ohmidog!

Pennsylvania lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that makes sweeping improvements to the care and housing of dogs in commercial kennels.

The “puppy mill” bill (H.B. 2525), covers roughly 650 commercial breeding kennels, most of them in Lancaster and Chester Counties.

The new law bans wire flooring in cages, doubles the minimum cage size, eliminates cage stacking, and requires regular exercise and semiannual veterinary care for thousands of dogs, according to the Allentown Morning Call.

The new standards for cage size and flooring go into effect in one year. Some other provisions won’t go into effect for three years. A provision that allows only veterinarians to euthanize dogs in commercial breeding kennels will take effect immediately.

A Pittsburgh woman who spent 13 years searching for her father learned yesterday that he was the Hurricane Ike relief worker who was killed when he tried to rescue three dogs from a Houston freeway.

Alaina Emery, 25,  learned about the death of her father Robert Emery, who she hadn’t seen since she was a child, in an email exchange from a stranger, the Houston Chronicle reported.

She’s the first relative of Emery to be located since he died Sept. 27 when he ran onto the East Freeway to rescue three dogs stranded in an emergency lane.

The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office had been unable to find relatives, and Emery was to be buried as a pauper if no one claimed his body.

The daughter was located by Kellye Nagata, a woman who says she searches for people as a hobby.

“Girl, he died a hero with tons of people loving him,” Nagata said in one email to Alaina Emery, whom she tracked down on the Internet.

Bob Emery’s death rallied animal lovers in Houston and elsewhere, who vowed to ensure he receive a proper burial, and that his attempt to save the dogs would not be forgotten. There have been offers to donate a casket as well as a burial plot, flowers and ministerial services, and the animal welfare organization, No Paws Left Behind, is collecting money for a funeral or memorial to Emery.

Alaina Emery said she had unsuccessfully searched phone books, the Internet and even appealed to a television show as recently as last week for help finding her father.

“I am very saddened that I could not find him in life, but somehow he found me in death,” Emery told the Houston Chronicle by phone.

The newspaper reported that Emery had battled a drug problem that destroyed two marriages as well as his career as a construction worker.

He had two other children, and authorities were still trying to determine if he was still married at the time of his death.

                                                                                                                                                                  French film legend and animal activist Brigitte Bardot wrote a snarling open letter to Sarah Palin this week, saying the vice presidential candidate was a disgrace to women, and that Palin comparing herself to dogs was unfair to dogs.

The 74-year-old screen icon implored John McCain’s running mate to stop depicting herself in canine terms — i.e. “pitbull wearing lipstick.”

“I know them well and I can assure you that no pitbull, no dog, nor any other animal for that matter is as dangerous as you are,” Bardot wrote.

The screen icon from the 1960s, who now heads an animal rights foundation, went on to assail Palin for supporting Arctic oil exploration that could jeopardize animal habitats and for dismissing measures to protect polar bears, AFP reported.

“By denying the responsibility of man in global warming, by advocating gun rights and making statements that are disconcertingly stupid, you are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe,” wrote Bardot.

“This shows your total lack of responsibility, your inability to protect or simply respect animal life,” Bardot wrote.

It will soon be official: A dog park — built and paid for by the city — is coming to Locust Point.

As we reported earlier, that’s a first, and a much appreciated turnaround under Mayor Sheila Dixon from the city’s long-time hesitancy to get involved in dog parks.

So I will propose once again that dog lovers in Baltimore use Friday’s scheduled press conference to show our appreciation, and give Mayor Sheila Dixon — who may also say something about additional dog parks for Baltimore — a 100-dog salute.

It’s this Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Latrobe Park, on Fort Avenue in Locust Point — giving you just enough time to stop home, pick up the pooch (and the leash, and the all important poop disposal bags) and show up.

The press conference will be behind the basketball courts bordering Andre Street, and is expected to only last about 15 minutes.

The dog park committee, which has worked long and hard to bring a fenced-in area for dogs to the park, will be getting together afterwards to celebrate at City Limits.