Those incredibly 'unreliable' DOGS............again!

Exhausted dog comforts exhausted handler. I think he can be relied upon, McCann. If you know the meaning of the word.

It's a great fascination for me to witness how a homeless dog so willingly attaches itself to a homeless person.  The sort of person most folk would cross over the other side of the street to avoid passing, maybe for their own safety, or maybe they think they will catch some horrible disease if in close proximity of a filthy dirty tramp (yes I can use that word - just look at it's origin) or poor deranged soul ravaged by the effects of extreme poverty and loneliness.  Man's best friend however doesn't judge by appearance or intellect, it's not about begging for scraps - it knows instinctively when if finds love, care, friendship even if that person cannot provide home comfort and good food.  A sort of mutual unspoken understanding.



This is a random article plucked from google, not desired to accentuate statistics or location (although as a point, Professor Gerald McCann couldn't find a case to present his argument closer to home than the USA   ).  An interesting perspective in my view and quite heartwarming - at least if you're a dog lover..

Why do homeless Veterans even have a pet?

How often have you heard people say “Those homeless people can’t be too bad off, they have a dog”. Or “She’s just got that dog so you feel sorry for her and give her money”. Or “If they can’t take care of themselves, they don’t deserve to have pets”. The cynic in all of us might wonder why it’s such a common occurrence for homeless people to own pets.

Pets of the Homeless reports that approximately “3.5 million Americans are homeless {and} five to ten percent of homeless people have dogs and/or cats”. Simple math equates to around 280,000 pets who are living with people insufficiently housed.

That’s a lot of four-footed friends potentially on the street. We’ll touch on just four of the reasons why someone might have a pet companion while homeless, then check out a great program coming to Central Oregon to help to with some of the challenges. For the sake of clarity, we’ll use the terminology “dogs” but rest assured, there are cats filling the void as well. Let’s look at some of the reasons, and some of the ways you can participate in making a difference in the lives of these pets and their owners.

1. Pets are non-judgmental companionship

In a world where everyday people can be pretty judgmental (see paragraph one), dogs provided unconditional love and companionship. For those on the fringes of society, having a friend who loves them consistently – feast or famine, success or failure – can be the key to staying hopeful in hard times. According to a study on the redemptive properties of having pets, “the perceived unconditional love from animals rewards the caregiving with a sense of mattering, or “the perception that, to some degree and in any of a variety of ways, we are a significant part of the world around us”.[2] One only has to see the look of adoration in the eyes of a dog, to know you matter: homeless or otherwise.

2. Pets are protection

The streets can be a dangerous place. Whether in a large city or a small town, assault on the homeless happens and is increasing. This account is from late March, 2019 in the Pacific Northwest:

A 42-year-old man was standing over a few folks sleeping and kicked the victim.

He then picked up an ax and hit the sleeping man over the head with the ax’s 30-inch handle.

The victim threw up one of his arms to protect himself from the blow.

… No motive for the attack was given.

Having a dog can provide at least a sense of security. Whether the dog is guarding the person or their possessions, those with ill-intent are less likely to commit criminal acts upon that homeless person. And while it’s easy to think that crimes like these don’t happen in Central Oregon, they can and do. For our homeless clients, it’s often better to be safe than sorry.

3. Pets provide purpose and accountability

When every day seems to be an uphill battle, each morning can lack incentive to keep going. Having someone that depends upon you for their survival; someone who looks at you to say “What’s next, partner” can be the motivation to continue on. In addition, for those who have little opportunity to establish personal significance, showing a commitment to caring for a pet while homeless can provide a sense of self-worth. One of the women interview on Homeless Hub, stated about her pet “She’s the reason why I keep going, because I made a commitment to take care of her when I adopted her. So she needs me, and I need her. She is the only source of daily, steady affection and companionship that I have”.

Some of our homeless clients – especially our homeless Vets – suffer from depression and/or PTSD. In the overall population “Veterans have an elevated risk, with a suicide rate of 35 per 100,000, compared to 26 per 100,000 for civilian adults.”  Furthermore, “A study … found that the suicide rate among Veterans with homelessness in the past year was 81.0 per 100,000 as compared to Veterans without recent history of homelessness with a rate of 35.8 suicides per 100,000.

