Oscar's unexpected leap

Oscar was out having a jolly time at Old Harry Rocks in southern England, until the earth seemed to fall out from under him.  While on a walk, Oscar got a little carried away, and did not stop when the person accompanying him, Laura Gardener, commanded. That can be dangerous under normal circumstances,  but really scary when there are 150 foot cliffs surrounding you!

That's right--Oscar took a plunge down a 150 foot cliff.  Amazingly, he landed at the bottom with little more than a serious startle.  The next challenge was getting him back up.  Gardener called the coastguard, but there was a canoeist who witnessed the whole thing already on his way over to rescue Oscar.  Oscar is pictured here trotting along, hopefully somewhere safer. You can check out a picture of the cliff at Old Harry Rocks here.  Oscar is resting safely at home with a sore leg, but is expected to recover just fine.

Steve Williams, coastguard watchman told the DailyMail "We always advise pet owners to keep their dogs on their leads near cliffs as the animals do get excited and can fall over the edge."  Sounds like reasonable advise to me.  Do you rememeber Polly, who survived a 300 foot plunge?

Champ needs his own hero now

Four year old german shepherd, Champ, lived up to his name when protecting his family from burglars. This dog took five bullets to protect his family. Amazingly he survived, but with some serious injuries. His family could not afford his treatment, and decided to euthanize him. Well, Coastal German Shepherd Rescue of Southern California stepped in to make sure Champ got another chance at life.

Veterinarians say that Champ was lucky that all the bullets exited his body, and he is not expected to suffer from any long term troubles once he recovers. His treatment and recovery is not cheap, and the rescue that currently has custody of him is seeking donations. His last challenge in his recovery will be finding a new forever home....but I have a feeling that there will be lots of folks wanting this real, live, dog-hero in their house.

Poppy survives 300 ft plunge into the sea

Poppy was out for a day at the beach with her people enjoying chasing seagulls. Until she chased one right off a cliff! The springer spaniel took a 300 ft plunge into the sea and somehow swam to shore. She looked pretty scared by the time the rescue crew arrived to pick her up. Amazingly, she only suffered from a partially collapsed lung, she is expected to recover just fine. Check out video of the rescue here:

Firemen on thin ice to help dog

The firefighters in Clark County, Ohio were on thin ice--literally--after receiving a call that a dog was stranded on the ice of George Rogers Lake. These brave guys are used to the heat, but they suited up in dry suits to try to save this dog. After falling through the ice once, they decided to take a boat out to get her. As they got close, the dog fell through the ice too. But the firemen got ahold of her and were able to warm her up. Check out some footage of the amazing rescue from WDTN.

It turns out this brave girl was not actually stranded, but standing guard out on the ice because two of her buddies had fallen through (sadly, her buddies were not recovered in time). Now known as the George Rogers Park Dog, she is in the capable hands of the workers at the Humane Society of Clark County. She is under veterinary supervision for frostbite on her paws, and is receiving lots of love from the workers to help her recover from the very scary event. They have already been flooded with calls from people interested in adopting George Rogers Park Dog, so it looks like she will find a nice warm, dry home soon enough.

Wags to all the brave firemen and women out there that help to get dogs out of scary situations like this every day.

A pair of survivors, twice over

Paul Fowler rescued Deiter and Bella after they lost their homes due to Hurricane Katrina. Life seemed mostly normal for a while. The Fowlers started a family, and later moved to Haiti to work in AIDS relief there. The four legged members of their pack went along for the family move. When faced with the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the Fowlers took the dogs and their new baby on a terrible three-day trek to the U.S. Embassy. They were to be evacuated with other Americans, but were told they had to leave their dogs behind. A heart-wrenching decision, especially when you consider this had happened to these very same dogs just a few years ago.

The Fowlers made it home safe, and shortly the Humane Society heard of their ordeal. Amazingly, the animal relief workers on the ground in the disaster zone were able to find and rescue Deiter and Bella! The pair flew into Miami to be reunited with their family. What a great end to a horrible ordeal. Be sure to check out the full story--here is the video and footage of the reunion.

Baltic, the ice dog

Baltic was lucky that a group of Polish researchers in the icy Baltic Sea floated past him on their boat. The poor guy somehow found himself stranded on an ice floe in the middle of the sea. After multiple close calls and many more attempts, the researchers were able to get close enough to pull him onto the boat by the scruff of his neck. They quickly got him dried off an wrapped in blankets to warm up. Before they knew it, he was looking to his new shipmates for a dinner and a little company!

