ohmidog!

After a candelight vigil for the 80 dogs shot and killed by two kennel-owning Amish brothers, one of the brothers approached the lingering crowd, Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein, an animal advocate, reports on a blog for the Reading Eagle.

Elmer Zimmerman explained that he was told shooting the dogs was legal and said he had been advised to do so by his veterinarian.

He also said he regretted the choice, but it was unclear to Evangelista-Epperstein if it was the act or the publicity it led to that Zimmerman lamented.

You can read her full report and see more of her photos of the event here.

The dogs were shot by the two puppy mill owners after a state inspection resulted in an order that they provide about 40 dogs with veterinary care.

Dr. Frank Moll, of Hamburg, who had treated Zimmerman’s cattle but not his dogs, said he received a frantic call from him after the inspection. He told him it was legal to shoot animals in Pennsylvania.

“I warned him, though, that it was not the preferred method of disposing of dogs,” Moll told the Reading Eagle. “I told him the Humane Society probably wasn’t going to like it.”

Zimmerman shot all of his animals. Ammon H. Zimmerman Jr., his brother and owner of a breeding operation next door, disposed of 10 dogs the same way even though his kennel had not been inspected July 24. The  brothers surrendered their kennel operator licenses and dismantled the kennels.

Chris L. Ryder, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, said all 80 dogs were shot with a .22-caliber rifle and buried in a compost heap on one of the farms near Kutztown.

   Yesterday’s post on a dog named “Batman” reminded me to do a little research on the real Batman’s dog.
   Yes, Batman had a dog — several variations of dog, in fact, over the years.
   But the first one, the original one, also known as the Bat-Hound, was a dog about the size of mine, about the color of mine, and with the same name as mine: Ace.
   That’s him — my dog — in the long horizontal shot near the top of the page.  As you can see, though I might lack Bruce Wayne’s wealth and Batman’s abs and don’t even own a cape, the resemblance between our dogs is uncanny.

   Ace — the one that belonged to Batman — made his first appearance in 1955 (two years after I made mine). My Ace made his appearance in 2005, showing up in someone’s yard, who promptly called animal control, leading to his incarceration at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, the old city shelter, from which I adopted him.

  Ace — the one that belonged to Batman was adopted, too. Originally, he was owned by an engraver named John Wilker, whose kidnapping by a gang of counterfeiters Batman and Robin were investigating. Batman used Ace to try to locate Wilker.

   Once Wilker was found safe, and his dog returned, he took a new job that made it difficult for him to take care of Ace, so he left the dog to Bruce Wayne. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

  Amazingly, Wilker was never aware that Ace was the Bat-Hound or that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

  Ace all but disappeared from the Batman comics after 1964, when Julius Schwartz took over as editor, and made only very occasional comic book appearances in the years afterward — including as a Great Dane mix in the 1990’s who had a striking resemblance to Scooby Doo. That Ace belonged to Bruce Wayne and, unlike the original, took on no crimefighting responsibilities.

  My Ace, meanwhile (whose full story can be found here), has also proven an amazing crimefighter. He regularly and routinely inspects handbags and luggage for contraband  (though never taught to do so). There are those who believe he is merely looking for treats, but I know — superhero that he is — he is keeping the world safe from evil. 

(Photo courtesy of Bruce Wayne)