ohmidog!

An online petition drive is underway to save Snaps, the pit bull we wrote about yesterday. To sign it, go here.

Snaps was being abused by a group of teenagers in the town of SeaTac, Washington, including a member of the family who owns him, when a good samaritan interrupted them.

She, and another good samaritan, were both bitten by the dog, at the urging of the teens.

Charges are pending against the teenagers, who police said were abusing the pit bull to make him more violent.

Original reports said Snaps would be euthanized, but a spokesperson for King County told the B.Town Blog that a decision on the dog’s fate has not been reached.

Because the case is still under investigation, and the dog may be considered evidence, Snaps may spend more than the required 10-day quarantine period in the care of King County Animal Care & Control.

“The laws are such that when a dog causes such severe and multiple bites, it may be declared a “dangerous dog” and is subject to the local regulations regarding confinement, removal from the area, and/or possible euthanasia,” the spokesperson said. “At this point, we also do not know if the owners or the children of the owners spent time “training” the dog to attack or defend, so we would have to be careful and consider the safety of placing it with another family or organization.”

With evidence both anecdotal and scientific showing dogs have the potential to sniff out diabetes — or at least detect the changes that occur when a person is about to have a hypoglycemic attack — a research center in southern England is training dogs to warn diabetic owners when their blood sugar levels fall to dangerously low levels.

As this 2007 video shows, some dogs already have the skill down, but the Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs research center in Aylesbury, based on recent evidence suggesting a dog’s hyper-sensitive nose can detect impending attacks, is now working to train 17 dogs that will be paired up with diabetic owners.

A survey last December by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast found 65 percent of 212 people with insulin-dependent diabetes reported that their pets had reacted by whining, barking, licking or some other display when they had a hypoglycemic episode, according to Reuters.

“Dogs have been trained to detect certain odors down to parts per trillion, so we are talking tiny, tiny amounts. Their world is really very different to ours,” research center Chief Executive Claire Guest said.

The center is continuing work to perfect dogs’ ability in spotting signs of cancer. Guest said having a dog in every doctor’s office would be impractical, but the research could help lead to the invention of an electronic nose that will mimic a dog’s.

“At the moment electronic noses are not as advanced as the dogs’, they are about 15 years behind. But the work that we are doing and what we are finding out will help scientists advance quickly so that they can use electronic noses to do the same thing,” she said.

Pretty amazing stuff, but I think I’d rather be diagnosed by a dog than an electronic nose. And what’s so impractical about a dog in every doctor’s office? Seems entirely practical to me, and a good way — if shelter dogs could be trained to sniff out disease — to allow everyone to live a little longer.

Besides, it would make doctors’ offices far more inviting, and give us something to do in the waiting room.

A group of dogs in London set a new world record for the loudest collective bark.

The 30 dogs emitted a group bark of 115 decibels in Finsbury Park, breaking the record of 111 decibels set by 224 dogs in Vermont last year, according to the BBC.

A German shepherd dog called Daz Lightning set the loudest individual bark record at 108 decibels.

The Guinness World Records confirmed both new records.

The 30 dogs were given three chances to break the group bark record, succeeding on their final attempt.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed repealing a law designed to postpone euthanasia in animal shelters.

The governor — facing a $24.3 billion deficit — says he will ask the state legislature to repeal a 1998 law called the “Hayden Bill,” which requires shelters to keep animals alive four to six days before putting them to sleep. The state government reimburses local governments for the cost of housing animals for the extended holding period.

Schwarzenegger’s recommendation would allow shelters to euthanize animals after three days, according to the San Diego News Network.

The change in policy would save the state about $24 million in feeding, caring for and housing the animals, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Animal-rights organizations have asked the governor to temporarily suspend the bill instead, and are trying to work out an adoption-incentive funding plan that would assist shelters.

The Humane Society of the United States, the American SPCA, the State Humane Association of California and California Animal Control Directors Association have all filed notice of opposition to the governor’s plan.

In 2007-2008, the county’s shelters took in 26,078 animals, about11,600 were adopted out, or sent to a rescue group, and 4,800 of which were reunited with owners. About 7,500 had to be euthanized, which is a decrease from the 9,218 euthanized in 2003-2004.

“Dogs and cats are as American as apple pie and baseball; you can’t mess with someone’s family – their kids, or their pets,” said Darlene White, the executive director of the San Diego Animal Support Foundation. “These pets – our pets – deserve the extra days for us to try to find them.”

The governor’s proposal will force shelters to euthanize animals before owners can claim them, or before privately-funded shelters or rescue groups can save them, White said.

A 63-year-old Seattle woman stopped her car when she saw a group of teenagers repeatedly kicking a pit bull in the town of SeaTac. She asked the group — three boys and a girl — what the problem was.

The girl, 15, told her to mind her own business, then walked over to her car, opened the passenger door, pulled the woman out by her hair and started beating her.

As the woman tried to run away, one of the boys ran after her with the dog, which started biting the woman on the arm and legs.

A King County sheriff’s department official said the teenagers were abusing the dog, named Snaps, to make it violent, according to The Seattle Times.

Pretty disgusting. But wait there’s more. Another Seattle woman, 41, saw the attack and followed the group to a nearby park. There, the girl realized the group was being followed and began beating the second woman. The three boys then provoked the dog to bite the second woman on her head, face and arms while the girl assaulted her, the sheriff’s office said.

The second woman was hospitalized, but it’s not known if the first required treatment.

Police said the girl, whose family owns the pit bull, also received medical treatment, having injured her foot from repeatedly kicking the second victim, and being bitten by the dog as well.

The sheriff’s department said the girl, from Burien, will  likely face felony assault charges. The three boys, aged 11, 12 and 13, all from White Center, also could face criminal charges. All four were released to the custody of their parents. The girl’s mother also might face charges because the dog was unlicensed and was out in public without a muzzle, a violation of local animal-control regulations in the city of SeaTac.

The dog was seized by King County animal control and is expected to be euthanized.

(Photo: King County Sheriff’s Office)