The researchers and Baltic are now in port at the city of Gdynia. Baltic was checked out by a veterinarian, and is surprisingly ok considering all he had been through. Now comes the task of figuring out who he belongs to. Four people have come forward claiming to own him, but Baltic said it wasn't so. The research team is ready to call him a full time shipmate if his former owner is not located soon. In the meantime, he is making himself at home on the ship. In fact, he is scheduled to set sail with them on February 10th.

Angel lives up to her name

Angel was out collecting wood with her 11-year old human buddy Austin, when they encountered a cougar. Angel knew the cougar was about to pounce on Austin and heroically intercepted. Angel got the brunt of the cougar's attack, and was trapped until a police officer who was nearby rushed to the scene. The officer shot the cougar and Angel was freed, but sustained some serious injuries. She was rushed to the vet, where they discovered that she had a fractured skull and several puncture wounds. She is getting great care at the vet and the family is feeling positive about her prospects and it is possible that she will make a full recovery. Our prayers are certainly with this Angel, who is deserving of her name.

Austin was on the Today Show with his mom and the police officer. I embeded the video here, but will warn you it is a little graphic. You can also read the story here. At the end of the interview, Austin tells Matt Lauer that he already went to the supermarket and picked up a big juicy steak for Angel to enjoy when she gets home. I bet Angel will appreciate that, but her real reward is in knowing that she saved her buddy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Little Brown Dog

Things are turning around for Little Brown Dog, aka LBD. She came into University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine after her original owner was arrested on animal cruelty charges. She had severe burns and abrasions on all four paws, which required skin grafts. The vets here were up to the task medically, but they really went above and beyond to give this girl a chance at the good life. They could tell she had a strong spirit, but wanted to make sure she came through her treatment without a fear of humans. She had been abused so badly that without the proper socialization, she might have never trusted humans again. Well, the vets, vet students, and staff take extra special care of LBD, making sure she gets plenty of positive contact with women and men.

Within just a few weeks, LBD is playful with humans and gladly accepts (and requests) belly rubs. But her story doesn't end there. Because of media attention of her extraordinary case, this vet school has received over $13,000 in donations for her care. Her recovery is not expected to use up the whole fund, so the school is using the rest of the money for animal abuse education program. Hopefully this will prevent other dogs from having to suffer through the same type of abuse. Her recovery is not yet over, but is sounds like Little Brown Dog is in great hands now.

This sure is an amazing story that shows the worst and the best that humans have to offer, and the amazing sense of forgiveness that dogs can possess. Check out the whole article from Knoxnews.com, where you can also watch a video about LBD.

UPDATE: You can also follow LBD's regular updates on University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine's website. She has to wear casts on all her legs to keep her joints still to let her skin grafts take. That is not an easy break in life, but the latest update also said that LBD would be spending Thanksgiving in the home of one of her loving vets, Dr. Sura. Don't miss the wonderful pictures chronicling her care. They have also provided an address on the site if you would like to make a contribution to the LBD fund.

Nubs' long journey

Nubs found a new friend and was not going to let him get away. Even if that meant tracking him across the Iraqi desert. Maj. Brian Dennis got to know Nubs for all his visits to their base in Iraq. Dennis got quite attached to Nubs, who he named for his clipped ears.

When Dennis's unit had to transfer to a base over 70 miles away, they had to leave Nubs behind. Nubs was not so keen on this idea, and chased along their hummer until he was completely exhausted. Two days later, Nubs showed up at the new base! It was no easy journey for this guy, and he looked rough when he arrived. The unit

nursed him back to health and decided to build him a doghouse on base. Since it was against military policy to take animals in, the unit decided to launch a campaign to get him back to the United States. Dennis launched the Save Nubs Fund to pay for the $3500 in animal transport costs.

Nubs miraculous journey across the desert was just the beginning--his trip to San Diego was still ahead of him. He had plenty of help along the way...from a restaurant owner giving him steaks and pop tarts, to the vet checking him out, to the trainer helping him acclimate to domesticated life. Nubs arrived last Friday, but Dennis will not return from his tour in Iraq until March of next year. In the meantime, Nubs will be in the care of Dennis's friends Chrissy and Eric Sjoberg.

