ohmidog!

Here’s a clip from Dogtown, the National Geographic Channel series that will begin its second season Friday (Sept. 5 at 9 p.m.) with a special two hour episode, “Saving the Michael Vick Dogs.”

Viewers get to follow the recoveries of four of the most challenging dogs seized from the former Atlanta Falcon quarterback’s Virginia dogfighting ring — Cherry, Meryl, Denzel and Georgia — as experts at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary work to help them overcome their violent pasts.

Dogtown is part of the 33,000-acre animal sanctuary in southern Utah. Best Friends took in 22 of the 47 dogs seized from Vick — the dogs that were viewed as the least likely to be able to be rehabilitated.

Dogtown’s philosophy — “There’s no such thing as a bad dog” — seems to have worked with Vick’s dogs. Even Meryl, who was ordered by the court to stay at Dogtown permanently, has gained new social skills and confidence.

The sanctuary hosts hundreds of dogs, along with cats, horses, rabbits, goats and other farm animals — as many as 1,500 at one time. A staff of about 60 oversses them, taking care of the medical needs, training and rehabilitation, with the hope that as many as possible will be placed with new owners.

For those that don’t make that transition, Best Friends continues to care for them for the rest of their lives.

After focusing on the Vick dogs, the National Geographic program this season will look at some of the other guests at Dogtown — including a hound named Wylee who was hit by a car and lost the use of his front legs; a golden retriever with a learning disability, a border collie with dislocated hip, and a Weimaraner paralyzed with anxiety.

A neighborhood in Peru’s capital has passed a law prohibiting families living in apartments from having more than one dog and limiting people in houses to two.

According to an order published in the country’s official gazette on Thursday, residents of Jesus Maria, a middle-class area in Lima, have said there are just too many dogs — and too much barking.

“Neighbors have complained they cannot live in peace, harmony, or good physical and mental health because … noisy dogs disturb the peace,” the order read.

Families with more than the permitted number of dogs will face fines of up to 700 soles ($237), and could have their dogs removed, according to a Reuters article.

But Maria Solano, 70, said she would never let that happen to her two dogs, Boni and Fiama, adopted off the street 5 years ago.

“My dogs are my children,” said Solano, who lives in an apartment in Jesus Maria. “They aren’t hurting anyone. I’d move to another neighborhood before giving them up.”

The order says nothing about children, cats, or other animals.

Randy DeCarlo, the Georgia man who faced up to $24,000 in fines and 12 years in prison for his noisy beagles, was sentenced to two years probation — and he gets to keep his dogs.

Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Andria Simmons began her story in yesterday’s paper this way: “Howl-elujiah. All 25 beagles and basset hounds belonging to Randy DeCarlo would have joined in that chorus Friday, had they understood a judge’s ruling allowing them to stay put in their home.”

DeCarlo runs a state-licensed foster home for unwanted or abused basset hounds and beagles at his home in Gwinnett County.

The County Solicitor’s Office had asked that DeCarlo be limited to 15 dogs at his home, but Judge Patricia Muise ruled that DeCarlo can keep the dogs as long as he finds a way to limit their barking within 45 days.

The judge also gave DeCarlo an out, saying he would not have to serve the probation sentence if he moves out of the county. She cautioned DeCarlo that he could go to jail if future complaints are filed about the barking.

“I’m glad as long as they’re safe,” DeCarlo said.

Several neighbors testified that the hounds commonly bark for 15 to 45 minutes at a stretch, and one testified she’d been getting nasty emails since her involvement in the case became known. ”I kept getting emails from people telling me they wanted me to be put down,” Porter said.

About half a dozen animal activists attended the hearing in support of DeCarlo. They said there is a fear among their community that owners of numerous dogs could be forced out of the county with the threat of similar citations.

(Photo by George Chidi, courtesy of Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

This just in, from Onion News Network — your most dependable source of fake news.

