ohmidog!

Chachi the Chihuahua ran out the front door of a house in Orlando, Florida on July 4, 2008.

Nearly 10 months later he was found — in Ohio, nearly 800 miles away.

Robert Bartman, 30, of Gainesville, Fla., Chachi’s owner, said the dog disappeared while being watched by friends. He has no idea how he got to Ohio.

“When you lose a dog for that long, he’s dead or someone stole him,” Bartman said. “You figure the worst.”

The dog was spotted by Patricia Ross and her boyfriend Lonnie Mason at the end of April, walking down the street in Middletown, Ohio, according to the Oxford Press.

Ross took the Chihuahua around the neighborhood, seeking his owner. Finding none, she took the dog, who was wearing no collar or tags, to Alll About Pet Care.

There, Chachi was discovered to have a microchip. When Bartman was notified that Chachi had been found  in Middletown, there was a pause on the phone.

“Middletown?” he asked.

“Middletown, Ohio,” Coheen said.

Chachi was driven to Dayton International Airport and flown to Florida. After receiving medical treatment there, he’s back home with Bartman.

“You could tell he had been on the street for a while,” said Bartman, who said the vet bills amounted to more than $700.

“He’s worth more than that,” Bartman said. “With that type of love, you can’t let them go.”

Everything, of course, is relative, but, compared to almost any other major city, it’s clear Baltimore — with one small dog park and another on the way– has a severe dearth of dog parks.

Today’s case in point: Miami-Dade County.

For a while, there were only three – Flamingo Park and a pair of parks in Coconut Grove. But in just the past few years, more fenced areas for dogs have popped up in Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and Hialeah, bringing the number of dog parks in cities around Miami-Dade to more than a dozen, the Miami Herald notes.

In Palmetto Bay, after a push by residents, the village responded in 2007, converting the almost three-acre Perrine Wayside Park into a dogs-only zone. The park has a walking path, waste bag stations, pet water fountains and dog washing stations. Dogs can frolic alongside the ducks in the middle of the park’s picturesque lake.

Aventura residents got their own dog park last summer. And Sunny Isles Beach opened “The Bone Zone” at Sen. Gwen Margolis Park last May. Homestead has a “bark park” under construction and Doral is also considering creating a dog park.

Miami Beach, meanwhile, has four do parks and is considering a fifth at the newly renovated South Pointe Park. The city is also weighing whether to create a dog beach.

Numbers like that are enough to make a dog owner in Baltimore — which has one small dog park in the city, another in the county — drool.

It makes you wonder what Miami-Dade has that we don’t — other than more sunshine and money — whether it’s a matter of the people pushing harder, or having fewer bureaucratic obstacles thrown in front of them. Why do some cities spawn dog parks like bunnies, while others move at a tortoise’s pace?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

(Photo: Perrine Wayside Park, a three-acre dog park in Palmetto Bay, Florida, from dogparkmiami.com)

Baltimore’s $1,000 fine for letting a dog of its leash is, effectively, a thing of the past — if even that.

A city council committee yesterday — saying the amended penalty was passed by mistake — approved lowering the fine to $200 on a first offense, and promised that, for all 35 of the $1,000 tickets issued between the beginning of April and May 8, violators will have to pay no more than $200.

The new three-tiered fine — $200 for first offense, $400 for a second, $600 for a third — still requires approval by the full council, but little opposition is expected.

In opening the hearing, at which more than a dozen dog owners testified, Council Member James Kraft said, “This fine, very frankly … was a mistake. We were amending provisions of the law that were dealing with cruelty to animals and we increased penalties because some of these penalties were very old penalties. They weren’t acting as deterrents.

“Inadvertently, because that section had a lot of other provisions in it, that thousand dollar fine went across a much broader spectrum than we knew.”

Upon learning of what they had done, Kraft said, the council took steps to ask that the fine not be levied against violators.

Nevertheless, 35 $1,000 citations were handed out by the city’s office of Animal Control, with support from the police department — 23 of them since April 28.

“For those who have said that maybe this was a fundraising measure on behalf of the city, please be advised it clearly was not,” Kraft said.