I am looking forward to covering this story in the future, I am sure it will be a reunion of a lifetime. I hear that a book deal is already in the works.

Sabi the desert survivor

Sabi was a regular hard workin' Austrailian-Afghan bomb sniffing dog. Well, she was actually a "Special Forces Explosive Detection Dog" manning the front lines with our troops. While she was out working with her mates, they were ambushed by Afghan forces. Several soldiers were injured, and after the fire fight, Sabi was no where to be found.

Fourteen months later, she showed up at a security checkpoint with a villager, and was quickly identified as a trained military dog. Still in great health, they assume that an Afghan must have been taking care of her during her time AWOL.

Sabi was happy to be back--and jumped right back into her ball-playing routine. Sabi's story had become so famous that once back on base, she was photographed with Austrailian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and US General Stanley McChrystal. Be sure to check out the whole slideshow for more great pics of this survivor.

Sabi is still in great health, but is not headed right back to the front lines. She is on her way back to Austrailia for some well deserved R&R.

Restoring Merci's faith

Merci was on death's doorstep when she was found by the folks at Best Friends Animal Society. It was not just that she was in bad shape, but that she also seemed to have just given up on life. The caretakers at BFAS would not give up on her though. One day, it was as though Merci realized "hey, I was in a dumpster with a broken leg, and now I am in an awesome place with all these wonderful people helping me out!" Don't you know, when Merci's attitude turned around, so did her health. With her new lease on life, she has re-learned of the joys of treats, and is excelling in her training class. She is now well on her way to a better life...read about her whole saga on the Best Friends Animal Society website, or you can watch her wiggling her butt in this video about her progress.

Ella keeps hope alive after car crash

Ella is a super sweet rottie that was separated from her people in a very scary car crash. She survived in the woods for two weeks before being found by a caring woman at Love Me Tender Animal Rescue. This woman could tell that Ella had some nice people taking care of her, and was determined to figure out how they were separated. Check out this video from CBS News to hear about what happened. A happy ending, I promise!

Andre's cross-country support team

Poor Andre got stuck in an animal trap up in Alaska! This guy was so determned to escape from the trap that he chewed of his two trapped paws. But the story has a happy ending! A woman found him on the trail and took him to Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, who helped him heal and regain his strength.

Andre was still struggling to get around though, so Karen McKnaught of Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue connected Andre with OrthoPets in Denver. OrthoPets is fitting Andre with some new prosthetic legs! With the help of the woman that found him, Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, OrthoPets, and the Denver Humane Society, Andre is a lucky guy to have all these people trying to make his life better. Here is the original article, and People Magazine has an update in this week's issue, but it is not available online.

Wags to my buddy Charlie for the tip!

Daizy's 10 months on the road

Daizy's family had to put her in boarding while they were doing major home repairs in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. It sounds like Daizy just did not like the kennel so much, so she escaped, but did not find her way home.

It turns out she had been hiding in an area of overgrown brush by the electrical towers a mile from the kennel. Daizy had lost 14 pounds and was covered in fleas and ticks when she was found 10 months after her escape. But she was happy to be home! It sounds like her family was pretty happy to have her back too.

Check out the whole story here.

Oreo survives 6-story fall

A very mean person threw his dog Oreo off of the roof of a 6-story building. He is going to jail, but Oreo is a survivor! She has some serious injuries--including 2 broken legs and a bruised lung--but is expected to make a full recovery. She is already walking on her own and eating normal food. She cannot be adopted yet because she is still healing, but the shelter has received an outpouring of support and interest in her, so she shouldn't have trouble finding a good home.

A shelter worker commented that she is just one of the special dogs in need of help--so hopefully this outpouring of interest will help lots of dogs! Remember, we all have stories, but not everyone can get in the paper.

You want me on the helicopter? No way!

Gipsy was out hiking with her person when he sprained his ankle. To make things worse they were on a precarious ridge, and the weather was getting ugly. That might have been the scariest part for him, but Gipsy was the one who got scared when help arrived. When the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue’s helicopter arrived, it sounds like Gipsy was pretty spooked. Her person was put in the rescue basket, and they tried to put Gipsy in the attached bag--but she did not like that idea so much. Her person did not want to leave her below, so they waited until got some ropes to harness her into the basket. Even that didn't go so well at first, but they managed to get her tied up and get her to safety. Poor girl was just scared of the helecopter, but it sounds like she was one happy pup once it was all over.