Hurley, a terrier who seemed to finally have his troubles behind him and appeared headed for adoption in Oregon, is now lost.

After a life on the streets, an uncertain future in a California shelter, a trip to Eugene and reconstructive surgery, the terrier was at his first-ever adoption event when he slipped his collar and disappeared, the Eugene Register-Guard reports.

To make matters worse, Hurley is deaf.

The brown-and-white smooth terrier, was among a handful of rescue dogs hoping to find owners at a June 20 event held at Wine­Styles in south Eugene.

West Coast Dog & Cat Rescue co-director Jennifer Clark said that, spooked by some balloons, he wriggled out of his collar and took off.

“He’s definitely the perfect storm of lost dogs,” Clark said, noting Hurley, in addition to not being able to hear, is likely a little skittish.

The Register-Guard reports that he has been spotted twice, most recently near the downtown Eugene bus station last Saturday.

Hurley, believed to have been born deaf, was living in a shelter in California, trying to get over a broken paw, when he was removed  by a Lane County rescue group and brought to Eugene in March. Bush Animal Hospital provided him with free surgery — a $3,000 operation to fix his leg. He was then housed with a foster family for several months.

“I hope that he’s still out there and safe,” Clark said. “It would be great if somebody found him, fell in love and wanted to give him a home.”

(Photo: West Coast Dog & Cat Rescue)

Animal rights groups are criticizing the decision by animal control officers in Navajo County, Arizona to shoot and kill more than 50 dogs owned by a man who was serving a month in jail and couldn’t take care of them.

According to the Arizona Republic, the woman who heads the shelter where the county usually takes stray dogs said the agency could have handled the dogs if someone had called.

“Shooting is not a humane way to end an animal’s suffering,” said Anna-Marie Rea, executive director of the Humane Society of the White Mountains in Lakeside.

“We do feel like the decision made in the field was the right one to prevent suffering for the animals,” said Dr. Wade Kartchner, director of the county’s health department.

The dogs were owned by Edward Harvey, who lives outside of Heber and regularly took in stray dogs. He said he had been jailed for about a month on a gun violation in early May because he couldn’t make bail. He returned home to find some of the dogs’ bodies still on his property.

“That’s more punishment than I deserve,” Edward Harvey. “No one needs to be treated that way, especially animals.”

While the county contracts with the Humane Society of the White Mountains for shelter services, county officials said the dogs were aggressive, would have been difficult to round up and would likely have died in the county animal-pickup vans, which aren’t air-conditioned.

Rea said the humane society could have dispatched a euthanasia technician, food, water and kennels to the site, or have transported the animals to shelter.

The agency has fielded at least 30 phone calls from upset residents who read about the shooting in a local newspaper.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also are criticizing the shooting.

“Animal-control departments and the Humane Society around the country have dealt with situations where a large number of animals that need to be contained and humanely dealt with without resorting to shooting the animals,” said Betsy McFarland, senior director for companion animals at the Humane Society of the United States.

PETA has aksed for an investigation into the shooting.

Whether you think the measure of a civilization is how it treats its prisoners, or how it treats its dogs, it’s clear Navajo County doesn’t measure up too well on either count.

Baltimore’s wackiest opportunity to show off your dog (or other pet) — the American Visionary Arts Museum’s “Pets on Parade” — starts 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The event includes a pet talent show. To enter, show up and register at 9:30 at AVAM, located near the Inner Harbor at 800 Key Highway, at the foot of Federal Hill Park.

In past years, museum officials say, the pet talent show has featured a memorable range of acts, from singing dogs to hermit crabs re-enacting Revolutionary War battles.

In addition to the parade and talent contest, there will be a round of musical chairs and a chance (for pets) to cool off in pools.

Trophies will be awarded for Best Costume, Most Patriotic, Owner & Pet Look-alikes, Least Likely to Succeed as a Pet, and the esteemed Most Visionary Pet Award. Dressing up pets is encouraged but all animals must be leashed or carried.

 
The Pennsylvania SPCA, which will be showcasing some of its adoptable mutts at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July parade, managed to squeeze all the information you need into their patriotic announcement. So we’ll just salute and say no more.

New York City had its usual share of murder and mayhem Monday, but some police officers chose to focus their crimefighting efforts on one particular evil scourge: an uncrated pug in a subway station.

A Brooklyn woman carrying her dog, Dempsey, in her arms was handcuffed, hauled to a transit police station house and cited for not having her pet pug in a container.

