NEWS
Chihuahua Puppy Saves Trucker From FireCoco wakes owner by nudging him
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - A tiny Chihuahua is being credited with saving the life of his owner from a burning tractor trailer truck.
While the owner is recovering from second degree burns at Baltimore Burn Center, the dog named Coco is fighting for his life at a Hagerstown vet clinic.
Four-month-old Coco is clinging to life in this oxygen tent, hooked up to a humidifier, and IVS.
The tiny Chihuahua suffered severe smoke inhalation after rescuing his owner from a burning semi-truck.
Doctor Diana Saxton has been with Coco since he was brought in yesterday morning.
"He's not doing too well today. He has taken a turn for the worse which usually happens with your smoke inhalation victims which usually happens within the first 24 to 48 hours after they come in. So his big thing is keeping him stable with oxygen fluid things like that," says Dr Saxton.
Coco and his owner, truck driver Tim Harris, had just pulled over at a rest stop off I-70 to sleep Wednesday night when something went wrong.
Harris spoke to us on the phone from Baltimore Burn Center where he is recovering from second degree burns to his arms and face. He says he had just fallen asleep when Coco started nudging him. Little did he know that the entire cab was on fire.
"He was clawing at me, nudging his cold nose up in my face, barking at me, usually he is just sound asleep," says Harris.
There is not much left of the tractor trailer. When Harris woke up, he says the cab was filled with smoke and flames. So he grabbed Coco and got out, then he realized Coco wasn't breathing.
"He was limp in my arms. I had to give him mouth to mouth like a person. I had to pinch his little nose off, opened his mouth and breathed in four or five times. Did that a couple of times to give him an air passage and finally he came responsive," says Harris.
Dr Saxton says Coco has been breathing on his own but he faces major challenges
"Its very severe. It's touch and go," says Dr Saxton.
It's hard to say exactly when Coco can go home. He could be here for weeks. And that means his vet bills will be in the thousands. But already the community is stepping up.
People have been stopping in all day at Cumberland Valley Vet Clinic donating money to Coco's recovery.
Harris plans to take Coco home as soon as he's well enough. He says this little dog is his hero.
"How in the world did you get out?" asks Reporter Claudia Coffey. "Thanks to Coco thanks to Coco. If it wasn't for Coco I would still be in that truck," says Harris.
The cause of the fire is an electrical malfunction in the tractor trailer's engine. The Human Society of Washington County has set up a fund to help with Coca's vet bills.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - A tiny Chihuahua is being credited with saving the life of his owner from a burning tractor trailer truck.
While the owner is recovering from second degree burns at Baltimore Burn Center, the dog named Coco is fighting for his life at a Hagerstown vet clinic.
Four-month-old Coco is clinging to life in this oxygen tent, hooked up to a humidifier, and IVS.
The tiny Chihuahua suffered severe smoke inhalation after rescuing his owner from a burning semi-truck.
Doctor Diana Saxton has been with Coco since he was brought in yesterday morning.
"He's not doing too well today. He has taken a turn for the worse which usually happens with your smoke inhalation victims which usually happens within the first 24 to 48 hours after they come in. So his big thing is keeping him stable with oxygen fluid things like that," says Dr Saxton.
Coco and his owner, truck driver Tim Harris, had just pulled over at a rest stop off I-70 to sleep Wednesday night when something went wrong.
Harris spoke to us on the phone from Baltimore Burn Center where he is recovering from second degree burns to his arms and face. He says he had just fallen asleep when Coco started nudging him. Little did he know that the entire cab was on fire.
"He was clawing at me, nudging his cold nose up in my face, barking at me, usually he is just sound asleep," says Harris.
There is not much left of the tractor trailer. When Harris woke up, he says the cab was filled with smoke and flames. So he grabbed Coco and got out, then he realized Coco wasn't breathing.
"He was limp in my arms. I had to give him mouth to mouth like a person. I had to pinch his little nose off, opened his mouth and breathed in four or five times. Did that a couple of times to give him an air passage and finally he came responsive," says Harris.
Dr Saxton says Coco has been breathing on his own but he faces major challenges
"Its very severe. It's touch and go," says Dr Saxton.
It's hard to say exactly when Coco can go home. He could be here for weeks. And that means his vet bills will be in the thousands. But already the community is stepping up.
People have been stopping in all day at Cumberland Valley Vet Clinic donating money to Coco's recovery.
Harris plans to take Coco home as soon as he's well enough. He says this little dog is his hero.
"How in the world did you get out?" asks Reporter Claudia Coffey. "Thanks to Coco thanks to Coco. If it wasn't for Coco I would still be in that truck," says Harris.
The cause of the fire is an electrical malfunction in the tractor trailer's engine. The Human Society of Washington County has set up a fund to help with Coca's vet bills.
Praying' dog at Japanese temple
Attendance at a Buddhist temple in Japan has increased since the temple's pet, a two-year-old dog, has joined in the daily prayers.
Conan, a Chihuahua, sits on his hind legs, raises his paws and puts them together at the tip of his nose.
"He may be showing his thanks for treats and walks," says a priest at Jigenin temple on Okinawa island.
Priest Joei Yoshikuni would like Conan to meditate, but "it's not like we can make him cross his legs", he says.
"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate," he told Associated Press news agency.
Mr Yoshikuni said it only took Conan a few days to imitate the motions of praying.
"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it too," he said.
Jigenin temple now gets 30% more visitors than it did before Conan joined in the prayers, Mr Yoshikuni said.
