Dakota, Tahoe & Cheyenne, award-winning search and rescue and therapy dogs, pictured here with their handler/owner Kris Crawford * (See below)
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On a warm May day in 2008, a Lancaster woman heard a dog yelping in agony. She looked out of her window to see a young pit bull dog running in wild circles, engulfed in flames. She rushed to the tortured dog, ripped off her jacket, using it to try and put out the flames.
This incident demonstrates the best and worst of human behavior and how dogs in California have experienced nearly every imaginable human kindness and cruelty.
We are happy to report that the dog, though terribly burned, survived.
From specialty boutiques that cater to pampered pets, to animals shelters overflowing with unwanted and abused dogs, California, the most populous state in the nation, also has the most diverse experience with dogs.
Above and beyond their place as family companions and in traditional service occupations, dogs in California serve in an ever-widening spectrum of therapeutic roles. The physical and emotional benefits to humans that come from relationships with dogs are now recognized and utilized by psychiatric facilities, assisted living centers, hospitals, schools and even prisons.
Today, dogs contribute more to the welfare of individuals and society than perhaps any other time in the history of the human-dog bond. Increased awareness of the importance of humane care and control of dogs, the enactment and enforcement of leash laws, and dog bite prevention education, have all been instrumental in drastically reducing the number of reported dog-related injuries in California and throughout the nation.
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*Dakota, Cheyenne, Tahoe, American Pit Bull Terriers, are accomplished therapy and search and rescue dogs. Dakota was deployed on over 200 search missions, including the Laci Peterson case. Dakota and her handler, Kristine Crawford, were selected by NASA and FEMA to assist in the search for the remains of the seven astronauts who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
See more of the accomplishments of Kris Crawford and her dogs at: http://www.forpitssake.org/sar.html
National Canine Research Council