Al Brittain

A Must Have Book For Everyone With A Dog: “Speaking for Spot”

I’m not gonna make a lot of excuses for not posting much lately, other than to say my experience matches that of so many others over the last year or two – things move so much faster on places like Twitter and Facebook now that blogs almost seem outmoded. They still have their place, but [...]

Dean Koontz Donates $1 Million to Canine Companions for Independence

I’m sure there will be more to follow on this one, but it’s just been announced that Dean Koontz donated another million dollars to Canine Companions for Independence at their Board of Directors reception last night.

I say “another” million because the last official public number I saw shows that the Koontzes have already donated over [...]

“The Marines Wanted a Manly Dog”

Pfc. James Burns plays with service dog Finn at the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Detachment, Camp Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Hey, how about something a lot more fun and upbeat than yesterday’s depressing post about the VA (one of these days I hope to be able to write about them and have a good feeling instead of the [...]

Finally, The Real Story About The VA And Service Dogs For Veterans

While I’ve addressed this subject before (“Why The VA Has Provided No Money For Service Dogs – In Their Own Words”), I’ve really held off and pretty much kept my mouth shut, hoping that some of the behind-the-scenes discussions I was aware of with the VA regarding service dogs for veterans would bear fruit, and [...]

“Seventy-pound Labrador retrievers take up half the bed.”

I cracked up when I read that in this story today about military working dogs at Joint Base Balad in Iraq:
“MWDs ‘out of the doghouse’ at JBB”

U.S. Army Specialist Chris Belville, 25th Infantry Division dog handler, spends time with his canine, Cookie, in his living quarters here Aug. 28.

It doesn’t surprise me – I know [...]