It was nearly one month after a fire destroyed the multi-unit building.

Acevedo hadn't seen her dog Lola since the fire on February 23. But, while returning to pick up some belongings Monday, she made a stunning find.

"We thought it was raccoon or something in the house,"� Acevedo said.

But she soon figured out, that scratching sound was coming from Lola, her long-haired Dachshund.

Somehow, Lola survived not only the fire, but four weeks that followed, while locked inside that abandoned home.

Doctors think she managed by drinking toilet water and eating scraps she found around the burned-out house.

"She probably was eating something in there,"� said Dr. Megan Whelan, who has been treating Lola. "There's some material on her x-rays, mineral-like material. So, she might have been getting into something in the house."�

That stretch included several nights of sub-freezing temperatures.

Acevedo immediately took the pup to Angell Animal Medical Center, where doctors went to work.

"Lola was brought to (us) last night and is currently being cared for in our Emergency/Critical Care Unit,"� said MSPCA-Angell spokesman Brian Adams. "The veterinary team is performing several tests today to uncover the extent of her injuries. Lola remains upbeat given her ordeal."�

As of Tuesday, the dog appeared to be recovering. She was expected to spend one more night in the hospital before heading home.

Acevedo was just overjoyed to have her pup back. "I'm never going to tell her no ever again. You want a treat? Here you go. You want to go out? Yes, sure. I'll go out with you right now."�

It's a miracle! A three-month-old puppy abandoned in Oklahoma that was put in a trash bin after being declared dead by a vet is alive . . . and looking for a new home.

The puppy was left outside a dog shelter in Sulphur, Okla., with the rest of his litter. They were sick when they were found, so a vet at the shelter decided to euthanize them.

The procedures were performed, and then the puppies were put in a trash bin outside the shelter.

But when animal control officer Scott Prall took a peek inside the container the next morning, one puppy was very much alive. "He was just as healthy as could be," Prall told Oklahoma News 9.

The surviving puppy was named "WALL-E," after the garbage-collecting robot in the Disney-Pixar animated movie of the same name. In the movie, the lovable WALL-E was the last of his kind.

After the shock discovery, vet Amanda Kloski took the puppy in temporarily. When a woman in Pennsylvania heard WALL-E's incredible story, she wrote about him on Facebook, prompting people from all over the U.S. to call the veterinary clinic and offer him a home.

The clinic was set to look at offers from all the prospective owners Wednesday and make a decision about his new home.

"He needs a really special home because he's really special," Kloski said.

You can't buy loyalty, they say

I bought it though, the other day;

You can't buy friendship, tried and true,

Well just the same, I bought that too.

I made my bid, and on the spot

Bought love and faith and a whole job lot

Of happiness, so all in all

The purchase price was pretty small.

I bought a single trusting heart,

That gave devotion from the start.

If you think these things are not for sale,

Buy a brown-eyed puppy with a stump for a tail.

--- author unknown ---

As the death toll from devastating flooding in Brazil continues to rise, a single picture drives home the sense of loss.

Leao, a medium-sized brown mutt, lies next to the grave of her owner, Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in the catastrophic landslides caused by heavy rain. This AFP/Getty picture was taken on Saturday, the second consecutive day that the dog refused to leave the woman's grave at the cemetery in Teresopolis, near Rio de Janiero.

Brazilians are bracing for more rain, fearing more landslides after waves of muddy water swallowed towns in the country's worst flood disaster on record.

At least 655 deaths were reported in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, northeast of the city of Rio.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who spent time in prison for his involvement in dog fighting, said Tuesday having a dog as a pet would help in his rehabilitation.

In an interview with NBC News and TheGrio.com, Vick said, "I would love to get another dog in the future. I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process.

"I think just to have a pet in my household and to show people that I genuinely care, and my love and my passion for animals; I think it would be outstanding. If I ever have the opportunity again I will never take it for granted. I miss having a dog right now. I wish I could. My daughters miss having one, and that's the hardest thing: telling them that we can't have one because of my actions."

