ohmidog!

Seldom, if ever, has so much weight been put on a single family’s choice of dog.

And seldom if ever has getting a dog –  normally a personal and joyful affair — become such a public exercise in risk management and political correctness.

At first it was a simple campaign promise to his daughters, Sasha and Malia, that they’d get a dog after the election — only slightly complicated by the need for that dog, in deference to Malia’s allergies, to be hypo-allergenic, if there even really is such a thing.

Now there’s talk that the Obama’s eagerly anticipated choice of dog breed, or hybrid — Newsweek magazine’s April 13 issue says to expect some developments within the week — could lead not just to a surge in purchases of whatever breed they choose, but could cause a boom to the puppy mill industry as well.

The logic, as outlined by Newsweek, goes this way: If the Obamas get a Labradoodle — even a rescued Labradoodle — it will spark an increase in demand for the hybrid, and since most hybrids are bred by puppy millers, they’ll start churning them out to meet the demand, or in anticipation of it.

If the Obamas get a Portugese water dog — the other choice they’ve mentioned — the same thing would happen because not a lot of that breed can be found in shelters or rescue.

In other words, Obama can’t win. The fear is any breed, or hybrid, the First Family picks could have a  “101 Dalmatians” effect: a sudden burst in popularity that breeders will try to capitalize on it by mass-producing similar dogs.

Even with Obama’s popularity, I think the fear is being slightly overstated — and I can’t think of any precedent for a president’s choice of dog leading to mass purchasing of the breed. I don’t think the presidency of younger Bush led to a surge in Scotties, anymore than the popularity of beagles was boosted by Lyndon B. Johnson. (History buffs, please correct me if I am wrong.)

Then again, with the Obamas, there are cute kids involved, and photo ops and, I’m sure, a media onslaught of tremendous proportions once the dog arrives, if how much coverage the issue (or non-issue if you prefer) has already gotten is any indication.

All this is another good argument for what was my personal preference, and really the only politically correct choice –  a shelter mutt. That way, the only copycat surge would be in the number of people going to their shelters to adopt dogs that already exist and need homes.

Of course, that was before I decided it was none of my business – that, ideally, a family’s choice of dog should be left up to that family, not pundits, political pressure, or internet polls. Has any other president been held to this level of scrutiny — or any scrutiny at all — regarding his choice of dog? (Note to future presidential candidates: Get a dog before you start your campaign.)

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but I’m not sure, at this particular moment, if they’re Obama’s.

(Photo: Posters by Shepard Fairey)

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Here’s Ben Stein, on CBS’s Sunday Morning, with some advice on how to get through the recession — or just about anything else.

Two pit bulls were set on fire and burned so badly that they had to be euthanized, police in Dallas say.

Authorities say the male and female pit bull terriers, both in flames, were seen running from an intersection, prompting several calls to police Saturday night.

Several neighbors rushed to help the dogs while others tried to chase down the 15- and 17-year-old believed to have set the dogs on fire before turning them loose in the street.  By the time police arrived, the teenagers were gone — though they were later identified, the Dallas NBC affilliate reported.

“The two dogs were in agonizing pain,” said Jonnie England, director of animal advocacy for the Metroplex Animal Coalition.  Of the female dog, which was either pregnant or nursing, England said, “Her face was practically burned off.”

“Ironically, April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month,” said England.  “People have to understand that if you abuse an animal, you will go to jail.  Thankfully, more people are stepping up and speaking out for the animal victims of crime — like the neighbors in this case who called the police and tried to help the dogs.”

Dallas Animal Services is launching an investigation into the abuse. They have already impounded six other dogs found at the home of the teens.

Two fatal pit bull attacks on infants in Texas has the state legislature taking a look at revising the state’s dangerous dog laws, including breed specific legislation, creating a separate category for dogs that appear they could be ”vicious” and — believe it or not — maybe even weight-specific legislation.

“I think we ought to by state law determine that if you are a vicious dog, we ought to prevent you from going to public parks, to schools where kids congregate and if you live in a city with more than one million citizens, require that any dog that over 40 pounds be enclosed in a fence,” said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, (D) San Antonio.

Specifically, that section of his proposed law reads: A person who owns or keeps custody or control of a dog weighing 40 pounds or more shall ensure that the dog, at any time the dog is not on a leash in the immediate control of a person, is kept inside a residence or in a secure enclosure on the premises where the dog is kept.

Perhaps the most troubling part of the bill, though, is that, unlike “dangerous” dogs, who are so deemed because of their actions, the criteria for judging a dog “vicious” is based only on appearance — does he snarl, is he jumping at the fence? No aggressive action needs occur, according to the Texas Humane Legislation Network.

On March 31 in San Antonio, a 7-month-old boy, being taken care of by his great-grandmother, was attacked by her two pit bulls when she went to get a bottle for the child, according to UPI. The week before, in Luling, about 25 miles east of San Antonio, an 18-month-old boy was killed by a pregnant pit bull his mother was dogsitting, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Margaret Bucher has five dogs.

The town she lives in only allows four.

That, after the village board turned down her pleas Monday night, leaves Margaret with only a couple of options — ditch one of her beloved canines, or get the heck out of Wheeling, Illinois.

Bucher on Monday did her best to get an exemption from the rule, bringing a letter of support from her mail carrier, and a letter ”written” by her dogs: “Please let us stay in our home. We are house dogs and live in a clean home. We have to depend on our owner to fight for us. She loves us very, very much.”

Only a handful of people attended the meeting, and only one person spoke out on Bucher’s behalf, according to the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago. 

Trustee Robert Heer blamed Bucher for “creating a circus atmosphere … You talked to every radio station and newspaper you could.” (Does Wheeling restrict the number of media outlets one can speak to, as well?)

