A Massachusetts man recently discovered a forgotten part of his family’s past when, during a walk in their new neighborhood, his dog led him to his father’s childhood home from 70 years previous – a house that not even his father remembered, as he was only two when he lived there.

They’ve turned this story, along with other dog tales, into a book called Follow the Dog Home: How a Simple Walk Unleashed an Incredible Family Journey. The hardcover release was February 1, 2012. We all know February is the month for love, and who doesn’t love dogs? Corny? Yes. But the storyline isn’t.

After moving to Wellesley, Massachusetts for an anchor job with a major television sports network, Kevin began taking his German Shepherd, Beverly, for walks in the surrounding neighborhoods. They developed a route that included historic Atwood Street. Beverly kept veering toward one house in particular that had also caught Kevin’s eye previously, thinking it looked familiar but not knowing the reason.

After talking to a close family relative who had also once lived in Wellesley, Kevin was shocked to discover that the memorable house had once been a childhood home to his father, Bob Walsh, before WWII. After digging through old family photos that had been tucked away for years, Kevin uncovered a picture of his father as a toddler with his family on the house’s front porch, complete with their first family dog, Dee Dee.

Kevin’s father had been writing short stories about all of their family dogs through the years, but never knew about the photo. Its discovery was the pivotal moment that offered proof that the Walsh family’s journey with dogs had come back to the exact place where it started.

Follow the Dog Home, which Publishers Weekly called “quaint and most charming,” was written by Kevin Walsh, his father Bob, and his daughter Samantha. Bob lives in Ledyard, Connecticut, with his wife, Mary McGrattan. He is retired from a forty-year career in the pharmaceutical industry and now spends his days fishing, building fly rods, feeding the homeless, and traveling. Regularly by Bob’s side is his ever-faithful dog, Annie the Corgi.

Samantha, who is only ten, loves taking care of her family’s German Shepherd, Beverly, and dancing in ballet performances. She hopes to one day become a veterinarian.

Kevin lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife, Jean, and daughters Samantha and Amanda. He is a seasoned sports and news broadcaster with Comcast SportsNet New England and New England Cable News. Kevin’s first book, The Marrow in Me, details his courageous journey as a bone marrow donor.

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No one likes stepping in a mess left by another person’s dog. A new company, PooPrints, has begun offering its services to owners of apartment complexes to help motivate owners to pick up after their pets. Using DNA testing, apartment complexes in Lebanon, New Hampshire and Rockville Center, Long Island are now able to match a saliva sample from all of the dogs that live in the complex with any offending dog excrement.

PooPrints is a subsidiary of BioPet Vet Labs Inc. and was created with a number of goals in mind. Keeping public grounds clean has aesthetic and cost considerations, but the most important reason for using this service is environmental. According to PooPrints’ website, an average of 276 pounds of waste are produced each year by just one dog. After combining that number with the large number of dogs owned by people worldwide, that number grows to 20 billion pounds of waste produced each year, 40% of which is not picked up.

If it is not properly disposed of, that waste can cause a number of health and environmental concerns. It can easily enter local lakes, streams, and ponds, carrying a number of diseases such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses. This creates the risk of spreading these diseases directly to humans through accidental contact with these bodies of water. The danger increases when dog excrement is left in areas where children play. Children often put their hands in their mouths, which can lead to transmission of these diseases to humans.

Reception to this new method of holding owners accountable for cleaning up after their dog’s messes has been mixed. Some people had no problem with giving out their animal’s DNA, or even paying another small fee if it means their precious pooch is still able to reside with them. After all, it only gets expensive if they neglect to pick up after their dog.

However, there are those who feel that this method of tracking is too invasive. Some people are very private, and even something as seemingly small as tracking dog excrement is seen as a violation of that privacy. It makes people worry about the possibility of more and more control being exerted over the individual until almost no rights exist anymore.

