ohmidog!

Amelia Loran lost her dog last week. Snowy didn’t die, or run away. The Maltese mix, injured when run over by a bicyclist, just started accumulating more medical bills than her family could bear.

I’ll let Amelia, who wrote me yesterday, tell the story.

“Hi my name is Amelia Loran. I’m from the Bronx. I am 14 and I had a dog. Her name was Snowy. She was a white long fluffy dog. She was like my other half.

“The accident that happened with my dog, it was a warm sunny Sunday and me and my mom and two cousins were on our way 2 the park so my mom parked the car. We didn’t want 2 be in the jungle gym area. We wanted 2 be in open space where we could run, play, jump.

“So Snowy was on her leash but we let her go so she could be free a little bit, and there was this kid riding his bike in the open space and he ran over her right limb.

(Amelia’s mother, Myra Loran, drove to an animal hospital, and paid for the first vet bill, $629, with credit. She worked out a payment plan for the second one, $275, as well. But the cost of the surgery vets said was still needed — estimated at anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 – was more than she could handle.)

“So my mom had 2 give Snowy up for adoption,” wrote Amelia, whose last night with the dog was last Thursday.

“So Thursday was a night 2 remember. She had a white and blue cast. Me and my mom put on her blue and white pajamas 2 match her blue cast and me and my mom slept together with her … Friday it was a rainy morning so me and my mom went to the humane society and gave Snowy to the adoption agency. I was so sad that I couldn’t say goodbye to her. The ride from my house to where we took Snowy was the longest ride ever. I cried the whole night before that morning and I was crying thru the night. I still cry. When me and my mom go outside I feel like I’m missing a big part in my heart and I feel like I’m forgetting something…

“I have cystic fibrosis and I’m at home most of the time and she was like my twin. I am a only child. My mom works side jobs, babysitting, washing clothes, taxi, to get me extra stuff. I get SSI. So in the daytime I’m home taking meds. I miss lots of school days because of my disease. Snowy keeps me company. She loves to get dressed and lay down and look cute as you see in the pictures. And she is not too active. With my CF I really am not 2 active. We just got her a month ago, but it feels like I been with her my hole life.

“I do not understand why I had to give up my bestfriend because we didn’t have $3000. I had a make a wish about 5 years ago. I went to Florida, and if I can have that gift, I would ask for Snowy. My mom tries to do her best to try and make my life easier because she knows I’m going to need a transplant in the near future.”

(Myra Loran says she now wishes they hadn’t surrendered the dog — even though it would have meant going even deeper in debt. She says she has tried to call the humane society to get updated on the dog’s condition, but her calls haven’t been returned. Amelia’s also an artist. The work to the left was exhibited in 2007 by ArtWorks, a program that provides children and young adults suffering from chronic and life-threatening illnesses access to creative and performing arts.)

Amelia, meanwhile, is holding out hope that Snowy, after she gets her needed surgery, will be put up for adoption – and that maybe she can get her back then. If so, she’d never let the leash out of her hand again, she says. “I swear not to ever let go when we are at the park.”

Amelia’s email address is amelialoran@yahoo.com.

Her mother’s is mloran169@yahoo.com.

Authorities in South Florida have arrested a teenager they believe responsible for at least some of the recent rash of mysterious cat killings and mutilations.

Police charged 18-year-old Tyler Hayes Weinman with 19 counts each of animal  cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal body, the Associated Press reported. Weinman’s parents, divorced, live in the two neighborhoods where many of the cats were killed.

“It’s shocking to think that someone who lives right here and is our neighbor would do something like this,” said Thomas Shad, a Cutler Bay resident whose black cat, Miss Kitty, was among the dead.

Authorities had been watching Weinman and interviewed him on prom night, AP reported. He was arrested at a party on Sunday.

Weinman’s attorney, David W. Macey, said in an e-mail that his client was innocent of the charges. “Tyler welcomes his day in court, so that he will be completely vindicated,” he said.

In the past month, residents in the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay neighborhoods have reported finding the bodies of more than two dozen cats, although police said some were likely killed by dogs. Some were missing fur — neighbors said some had been skinned — and appeared to have been cut with a sharp, straight instrument, police said.

Louis B. Schlesinger, a professor of forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said cat killings are committed by “complicated individuals,” and are usually solo acts. He said the teenager should be evaluated, and he expected court officials to take the matter seriously.

“When you kill cats, disembowel them and cut their heads off, that is not a good sign and you do not have to be Sigmund Freud to see that,” he said.

Meanwhile, authorities in Broward County, Florida, say the deaths of 17 cats in one neighborhood may have been caused by stray dogs.

Police say three of the cat deaths in Lauderhill have been ruled animal-related. Tests on 14 other cat carcasses found since May 30 are still pending. Police reports say most of the cats were disemboweled, and one was decapitated.

The Animal Rescue Site reports it is having trouble getting enough clicks.

When the site meets it quota, they can get free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. Corporate sponsors and advertisers donate the food in exchange for advertising.

It takes about 15 seconds, and you can find the site among the non-profits listed on our rightside rail.

Yet another dog is being credited with saving his owner from a house fire — and a neighbor, too.

A hearing-impaired man’s service dog, named Roscoe, smelled the fire and jumped on the bed to wake him, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The owner, Darrin Weeks, then went on to save his sleeping neighbor, who lived in the other half of the burning Orlando duplex. (You can see a video report from WFTV here.)

Rescue crews treated Weeks’ neighbor for smoke inhalation. Weeks, who was not injured in the blaze, said he owed his life to his dog.

“I’m going to give him a steak tomorrow,” Weeks said.