ohmidog!

A dog in Oregon has become the first confirmed canine victim in the nationwide salmonella outbreak.

The dog, a 3-year-old mixed breed in southern Oregon named Levi, got sick late last month after eating Happy Tails multi-flavored dog biscuits, said Emilio DeBess, the state public health veterinarian. DeBess said tests on the biscuits showed they were tainted.

The outbreak that has sickened at least 575 people nationwide and been linked to eight deaths.

DeBess said the biscuits — one of the brands that have been recalled — tested postive for salmonella, according to the Portland Oregonian.

In a related development Friday, The Associated Press reported that Peanut Corp. of America’s plant at Blakely, Ga., knowingly shipped salmonella-contaminated products as far back as 2007, according to inspection records released Friday.

In Oregon, DeBess said Levi’s illness is the first time since the outbreak started in September that health authorities in the U.S. have confirmed a case of a sick dog, and the first time that salmonella has been found in dog biscuits.

With the potential for cross-contamination, DeBess said, people should be especially diligent about washing their hands after touching a dog with bloody diarrhea.

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Here’s a dog that’s figured out a way to get a free back scratch without all that squirming around it normally requires. What does the ground get in return? Ummm. Fertilizer?

Mike Hasenei says a police raid on his home left him with a sprained wrist, a bullet hole in his bed and a dead dog.

“They shot three times. Two hit the dog, one hit the bed,” Hasenei told the Howard County Times.