If you're a beer company making a cautionary video about drunken driving, call in a cute dog!

Beer companies who make ads about drunken driving are in a weird position, because they can't tell you to not use their product. That would be bad for shareholder value, and someone would get fired. They have to tell you to go ahead and use the product responsibly and don't go out and do anything dumb like die, because you have a nice dog at home who loves you.

That's the angle of Budweiser's new "Friends Are Waiting" video, which has garnered a massive 10 million views since Friday. When someone at a beer company nails the drunk driving campaign with a video that goes viral, you know that someone's getting a raise. Plus, the main character was able to drink as much as he wanted, so much so he passed out at Dave's, which is like the Holy Grail of drunk driving ads made by beer companies.

Man, Dave's house must have been tight.

Anyway, the spot is heartwarming to the extreme, even the part at the end where the dog stays up all night worrying if his owner has died when instead he was just at Dave's trying to make the room stop spinning.

Rosie lived alone for most of her life in a national park in Western Australia. The young Rottweiler had been seen wandering in the bush, but no one had taken the time to rescue her until two friends, Calli and Lee, decided to help her.

"We do not know Rosie's background or how she came to live in the bush," says Calli. But she knew for a fact that Rosie had been in the wild for at least 9 months (or longer). After doing some research, she learned that others had see her too.

"When there was road work nearby the road workers were throwing food to her but if they tried to go near her she would run away," said Calli. "The rangers were getting calls frequently about Rosie and had set up traps quite a few times but had no luck trapping her so they seemed to have given up."

Rosie was unapproachable, but this did not deter the two friends from setting out to rescue the abandoned Rottweiler.


This is their story of how they saved Rosie.

Way to go Champ Was in bits watching him dragging his back legs like that but what a turnaround...BRILLIANT

In a world of resorts eager to find a competitive edge in guest amenities, one Utah resort has truly gone to the dogs.

Flash was huffing and puffing even more than I was on a hot Saturday afternoon. His tongue was lolling out of his mouth as he wound his way in between my knees.

The border collie wasn’t used to being on a leash, and all he wanted to do was herd me as we made our way to the trailhead of Snow Canyon.

Flash and his canine buddies get to hike the rusty red mountains twice a week — at least they will until they are adopted from the Ivins Animal Shelter in Ivins, Utah. They do it as part of a program with the Red Mountain Resort, where guests get the privilege of hiking with shelter pups — a program that seems equally beneficial for both the dogs and the humans.

The Pound Puppy Hike program came about 10 years ago while a hiking guide for Red Mountain was splitting her time between the resort and running the animal shelter.

These days the top dog at the shelter is Aggie Smith. A no-nonsense woman with a big heart, Smith has worked here for nine years. She started as a volunteer and is now the shelter manager and an animal control officer. There are two things she can talk about all day long: dogs and football. She loves the Eagles, hates Michael Vick. Smith has three dogs of her own, two from this shelter and one from the local high-kill shelter. She also has six cats and a husband who is a trucker. He’s home only for about eight days each month.

“When he’s back he is always looking behind doors and under beds to find out what new animals are here,” Smith said.

For the Pound Puppy Hike, the dogs are brought out one by one and they couldn’t be happier to see their hiking companions. Nikita, a 1-year-old husky with pale blue eyes, did a delighted prance to impress the crowd. Once she was on the leash, she didn’t want to hike — she wanted to run.

To be fair, the humans were just as excited as the dogs.

There’s an inherent danger in taking one of the shelter dogs on these hikes. You inevitably bond with your new furry friend, and it isn’t unheard of for resort visitors to go home with a new family member.

“We’ve had 30 dogs adopted from this walk,” Smith told me.

I looked down at Flash. Could I get this dog home on an airplane? As if she read my mind, Smith put a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “He’ll get a good home.”