Every weekend, hundreds of volunteers from Boston to Bakersfield rev their engines in a giant, moving human chain to help drive homeless dogs from high-kill shelters to the safety of new homes. I discovered the world of dog transporting five years ago when I came upon a Yahoo forum on the subject. I read through scores of pleas from shelters seeking help getting animals to safety. Dogs were matched with adoptive families in cyberspace and volunteer drivers stepped up to fill legs of journeys lasting hundreds of miles or more.

Watching this amazing volunteer network take shape inspired me to write about Buster, a death row dog from West Virginia. He was bound for a good home in the Philadelphia suburbs thanks to the persistence of the staff at Wetzel County Animal Shelter, the wide reach of the Internet and a few dozen good-hearted drivers willing to take a few hours out of their day and a few gallons of gas out of their tanks to save him.

And now there's a documentary about what is informally known as "the canine underground railroad" that will begin airing on PBS stations next month "Fifteen Legs" (or "When all that stands between a death and freedom is a ride") was produced by Emmy-award winning producer and writer Bonnie Silva and Russ Barry, who spent three years following the dedicated volunteers who help keep the "freedom trains" running. There also is a companion book with the documentary and the Web site offers suggestions for those who want to get involved. I spoke with WHYY in Philadelphia and, alas, they have no plans to air the program. But check the "Fifteen Legs" Web site for more information about other stations which may carry it.

A young parrot who went AWOL from the Philadelphia Zoo last week is now back with his flock. After a four-day flying spree that included a tour of Fairmont Park and a detour to Chester County, the sun conure is home safe at Bird Lake thanks to the help of a Phoenixville family. My colleague Tom Infield has the story.

The Pennsylvania state House approved a bill to increase penalties for wildlife poaching. The vote was 196 to 3. The bill toughens penalties for a range of wildlife crimes including killing endangered species and operating commercial poaching operations. It elevates habitual poaching to a felony crime and establishes jail time as a penalty for many wildlife crimes. The bill now goes to the state Senate for approval. Pennsylvania now has among the lightest penalties for poaching in the country. In an occurrence that happens only slightly more often than comet sightings, the Humane Society of the United States and the National Rifle Association were on the same side of the legislation. 

Matchmaking is the theme of the first bill introduced by the newest member of the U.S. Senate. Sen. Al Franken (D., MN) wants to make it more affordable for wounded veterans to get service dogs. In an op-ed piece Franken said he was inspired by the story of Iraq War vet Luis Montalvan, who suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome and says he's been saved by a Golden Retriever named Tuesday. Now he'd like to set up a pilot program that would provide service dogs - which can cost $20,000 to train - for hundreds of veterans.

Do you use joint supplements for your pet? If so, you may want to consider that they may not be all they are cracked up to be. A recent independent study of this billion dollar industry found that a majority of supplements "skimped" on key ingredients such as glucosamine or chondroitin, or had other flaws, such as lead. The Associated Press has the full report.

Want to make your pool more pet/wildlife friendly? The Humane Society of the United States offers the following tips for keeping pets safe around pools:

*Don’t leave your pets unsupervised in a yard with a pool.
*When building a pool, design lounge ledges along the sides. These are usually just below the water’s surface and allow animals shallow areas from which to drink and an easy escape route from the water.
*Install a fence around the pool to keep out animals such as dogs.
*Install one or more water-exit devices such as the Skamper-Ramp or Frog Log. Both are buoyant devices that are placed in the water along the pool’s edge and allow animals to get out on their own. Because of their white color they are highly visible to animals.
*Disperse knotted nylon ropes at strategic locations along the sides. Make sure the knot is at the water’s surface so the animal can more easily climb out. (This technique only works for climbing animals such as raccoons, mice, and squirrels).
 

Who can forget Nora, the rescued gray tabby cat from Philadelphia with a knack for tinkling the ivories.

Apparently Nora made an impression, not only on the millions of people who caught her act on YouTube, but also on a Lithuanian conductor who decided to write a concerto in her honor.

