Famous Dogs: Skippy The Wired Hair Terrier Known as "Asta"

Skippy the dog was famous for playing "Asta" in the "Thin Man" with William Powell and Myrna Loy. He also starred in "The Awful Truth" with Cary Grant and "Bringing Up Baby" with Katherine Hepburn.

Skippy's approximate date of birth was 1932 and he gracefully retired in 1939. He was known for being a smart wired hair terrier who trained easy and was a popular star at the time. He made $200 a week while his trainer only brought in $60 a week. 

His owner, Mrs. Gale Henry East, once a prominent movie comedienne said. ... "When Skippy has to drink water in a scene, the first time he does it he really drinks. If there are retakes and he's had all the water he can drink, he'll go through the scene just as enthusiastically as though his throat were parched, but he'll fake it. If you watch closely you'll see he's just going through the motions of lapping and isn't really picking up water at all. And, because he has a sense of humor, he loves it when you laugh and tell him you've caught him faking but that it's all right with you.

Skippy, the smart and talented wired hair terrier was one of the most popular dog stars in Hollywood in his hey day. 

2010 Iditarod Results

As expected veteran Lance Mackey and his dog team won the 2010 Iditarod. The results from the drug testing were just released and there were no positives for any musher or team.

Banquets and celebrations are being held this week.

Read more at the official site of the Iditarod .

Ogden Nash Quote

I hope my tongue in prune juice smothers, If I belittle dogs and mothers. - Ogden Nash

Petco Stores Begin Collecting Pet Food Donations

San Diego based Petco pet stores are asking customers to donate dog and cat food to pet food banks. Food banks that help people with groceries will now be able to give people who own dogs and cats pet food too.

More than 250 Petco stores throughout the country will have collection bins where people can put in pet food to help keep dogs and cats out of shelters.

With a high jobless rate, some pet owners just manager to feed themselves and their families. They simply don't have the extra money to feed their dogs and cats. As a result many pets are being brought to shelters and must suffer the pain and fear of suddenly being homeless and being separated from the only family they've ever known.

Let's all visit Petco stores and donate pet food so America's pets can stay with their families! The first stores to receive donations will be in San Diego, Orlando, New York City and Chicago. The collection bins will be out this week.

Read more about Petco's Campaign to keep dogs and their families together here at San Diego's 6 The CW.

Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Fiercely independent and stronger than strong-the dogs and their human leader (Musher) are racing to finish the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Leader Lance Mackey as stolen the lead from Jeff King this afternoon.

Each "musher" has a team of 12 to 16 dogs, the race lasts 10 to 17 days and the teams must cover over 1150 miles of Alaska's rough but beautiful terrain. Mushers train and prepare with their dogs for an entire year for the grueling race, some working around a full time job.

Sometimes referred to as "The Greatest Race" the Iditarod is followed by fans all over the world.

Learn more at the official site for the race-Iditarod.com.

Photos from Day 8 Here at Anchorage Daily News.

Search Dogs Trailed Missing Girl's Scent

The body of 14 yr. old Amber Dubois was found recently near Pala Indian Reservation in North San Diego county. Her remains were skeletonized and police are still conducting the investigation around the area where she was found.

Apart from the tragic loss of an innocent child is the interesting story of how Scent Dogs from Virginia and Maine actually followed her scent to that area. Last August donations made to the family paid for "VK9 Scent Specific Search and Recovery Unit" a Virginia based scent dog group to travel to Escondido California to search for Amber.

Both dogs were able to be driven up the freeway and get out every so often to see if the could pick up her scent along the way. Both dogs are let out one at a time to see if the dog recognizes the scent. In this case, both dogs traced Amber's scent from near her school up the highway to the Pala Reservation. Each dog is let out to see if they can pick up the scent and if one does then the other is let out of the vehicle to see if they too can pick up the scent. In this case both dogs lost her scent near the reservation indicating that she was or had been there in that area.

The head of the scent dog unit notified the Escondido police that the dogs had tracked her scent to the reservation and apparently at least one investigation was done but nothing further beyond that.

Amber's grandmother Mrs. Welch is angry at the police as she thinks it was a possibility that her granddaughter might've been alive at the time the dogs tracked her scent to Pala. She thinks a more thorough investigation should have been conducted after the police were notified that Amber's scent hadn't picked up beyond that point.

Tragic yes. But we also must consider just how wonderfully skilled these dog scent units are. These dogs are highly trained and in this case were right on when it came to pinpointing the area where the remains were found. These weren't police dogs so law enforcement tends not to take them as seriously as the general public does.

Hopefully there won't be much need for their services but when called on again, both scent dogs and their human trainers are always ready to use their skills to help find missing people.

Details of the scent dogs search for 14 yr old Amber Dubois at SignonSanDiego.