HRBlunders.com » dog

‘He’s such a good worker, I’d like to clone him’

Fred Hosier — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:00:11 +0000

Have you ever heard a manager say, “He’s such a good worker, I’d like ten of him?” Well, BioArts International is making that happen, sort of.

The company has decided to clone Trakr, a German shepherd that served as a rescue dog in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Trakr’s handler, retired Canadian police officer James Symington, wrote an essay about the dog that won BiioArts’ contest to find the most “clone-worthy dog,” according to the New York Daily News.

Symington and Trakr were among the first search-and-rescue teams to search for survivors at Ground Zero.

Trakr, now 15, suffers from a degenerative neurological disorder that experts said may be linked to exposure to toxic smoke at the Trade Center site.

For more on BioArts’ plan to clone Trakr, click here.

Ruling: Police dogs are civil servants

Fred Hosier — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:00:49 +0000

What if you had animals that were considered employees at your workplace?

That’s more or less the effect of a ruling by Norway’s Supreme Court: Police dogs should be considered civil servants, just as the police officers who work with them are.

The ruling was necessary in the case of a man breaking into a house. He was chased down by police dog Vera. Once he was in handcuffs, the burglar struck the German Shepherd.

The man was found guilty of burglary, but charges that he had attacked a civil servant were thrown out in two lower courts.

The country’s highest court reinstated that charge, according to wire service reports.

Attacking a civil servant carries a possible three-year prison term.

The court said since the officer and dog work as a unit, an attack on the dog is the same as an attack on an officer.

No word on Vera’s reaction to the verdict.

Dog mayor of town has died

Fred Hosier — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:00:17 +0000

Under the Unusual Employee Department: The mayor of Rabbit Hash, KY, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever, has died.

The Rabbit Hash General Store has confirmed that Junior Cochran died two days before his 13th birthday, according to Cincinnati TV station WLWT.

The town elected Junior mayor in November 2004. More than 3,000 votes were cast for him.

Rabbit Hash is proud of its dog mayor. It even has a Web site about it.

Will there be a special election? No one knows for sure. It’s possible Junior’s former contenders, Marty the mule and Charlie the chicken, may have a runoff.