“Laws are for all people,” Heer added. “You come with this idle threat of moving. If you choose to leave, then leave.”

Village officials had given Bucher until April 1 to give up one of her dogs or face a fine of between $50 and $500 per day. Officials later extended the deadline to give Bucher time to work out a plan. But Bucher said she couldn’t possibly choose which of her five dogs – a Pomeranian, two Maltese, a shih tzu and a Maltese/shih tzu mix – she would give up to comply with Wheeling village code.

If the village doesn’t let her keep all five dogs, she said, she’ll move.

The University of Washington — home, ironically enough, of the Huskies — has banned dogs from campus buildings.

The UW Board of Regents decided in a meeting last month that non-service animals will no longer be permitted inside buildings, according to The Daily, the student newspaper.

The changes also prohibit leaving animals unattended or tethered to campus property and allows them to be seized and impounded.

UW Police Department Assistant Chief Ray Wittmier said the new policy followed a dog bite incident in Parrington Hall.

Wittmier said the department would respond to complaints and ask pet owners to take their animals out of a building. Owners would be cited or banned from campus if they refuse.

“[Violators] will always get a warning first,” Wittmier said. “If somebody doesn’t have ties to campus, they could be banned. Someone on campus will be handled as an employment-type issue. Employment could be terminated. Other actions could affect students and their student status.”

No word on whether the changes apply to Dubs, the dog that serves as school mascot. Judging from his blog, he seems to be allowed indoors, or at least inside the football stadium and basketball arena.

A man in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is sticking to his guns — and threatening to use them — in a protracted battle over walking his dog without a leash.

Robert Wirth Jr. has spent $100,000 in legal fees on the case, and may lose his house, all because of walking his dog in a deed-restricted community without a leash.

“We’re running out of time because we’re running out of money,” said Wirth, 52, who works as a real estate broker and continues to walk his black Labrador, Cole, without a leash.

In January 2003, the River Watch Homeowners Association fined Wirth and his wife, Sandra L. Blaker, $1,000 for letting Cole walk without a leash. When the couple didn’t pay, the association filed a lien and, later that year, foreclosed on the home to collect the debt.

Last year, a circuit judge ordered Wirth and his wife to pay the fine, plus interest, attorney fees and other costs or the house would be sold. Wirth now owes more than $40,000, he said. He filed another appeal in February 2008, which has yet to be ruled on.

Wirth argued that the River Watch Homeowners Association deed restriction –  “A dog must be kept on a leash at all times when outside” — is too broad and, as written, required even dogs in fenced yards to be on leashes.

Wirth’s frustration have escalated to the point that he not too wisely said he would shoot and kill one of the board members if things don’t go his way. “I am not going to let them ruin me and my wife like this without standing up to them,” Wirth said.

Wirth’s comments were reported to the Tarpon Springs police, which followed up. The agency said the threat didn’t appear imminent, but that authorities would monitor the situation.

The St. Petersburg Times, in an editorial today, comes down on the side of the homeowner’s association, calling Wirth’s defiance of the rule ”stubborn and illogical.”

The editorial argues that the couple, by buying the house, agreed to the restriction and states that, no matter how well-behaved a dog might be “there are no guarantees when dealing with an animal.”

The full story an be found here. The editorial is here.

A Phoenix area police department is trying out a new heat-warning system designed to keep police dogs from overheating when left alone in vehicles.

The Peoria Police Department had the system installed in Officer Aaron Brewer’s patrol car about a month ago to keep the department’s lone police dog, Havoc, safe in high desert temperatures.

If a dog is in the vehicle when a handler removes the keys from the ignition, the system will keep the engine running. If the vehicle’s air-conditioning fails while the handler is away and the temperature rises above 90 degrees, a siren will go off.

Once the alarms sounds, the handler has about 3 minutes to get to the vehicle and disarm it before a message is sent to police dispatch, according to the Arizona Republic.  (The system’s alarm is high pitched, to distinguish it from a regular police siren.) If the handler can’t be located, the dispatcher will send officers to the vehicle’s last known location.

Peoria has never had a police dog die from overexposure, but a Chandler K-9 died in August 2007 after his handler forgot to let the dog out of the back of his patrol vehicle, and other jurisdictions have reported deaths as well.

Tellef believes Peoria was the first police department in the country to install this system, which cost about $800.

Eye-catching as the paintings might have been, it was their frames that caught the nose of a U.S. Customs drug-sniffing dog on the Mexico-Arizona border.

Federal officials say a man was taken into custody Friday after Customs and Border Protection officers found 90 pounds of marijuana hidden in the frames of six large paintings in his vehicle.

Officers selected the man’s vehicle for a routine inspection Friday at the border crossing in Douglas, Ariz., and their dog alerted to the paintings. An X-ray revealed the marijuana in the frames.

The man was being held pending the filing of charges, according to an Associated Press report.

The agency says the paintings were professionally done and the frames were nicely constructed.

Virginia last week became the seventh state to require antifreeze be spiked with a bitter tasting agent that keeps pets from consuming the toxic liquid.

About 10,000 pets a year, lured by its sweet taste, are fatally poisoned by antifreeze, according to the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Kirk Cox, a Republican who introduced the bill in January, after a constituent told him of two dogs on her postal route that had fallen victim to antifreeze.

Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Maine and California have similar laws, according to Zootoo.com.

The law calls for all imported car engine coolants/antifreeze that have more than 10 percent ethylene glycol also contain denatonium benzoate, a notoriously bitter, but otherwise harmless chemical compound.

“For a 25-pound dog, it can take just as much as a few licks for this stuff to take effect,” said Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

Oregon first passed a law to make antifreeze more unappealing nearly 15 years ago.