Others are concerned about malicious actions from their neighbors such as at the apartment complex in New Hampshire. The only repeat offender denied the second charge, claiming that someone else in the complex was trying to deliberately get this person in trouble. This person claimed that someone must have watched where the excrement was thrown away, removed it, and placed it back on the ground. While this claim is not completely impossible, the complex owner did not see the possibility of such malicious intent and dismissed the argument.

This creative new method of catching lazy owners may not be the only solution to the problem, but it is certainly the most interesting. Only time will tell if this catches on, becoming a common practice in gated communities and apartments, or if it is only a fad that will fade away with time.

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The research on the positive impact of human-canine relationships on health is extensive. For nearly 25 years, research had indicated that living with pets can have a positive influence on a person’s health.  Although all pets to some degree improve an individual’s health, dogs in particular have been studied.

Dogs allow improved independence and mobility for the blind.  They are used as service dogs with people that suffer from epilepsy because they are able to detect seizures before they come.  Dogs lower their owner’s blood pressure, significantly reduce anxiety, and boost immunity.

A growing number of studies suggest that children who grow up with animals will have less risk of asthma and allergies.  In a recent study, researcher James E. Gern, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, analyzed the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later. He was looking for evidence of an allergic reaction, immunity changes, and for reactions to bacteria in the environment.   The results may surprise you.  If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies – 19 percent vs. 33 percent. They also were less likely to have eczema, a common allergy skin condition that causes red patches and itching. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals — a sign of stronger immune system activation.

Studies have also shown that people with Alzheimer’s disease have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home.  Walking a dog or just caring for a pet — for elderly people who are able — can provide exercise and companionship.  Elderly that have a pet are less likely to feel depressed and are more likely to have fewer hospital stays than their petless counterparts.

Although, not as studied as some other areas, research also suggests that owning a dog can help prevent diabetes.  According to research by exercise scientist Cindy Lentino, dog owners who regularly walk their dogs had about one-third of the risk of diabetes in comparison to non-dog walkers. Dog owners also had additional signs of good health not seen in the non-dog walking group, like lower rates of depression.

Pet owners are likely to have better mental health than those who don’t own a pet.  In one study, stockbrokers with high blood pressure who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did people without pets.

Studies show a link between these stressful chemicals, Cortisol and norepinephrine, and plaque buildup in arteries, the red flag for heart disease, says Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts Affect Your Health.

Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine — nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties, Justice said.  “People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature,” says Justice, who recently hiked the Colorado Rockies with his wife and two dogs.

Heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without, according to several studies. Male pet owners have less sign of heart disease — lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels — than non-owners, researchers say.  According to preventive cardiologist Barry Franklin, Ph.D., of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, patients with heart disease who have dogs and walk them have a better prognosis.

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A gulf coast Florida dog was saved from drowning by two dolphins eager to help their land cousin after the dog apparently fell into the water and was unable to get out of a canal.  Cindy Burnett, from Marco Island, FL, said that she accidentally left her gate open and her 11-year old Doberman, Turbo, escaped late one Sunday evening in February.

After discovering her missing dog, Burnett and her sons began the search for him.  “I searched and searched and called his name. I drove through this street at least five or six times,” she said.  The next morning, a neighbor, Sam Dalessandro was stocking his boat when he heard persistent splashing in the nearby canal.  When he looked to see what the commotion was about, he saw Turbo trapped in the canal surrounded by two dolphins.  The good neighbor called 911 and his wife, Audrey Dalessandro jumped in the water to save the dog. Firefighters showed up to help lift Turbo to rescue. Turbo was likely trapped in the canal for about 15 hours.  He was exhausted but was checked out and got a clean bill of health. The dolphins swam away once the dog was safe.

“He was shivering and a lot of distress,” Burnett said.

Burnett credits the dolphins with saving her beloved pooch.  “If he had to tread water all night long, I know he wouldn’t have been able to,” Burnett said.  She stated he could have been trapped for much longer if the dolphins had not been able to get the Dalessandro’s attention.

If it wasn’t for that dolphin, that dog would be in doggie heaven right now because we would have never seen it,” Dalessandro said told WZVN ABC7.

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