Having an animal that depends on you for survival can be the reason that a person continues to hang on, or as they say on the website MyDogEatsFirst, “Everyone deserves someone that makes them look forward to tomorrow.” In addition, “Dog ownership appears to reduce the likelihood of a homeless person committing a crime[8] again potentially because imprisonment necessitates loss of the animal.”

4. The situation is often “only temporary”

Many people fluctuate from being housed to being homeless on a cyclical basis. They get settled into a situation which ends up changing, causing them to be homeless again. At what point would you ditch *your* family member? If you think the situation is just temporary, you’re going to keep your furry friend with you, even if that means living on the street. Central Oregon especially struggles with cyclical housing issues, as more and more rentals are becoming unaffordable and renters are being forced out.

https://covo-us.org/blog/4-reasons-homeless-people-might-have-pets/

Bless them all !!!

My neighbour's dog is hilarious. He collects things when they're on their walks. Tennis balls, socks, plastic bottles, chocolate wrappers, and if interesting things are scarce, stones and twigs. He arranges them nicely by the back door,new things on top of the heap, and his owner manages to remove some of the older, less fragrant objects, when she can.

CaKeLoveR wrote:My neighbour's dog is hilarious. He collects things when they're on their walks. Tennis balls, socks, plastic bottles, chocolate wrappers, and if interesting things are scarce, stones and twigs. He arranges them nicely by the back door,new things on top of the heap, and his owner manages to remove some of the older, less fragrant objects, when she can.

When I lived in Crete, my Greek neighbour's dog adopted me. This was a puppy who followed me everywhere and grew very quickly into the largest Dobermann I've ever seen and scared the pants off me. She liked to steal shoes and would only nick one shoe out of each pair left outside the front door. She was a pain in the arse, boffed her way into my house and I loved her. She never stole my shoes. She stole everyone elses. She would turn up and demand an audience, smack the windows and the very expensive mosquito screens just so I'd have to respond. This huge dog (and she was huge) would bully her way into my house and once she knew I was in charge of my house, and I had to tell her without doubt that I was in charge (whilst shaking) she sat like a baby on the rug in front of the fire. Dobermann dogs are not devil dogs.



I used to bathe her because her owners used her as a breeding dog. I paid her vet fees because I couldn't bear the cruelty.

Not many countries have anything like the RSPCA. There are some wonderful people who help animals, managing on donations only, and how they cope with the cruelty they encounter, I don't know. It would make me murderous. Victor Larkhill is such a person, his videos are heartbreaking. I wonder what the Doberman's life was like after you left Crete?

I worked with people with dementia/Alzheimer's for 13 years , the first ward I was on was old fashioned and not really suitable , we had a great team though and regularly had visits from the Pets as Therapy dogs which made a huge difference to our patients , we also welcomed family dogs as many of them had owned dogs before diagnosis . Sadly when we were moved to a new location and amalgamated with another ward this was all stopped . A new manager ignored our requests to reinstate the visits as she was afraid of / didn't like dogs ! ( She could have stayed in her office !) I retired 3 years ago but along with other staff never stopped campaigning up to my retirement . Having the dogs around brought joy and peace to many of our ladies and gentlemen . Animals don't judge they offer unconditional love . 
My daughter's Siberian husky is a gentle soul who has adopted a lady they often see waiting for the bus on their morning walk , he insists on waiting with her until the bus arrives ! I prefer dogs to most people although I own ( sorry am owned by ) 2 cats as I no longer walk well . 
People are the " unreliable " ones Gerry not dogs .

Dog Rescues Owner From Seizures Every Day

By
Cristina Hodgson
15 November 2019 @ 07:29


Dog Rescues Owner From Seizures Every Day Credit: Shutterstock


A TWO-YEAR-OLD Labrador named Freddie helps rescue his owner every single day, despite the fact he’s not a trained service dog.
Lucy Brown was diagnosed earlier this year with non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD), a condition causing the brain to randomly blackout and the sufferer to lose control of their limbs.
The 20-year-old can suffer up to 100 seizures a day, and as a result of her diagnosis Lucy had to give up her job and leave the house she had been sharing with her boyfriend to move back in with her parents, so they could take care of her whenever she experienced a seizure.