Seems there’s a West Highland Terrier named Taffy that’s been barking for six straight years, breaking the previous record — for Rapid City, South Dakota — of eight minutes.

Taffy’s family seems to be taking the behavior in stride. Their neighbors? Not so much.

    Karma Dogs, the therapy dog group with which Ace and I volunteer, is looking for a few good dogs — particularly in the Harford County area.
   The new reading program will be held at the library in Aberdeen — meaning Karma Dogs founder Kelly Gould either has to talk her volunteers, most of whom are in Baltimore, into doing some traveling, or line up some new Karma Dogs in Harford County.

   The Karma Dogs reading program — one of several the organization is involved in – is pretty light lifting, at least for us volunteers. Ace and I have taken part in several sessions — and I think we both find it more relaxing than laborious. Basically, we sit and have kids read to us.

   The thinking behind the program is that, through reading to dogs, children who have difficulty can gain new self-confidence, not to mention some practice, and new dog friends.

   To see more about what’s involved in joining Karma Dogs, you can view the video I did for the Baltimore Sun about Ace becoming a therapy dog.

   Most of the Karma Dogs, like Ace, are former shelter or rescue dogs, who, in accordance with the philosophy behind the organization, are giving back to the community.

   If you’re interested, and think your pooch is Karma Dog material, sign up for the next evaluation session, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at the St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church at 1834 East Joppa Road in Towson. To register, send an email to goodkarma@karmadogs.org.

   For details on the evaluation process and becoming a volunteer, please visit the volunteer section of the Karma Dogs website.

   What do Joe Biden, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani — to name just a few — have in common?
   They’ve all been called “attack dogs” this week, so often that the phrase — in addition to reinforcing notions of dogs as vicious — has become a fairly major political reporting cliche, if it wasn’t one already
   Then again, to me (and maybe it’s just the attack dog in me) political reporting is about 50 percent cliches anwyay — though, granted, that’s because politics is about 80 percent cliches.

    You’d think the media, often portrayed as an attack dog itself, would better monitor its use of the term:

    NPR: “Biden Plays Second Fiddle (And Attack Dog)”

    Washington Post: “…Romney, a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain who was trying on the attack dog role.” 

    New York Daily News: “Attack-dog Rudy Giuliani takes a bite out of Hillary Clinton’s speech”

    And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think it’s time for a wake-up call. That dog don’t hunt.

    Cliches are bad enough, but ones that needlessly denigrate the canine reputation are particularly disturbing. At least we can be glad the media is not calling the vice presidential candidates pit bulls.

    Woops:

    Associated Press: “Mitt Romney, a potential John McCain running mate playing Republican pit bull on the periphery of the Democratic National Convention…”

    Daily Kos: (on Biden) “… it should be fun having a real pit bull in the number two position to do some of the necessary dirty work…”

    Huffington Post: “Picking Biden is a solid choice that adds political savvy, national security experience and a pit bull campaigner to Obama’s ticket.”

    Clearly, I have no complaint with comparing politicians to dogs, but I think it should least be done in an informative and entertaining way — not just stereotyping for stereotyping’s sake.

     One of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina — pretty much the same lesson the police officer in San Marcos, Texas learned — is that, no, it’s not just a dog.
    People will go to great lengths to save their pets, or even refuse to leave them behind in a disaster. And the public sentiment is clearly that pets deserve to be rescued as much as we do.
    In response to the demand for emergency preparedness plans for animals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Disaster Animal Response Team was created, and states, counties and now cities have begun creating their own disaster response teams.

    The city of Baltimore is looking for volunteers to assist in forming a team that will rescue and care for animals during disasters and emergencies.

    At the state level, the teams are knowns as State Animal Response Teams or SARTs. At the city level, the teams will be knowns as CART (for City Animal Response Teams). Volunteers will be trained in animal emergency preparedness and response, according to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), which issued the call for volunteers. 

