ohmidog!

Protesters turned out at about 25 Petland stores in 15 states over the weekend in a choreographed series of demonstrations against the marketing of puppy mill puppies.

Petland, after an 8-month investigation by the Humane Society of the United States, was identified by the organization as the largest retail supporter of puppy mills in the nation.

HSUS says its investigation revealed that many Petland stores across the country are marketing puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers.

Petland denies the accusation.

“To encourage the company to mend its way, we’ve organized rallies at 22 Petland stores across the country this Saturday,” HSUS President Wayne Pacelle said in his blog, “A Humane Nation.”

HSUS is encouraging Petland to allow adoptions in its stores, as PETCO and PetSmart do, rather than selling puppies.

The protests took place Saturday in Maryville, Tenn.; Tampa, Fla.; Hilliard, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and nearly a dozen other locations.

Petland says the charges are untrue and slanderous. Here’s the full text of a press release the company issued Friday:

Read more »

President-elect Barack Obama finally chose a dog yesterday in Washington.

He made the selection during an unscheduled lunch hour stop.

Obama opted for the “half smoke” at Ben’s Chili Bowl — a sausage that is similar to a hot dog but is larger in size, contains more coarsely ground meat and is slightly spicier, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, which issued a press release on the purchase.

“His stop yesterday shows that while the most sophisticated chefs in America may be vying for his palate, American hot dogs and sausages were the ‘wieners’ this weekend in Washington,” said council President Janet M. Riley.

Labradoodle

Portugese water dog

President-elect Barack Obama and family have narrowed their choices for first pooch, and are leaning toward a Labradoodle or Portugese water hound, according to an exchange on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

Stephanopoulos: “What kind of a dog are we getting and when are we getting it?”

Obama: “They seem to have narrowed it down to a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound.”

Stephanopoulos: “A medium-sized.”

Obama: “Medium-sized dog, and so, we’re now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up.”

Stephanopoulos: “So, you’re closing in on it?”

Obama: “We’re closing in on it. This has been tougher than finding a Commerce secretary.”

Obama said his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, had decided they wanted a medium-sized dog, and that they also wanted a shelter dog. Their choices of dog breeds are limited because because of Malia’s allergies.

Don’t worry. We’re not becoming ohmielephant!, but after your response to Bella the dog and Tarra the elephant, we thought we’d share another amazing elephant story one with you.

This elephant, according to the information posted on YouTube with the video, was rescued from abusive treatment in Burma, and now makes a living as an artist in Thailand.

Her mahout talks to her throughout the process and rewards her with sugar cane and banana as she uses her trunk to paint.

The video was posted on YouTube by Exotic World Gifts, which supports, “Starving Elephant Artisans” by selling their paintings so they can continue to have a new life in Thailand.

“Some Thai elephant experts believe that the survival of the Asian elephant species will most likely depend on the good treatment of the elephants in well managed privately owned elephant camps,” the website says. “All of us would prefer that all of the elephants be free to be in the wild. For many reasons, that is not possible at this time.”

To see more elephant art, and learn more about the program, visit exoticworldgifts.com

Today we kick off a new Sunday feature on ohmidog! – highlighting the best comment of the previous week.

Our first winner is Mary Schmidt, who commented on the entry, “What a difference 20 years makes,” contrasting Sports Illustrated’s 1987 pit bull cover, and its current pit bull cover.

Wrote Mary: “I have nothing but praise for Sports Illustrated for the recent issue with the cover story about Jasmine and the other Vicktory dogs.

“Maybe in another 21 years, Sports Illustrated will have evolved enough to dispense with the swimsuit issue.”

For her winning comment, Mary will receive an ohmidog! plastic water bottle.

The July 1987 Sports Illustrated cover, above, went a long way toward creating the negative stereotype the pit bull has lived under for the past two decades.

This month’s cover, below, and the story that goes along with it, goes a long way toward showing how wrong that stereotype is.

It took 21 years, but I guess we can consider their mistake — blaming the breed, as opposed to what humans have done to it — corrected.

PETA’s suggestion that the USA Network discontinue its broadcast of the Westminster Dog Show — on the grounds that the show reinforces unhealthy breed standards — doesn’t seem to be garnering a lot of pubic support, if a poll by the Los Angeles Times animal blog, “Unleashed,” is any indication.