However when her parents are at work, the former care worker relies on her faithful dog, Freddie, to keep an eye on her.
The two-year-old Labrador Freddie acts as her safety net – despite not being a trained seizure dog. He licks and paws at her until she comes back around.
Many epilepsy patients have ‘seizure dogs’, which have been trained to respond to a seizure.
They can be trained to do a variety of tasks, including barking to alert carers when a seizure occurs and lying next to sufferers to prevent injury. 
Some dogs are taught to put their body between the seizing individual and the floor to break their fall, while others learn to activate an alarm.
Freddie without any training instinctively goes to protect his human.
The 20-year-old, from Warrington, Cheshire, described how the pup comes to her aid, according to the Daily Mail Lucy said:
“I can’t remember the first time he helped. But, from what I’ve been told, he just ran straight over to me, starting licking my face and cuddled his body into me.
He’s the main reason I moved back home. He will help me when I’m on my own. He’s my dog – I got him as a puppy. He’s always by my side and will just lie with me.
He does what seizure dogs do – he licks me and paws me to bring me round but has never had any training.”
Lucy had suffered mild seizures in her mid-teens, and although they disappeared as she got older they returned at the beginning of this year, becoming more severe and frequent.
Tests diagnosed Lucy with NEAD. The attacks look like epileptic seizures, but they are not caused by electrical activity in the brain.
Following her diagnosis, Lucy experienced depression and drifted apart from many of her closest friends. She described her life as ‘very lonely’, admitting she doesn’t do much and can’t even have a bath alone because of the frequency of her seizures. In February, when the attacks were most sever, Lucy was suffering some 100 seizures a day. According to the Mail, the attacks are now about ten a day.
Lucy reports she lives in constant fear of an attack striking, though she is holding out hope the seizures may vanish like they did in her teens.
“I might have to live with [NEAD] for the rest of my life. But it could also stop tomorrow.” She was stated to say.
A dog is a man’s best friend, in Lucy’s case, Freddie is that and much more.

Marine dog is honored for combat valor, along with posthumous awards for three other dogs, two pigeons and a horse

Bass, a MARSOC working dog, stands with his Medal of Bravery on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., Nov. 14, 2019
STEVE BEYNON/STARS AND STRIPES

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/marine-dog-is-honored-for-combat-valor-along-with-posthumous-awards-for-three-other-dogs-two-pigeons-and-a-horse-1.607487

The cadaver and blood dogs who worked in apartment 5a never changed their statements of alerts unlike the McCann's who changed their statements numerous times . Bravo to those dogs and to all working dogs worldwide .

I love how military and police dogs have uniforms and ranks!

Sit, heal: Dog teaches military medical students the merits of service animals


Brelahn Wyatt, a second-year medical student, hugs Shetland, a half-golden retriever, half-Labrador retriever who also happens to be a lieutenant commander in the Navy and a clinical instructor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

The newest faculty member at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences has a great smile — and a wagging tail.
Shetland, not quite 2 years old, is half golden retriever, half Labrador retriever. As of this fall, he is also a lieutenant commander in the Navy and a clinical instructor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at USUHS.
Among Shetland’s skills are “hugging” on command, picking up a fallen object as small as a cellphone and carrying around a small basket filled with candy for harried medical and graduate students who study at the military’s medical school campus in Bethesda, Md.
But Shetland’s job is to provide much more than smiles and a head to pat.
“He is here to teach, not just to lift people’s spirits and provide a little stress relief after exams,” said USUHS Dean Arthur Kellermann. He said students interacting with Shetland are learning “the value of animal-assisted therapy.”
The use of dogs trained to help their human partners has ballooned since studies in the 1980s and 1990s started to show how animals can benefit human health.
But helper dogs come in many varieties. Service dogs, like guide dogs for the blind, help people with disabilities live more independently. Therapy dogs can be household pets who visit people in hospitals, schools and nursing homes. And then there are highly trained working dogs, like the Belgian Malinois that recently helped run down Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Shetland is technically a “military facility dog,” trained to provide physical and mental assistance to patients as well as interact with a wide variety of people. His military commission does not entitle him to salutes from his human counterparts.
“The ranks are a way of honoring the services [of the dogs] as well as strengthening the bond between the staff, patients and dogs here,” said Mary Constantino, deputy public affairs officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