Mindaugas Piecaitis wrote "Catcerto" which premiered June 5 at the Klaipeda Concert Hall in Lithuania, The performance featured video of Nora on a giant screen behind the orchestra. (That's a long way from the mean streets of Cherry Hill, NJ, where her owners plucked her from obscurity at a shelter.)

When Nora's owners, the artists Burnell Yow! and piano teacher Betsy Alexander who live in Center City, posted the 42-second video on You Tube they did it for Alexander's piano students and few relatives. But you can't stop a viral craze on the Internet and Nora wound up as a finalist for the 2008 YouTube Awards, drawing 14 million viewers and rave reviews from the critics.

Now she's immortalized in music.
 

In November 2006, for reasons unknown, Tioga County kennel operator Scott Fay destroyed 58 of his hunting dogs. Were these dogs - hounds of various breeds -  shot while chained to their plywood boxes or taken to the vet to be euthanized? We don't know. What we do know is that the act was legal and noted matter-of-factly in a kennel inspection report for Bear Creek kennel that month. In early 2008, after repeatedly failing kennel inspections, Fay's kennel license was revoked. Under terms of an agreement, he was to keep no more than five dogs, even though he could legally keep as many as 25 dogs without having a kennel license.

Fast forward to 2009. Fay was advertising nine dogs for sale on the Gun Dog Breeders Website. Pictures show a woman posing with the dogs on the back of a flatbed truck. In the background is a field of crude plywood boxes, some not even sitting flat on the ground with dogs clearly chained to them. When the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement is alerted to this two weeks ago they sent wardens out who discovered Fay had 33 dogs in his possession.

Fay forfeited 18 dogs to the state, all of which appeared to be in good health, according to Chris Ryder, a spokesman for the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. (He and two other individuals listed on the agreement were allowed to keep five dogs each). Fay immediately posted a notice on the Website saying he no longer had dogs for sale and suggesting the state was going to destroy the dogs they took.

In fact, most of the dogs were placed at Stone Creek Hounds, a sporting dog kennel in Huntingdon County. Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs took three of the dogs and will be placing them up for adoption. 

Fay will be charged this week with multiple dog law violations, including operating an unlicensed kennel and also with violating his legal agreement with the state to keep no more than five dogs, Ryder said. But animal welfare advocates are asking why dog wardens failed to monitor a kennel owner with a long history of ignoring the law.

Ryder said members are the public are urged to call the bureau's toll free tip line 1-877-DOG-TIP1 (1-877-364-8471) to report an illegal kennel or poor conditions at a licensed kennel.

There will be no jury trial in New Jersey for Lancaster County puppy broker Joyce Stoltzfus, her husband Raymond and Chester County veterinarian Tom Stevenson. The parties reached a settlement in Cape May County Court on Monday, the day jury selection was to take place in the consumer fraud trial. Plaintiffs Lewis and Stephanie Ostrander, who live in New Jersey, sued the Stoltzfuses after purchasing a sick puppy in 2006. The puppy, a Labrador-poodle mix, later died from parvo virus. The Ostranders spent thousands to save him and additional money to replace bedding and rugs that had to be thrown out because of the highly contagious nature of the disease.  Stevenson was named in the suit because he was the veterinarian for CC Pets and provided health certificates for almost 2,000 puppies sold that year. All parties were ordered not to divulge details of the settlement. "It was resolved in amicable terms," said Garen Meguerian, a Chester County attorney who represented the Ostranders. In unrelated action, CC Pets (formerly known as Puppy Love) was ordered closed for six months by a Commonwealth Court judge in April who also fined the Stoltzfuses $166,000 for violating terms of a 2005 consent petition with the Attorney General.  Stevenson, of Twin Valley Veterinary Clinic in Honey Brook, had his veterinary medical license suspended by the state pending the outcome of  his trial on animal cruelty charges in Lancaster County Court.

