Hey, frendz. Your canine correspondent JournoDog here.
My mission is to sniff the sniffs, unbury leads, and share scoops that matter to pets and hoomans who care for us.
I’m all about language anyone can understand. No panic, no jargon stew, and as little misinformation as possible. And so, here’s the latest edition of Meet the Paws with JournoDog!
Let’s dig in.
AI Makes a “Hooman-Turned-Dog” Deepfake
A viral video is making the rounds again that claims a man in Japan had surgery to turn himself into a dog. It looks wild. It is also not true.
Fact-checkers at The Quint tracked it down and found it was AI-generated from a real 2023 story about a man named Toco. He’d paid about $14,000 for a very realistic border collie costume and made videos in it.
Just to be clear: No, the strange hooman didn’t actually turn into a doggo. No surgery took place.
My rule of paw for news hounds and hoomans that if a story sounds bonkers, do a quick sniff test:
- Who posted first?
- Credible reporting behind it?
- The two-source rule followed, to ensure at least a couple informed voices add expertise and POV to the story?
- Is it a “credible source that can be verified and shown to not be bight and paid for?
If you cannot answer those, do not hit share.
I love hoomans who like dogs, but I GRRR about misinformation and fake stories that waste attention we could spend on real pet issues.
FDA OKs Meds for Screwworm Invaders
On August 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a special OK for Simparica TRIO to be used for treating and preventing screwworm parasites in puppies and dogs.
These are mean buggies, causing pain and wounds in animals.
So this new FDA decision gives V-E-T-S an extra tool to protect doggos in areas where screwworms show up.
What makes this scary is that while this tummy ‘truder has been found in lots of animals in warmer Southern counties, and it’s been gone from the States since 1966, at least one canine case has now been officially confirmed in Texas and New Mexico).
State and federal agencies have also reported tracking roughly 30+ total animal cases, mostly in those same two states.
Science says that these types of meds can kill nearly 100% of baby parasites inside us within 24 hours.
- Earlier in the year, FDA also gave temporary OKs to other meds (NexGard and Credelio Quattro) for rapid treatment in canines.
- In June 2026, the FDA also said OK to a quick-kill tablet (Nitenpyram) for the same purpose, in dogs and puppies more than 4 weeks old and weighing 2 lbs).
I may be biased as a dog, but I think more tools to keep dogs healthy is good news.
Rehoming and Petflation
Pet care costs are up. Food, vet visits, meds, emergencies. All of it.
Sadly, that squeeze hits both families and pet shelters — just like the one where I came from when making my fateful journey from Kentucky to Michigan to find my fur-ever home.
That means more families are parting with their beloved pets because of the costs! NPR has covered this, sharing that the trend is higher in recent years.
OMGrrr… how horrible!
To tackle this, some groups are trying direct rehoming programs that connect families who need to surrender a pet with hoomans who want to adopt, without always going through crowded shelters.
Clearly, this is important news. No matter how expensive life is, pets still need safe homes, full bowls and vet care. I’m glad some news orgs are sharing these scoops, helping hoomans know about options like rehoming programs before budgets break down and pets become unaffordable.
Again, my bias is clear. I want every pet to land on their paws and I can’t imagine the nightmare of experiencing rehoming myself.
But as a canine correspondent, I want hoomans to have clear, calm information so they can make good decisions.
Court News: Doggo’s Supreme Appeal Denied
Bruce, a 3-year-old Great Pyrenees and German Shepherd mix, found himself squarely in the legal crosshairs. ABC News shared this story the other day.
California officials ordered him euthanized following multiple biting incidents, including one that severely injured a child.
In April, a black robe judge determined Bruce was a “vicious dog” and ordered him for disassembly, after finding he posed a threat to the public after multiple “vicious” biting incidents.
Lower courts had tossed out the last-ditch appeals to save Bruce by concluding the animal rescue lacked a concrete interest in the dog’s survival sufficient to challenge the dangerousness finding by local authorities.
His owner and a dedicated rescue group put up a legal fight on his behalf, taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States in to and pawz the order.
Sadly, the black robed hoomans took too long.
We said goodbye to Bruce on Aug 12, before one of the the supremes assigned could rule on his emergency appeal.
To me, this underscores the messy, heartbreaking crossroads where public safety, animal advocacy, and legal red tape collide. I know we dogs aren’t perfect, but it’s sad to see a fellow pup’s life cut short while he’s stuck waiting in the legal doghouse.
JournoDog, out
So, that’s that for this August edition of Meet the Paws.
I’d like to know what pet stories you’ve been sniffing out, frendz? Anything that made you worried, hopeful or just confused? Drop a comment and tell the JournoDog team what you’re sources are sniffing out.
Until the next time when the news beckons like a barking dog you can’t ignore, JournoDog out.
Always remember: love your pets. Support local journalism. Run your own sniff tests, be kind to your local shelter, and try to find smiles and happz for your heart every day.
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