sbp
12-04-2004, 12:18 AM
Call her the comeback canine for charity (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30120-2004Dec2.html)
The Salvation Army bell-ringers are pretty common. You've probably seen them standing outside stores in the cold, collecting money in bright-red kettles. But one Kansas bell-ringer is doggone unusual.
Providence is a 6-year-old German wire-haired pointer. She's the only non-human among the more than 20,000 Salvation Army bell-ringers around the country who collect money for the poor at the holidays.
But Providence is just as qualified as any of those two-legged bell-ringers, says her owner, Penny Shaffer. For one thing, Providence can ring a bell with her mouth. She also has learned to take donations from people and put them in the kettle.
http://www.littleboyinc.com/uploader/uploads/Saldog.jpg
Providence is a bit of a holiday miracle. The dog, who has been doing the charity work for three years, got cancer in her mouth last spring. Doctors operated but told Shaffer that Providence probably would die. But after lots of loving care and good medical treatment, Providence doesn't have any cancer.
Shaffer says she doesn't know how much money Providence has collected in three years, but one time a man handed Providence a $100 check. It's a good thing, Shaffer said, "this is not a drooly-mouth dog."
http://www.arkcity.net/stories/120204/com_0005.shtml
After Christmas Providence is training for the Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association, which provides free services to law enforcement and emergency agencies.
The Salvation Army bell-ringers are pretty common. You've probably seen them standing outside stores in the cold, collecting money in bright-red kettles. But one Kansas bell-ringer is doggone unusual.
Providence is a 6-year-old German wire-haired pointer. She's the only non-human among the more than 20,000 Salvation Army bell-ringers around the country who collect money for the poor at the holidays.
But Providence is just as qualified as any of those two-legged bell-ringers, says her owner, Penny Shaffer. For one thing, Providence can ring a bell with her mouth. She also has learned to take donations from people and put them in the kettle.
http://www.littleboyinc.com/uploader/uploads/Saldog.jpg
Providence is a bit of a holiday miracle. The dog, who has been doing the charity work for three years, got cancer in her mouth last spring. Doctors operated but told Shaffer that Providence probably would die. But after lots of loving care and good medical treatment, Providence doesn't have any cancer.
Shaffer says she doesn't know how much money Providence has collected in three years, but one time a man handed Providence a $100 check. It's a good thing, Shaffer said, "this is not a drooly-mouth dog."
http://www.arkcity.net/stories/120204/com_0005.shtml
After Christmas Providence is training for the Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association, which provides free services to law enforcement and emergency agencies.