ohmidog!

A week-old cocker spaniel was trapped in a waste pipe for almost four hours after twin boys decided he need a bath — and opted to give him one in the toilet.

Four-year-olds Daniel and Nicky Blair had taken the pup for a walk in the garden, according to Alison Blair, the mother of the twins and five other children.

“About an hour later I realized the dog was missing and asked the boys where he was, Alison told the Daily Mirror. “Daniel told me it had got muddy so they put it in the toilet and pulled the chain to give it a wash. I ran into the bathroom but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I assumed it was dead.”

Alison decided to check the drain outside. When she lifted the cover, the dog couldn’t be seen, but he could be heard whimpering.

Firefighters were the first to respond to the home in Northolt, Middlesex, but were unable to reach the pup. The Royal SPCA sent a representative as well. But it took a plumber to perform the rescue.

Will Craig, 22, a plumbing specialist for Dyno-Rod used a special camera to locate the pup – wedged in the pipe 20 yards away under a neighbour’s house. Then, apparently using the camera, on a telescoping rod, they gently nudged him towards the nearest manhole cover where a firefighter pulled him to safety.

After a night at the local vets, named “Dyno,” after his rescuers, was given a clean bill of health.

“I never thought a dog could survive being flushed down the loo.” Alison said. “He’s a real little fighter.” As for Nicky and Daniel, they’ve promised not to give the dog a bath in the loo again.

A day after Jeter died in a fire, condolences and offers of help were pouring in to the Piqua, Ohio family whose lives the Great Pyrenees helped save.

Glenda Moss said she was awakened by Jeter as she slept in a recliner about 6 a.m. At first she tried to brush the 120-pound dog off, but then she smelled smoke. 

Moss ran down the hall, woke up her son, David, 19, and fled with him and Jeter. Then, for unknown reasons Jeter went back inside the house, where he died in the fire.

Since then, the Dayton Daily News reports, Moss has received offers of a new dog, including one from the owner of Petland of Piqua.

“It’s really hard to hear when people lose their pet,” Jacque Lavy, store sales manager, said. “We wanted to do this. We are not here to replace him, but offer another companion.”

Connie Cawthon of Texas e-mailed after reading about Jeter to let the Moss family know that her husband’s boss has a dog — part Pyrenees — who needs a good home. She offered to drive up with the dog and meet her halfway.

Others, most asking to remain anonymous, offered donations, a pet memorial and a pastel pet portrait of Jeter.

Firefighters said the fire at the Moss home started in the garage and spread to the house, causing $90,000 in damage. The cause remains under investigation.

Jennie Leininger of Cincinnati, Moss’ daughter, said her mother appreciated the offers.

“She said her broken heart was very warmed by all of the response, by people reaching out.”

Nine of the 32 dogs removed last week from the Wizard of Claws — a Pembroke Pines, Florida, store that was notorious for selling puppy-mill-born designer dogs — were put up for adoption over the weekend, and they all found homes.

Dozens of people lined up outside the Broward County Humane Society to adopt, many returning home empty-handed after learning that most of the dogs taken from the store aren’t ready for adoption yet.

The dogs were removed from The Wizard of Claws on Thursday after an anonymous donor purchased the entire stock of the store, which had declared bankruptcy and closed its doors Monday. The shop was the subject of a class action lawsuit claiming it had sold sick and dying pups.

When The Humane Society of the United States learned the bankruptcy trustee intended to auction off the remaining puppies housed at the store, an anonymous donor stepped in to sponsor the dogs, and The HSUS brokered a deal to have all 32 dogs placed for adoption.

The dogs include Yorkies, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Pomeranians, dachshunds and Shih-tzus. Read more »

Two of every three shots fired by police in Rochester, N.Y., are fired at dogs; and four of every five shots fired at dogs were aimed at pit bulls.

Those are just a couple of the more stunning statistics presented in an article in yesterday’s Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Police have shot at 87 dogs, killing 35 and injuring 33, in the line of duty over the last five years, according to a review of police reports from 2004 to April 2009 obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle under the Freedom of Information law. Some of the injured were later euthanized.

Over the same period, police fired at nine people and used their guns to kill 36 deer, all of them injured before police were summoned. Guns discharged accidentally three times.

All of the dog shootings were determined to be within Rochester Police Department guidelines, which permit the use of deadly force on animals when they are attacking or “presenting an imminent danger” to any person.

Some of the dangers described in the police reports, though, sound something less than imminent: Read more »