Also in New Jersey, SPCA officials yesterday raided a home in Middletown and rescued 80 dogs, many of them sick. Dog breeds included Basset hounds, a blue-nose pit bull terrier, a handful of Dachshunds, and mainly Chihuahuas. Authorities told the Asbury Park Press that the house was "a nightmare inside" and "littered with dog feces and urine." They said one dog was found in the oven. Marlene Sandford, 56, was charged with 85 counts of animal cruelty, with each count liable to a $1,000 fine, though her charges may be reduced because she signed over the dogs to the SPCA.

An 8-week-old kitten is recovering at the Delaware County SPCA after being shot by a bb gun. Concerned neighbors in Chester spotted the kitten hiding under bushes and called animal control. An x-ray showed the bb pellet lodged in her neck. The kitten was too young for it to be removed right away, SPCA officials told WPVI-TV, who added she have some vision loss, but otherwise is expected to recover. Meanwhile Delaware County SPCA is asking anyone with any information on the incident to contact them at www.delcospca.org.

Humane authorities raided a flooded residence near Williamsport yesterday and removed 34 sick animals, most of them rabbits. Humane Officer Larry Woltz, with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Sun-Gazette of Williamsport many of the rabbits were emaciated, some had ear and skin infections. They also removed two goats. Wolz also said he saw what he believes to be illicit drugs and deplorable living conditions for the residents, who included two young girls. The case involving the children was referred to child services. Animal cruelty charges are expected to be filed against the owner who was not named.

Have you ever stumbled on a random Internet forum and gotten swept up in a discussion so intriguing you can't click the page away?

That's what happened to me a few months ago on Alex Brown Racing and Fans of Barbaro, a Web site devoted to saving ex-race horses and ending horse slaughter. One of the regular forum participants was a York County woman with limited income who had her eye (and heart) on a Pennsylvania Thoroughbred. Watching his fortunes fade at the track - and his vet bills mount - she felt sure she would be able to convince the owner to let her have him at a discount price.

But, try as she might, she got nowhere. She reported her efforts regularly to members of the forum who chimed in with words of encouragement and offers of support. She wasn't giving up. It was like watching a soap opera unfolding before me. How was this story going to end? 

I'll let York Dispatch columnist Larry Hicks tell you how the tale of Amanda Smith and Pay Attention turned out:

Mary Remer is the founder of What a Good Dog, a dog training and behavioral facility. She is an internationally renowned and widely respected Certified Pet Dog Trainer, breeder, and licensed American Kennel Club judge, and has trained more than 20,000 dogs in her 30-year career.

»  More on Mary

Two studies have come to different conclusions about dogs and their ability to communicate. One determined that babies understand "dog speak" and another found that dogs really may not have that much to say.

A Brigham Young University study concluded that infants as young as six months can distinguish between an angry bark and friendly yap when shown pictures of dogs displaying both emotions. Researchers say the study can help understand how babies learn.

"Emotion is one of the first things babies pick up on in their social world," said BYU psychology professor Ross Flom, lead author of the study. "We chose dogs because they are highly communicative creatures both in their posture and the nature of their bark," Flom said. For more read San Francisco's Tails of City blog here.

Meanwhile, across the country, a recent study by a doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts found that dogs don't bark with specific messages in mind.

Doctoral candidate Kathryn Lord said that dogs do not bark differently in different circumstances, as many biologists believe. She said dogs only bark to ward off predators and deal with conflict.

"What we're saying is that the domestic dog does not have an intentional message in mind, such as, 'I want to play' or 'the house is on fire,'" Lord told Science Daily.

Instead, she said, barking is the auditory signal associated with an evolved behavior known as mobbing, a cooperative anti-predator response to an approaching intruder. A dog barks because she feels an internal conflict―an urge to run plus a strong urge to stand her ground and defend pups, for example, Lord said. When the group joins in, the barks intimidate the intruder, who often flees. Dogs simply bark more than other creatures who emit similar sounds because they have a 10,000 year history with humans.