USUHS, which trains doctors, dentists, nurses and other health professionals for the military, is on the same campus in suburban Washington, D.C., as Walter Reed. Two of the seven Walter Reed facility dogs — Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sully (the former service dog for President George H.W. Bush) and Marine Sgt. Dillon — attended Shetland’s formal commissioning ceremony in September as guests.
The Walter Reed dogs, on campus since 2007, earn commissions in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. They wear special vests designating their service and rank. The dogs visit and interact with patients in several medical units, as well as in physical and occupational therapy, and help boost morale for patients’ family members.
But Shetland’s role is very different, said retired Col. Lisa Moores, USUHS associate dean for assessment and professional development.
“Our students are going to work with therapy dogs in their careers, and they need to understand what [the dogs] can do and what they can’t do,” she said.
As in civilian life, the military has made significant use of animal-assisted therapy. “When you walk through pretty much any military treatment facility, you see therapy dogs walking around in clinics, in the hospitals, even in the ICUs,” said Moores. Dogs also play a key role in helping returning service members with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Students need to learn who “the right patient is for a dog, or some other therapy animal,” she said. “And by having Shetland here, we can incorporate that into the curriculum so it’s another tool the students know they have for their patients someday.”
The students, not surprisingly, are thrilled by their newest teacher.
Brelahn Wyatt, a second-year medical student, said the Walter Reed dogs used to visit the school’s 1,500 students and faculty fairly regularly, but “having Shetland here all the time is optimal.” And not just because of the hugs and candy.
Wyatt said the only thing she knew about service dogs before “is that you’re not supposed to pet them.” But Shetland acts as both a service dog and a therapy dog, so he can be petted.
That helps medical students see “there’s a difference. What does that difference look like in the health care setting?” said Wyatt.
Like his colleagues Sully and Dillon, Shetland was bred and trained by America’s VetDogs. The New York nonprofit provides dogs for “stress control” for active-duty military missions overseas, as well as service dogs for disabled veterans and civilian first responders. Many of the puppies are raised by a combination of prison inmates (during the week) and families (on the weekends), before returning to New York for formal service dog training. National Hockey League teams such as the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders also raise puppies for the organization.
Dogs can be particularly helpful in treating service members, said Valerie Cramer, manager of America’s VetDogs service dog program. “The military is thinking about resiliency. They’re thinking about well-being, about decompression in the combat zone.” Often people in pain won’t talk to another person but will open up in front of a dog. “It’s an opportunity to start a conversation as a behavioral health specialist,” she said.
While service dogs for individuals are trained to perform both physical tasks like picking up dropped items and emotional ones like waking a veteran having a nightmare, facility dogs like Shetland are special, Cramer said. “That dog has to work in all different environments with people who are under pressure. It can work for multiple handlers, it can go and visit people, can go visit hospital patients, can knock over bowling pins to entertain or spend time in bed with a child.”
The military rank for the dogs is no joke. They can be promoted ― as Dillon was from Army specialist to sergeant in 2018 ― or demoted for bad behavior.
Said Kellermann, “So far, Shetland has a perfect conduct record.”

Meet Bear, the dog trained to save injured koalas from wildfires in Australia


Bear is the only dog that can smell koala fur from a distance

Video also on this link: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/australia-bushfires-sydney-bear-dog-save-koalas-a9208941.html

So that is
Cancers (various, including kidney, bladder, melanoma and lung)
Epilepsy (incipient attack)
Seeing aid, (blind dogs)
Personal care (home help fetching and carrying for people with other disabilities)
Detecting
   Guns
   Drugs
   Money
   Missing people
   Explosives
   Human Blood
   Human Cadaverine
   Injured Koalas
and much more

EXCEPT blood and cadaverine emitted by one small deceased girl in one faraway country 12 long years ago. Obviously !

High-tech ‘hoodie’ helps protect military working dogs’ hearing, early tests show


The Canine Auditory Protection System, resembling a close-fitting hoodie, is made of lightweight acoustic absorption material and fits snugly over the dog's ears.
ZETEO TECH/U.S. ARMY

22 November 2019

A high-tech “hoodie” is being developed to protect the hearing of military working dogs who, like their human counterparts, are often exposed to loud noises in their job, the Army said this week.

Tests during helicopter operations of the Canine Auditory Protection System, which the Army is developing with biodefense and medical device company Zeteo Tech, “found a significant reduction in short-term hearing loss” in military canines, the Army said.

