Memorial Day in United States

Memorial Day commemorates all Americans, who have died in military service for the United States.

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formally known as Decoration Day and commemorates all men and women, who have died in military service for the United States. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day and it is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season.

Memorial Day remembers those who died serving the United States military.

©iStockphoto.com/ Alan Crosthwaite

What do people do?

It is traditional to fly the flag of the United States at half mast from dawn until noon. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is combined with Jefferson Davis' Birthday in Mississippi.

Memorial Day has become less of an occasion of remembrance. Many people choose to hold picnics, sports events and family gatherings on this weekend. This day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season for cultural events. For the fashion conscious, it is seen as acceptable to wear white clothing, particularly shoes from Memorial Day until Labor Day. However, fewer and fewer people follow this rule and many wear white clothing throughout the year.

Public life

Memorial Day is a federal holiday. All non-essential Government offices are closed, as are schools, businesses and other organizations. Most public transit systems do not run on their regular schedule. Many people see Memorial Day weekend as an opportunity to go on a short vacation or visit family or friends. This can cause some congestion on highways and at airports.

Background

Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military action.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The current name for this day did not come into use until after World War II. Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May. However, it took a longer period for all American states to recognize the new date.

Happy Memorial day from the UK.

Therapy dogs at Airports/

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Flying Is Stressful, So Packs of "Pet Me" Dogs Now Patrol LAX

These therapy dogs at Los Angeles International Airport look for love, not drugs.

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Typically when you see a dog wearing an official-looking vest at an airport, you're on high alert. You don't run up to the dog requesting kisses. You don't kneel before the animal and say, "WHO'S A WIDDLE BOY?" You don't scratch the dog in that "sweet spot" near the tail, right there in front of TCBY.

Until now.

Well, you still don't want to do those things to an airport security dog, because you might be arrested. But you do want to do those things to the therapy dogs patrolling LAX, because that's their job.

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Launched this week, the Pets Unstressing Passengers program -- PUP for short (hah!) -- is sending wagging tails throughout the terminals to create a less stressful environment for travelers.

"It’s a great opportunity to spread happiness to millions of travelers from all over the world," said Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey in a statement. "Expect to see the PUPs on a regular basis in Terminals at LAX.”

The dogs come in a variety of breeds -- mutts, Dobermans, Bichons, and others -- and wear red vests that say -- what else? -- "Pet me." And people are taking them up on it, as you might well expect.

“When you walk in with the dogs, you feel the stress level drop immediately,” Heidi Huebner, director of volunteers at LAX, told CBSLA.com. “People start smiling, people start talking to each other, they’re taking pictures, they’re hugging the dogs."

You can find the dogs at boarding gates, baggage claim, ticketing lobbies, and other areas throughout LAX. The dogs are trained, registered, and certified by Therapy Dogs Inc. Currently, LAX has about 30 volunteers working with the dogs, and about two or three dogs are on the job at any one time.

Via the Los Angeles Times; images via Los Angeles International Airport's Facebook

Posted in IN THE NEWS, DOGS WITH JOBS, THERAPY DOGS

Trunking, the new wave in dog brutality.

What is the world coming to.

Is the Brutal Practice Called "Trunking" Real? We Asked an Expert

It does happen, but trunking "has nothing to do with the sport of dog fighting," the ASPCA's Randall Lockwood tells us. "It's just brutality."

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Earlier in the month, Dogster's news writer Michael Leaverton shared a story that made everyone on our team cringe. It was the first time we'd heard of "trunking," a disgusting practice where two dogs are put into the trunk of a car and driven around, expected to fight until one "wins" and the other dies. This post included quotes from a video report filed by a Miami news station, WPLG Local 10, which featured group of dogs rescued from a trunking situation by the Miami-Dade Animal Services Department.

A screen grab from the WPLG Local 10 report about the trunking incident in Miami.

The story struck a nerve well outside our regular readership and has been the most-trafficked story of the month thus far. More than 6,000 readers shared it on Facebook, and the response we've gotten in the comments section, on our Facebook wall, and in emails was overwhelming. Many were furious with the practice itself, and others were mad at us for "sensationalizing" a report they did not believe to be true.

Over the weekend, Dogster Community Manager Lori Malm and I attended the Blogpaws conference in Virginia, and we were invited to a private viewing of the ASPCA's dog fighting exhibit at the National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington, D.C. Before the tour (which included a startling map of the number of dog fighting arrests made in the U.S., and a selection of sinister-looking contraptions used by dog fighters), we met with Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior vice president of the ASPCA's Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects.

Dr. Randall Lockwood talks to us at the Museum of Crime and Punishment on Sunday.

Lockwood has a ridiculously long and impressive resume, and has worked with humane societies and law-enforcement agencies for more than 30 years. He has testified in numerous trials involving cruelty to animals or the treatment of animals in the context of other crimes such as dog fighting, domestic violence, and homicide. He also helped orchestrate the exhibit we were there to see.

Before the tour, he talked about his work on the forensics team, and he called dog fighting "the greatest violation of that relationship between people and dogs."

Dr. Lockwood's jacket. Photo by Lori Malm.

"Dogfighting does not occur in a vacuum," Lockwood told us. "It almost always involves illegal drugs and illegal weapons." And getting those in law enforcement to see the correlation between the sick sport and other crimes has helped make shutting down dog fighting rings more of a priority.

But trunking isn't something dogfighters necessarily do. After our tour of the exhibit, we took Lockwood aside to ask about the practice, which he confirmed is real (albeit not widespread) and not a Snopes-worthy prank or urban legend. The first time Lockwood heard of an official trunking case was two years ago, and there were rumors about it for years before that.

A map of dog fighting incidents around the U.S. Trunking isn't classified as dog fighting according to Dr. Lockwood.

"We are hearing some reports of trunking. We had recent reports from Texas, some from, I believe, New Jersey and Missouri, but it seemed to be a relatively [isolated] phenomenon," he said. "Unfortunately it's one of those things that goes viral on the web, that then idiots hear about and think 'Y'know, that might be interesting to try.'"

"It has nothing to do with the 'sport' of dog fighting," Lockwood continued. "It's nothing that a professional or hobbyist would engage in, because it defeats the purpose of recognizing a well-trained dog and breeding a successful fighter. It's just brutality."

A sad image used in the ASPCA's dog fighting exhibit.

"I still hear very few confirmed cases, but I will no longer say 'Now I've heard everything,' not in this business. There's no limit to the depths of idiocy that some people will go to."
If you hear of a trunking or dog fighting incident in your area, the first step is to alert your local authorities or law enforcement agency. The ASPCA also offers a 96-page dog fighting toolkit for law enforcement.