ohmidog!

North Carolina dog breeder Ed Faron entered a guilty plea today to 14 counts of felony dog fighting as part of a plea bargain.

He was sentenced to 8 to 10 months in prison, according to the Wilkes County Clerk of Court office. Under the plea bargain Faron will be under supervised probation when he gets out of prison and will not be allowed to own, possess or care for any dogs.

Faron is to report to prison on March 5, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

The future of the 127 dogs seized in a raid on Faron’s Wildside Kennel on Dec. 10, 2008 — and even more born since the raid — remains up in the air. County animal control officials have said the dogs would be euthanized, under county law, after the legal case was resolved.

Today, Best Friends Animal Society issued a press release today urging that attempts be made to rehabilitate the dogs.

“To make the judgment that all these dogs are dangerous, solely on basis of their breed, is simply wrong”, says Ed Fritz, campaign specialist for Best Friends, which in the past 12 months has been working to rehabilitate the Michael Vick dogs at the society’s 3,700-acre sanctuary in southern Utah.

“We have witnessed many heartening examples of individual success with our dogs that confirm our view that pit bulls are just dogs,” Fritz said. “Given the right opportunity any dog, with few exceptions, will respond to positive care and training. We believe the Wildside Kennel dogs deserve just such an opportunity and should be evaluated on an individual basis, especially in the case of the puppies.”

Fritz said Best Friends welcomes an opportunity to talk with county officials about helping to cover the cost of spay/neuter services for the dogs, as well as assisting in the process of placing the dogs.

“It’s bad enough that some of these dogs’ natural instincts to please their owner have been exploited into violence for profit. But to kill them merely punishes the victims and does nothing to stop the criminals engaged in illegal dog fighting,” Fritz said. “There simply are better solutions than just destroying the dogs.”

My dog’s lineage took another wild swerve last night when it was revealed that — contrary to an earlier DNA test that showed him to be Rottweiler and chow — he is actually Rottweiler and Akita.

The two detectable breeds in my dog Ace (left) and Elliot (right) were revealed at our “ohmidog! Identity Crisis and Breed Reveal Party,” which raised $500 for the Franky Fund for sick and injured animals at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

While Ace’s mix was correctly guessed by a member of the crowd that gathered at the Idle Hour Tavern for the reveal, nobody nailed the two breeds that showed up in Elliot Gould: boxer and golden retriever.

Kelly Gould, Elliot’s owner — though she has nothing against boxers and golden retrievers — immediately demanded a recount, saying the DNA test’s findings were not at all in line with what she suspected.

Elliot, the winner of our “What’s in Your Mutt” contest, spent the day before the party at my house, where he behaved, in true mutt fashion, magnificently. At the Idle Hour, guests sized up Ace and Elliot, and tossed their guesses, along with their Franky Fund donations, into a fishbowl.

At 8 p.m., the envelopes were opened and the test results were announced. The two winners — in Elliot’s case, the person who came closest, picking boxer/shepherd — will receive ohmidog! sweatshirts. From the rest of the entries, three more winners were drawn to receive dog treat baskets, courtesy of K-9 Kraving Dog Food.

Thanks to K-9 Kraving, the Idle Hour, Mars Veterinary (makers of the Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis test kit), Dr. Johnny Slaughter (the vet who took the blood samples), and all those who showed up for the party.

(Tomorrow: Now what? We’ll take a look at what, if anything, the test results mean — to the dogs and their caretakers.)

This month’s award for dog’s worst enemy — aka schmuck of the month — goes to David Lench, who’s accused of driving three-inch nails through the pickets of his neighbor’s fence so that his neighbor’s German shepherds would cut themselves if they ran alongside it.

As a result, one of the neighbor’s three German shepherds suffered puncture wounds, according to Newsday.

Lench narrowly beat out Mayor Don Call of McCune, Kansas, who, in response to a citizen’s complaint, shot and killed two nuisance dogs from his car seat with a rifle, and the Wisconsin woman whose dog froze to the sidewalk.

For Lench 50, of Middletown, N.J., it’s the second time he’s been charged with animal cruelty.

Camp Bow Wow may not sound like the place for a romantic getaway — but if you go there Saturday between noon and 3 p.m., you’ll have a chance to win one.

You’ll also have a chance  to take home some love — the kind that comes in furry bundles.

Camp Bow Wow in Columbia is holding “Cupids and Canines,” an event that will feature adoptable pets from BARCS, the Maryland SPCA and the Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW). Golden Retriever Rescue, Education and Training (GRREAT) will also be there, providing microchipping.

Also on hand will be Terri Diener, animal communicator; Joy Freedman, animal behaviorist; Lisa Solomon, pet photographer; and Robyn Jacobs, of Pet Tag Creations.

Nature’s Variety will be showcasing their pet food selection and offering free samples, and goodie bags including items from ohmidog! and other sponsors will be handed out as well. There will be a raffle for two romantic getaways at the Harbor View Inn in Annapolis.

You’ll also have the chance to donate to Bow Wow Buddies, Camp Bow Wow’s foundation is to promote the health and welfare of dogs worldwide by focusing on finding foster and lifetime homes for unwanted dogs, promoting humane education and treatment, and investing in research and treatment for dogs devastated by illness and disease.

And, just maybe, Mr. or Mrs. Right will be there, too, or at least Mr. or Mrs. Right Dog.

Camp Bow Wow is at 7165 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia.

During her nine-year career as a search and rescue dog, Marley sniffed around the rubble left by eight hurricanes, and crawled through the ruins of the World Trade Center, says Tampa, Florida fire rescue Captain Mark Bogush.

In the years they worked as a team, Marley never left Bogush’s side. On Wednesday, when the black lab’s stomach became twisted and distended from a condition known as canine bloat, Bogush never left hers, according to Tampa Bay Online.

“I got 12 excellent years from Marley,” saud Bogush. “The best thing for her was to go to that little puppy palace in the sky.”

Bogush said he spent years steeling himself for the possibility Marley would suffer a fatal injury in a disaster area. Instead, after retiring a few years ago, she fell victim to far more common ailments –like arthritis, hearing loss and, finally, stomach bloat. Vets predicted little possibility that surgery would lead to a full recovery. It was up to Bogush to decide whether to euthanize her.

Bogush recalled the first time he saw her, when she was a 6-month-old puppy, wreaking havoc on the home of her owner. What the owner saw as trouble waiting to happen, Bogush saw as high energy, waiting for an outlet.

She took quickly to search and rescue training and treated the work like a game of hide-and-seek. Searching amidst the rubble of the World Trade Center, Marley was motivated by the idea that if she found trapped people, they would “pop up and play with her,” Bogush said.