Attendance at a Buddhist temple in Japan has increased since the temple's pet, a two-year-old dog, has joined in the daily prayers.
Conan, a Chihuahua, sits on his hind legs, raises his paws and puts them together at the tip of his nose.
"He may be showing his thanks for treats and walks," says a priest at Jigenin temple on Okinawa island.
Priest Joei Yoshikuni would like Conan to meditate, but "it's not like we can make him cross his legs", he says.
"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate," he told Associated Press news agency.
Mr Yoshikuni said it only took Conan a few days to imitate the motions of praying.
"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it too," he said.
Jigenin temple now gets 30% more visitors than it did before Conan joined in the prayers, Mr Yoshikuni said.
A wheelchair-bound chihuahua from the US is on a tour of Japan with his owner to tell his story of hope.
US chihuahua wows Japanese crowds
Willy's owner hopes his story will be an inspiration to others
A wheelchair-bound chihuahua from the US is on a tour of Japan with his owner to tell his story of hope.
Wheely Willy was crippled and abandoned before being
rescued by Deborah Turner and helped to gain mobility by using a
specially-designed wheelchair.
Ms Turner and the 13-year-old dog are visiting schools and hospitals in Japan over the next two weeks to promote the book How Willy Got His Wheels.
Willy was given a warm welcome when he arrived at Tokyo airport on Wednesday.
Signs were held up saying "Welcome to Japan!", and Willy was presented with a pilot's cap by Junko Yamauchi, senior vice-president of All Nippon Airways (ANA).
"I read Ms Turner's book which was being sold in Japan and I was so impressed," he told Reuters television.
"It really encouraged me and made me cheer up. We (ANA) wanted to do something for letting people know about Willy, as a social contribution."
'Thrilled'
The Japanese translation of Willy's book has been on sale since February.
More than 100 students turned out to see him when he made an appearance at a school near the airport.
"I feel so sorry for him because he has broken legs," said eight-year-old Yoshishiro Aoki.
Another eight-year-old, Atom Maki, said: "When I see dogs like him, I wish I could put them on a wheelchair."
Ms Turner said she was "thrilled" to be able to share Willy's story of hope with people.
"We came over to show the children that the character in the book is a real dog, and I thought they might like to meet him and be able to relate with him better," she told Reuters.
www.wheelywilly.com
Ms Turner and the 13-year-old dog are visiting schools and hospitals in Japan over the next two weeks to promote the book How Willy Got His Wheels.
Willy was given a warm welcome when he arrived at Tokyo airport on Wednesday.
Signs were held up saying "Welcome to Japan!", and Willy was presented with a pilot's cap by Junko Yamauchi, senior vice-president of All Nippon Airways (ANA).
"I read Ms Turner's book which was being sold in Japan and I was so impressed," he told Reuters television.
"It really encouraged me and made me cheer up. We (ANA) wanted to do something for letting people know about Willy, as a social contribution."
'Thrilled'
The Japanese translation of Willy's book has been on sale since February.
More than 100 students turned out to see him when he made an appearance at a school near the airport.
"I feel so sorry for him because he has broken legs," said eight-year-old Yoshishiro Aoki.
Another eight-year-old, Atom Maki, said: "When I see dogs like him, I wish I could put them on a wheelchair."
Ms Turner said she was "thrilled" to be able to share Willy's story of hope with people.
"We came over to show the children that the character in the book is a real dog, and I thought they might like to meet him and be able to relate with him better," she told Reuters.
www.wheelywilly.com
Chihuahua become smallest police dog in the world
By Elaine Lies in Tokyo
A long-haired Chihuahua named "Momo" – or "Peach" in translation – has passed exams to become a police dog in the western Japanese prefecture of Nara, in what is a first for Japan and perhaps even the entire world.
Standing just 10in tall and weighing in at a light 6lbs, the perky brown-and-white Momo was one of 32 successful candidates out of 70 dogs.
She passed a search-and-rescue test by finding someone within five minutes after merely sniffing the person's cap.
A Nara police spokesman said: "Any breed of dog can be entered to become a police dog in the search-and-rescue division."
But he admitted that news a Chihuahua had been entered may still come as a surprise to many people. "It's quite unusual," he said. Television footage showed the seven-year-old Momo bounding across grass or sitting proudly, her long hair blowing in the breeze.
Momo will be used for rescue operations during disasters such as earthquakes, in the hope that she may be able to squeeze her tiny frame into places too narrow for the more common rescue dogs, which tend to be German Shepherds and, sometimes, Border Collies.
The public response to the news of Momo's selection took police by surprise, the spokesman said.
He added: "The phone's been ringing all afternoon."
Standing just 10in tall and weighing in at a light 6lbs, the perky brown-and-white Momo was one of 32 successful candidates out of 70 dogs.
She passed a search-and-rescue test by finding someone within five minutes after merely sniffing the person's cap.
A Nara police spokesman said: "Any breed of dog can be entered to become a police dog in the search-and-rescue division."
But he admitted that news a Chihuahua had been entered may still come as a surprise to many people. "It's quite unusual," he said. Television footage showed the seven-year-old Momo bounding across grass or sitting proudly, her long hair blowing in the breeze.
Momo will be used for rescue operations during disasters such as earthquakes, in the hope that she may be able to squeeze her tiny frame into places too narrow for the more common rescue dogs, which tend to be German Shepherds and, sometimes, Border Collies.
The public response to the news of Momo's selection took police by surprise, the spokesman said.
He added: "The phone's been ringing all afternoon."
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