PETA’s request came on the heels of the BBC’s announcement that it won’t be airing the prestigious Crufts dog show because of concerns that purebred breeders, in their quest to meet dog show appearance standards, are endangering the health of some breeds.

Unleashed puts this question to readers: “Do you agree with PETA that the USA Network should refrain from airing Westminster?

“Yes — breeding dogs for the show ring is unethical and shouldn’t be supported.

“No — dog breeders promote responsible pet ownership and dog shows are fun to watch.”

As of 7:30 last night, the “No” votes held a 4,682 to 356 lead.

To see the comments, and vote, click here.

(Image: Commemorative poster for the Feb. 9-10, 2009 Westminster Dog Show)

A new magazine, devoted to dogs and dog owners in Northern Virginia and metro DC, has hit the newstands.

NOVADog Magazine will be published quarterly, and subscriptions are $17 a year, but if you input coupon code “NOVAD2″ at checkout, you can bring it down to $16.

Regular features will include “Destinations” to take your pooch, “Eco Dog” for Earth Friendly dog products, “Expert Advice”, “The Source” which details must-have products and local news, “The Scene” featuring local dogs, “Hit the Trail” for great dog-friendly hikes, and “Wags to Riches” with heart-warming adoption tales and more.

The Winter 2009 issue has articles on why visiting Mount Vernon with your dog should be on your to-do list this winter, an insider’s hiking guide to Scott’s Run Nature Preserve and a winter calendar of upcoming doggie events.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the whimsical musical that opened at Baltimore’s Hippodrome this week, features eight dogs in the cast — all owned, in real life, by a former circus performer who turns abandoned dogs into show biz dogs.

Joanne Wilson is the trainer, handler and owner of Samantha (who stars as Edison in the play) and the other seven dogs with supporting roles.

The musical, which runs through Jan. 18, focuses on a whimsical family of inventors trying to harness the powers of a magical car. That has little to do with dogs, admits Ray Roderick, the director who adapted the Broadway show into the touring production, but he decided to include them as an homage to the 1968 movie, which was peppered with pooches.

“Everyone says never work with children or dogs,” Roderick told the Baltimore Sun. “Clearly, I disagree.”

In the show, the pack of dogs bursts onto the stage and sprints across it at full speed, controlled by a hot dog that Wilson is holding offstage.

Wilson, a longtime animal trainer, began rescuing dogs from the streets after leaving the circus, which led her and her sister to establishing Wonder Dogs, a program that rescues dogs from shelters and turns them into show dogs.

Any dog that can no longer perform remains with the Wilson sisters after retirement, their website says. 

The canine cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang includes Buddy, a rat terrier; Penny, a a Pomeranian, as well as Lucky, Bear, Cory, Percy and Sugar.

Wilson and her husband follow the show from town to town in their dog-filled van — including the eight dogs in the show, five more of Wilson’s other dogs and another that belongs to a cast member.

(Image from wilsondogs.com)

The special bond between an elephant and a dog in Tennessee has captured the attention of humans — if the number of web hits I’ve been getting since posting Steve Hartman’s CBS News report is any indication.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has been flooded as well — “with high fives and uncounted media offers,” according to its website.

Tarra, an elephant, and Bella, a stray dog the sanctuary took in, have enjoyed each other’s company for years. When Bella suffered a spinal cord injury a few months ago, Tarra — despite having 2,700 acres to roam, stood vigil outside the sanctuary office, where Bella was recuperating.

The CBS report didn’t provide any details of how Bella was injured, but that’s addressed on the sanctuary’s website.

“Since Bella and Tarra’s recent television exposure, a lot of people have asked how the spinal injury happened. When Bella was found in a shallow ravine in the elephant habitat, unable to walk, she was rushed to the veterinary hospital. X-rays revealed that she had sustained a spinal injury. The absence of deep tissue damage and puncture wounds led the veterinarian to surmise that Bella’s spinal injury was the result of an awkward twist, most likely sustained when she was running and jumping over something.”

Also on the website is the video above, filmed before the CBS visit, which we provide for those of you can’t get enough of this inter-species love story.