Vick has starred for the Eagles this season, with the team in first place heading into Sunday's NFC East showdown against the Giants at the Meadowlands.

"This entire situation has changed my life dramatically. Better player, better person," Vick said in the interview. "More patience, more persistence, and the willingness to, like I said earlier, set high goals and high standards not only on the football field but in life.

"And in so many ways I thank God for changing my life and keeping me healthy and putting me on the path to where I can redeem myself and make a great comeback."

A beloved family pet barely survived an icy plunge after falling into a frozen pond in an Indiana backyard on Monday night.

A member of the Witsken family, of Noblesville, Ind., attempted to rescue their golden retriever Breeze from the ice, but failed when unsafe conditions led to hypothermia. The incident forced them to call 911 for help.

The drama began when one of the Witsken children, Nekoda, 18, noticed Breeze was missing and began the search. When Nekoda spotted the dog in the backyard, she immediately tried to rescue it, but fell through the ice herself, waist-deep.

"[Nekoda] looked like an icicle. Her hair was all wet, she was taking her coat off and crying, but she was really just worried about the dog," her mother Kathy said.

Nekoda was shocked by the cold, saying, "it just instantly numbs you, just like that. I just remember trying to drag her and getting myself out of the ice," said Nekoda.

The family knew that in order to save Breeze, who was still stuck in the icy pond, they needed help. Nekoda watched shivering from the shore as her mom called 911.

Firefighters arrived and a diver went in for the rescue. The diver emerged holding in his arms Breeze, who had been in the freezing water for more than 40 minutes.

"A dramatic rescue just in time," said Dennis Parker, who carried Breeze to the ambulance.
"[She was] covered in ice forming on the ears and snout at that point. I don't think she would have really made it much longer than when we got her out, so it's a good thing they called when they did," Parker said.

Breeze was recovering at the vet until Tuesday evening, when the family was able to take her back home into a warm house.The family says it's grateful to the firefighters who risked their lives to save Breeze.

"They did an excellent job and they really cared not just about Nekoda, but about the whole situation. [They] put their hearts in it. There's a lesson to be learned here, there's a lot of heart in what they do, and there were a lot of teams that came together to help us," Kathy Witsken said.

A terrier named Kiko has performed surgery. Kind of.

According to a bizarre story reported in The Grand Rapids Press, Kiko smelled an infection in his owner's right big toe and set about "amputating" it. Which in doggie terms, of course, means he ate it. All the while, Kiko's owner, Jerry Douthett of Rockford, Mich., lay passed-out drunk in his bed.

Douthett awoke to find a bloody stump where his big toe used to be, and he and his wife rushed to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich. There, they discovered Douthett actually had type 2 diabetes and was suffering from a dangerous infection in his big toe.

Doctors finished the job Kiko had started, and amputated what was left of his toe.

Douthett's wife, Rosee, a registered nurse, had actually suspected her husband had diabetes and insisted he get checked out. But before he did so, he had a few beers. And then a few margaritas. After that, he went home, passed out, and Kiko got to work. Weird story, but Bruce Rossman, a media relations manager at Spectrum Health, confirms that it's true.

DENVER, CO - Cate Clark dropped her dog, Ruby, off at the 29th Avenue Animal Clinic last Thursday so she could be treated for dehydration.Two hours later, Ruby was dead -- not because the veterinarian made a mistake in treating the dog but because her staff allowed Ruby to escape her kennel and then the clinic altogether.

She wandered 18 blocks from the Stapleton clinic north toward Interstate 70 where she was hit by a car and killed.

"The negligence, the carelessness, it's just infuriating," said Clark. "I'm so sad, but I'm so angry at the same time."

Dr. Michele Smith, the veterinarian at 29th Avenue Animal Clinic, is taking responsibility for Ruby's death and has already fired the employee who left the clinic's back door propped open, allowing Ruby to escape.But that escape wouldn't have been possible had Ruby been in a kennel with a working latch.