Chrissie Brodigan, 32, who writes for The Huffington Post and other websites, said she was bruised on her arms when an officer handcuffed her in the Bedford Avenue train station in Williamsburg about 5 p.m. on Monday. “He punched me in the back,” she told the Daily News. “He kicked my ankles apart.”

Dogs have to be in a “container” while in city subways, police said. Brodigan said the 15-pound dog was out of his carrier because he had been sick.

Brodigan, who admits to reacting rudely to being busted, was also cited for disorderly conduct and failure to identify herself.

Brodigan was handcuffed by Joel Witriol, the NYPD’s first Hasidic officer, who she says repeatedly told her, “If you’re going to act like a woman, I’m going to treat you like a woman.”

In case you get tired of watching your own dog — and if you ‘re like me, you never do — there’s always the Internet, where a visit to Ustream.tv will hook you up with a live cam show of these Jack Russell puppies, and much more.

You can check in with Madi, a sick Havanese (her temperature has dropped), a litter of Shiba Inus from San Francisco, some mastiff pups from Idaho, a gaggle of Chihuahuas in San Antonio and, of course, Grandma Beth’s bulldogs, who, I can report, made quick work of their dinner last night.

In addition to watching, you can also chat with fellow dog watchers.

All in all, as of last night anyway, there were 41 dog cams to choose from — many, if not most, of which seem aimed at selling pups, as opposed to just warming the cockles of your heart.

The Jack Russell show takes place just north of Syracuse, New York, and features a mom and her five pups. The father, Ollie, makes an occasional appearance.

The website offers about 75 other animal cams — everything from birds and fish to goats and squirrels.

With the Fourth of July approaching, it’s time once again for a few reminders, most of which we all already know, but, as they say, better safe than sorry.

First off, make sure your dog is wearing identification tags — even if you’re both planning a quiet evening at home.

Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) has issued a reminder that even animals not inclined to roam may uncharacteristically do so amid the bangs and booms. Animal shelters across the country are accustomed to receiving a surge of “Independence Day” dogs — so make sure your’s is carrying the information needed to get him or her back to you.

Read more »

In case you missed it on the Today show this week, here’s a look at their “Big Dog Makeovers.”

Today went to Animal Care and Control of New York City to find four candidates — all more in need of a loving home than an actual makeover.

While the makeovers aren’t that impressive, they do at least allow homeless dogs to get some air time, and find homes. (All the dogs featured in the segment up to now have been adopted.)

This week, they tackled Sonya, a flat-haired retriever mix, Phoebe, an Australian cattle dog , Marcus, a German shepherd, and Jack, a Jack Russell they decided deserved to be i the mix because of his big personality.

Next Monday, as if dogs and makeovers weren’t enough, the Today Show will be throwing a third element into the mix: the ambush.

On Monday, July 6th TODAY will be “ambushing” three lucky dogs on Rockefeller Plaza with a doggie makeover, according to the Today Show blog.

“If you are in the New York area and think that your pup needs some pizzazz, stop by the plaza and your dog may get a new ‘do. Experts will be roaming the crowd starting at 6:45 a.m., so be there early to get a good spot!”

Those pushing for more dog parks in Boston are playing the crime card — pointing out that a park filled with people and their pets cuts down on drug deals, violence, vandalism and loitering.

It’s a card well worth playing.

In Fields Corner, one of the main arguments local residents made as part of an effort to raise $200,000 for Dorchester’s first dedicated dog park was that it would reduce crime, the Boston Globe reports. 

A Wisconsin teenager’s excuse was true — his dog really did eat his passport — but, even so, he missed out on a class trip to Peru.

Jon Meier’s golden retriever, Sunshine, chewed the corner off his passport, obscuring some numbers, the Associated Press reported.

Officials at Chicago’s O’Hare airport told the 17-year-old not to worry, but authorities in Miami rejected the document, and refused to let him board. He couldn’t get another passport in time to join his Spanish class on the 12-day trip.

Meier, who attends Eau Claire North High School, said he held no grudge against his dog: “I love her too much,” he said.

Melinda Merck, the ASPCA’s forensic vet, has teamed up with the University of Florida to establish a new animal forensics program— the first of its type in the nation.

Merck, who has helped solve some of the most notable animal crimes in history, including the Michael Vick dogfighting case, is moving to Gainesville to teach at the University of Florida. Her class was the subject of a feature story Friday in the St. Petersburg Times.

As the Times story points out, crimes against animals have gained increasing attention in the past few years. Police are charging more people with animal hoarding, dogfighting, abuse and neglect. And there’s a growing recognition that  people who hurt animals often go on to commit more serious crimes against humans — Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Albert DeSalvo (the Boston Strangler) and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), to name a few.