    For information about SART and CART, go to www.sartusa.org. For information about how you can get involved with the Baltimore CART volunteer group, contact Alexis Mitchell at alexisrizz@gmail.com

(Photo: Cover of “Pawprints of Katrina,” by Cathy Scott, Wiley Publishing, Inc.)

Here’s the conclusion the Watsonville City Council reached Tuesday, when they pooh-pooed the idea of enacting regulations against specific breeds of dogs:

Dogs aren’t the problem. People are.

Instead, the council directed staff to stiffen existing rules, develop an educational outreach program and explore having city or civil court authorities oversee hearings about vicious dogs.

The city began looking into breed specific legislation after two pit bulls escaped from a yard in June, frightening neighbors and killing five cats. Pit bulls also were involved in two other conflicts in 2007.

“In many cases it’s not the dog, it’s the owner,” said Councilman Manuel Bersamin. “Sometimes teens get pit bulls to add to their sense of manliness. I don’t know if they’re good owners. … We only find out when there’s an attack.”

Several people spoke out against adopting specific regulations for pit bulls, Rottweilers or other large breeds, according to a San Jose Mercury News report.

City Finance Director Marc Pimental, who helped prepare the report for the council, said while targeting breeds was an option, he didn’t recommend it. Cities that have adopted such legislation have found themselves fighting court battles.

Christine Allen, a local member of San Francisco-based Bad Rap, a pit bull rescue group, praised the city for looking at options other than breed restrictions.

A lot of times it is the owner,” she said. “A lot of these owners don’t know they can do it better. They don’t know how. They don’t have the resources.”

The North Shore Animal League — in an attempt to give voice to the estimated 25 million owners of mixed breed dogs — has launched the The American Mutt-i-grees Club.

With Kathryn Erbe, co-star of “Law & Order Criminal Intent,” serving as spokesperson, the club intends to register and provide certificates to mutts, elevate their standing and rally their owners to help stop animal cruelty and end euthanization of dogs by the millions each year.

Muttigrees.org is the website of the group, created by the Pet Savers Foundation, the developmental arm of the massive North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington, N.Y.

“People are incredibly proud of their mixed breeds, and the time is ripe for there to be a way for them to communicate, share ideas and celebrate their choice,” J. John Stevenson, president of NSALA and managing director of the foundation says.

Stevenson, USA Today reports, thinks the new club for mongrel lovers will not only be appreciated, but will “change, over time, the way many people view mixed-breed dogs in shelters.”

Mixed breeds make up more than three-fourths of the dogs that enter shelters, are slower to get adopted, and make the majority of the 3 million dogs euthanized in shelters every year.

The American Kennel Club, though its focus is on purebreds, has also put forth opportunities for mixed breeds and their owners, including registration operations that issue paperwork for hybrids not recognized by the American Kennel Club, and by sponsoring organizations that put on competitive events for mixed-breed dogs.

Mutt-i-grees will “occupy a very different space” from the existing registries and clubs, says Stevenson. “We want to become somewhat the AARP of mixed-breed dogs. Just as AARP advocates issues relevant to seniors by aggregating a tremendous number of members, we, too, want to channel the voice of 25 million mixed-breed owners, to raise awareness and promote regulation to diminish the stronghold of puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.”

Residents of Waveland, a small town in southern Indiana, say shoes they leave outside are disappearing, and a stray dog is the suspected culprit.

The rash of shoe thefts begain in June, and acting town marshal Rob Kiger and others report they have seen the stray brown and white dog — possibly a beagle — carrying a shoe in its mouth around town. (Sounds like pretty circumstantial evidence to me.) Others have seen the dog lying in the sun near the fire station. The shoes, after they disappear, often turn up around the town’s fire station, according to an Associated Press report. Susie Calvert, who works near the fire station, said she finds shoes and places them on a ledge of the building, hoping that the owners will collect them.

Kiger said he’s tried to take the dog into custody, but it runs away every time he gets close.

Fewer than 500 people live in Waveland — hardly enough for a ”rash” of anything — and why they leave their shoes outside was not explained.