"The kennel was broken," said Clark. "When we took Ruby in on Monday, the tech kept joking that Ruby keeps getting out of her kennel. And maybe that was funny at the time, but why wasn't she in a secure kennel? And when we went back to look at it, they'd already put another dog in the same kennel even though they could have gotten out just as easily."

Smith has refunded Clark's bill, paid for Ruby's cremation and even sent her flowers. But, it's little solace to Clark, her partner, Kelly and Harley, the couple's other dog who has been mourning the loss of his "best buddy" ever since Ruby failed to come home from the vet.

"Ruby was a great dog, she was a protector, she was a guardian, she was a great companion, she was a very gentle dog," Clark said. "We all miss her and you can't replace her. Nothing in this world will replace her."

News drops from the Dog Whisper website that our favorite canine coach and his wife of sixteen years are seperating.

"We are sad to announce that after 16 years of marriage we have decided to file for divorce," reads a statement on posted Cesar's Web site Friday. "The decision was made after much consideration and time. We remain caring friends, and are fully committed to the co-parenting of our two boys."

Ilusion Millan filed for divorce at Los Angeles court Friday, citing irreconcilable differences, legal documents show. She is seeking primary physical custody of the kids with visitation for Cesar, 40, as well as spousal support.

Millan is the longtime host of the National Geographic Channel's Dog Whisperer. He famously came to the U.S. as a young man from his native Mexico with $100 in his pocket and a dream of becoming a famous dog trainer. He succeeded "“ with the help of some famous clients such as Jada Pinkett Smith. In addition to hosting his television show, Millan has authored several best-selling books.

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn -- Miss Ellie, a small, bug-eyed Chinese Crested Hairless dog whose pimples and lolling tongue helped her win Animal Planet's "World's Ugliest Dog" contest in 2009, has died at age 17 after a career in resort show business in the Smoky Mountains.

The Mountain Press reported Thursday that Ellie starred in shows at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge.

She also appeared on The Animal Planet cable show "Dogs 101" and was on billboards and in a commercial.

Pigeon Forge Mayor Keith Whaley proclaimed Nov. 12 as "Miss Ellie Day" for her owner's efforts to raise money for the local humane society. Over the years, Ellie helped raise more than $100,000 for the Sevier County Humane Society.

She will be cremated.

Through the last six years of his life, Parley Nichols, 81, never left his Hartville, Ohio, home without his dog Lady. The two were best friends, soul mates and constant companions who took care of each other.

So when Parley, who had developed dementia, went missing on April 8, it was no surprise that Lady, his 6-year-old golden retriever that he bought as a puppy, was also gone.

"Dad had been wandering around, and we kept looking for him for a solid week, sending out flyers, doing whatever we could," Terry Nichols, one of Parley's two sons, tells PEOPLEPets.com. "With his dementia, he would struggle to hear you talk to him, then four hours later he seemed okay. We were very worried."

Finally, a neighbor called saying someone had driven by a field outside of town and heard a dog barking, trying to attract attention. But when Nichols and other family members drove to the area, they found nothing.

"When we went a second time to a different place by a creek, we found Lady and my dad, who was already dead," Nichols tells PEOPLEPets.com. "Lady was standing by his side protecting him. We are sure that she never left my dad for seven days, staying alive by drinking water from the creek."

Lady didn't know what to do when she saw other members of the Nichols family arrive at the scene on April 14. They had to pull her away from her master and place her in the back of their pickup truck.

"I don't know how dogs perceive things but she knew she had to stay with dad no matter what," says Nichols. "And she did."

"Do it, Say it, Wear it!" That is the motto of Studio250.com, an online store. Unforunately they don't have any other canine items other than these luggage tags at this time. If you like their store, let them know and send them a note stating you'd like to see more dog-centic accessories.

Make your bag stand out with this adorable luggage tag. Made of durable rubber and 4" x 2" large size will easily seen. Reverse side contains a plastic protected card to fill out our personal contact information. Don't leave home without it!

We went and checked these out for you. In addition to what is pictured above, they also have tags representing a Terrier and Dachshund. They have a price tag of $12