“Even a short helicopter flight can affect a dog’s hearing, resulting in impaired performance and inability to hear the handler’s commands, which can hinder the mission,” said Army Research Office scientist Stephen Lee in a statement.

A little more than an inch thick, the system is made of lightweight acoustic absorption materials that block unwanted sounds. The flexible system fits snugly around a dog’s head – like a hoodie – and forms a seal around the ears.

The system is compatible with goggles and allows dogs to work in tight spaces, the Army said.

The new hearing protection is a break from current products, which are “rigid, cumbersome and hard to put on the dog, with limited effectiveness in testing for the protection of canine hearing,” the Army said.

It’s not clear when the new equipment will be made available to military dog handling units.

The incidence of hearing loss in military dogs is thought to be similar to that in human service members, for whom it ranks as the leading service-related disability within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Military working dogs are subjected to the same combat exposures as their military handlers … (and) are estimated to experience similar levels of noise-exposed hearing loss,” the Army wrote in a 2017 request for proposals seeking hearing solutions for canines.

Protecting a dog’s hearing could help extend its working life, Lee said.

Military dogs carry out a range of jobs, including sniffing out roadside bombs and tracking down enemy combatants.

Last month, a Belgian Malinois named Conan garnered attention and praise from the White House, when he helped hunt down Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria.

Conan suffered injuries that were not life-threatening when he chased al-Baghdadi into a dead-end tunnel, where the militant leader blew himself up, along with two of his children.

https://www.stripes.com/news/high-tech-hoodie-helps-protect-military-working-dogs-hearing-early-tests-show-1.608236

PeterMac wrote:So that is
Cancers (various, including kidney, bladder, melanoma and lung)
Epilepsy (incipient attack)
Seeing aid, (blind dogs)
Personal care (home help fetching and carrying for people with other disabilities)
Detecting
   Guns
   Drugs
   Money
   Missing people
   Explosives
   Human Blood
   Human Cadaverine
   Injured Koalas
and much more

EXCEPT blood and cadaverine emitted by one small deceased girl in one faraway country 12 long years ago. Obviously !

Koala saved from Australia bushfire dies after failing to recover from severe burns

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-bushfire-koala-death-lewis-new-south-wales-toni-doherty-a9218621.html

 

A cadaver dog named Radar sat on a discolored stack of hay to signal that he smelled evidence of human remains on the very spot very Krystal Lee said Patrick Frazee stored Kelsey Berreth's body in a black tote. Prosecutors showed this video to a Teller County jury, which convicted Frazee of first-degree murder. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Emotional moment frantic dog owner is reunited with his Jack Russell Mitzi after she had fallen down a foxhole last Wednesday


Found by another dog!

Video on this link, thanks to PeterMac:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7732437/Emotional-moment-frantic-dog-owner-reunited-Jack-Russell.html?ito=chromelessDM_0

Shame the same moment isn't shared with the poor fox when it falls down I hate hunting it's cruel.

All blood sports are cruel.

I particularly detest bull fighting. Why would a crowd of many hundreds of people actually pay to watch an animal tormented and slowly tortured?

People are sick.

Police dog finds drugs in schoolbags during demonstration in Marbella

The discovery led to the suspension of three pupils at Marbella's Las Dunas secondary school

charo márquez | marbella

13 December 201915:56  

Three first and second year pupils were suspended from Las Dunas secondary school in Marbella last month after a police dog found drugs in their schoolbags.
The Local Police unit was at the school to put on a demonstration in the playground, but the bad weather meant they moved their activity into the classrooms. It was here that where the dog identified bags with small amounts of hashish.
The students in question were each suspended for 20 days.

http://www.surinenglish.com/local/201912/13/police-finds-drugs-schoolbags-20191213095134-v.html

The nose knows

New Police Dog in the making.

Oh my goodness!  

Notoriously unreliable obviously.

Dogs are trained for just about everything remarkable animals I admire them and their trainers.

A dog jumps into the water and saves a drowning baby deer

https://twitter.com/Bryan4265901/status/1209625003085500417

Therapy dogs stationed at UK airport to help nervous flyers

By
Lizzie Day
15 January 2020 @ 20:26


Many people in the UK are nervous flyers, however a UK airport has come up with a fur-proof way to make flights more enjoyable for them.