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Call it a two-sided sign of the times, one that reflects the increasing regard in which we hold our dogs, and the increasingly hard times the economy is creating for us: food pantries for dogs.

Part of a movement to keep pets with their families, and out of overloaded animal shelters, pet food pantries are popping up across the country, according to ZooToo Pet News

“There are so many things that pet owners have to consider, like spay/neuter, boarding, and other types of vet care, but we are seeing that food is the primary concern,” said Ellen Gillmore, Best Friends Animal Society campaign coordinator. “There is such an immediate need for it that it jumps to the top of our list.”

Best Friend’s new program, First Home, Forever Home, which is aimed at helping families keep their pets, recently gave 1,215 bags of dog food and snacks to two food banks in the Atlanta area.

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A three-year-old boy lost for two days in Missouri’s Mark Twain National Forest may have been kept warm enough to survive by the family’s giant white fluffy dog.

Joshua Childers wandered away from his home last week and into the forest, spending two nights in temperatures that dropped to 40 degrees, according to KSPR in Springfield.

“One of our initial concerns was how could a 35-pound child could stay alive in forty degree weather in the rain for two nights and three days,” said Steven Crawford, Childer’s doctor. “That may be the answer, and he was telling about being with the dog at night.”

The family dog is a Great Pyrenees, and weighs about 125 pounds.

“The fact that the child survived the exposure to begin with, it’s miraculous as far as I’m concerned,” Crawford said. Crawford said the child told him he drank stream water and that he didn’t sleep much. The child was released from the hospital this weekend after being treated for hypothermia, scratches and bug bites.

The family’s dog disappeared around the time Joshua did and reappeared at the family’s home right after he was found. The doctor thinks the dog was with Joshua the whole time, although, when the child was found, two other dogs were with him. The family thinks those dogs may have scared the family pet away.

Yesterday, we told you about Natt Nevins, and how her beloved dachsund, Nikkie, died the day after Nevins passed.

Now comes news out of Orlando of Becky Carter and her Doberman pinscher, Tasha, who enjoyed life together, fought cancer together and comforted each other through chemotherapy. Over the weekend, they also died within a day of each other — in this case, Tasha first, on Saturday, and Carter on Sunday.

We’ve all heard, and maybe even put a little credence in, those tales of married couples who have grown so close to each other that, when one dies, the other quickly follows. Might we be getting so close to dogs that the same holds true, or at least has anecdotal support?

“This dog and Becky were so close. It’s kind of like they were tired of fighting,” Becky’s husband, Kenny Carter told the Orlando Sentinel.

At the time of her death, Becky hadn’t been told of Tasha’s demise, which came as the Doberman was chasing squirrels. Tasha was 7. Funeral services were held yesterday for Carter, who was buried with Tasha’s ashes.

Carter, who was 62, found Tasha through an ad in the paper when the dog was a puppy.

In 2005, Carter was diagnosed with lung cancer and began chemotherapy treatments, Tasha would lay by her owner’s bed or at her feet. Two years later, as Carter’s cancer went into remission, Tasha was diagnosed with lymphoma and given three to five months to live. The couple started the dog on chemotherapy to buy a little more time. A month ago, veterinarians, detecting an abnormal heart rhythm, decided against another round of chemotherapy for the dog.

Her husband said he thinks Tasha died first so she would be there to welcome his wife into heaven.

Scott MacIntyre is no longer in the running for “American Idol,” but the blind contestant did win a surprise gift from Paula Abdul last week — a guide dog.

Abdul presented a guide dog to MacIntyre at a Guide Dogs of America event on Friday as part of the official kick-off of  National Guide Dog Month.

MacIntyre had been told he was at the ceremony to perform, but instead Abdul informed him that he would be receiving a guide dog after his upcoming tour, according to a press release.

Abdul, Natural Balance Pet Foods, Petco and independent pet stores nationwide are teaming to raise funds and awareness for guide dogs, with hopes of raising more than $2 million during May.

“Being part of this important cause is truly special and very close to my heart,” said Abdul. “Most people have no idea how much time and money it takes to train these beautiful animals to give such a precious gift to those who need it most. It can take more than two years and $40,000 to properly train a guide dog. Together, we can help guide dog schools provide more of these life-changing partners to people who are blind.”

