Dog Days of August - To Honor and To Celebrate the Dog

National Assistance Dog Week is to honor all the service dogs that help people with issues such as mobility problems, hearing loss, blindness and even autism and seizures. This special week starts on the first Sunday in August. This year it started on August 5th.

These dogs change the lives of their partners and their families by their assistance, devotion and companionship. International Assistance Dog Week was created by Marcie Davis to recognize the work that assistance dogs do and honor those who raise and train the puppies and dogs. They also aim to educate and raise awareness about assistance dogs and to recognize heroic deeds performed by assistance dogs in our communities.

The second National "Feeding Pets of the Homeless" runs from August 7-13 and aims to reduce hunger in pets belonging to the homeless.

According to the web site, Pets of the Homeless. an estimated 5-10% of homeless people have a dog or cat and in some places the rate might climb as high as 24%.

Not only does Pets of the Homeless collect food to distribute at food banks and other outlets, they also organize free and low cost medical care for pets in need. They also have a program to educate homeless shelters about the fact that many pet owners would rather sleep on the streets than give up a treasured pet. They have provided sleeping crates for the animals to encourage the shelters to allow pets to accompany their owners.

They state that pets and the human-animal bond has a healing power that is important for life itself.

National Dog Day was founded in 2004 by Collen Paige to honor dogs and all the work they do for their human companions. Some of the work done by dogs mentioned on the official web site is law enforcement, service dogs, bomb detection, search and rescue, to name a few. The day is to celebrate and to bring awareness of dogs of all breeds and mixed breeds that need homes.

The National Dog Day organization is against any breed ban. Dogs often lose their lives because of abuse at the hands of man. They feel that citizens have a right to purchase a purebred dog, but should look for responsible breeders and not buy from pet shops, the internet, backyard breeders and those looking to make a profit from selling dogs. They are also encouraged to look at local shelters for purebred and mixed breed dogs that are in danger of being killed because they don’t have a home.

They encourage everyone, whether a dog owner or not, to donate $5 to a shelter on National Dog Day.

1. Adopt a dog.
2. Volunteer at a shelter.
3. Donate money, food, blankets or toys
4. Help out an ill or elderly neighbor by walking their dog.
5. Hold a National Dog Day party. Invite your dog friends and their humans.
6. Organize a National Dog Day event to raise money for your local animal shelter.
7. Buy new toys for your dogs.
8. Buy a safety harness to keep your dog safe in the car.
9. Take your dogs to the beach.
10. Buy your dog a new bed.