While more law schools are offering animal law classes, the animal forensics program at the University of Florida will be the first of its kind, but likely not the last.

Florida, the Times report notes,  seems to have more documented animal cruelty cases than most states — or maybe it does a better job of bringing them to light. Just in the past few weeks, a man in Miami was accused of being a serial killer of cats; a Tampa woman was jailed after she left her puppy in a hot car while shopping at Ikea; and another man was arrested for leaving two dogs in the bathroom of his apartment while he went to Las Vegas for two weeks.

In her partnership with the University of Florida, Merck will teach at the school’s College of Veterinary Medicine and continue her animal forensic investigations. The school plans to establish an animal forensic degree program that likely will start online this fall. Read more »

Mayor Don Call pleaded innocent to two felony counts of animal cruelty in the February shooting of a McCune resident’s two dogs.

Call was bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing Monday in Crawford County District Court, according to the Joplin Globe.

Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso said he filed the felony charges because he believes the dogs were killed maliciously. Call, who says he killed the dogs after receiving a report that they were chasing a neighbor’s children, is also charged with the illegal discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor.

Call didn’t seek re-election as mayor of McCune in April, but won it anyway, when the 98 write-in votes he received were enough to beat the only candidate on the ballot.

According to Crawford County Sheriff’s Department reports, witnesses said Call fired three times from his vehicle, driving around the block between each shot. The owners of the dogs says they were chained at the time. Evidence submitted during the hearing included the rifle allegedly used by Call.

The misdemeanor count carries a penalty of 30 days of jail time and a fine of $500. The felony counts carry a penalty of up to a year in jail, and a fine of up to $5,000.

The trial is scheduled for December.

And the winner of our Bad Samaritan of the Year award is … Alfredo Jaime Dempkey, who police say found a teenaged girl’s missing dog in the Los Angeles area, then threatened to keep and torture the pet unless she paid him or provided him with sex.

Dempkey, 27, of Lancaster, California, was arrested by Hawthorne Police Friday night.

“I think someone like that is sick,” the 17-year-old dog owner told the Torrance Daily Breeze.

The girl was at work Friday evening when her family notified her that her dog, Pineapple, a 2-year-old cocker spaniel-toy poodle mix, had disappeared. 

Dempkey, calling himself “Anthony,” called the girl — apparently getting the number off the dog’s collar — and told her he had found the dog and wanted $70 for its return.

“At first I was, `OK, someone’s found my dog,”‘ the girl said. “But then when he asked for money and when he said if I didn’t have money he wanted something else, I got scared. He asked for sex.”

The girl said Dempkey also threatened to torture the dog if she didn’t give in to his demands. “I started crying,” she said. “He said, `If you don’t want to do anything or if you don’t want to give up money, I guess you don’t want your dog.”

The girl eventually agreed to meet Dempkey at  the El Pollo Loco restaurant at Hawthorne Boulevard and Imperial Highway.

When Dempkey arrived with the dog, he was met instead by the victim’s father and police. He was arrested and the dog was returned, unharmed, to the owner.

Dempkey, it turned out, was a registered sex offender who served a prison term for forced oral copulation, the Daily Breeze reported.  He was taken into custody on a suspected parole violation, but police say he could face other charges, including extortion.

I don’t know if it was love at first sniff, but the two dogs in this video clearly took a liking to each other outside Kildare’s Irish pub in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia.

The video was shot by Don Groff, a former colleague of mine from Philadelphia, during the Manayunk Arts Festival last weekend.

“I shot it Saturday … while seated at a sidewalk table,” Groff says. “It’s short on plot and dialogue … but viewers might grin over how two urban dogs can turn a patch of Main Street into a gleeful romping field.”

Don also does a blog, which you can find here.

Greyhound racing appears headed for an end in New Hampshire.

The state’s two dog racing tracks won permission yesterday to drop all racing dates.

Paul Kelley, executive director of the state Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission said commissioners approved applications from both the Lodge at Belmont and Seabrook Greyhound Park to cease dog racing and operate solely as simulcast betting centers, and as host to charitable gambling events, the Union Leader reported.

The move comes as a new state budget bill  takes effect July 1, allowing tracks to drop their live racing and continue simulcast wagering. The decision could be the end of greyhound racing in the state. A third track, in Hinsdale, closed late last year.

Rick Newman, who represents the Belmont track said the decision was a financial one. “It costs a lot more money to run live racing than we get from it,” he said.

The Grey2K USA group, which fought to end greyhound racing, said the budget bill removed the last reason for tracks to continue dog racing.