ohmidog!

The saga of my dog Ace, though already told, may be in for some revision.

My Baltimore Sun series on Ace’s roots — which traced everything from how he ended up in the city animal shelter to the breeds that, according to a DNA test, were in him — originally appeared last year. (You can find the video version of “Hey, Mister, What Kind of Dog is That?” on our dog-umentaries page.)

Now, with advances in technology, were going to reexamine Ace’s earliest chapters. The simple cheek swab DNA test we gave him in connection with the earlier project, which checked for 38 breeds, showed only two — Chow and Rottweiler.

Now, we’re going to try the new and more sophisticated blood test, from Mars Veterinary — the Mars Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis – which can determine the presence of 157 breeds.

As a result, we may find out that there is more to Ace — breed-wise — than we originally thought, perhaps we’ll even find out what accounts for his size, which, height-wise, exceeds that of both of the breeds found in him.

Mastiff, horse and minivan were among the guesses last time around, in addition to the more common ones — Akita (which would explain his curly tail), shepherd and Great Dane (which would explain his size). As it turned out most people were wrong, at least according to the Canine Heritage Test.

This time around, we’re going to ask for guesses as well. Those who can name each and every breed — in the form of a comment on this entry – will win a free ohmidog! hooded sweatshirt.

In addition, we’re checking the DNA of our contest winner, Elliott. To guess his breeds, go here.

The process starts this weekend when the blood of Ace and Elliott will be drawn by Dr. Johnny Slaughter, mobile veterinarian, and we’ll give you updates along the way. When the results are in, we’ll all get together — likely at a bar — to hear the results.

Meantime, guess away. Here’s some info on Ace: He’s 121 pounds (having recently dropped a few), is about as tall as me (5′ 9″) when he stands on his hind legs. HIs tail makes a complete loop — at least when he’s happy. He works, off an on, as a therapy dog, loves all humans, and almost all dogs. He’s an Aries (we think) and likes long walks on the beach, watching birds and curling up with a good book, as long as somebody else is reading it.

The White House has produced its final holiday video (I’m hoping this isn’t our tax dollars at work) featuring the president’s dog, Barney.

In this year’s “Barney Cam” Christmas greeting, the first family’s Scottish terrier scampers amid the White House’s red, white and blue holiday decorations before retiring for a nap and imagining himself as an athlete.

The Barney Cam was introduced in the 2002 holiday season, and got 24 million Web visitors on its first day, according to the Associated Press.

Since then, Barney’s holiday videos have featured former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush adviser Karl Rove, country singers Dolly Parton and Alan Jackson and other stars. Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin guest star in the final holiday doggie video from the White House.

Barney is shown in cutout animation as an Olympic vaulter, swimmer and synchronized diver with fellow terrier Miss Beazley, both in red swimsuits.

He also dreams of sinking the final putt to secure the Ryder Cup, with the entire U.S. Ryder Cup team chanting “Barney, Barney, Barney!”

The Barney Cam spot introduced Monday starts with President George W. Bush, his wife, Laura, and their daughters, Jenna and Barbara, reminiscing about their times together in the White House, then sending Barney off to decorate and nap.

The Pennsylvania kennel where Vice President-elect Joe Biden bought his German Shepherd puppy was cited for records violations days after he picked out the dog.

After a regularly scheduled inspection on Dec. 10, four days after Biden picked out his 3-month-old puppy, the Wolf Den Kennel  was cited for a record-keeping violation and failure to produce records of rabies vaccinations, according to state records. Each citation carries a fine of $50 to $300.

Linda Brown, who also operates the kennel in Chester County as Jolindy’s German Shepherds, said she had never before been cited, and said the records in question were accidentally tossed out when the kennel cleaned up in preparation for Biden’s visit.

“We went in there and cleaned everything up and I didn’t even think about it,” she said. “How many times does the vice president visit? Maybe once in a lifetime?”

Brown said she had since gotten copies of the rabies vaccinations and given them to state officials.

Colleen Spalioni went to an animal shelter to find a dog.

She went home with 27.

The rescued pooches — including 10 Chihuahua mixes, one purebred Chihuahua, a Jack Russell, a poodle, two shepherd mixes, two miniature pinschers and an Australian cattle dog mix — were apparently facing euthanasia.

Spalioni, of Sparks, Nevada, was looking for a dog to replace the pointer she lost in November to a car accident, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

She found one on the website DogsinDanger.com, which posts photos of dogs in shelters and the number of days until they are euthanized. It was nearly 400 miles away, but Spalioni made the trip to Delano, Calif., near Bakersfield, accompanied by a neighbor, in her pick-up.

There she learned how many more dogs were facing euthanasia — and adopted them all. Delano police animal control officers helped her load the 27 dogs into her pickup. Some fit in the cab, with the rest in the truck bed with a down blanket and a tarpaulin over the top.

Spalioni did all this while her husband was away on a business trip. He returns home today.

One dog died on the trip home, and two more since. The 24 others yelped enough to lead her neighbors to complain, and it has been pointed out to her that a local ordinance sets a limit of three dogs per household.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be in so much trouble or that so many  people would be so angry at what I did,” Spalioni said. “But after I lost my dog who gave me so much unconditional love, I couldn’t leave these dogs to die.”

She had found homes for all but three of the dogs as of Monday, and said she hoped to place the remaining dogs before her husband got home.