At Southhampton International Airport, therapy dogs are being stationed at both arrivals and departures to help passengers with hidden disabilities and those who have a fear of flying. 

It is a semi-permanent feature at the airport and the dogs will be on patrol once a week. The dogs from the charity Therapy Dogs Nationwide, are fully temperament tested and experienced in their trade. Simon Young Head of Passenger Operations said: ‘Having therapy dogs in our airport will not only benefit our passengers but also out staff’. 
‘Four legged companions are well known for boosting general happiness, wellbeing as well as mood and we are very excited to welcome them to the Southhampton Airport family’.

The first airport in the UK to use dogs, to help anxious flyers was Aberdeen Airport in May 2018. Fourteen dogs, including three golden retrievers, two German Shepherds, two beagles and a Leonberger and a pug, became part of the crew. It is becoming a really popular trend, with dogs being sent into care homes, schools and hospitals. They are trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people who are socially isolated or suffer mental illness.

It was found there are many benefits of the dogs including, health and wellbeing, increased confidence and improved communication skills. Airport bosses have said that when you are stroking a dog, it can slow down the heartbeat and reduce blood pressure, which is great for anyone feeling nervous about their journey. 

Kirsty Smith, who is a Rehoming Supervisor at Blue Cross Southhampton said: ‘We see every day how incredible pets are and how much of a benefit they bring to our lives, through the joy they bring and often helping alleviate our stress and worry in difficult situations’.

We can rely on dogs to bring good news




A dog who was pulled from rubble in a Syrian war-zone as a terrified puppy by a bomb disposal expert has been announced as a finalist for Crufts.
Former Royal Engineer Sean Laidlaw was working as a bomb disposal expert in Syria when he heard whimpering from the wreckage of a school that had exploded and collapsed in 2018. 
Upon further inspection he found the source of the noise was a tiny, abandoned puppy, surrounded by her four dead siblings. He gave the nervous dog food and water.
Mr Laidlaw, 31, now credits Barrie - who is a girl - with saving his life after he struggled with PTSD - and the pooch was announced by James Middleton as one of the five competing for the Friends for Life award at this year's Crufts.

The annual award celebrates the unique relationship people have with their dogs, the important role they play throughout our lives and the support they give us in the face of adversity. 
Mr Laidlaw, from Essex, had rescued the nervous puppy only four months after the U.S.-led coalition had recaptured Raqqa from ISIS and was tasked with finding thousands of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) they had hidden in buildings.

But he was forced to return home from the minefields for some leave believing he would return two weeks later - but his contract was then ended and he thought he may never see Barrie again. 
But they were reunited after thousands of pounds were raised to have the young dog flown home - and it was smuggled from Syria to Iraq, Jordan and then to France before coming to Britain seven months on.

Mr Laidlaw previously said: 'Meeting her was the best day of my life. Without her I don't know if I would have ever been able to climb out of that dark pit of despair after Afghanistan, to acknowledge the atrocities that I witnessed as a soldier or learn how to be a civilian.
'Today, I work part-time as an assistant paramedic and run a fitness training business with a friend. Although I still have moments when I can feel myself getting anxious, I just close my laptop and play with Barrie.
'With her around, I have clarity and a purpose. And although people say I saved Barrie's life, the truth is that she saved mine.'  
It comes as dog-lover James Middleton announced the five pooches competing for the Friends for Life award at this year's Crufts.
Kate Middleton's brother, 32, attended the prestigious canine competition last year as a Pets As Therapy (PAT) volunteer.


He has previously spoken out about how his dogs - Luna, Inka, Ella and Mabel - helped him through his mental health battle.
This year James, an experienced Cocker Spaniel breeder, is an ambassador for the Friends for Life award. 
He teamed up with The Kennel Club for a photoshoot in London's Green Park to unveil the five hero dogs that will compete in the public vote.
This year's finalists include a German Shepherd Police dog called Wolfie, who worked tirelessly as a firearms support dog and a close canine colleague for his owner Louise McMullen for the West Midlands Police.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8018787/Having-blast-Barrie-rescue-dog-saved-Syrian-rubble.html

A new documentary started on Sky Crime last week.  I haven't seen if yet, don't know if anyone has 

Send in the Dogs UK - the work of Britains Police dogs in real operations