Throughout the month of May, PETCO’s more than 950 locations nationwide and many independent pet stores will be selling specially marked bags of Natural Balance dog food with Paula Abdul’s picture on them, and donating 50 cents of the purchase price to participating guide dog schools.

PETCO shoppers can also “round up” their purchases at the register to donate the difference to the cause, or make donations directly online at PETCO.com.

“Having Paula Abdul, a huge animal lover, as our spokesperson will help us get the message out to raise money to match people who are visually impaired and in need of these amazing guide dogs”, said Dick Van Patten of Natural Balance Pet Foods.

Two of the 41 decorated dog sculptures that have been placed in and around Purdue University as part of a community art project were stolen before the exhibit officially started, and a third was almost stolen early Sunday.

A student was arrested, but Purdue University police don’t believe he was responsible for the earlier two thefts, the Journal and Courier reported. Police said Adam Sachs, 20, a sophomore engineering major, was carrying a toolbox when an officer saw him at 3:30 a.m. attempting to steal one of the sculptures.

The decorated, life-sized dog statues, bolted to 600-pound concrete bases, have been placed throughout  Lafayette, West Lafayette and on the Purdue campus as part of a community art project and fundraiser sponsored by the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine and the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette.

The “Dog Days of Summer” exhibit officially opened Saturday. Artists from Indiana and other areas decorated the fiberglass dog forms, and the works will be auctioned when the exhibit ends in October.

The two stolen statues were entitled, ”Give a Dog a Bone,” located outside the Veterinary school’s Lynn Hall and “Alfie the Alpha Dog,” which was in front of the West Lafayette Public Library. Whoever took the initial two statues loosened all but one bolt, breaking a leg off on “Give a Dog a Bone.”

Kevie Doerr, director of alumni relations and public affairs with the School of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the Dog Days of Summer committee, said they will offer a reward of up to $250 for safe return of the artwork.

(Photo: One of the dog sculptures is bolted down, prior to exhibit opening; courtesy Dog Days of Summer Committee)

Natt Nevins was a fixture among the doggie crowd of Greenwich Village, where she was rarely seen without Nikkie, her 15-year-old dachsund, at her side.

When Nikkie was diagnosed with cancer last month, Nevins told some of her many dog park friends that she couldn’t imagine life without her dog.

Last week Nevins, 74, died — just a few days after suffering a massive stroke.

Nikkie died the next day.

Dozens of friends – including an army of dachshunds, Shih Tzu’s, Chihuahuas and other small dogs -  gathered at Nevins’ West Village apartment Thursday night to memorialize the well-loved duo, the New York Daily News reported.

Nevins rescued the long-haired dachshund when he was 1, after he’d been surrendered by a family with kids that burned him and tied cans to his legs.

Nevins was a regular at the Washington Square Park dog run, where she could often be found dispensing advice.  She regularly cared for neighborhood dogs while their guardians were at work.

Nevins was much more than a dog nanny, though. A former singer and entertainer, she spent 3-1/2 years in the U.S. Air Force performing for troops during the Korean War. She worked, until retirement, as a gerontologist, was a founding member of Senior Action in a Gay Environment (SAGE), and the first woman on the board of directors of The Hetrick-Martin Institute, which provides safe havens for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth.

Reminder: A Baltimore City Council committee takes up the subject of leash laws at a 9 a.m. meeting in City Hall tomorrow (Tuesday).

The hearing, before the council’s Judiciary & Legislative Investigations Committee, was originally scheduled for April 28, but was postponed after a water main break forced City Hall to be emptied.

The council is reconsidering the $1,000 fine it approved for unleashed dogs earlier this year, leading to an outcry by some dog owners who say it’s excessive, especially in a city with only one small dog park. (A second, and the first the city has helped fund, is expected to open by fall.) Also to be presented at the hearing, before the council’s Judiciary & Legislative Investigations Committee, is an amendment to allow the city’s director of Recreation and Parks to enact off-leash hours at city parks. The meeting is in the City Council Chambers on the 4th floor of City Hall. (A picture ID required for admission to City Hall.)

As of this weekend, an online petition calling for a reduction of the fine had more than 1,500 signatures.