More than 100 animal lovers across the country "tethered" themselves to dog houses recently to protest the treatment of dogs who spend their lives on chains. It was part of the sixth annual "Chain-Off" sponsored by Dogs Deserve Better, the Altoona-based group that advocates for anti-tethering laws and raises awareness about the living conditions - and dangers - of chained dogs. "It's meant to shock people into awareness," said

Tamira Thayne, the group's founder, spent 28 hours on a 10-foot chain earlier this month in Greenville, S.C. "If you don't live next to a chained dog it's easy to think it doesn't happen." The event raised money to help rescue chained dogs. A bill that would outlaw round-the-clock chaining of dogs in Pennsylvania - which passed the House Judiciary committee last year - has failed to be brought up for a vote by Chairman Tom Caltagirone (D., Berks) this session.

Pennsylvania's sixth annual animal law seminar kicks off this week with the first of three cross-state meetings. The focus of the event, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, is the state's new dog law, with a panel moderated by Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary for Dog Law Enforcement. Other topics include cat law, resolving pet disputes in divorce cases and assessing and placing shelter dogs. The meetings start Thursday in Pittsburgh. The second seminar is Aug. 13 in Mechanicsburg and the final one is Aug. 26 in Philadelphia. The event is open to the public. Nonmembers fee is $284 (or $259 if you register more than two days before the event). The discounted price for shelter/rescue staff or volunteers is $125.

Hero, a German Shepherd-mix, spent seven years in a New Jersey shelter before being adopted by a Pennsylvania man. Now he's being honored posthumously as a national hero. On Saturday Hero was named as a runner up in the Second Annual Dog of Valor Awards. The Dogs of Valor Awards, recognize dogs who have shown extraordinary courage or resolve by helping a person in need. Hero was chosen by a panel of celebrity judges that included big-screen "Dog of Valor" Benji. Hero jumped into action in January 2008, when owner Dennis Redline slipped on the ice while on a walk, hitting his head, and losing consciousness. Immediately, Hero ran barking throughout the complex prompting neighbors to call the police. When officers arrived, the frantic dog led them straight to Redline, who was still unconscious. Redline was rushed to a hospital where he was placed in intensive care, and remained in a coma for six days but recovered. Sadly, on Dec. 1, 2008, Hero passed away with Redline by his side.

The Humane Society of the United States has launched a national animal fighting tip line. Those who have information about persons involved in illegal animal fighting — such as dogfighting and cockfighting — are encouraged to call 877-TIP-HSUS (847-4787). The HSUS offers a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dogfighting or cockfighting. Earlier this month, federal, state and local authorities, along with HSUS, carried out the largest single series of raids on multiple dogfighting operations in U.S history. More than 400 confiscated dogs will soon be evaluated to determine whether they are suitable candidates for placement with rescue groups or permanent adoption.

Main Line Animal Rescue founder Bill Smith's crusade to clean up puppy mills is featured again in Newsweek magazine this week. In response to the original story that ran in April Smith pointed out that a number of commercial dog breeders with repeated dog violations in Chester and Lancaster counties, also produce organic milk for suppliers such as Horizon, which serves Whole Foods among other supermarket chains. The magazine reports that in response Whole Foods issued a stern request that vendors "not supply any products to our stores that have been sourced from farmers…who breed or raise dogs inhumanely."

Legislative watch - State Rep. Mike Hanna (D., Centre) has introduced a resolution designating September 2009 as American Kennel Club month in Pennsylvania, recognizing the 125th anniversary of the organization and its birth in Philadelphia. The resolution is expected to be voted on this week.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed legislation to address animal fighting and regulate dog breeding. The bill expands the current dogfighting statutes to prohibit the staged fighting of any species of animal, including hog-dog fighting in which one or more trained dogs are placed in combat against a feral hog for human amusement. It also creates a procedure for kennel inspections under which person who operates a kennel that houses fewer than 20 dogs may be subject to an inspection by the county enforcement agent during regular business hours if the there is a complaint. A person who operates a kennel that houses 20 dogs or more shall allow inspections by a county enforcement agent as a condition of receiving a kennel permit. The legislation also bans the practice of “horse tripping," the practice of roping the legs of a galloping horse, which causes the horse to fall to the ground. Horse tripping is already banned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and by the American Quarter Horse Association, and has been banned in film and television production for over 50 years.