has meant to her. “It’s given my kids back their dad,” the woman replied.

“This is far more rewarding than any ribbon I could win at a dog show,” Stotts said.

Endicott said he thinks a dog would ease some of the persistent anxiety he feels and give him an emotional focus to alleviate the stress that is now a steady part of his life.

There’s evidence he’s right.

The U.S. Veterans Administration, and to some degree the military, has pioneered the use of dogs for psychiatric assistance, according to Ken Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He said prescribed therapy dogs have been a relatively recent development for patients with PTSD. According to a 2008 study by the RAND Corp., one in five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from PTSD or major depression.

Duckworth said it makes sense that animals are increasingly being used for mental-health purposes.

“Animals often become a very important part of the emotional world in what is often a positive way,” he said. “People just find the affection and uncomplicated transactions are very positive for them.”

According to Watkins, the first documented example of an animal-facilitated therapy program occurred in 1942 at Pawling Air Force Convalescent Center in New York. Dogs, Watkins said, “were encouraged as part of the treatment milieu.”

In the 1960s, Boris Levinson, a Ph.D. psychologist, used his dog as a co-therapist during individual counseling sessions. His findings were published. And in the 1970s, Drs. Sam and Elizabeth Corson initiated an animal visitation program in hospital psychiatric wards and in geriatric facilities, publishing their findings as well.

Around 2005, Walter Reed began using therapy dogs in clinics. Before that, the medical center used visiting pet therapy dogs.

The dogs in the clinics “are not specifically for use with patients who have psychiatric diagnosis or injuries, but are there to benefit all patients and families,” Watkins said.

She just doesn’t realize she’s volunteering.

When you’re a sheepdog who loves people, a visit to the hospital, where everyone wants to pet you, or at least coo over you, is one of the best days of the month.

“She thinks it’s all about her,” said Penny Wilson, who owns Molly. “The best part about Molly is she doesn’t have to do anything. She just has to be Molly.”

Associated Press - John Dazley of La Salle gets a visit in his hospital room from Molly, a certified hospital therapy dog, on June 7 in Greeley, Colo.

Being Molly means giving anyone a kiss, accepting pets from patients and running right to the nurses because you know exactly where the treats are stored.

It also means staying certified through Therapy Dogs Incorporated, but the Wilsons — which includes longtime Central cross country coach Woody— write that $35 annual check, not her.

Molly started at NCMC six years ago after a friend gave them the idea to go through the program. The Wilsons liked the idea right away. Penny took Molly around the Life Care Center as a puppy while her father, Bill Lawson, was a resident there, so she knew Molly was a natural. Molly is one of seven dogs that roam the hallways as therapy for patients.

Molly needed some additional training and a final evaluation to ensure she wasn’t aggressive and could be around anyone. Then again, that just meant being Molly.

“Molly has a little gift,” Penny said on her rounds, which usually occur once or twice a month. “She makes people smile.”

That’s actually a harder job than it sounds. Molly has the luxury of being Molly, so she doesn’t worry about patients who don’t want to see her, or dealing with the emotional thorns of seeing patients in pain (both kids and adults). That’s Penny’s job.

Molly did have her struggles, too. She was frightened of elevators, and when she started, she wore a cast after she was hit by a car. But the cast may have “humanized” Molly, Penny said, as she was a patient, too, not just a dog.

Still, the volunteering is rewarding, Penny said. Sometimes people stop her as she’s heading up to, say, oncology, and ask her to visit a patient, such as a mother who loves dogs. Penny can’t resist. And neither can Molly.

Molly, in fact, dragged Penny down the hallway at the start of her last visit. Volunteering is one of the best parts about being a friendly sheepdog.

“I know, it’s so exciting,” Penny said as Molly tugged on her leash.