ohmidog!

Animal welfare officials shut down a Pennsylvania breeding kennel yesterday, suspending the operator’s license and removing 216 dogs.

Under the authority of a new state law, agents of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the Humane Society of the United States shut down the Almost Heaven Kennel in Emmaus, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The dogs seized from the Lehigh County kennel, which state officials said had a history of abuse, were taken to the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, where they are to be evaluated before being put up for adoption.

The seizure came after the Commonwealth Court rejected kennel owner Derbe Eckhart’s emergency appeal of his license revocation.

Twenty-five dogs will remain at the kennel because no license is needed for less than 26 animals.

A raid last year by the Pennsylvania SPCA exposed horrendous conditions at the kennel, which housed as many as 800 animals in filthy, crowded cages and kennels.

(Photo:  Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)

The woman trampled to death by a herd of cows as she walked her dogs in a field in England was a veterinarian on vacation.

Liz Crowsley, 49, may have been trying to protect her two pet dogs, who escaped injury and were found running free near her body, according to an article in the Daily Mail.

Cows are highly protective of their newly-born calves at this time of year and farmers warn walkers they may attack, especially if a dog is in their field, the newspaper said.

Crowsley was walking along a public trail in the countryside of North Yorkshire with her spaniel and collie when she was killed.

She was apparently trapped against a wall and couldn’t escape the stampeding cattle. Crowsley, head vet at the Willows Veterinary Hospital in Hartford, Chesire, had been staying in a holiday cottage in the area.

Cute and Bambi, though they’ve been dubbed “dog-kangaroos” by those who see them in Quezon City, are actually dogs, both born with only their rear legs.

The dogs belong to Lope Tulipas, a Quezon City street vendor, who has turned down offers from people wanting to buy them, the Los Angeles Times blog, Unleashed, reports.

Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo filed a lawsuit Monday that accuses the Prince George’s County police and sheriff’s office SWAT teams of entering innocent people’s houses without a proper warrant and “randomly and routinely” killing family pets.

Calvo, whose two black Labrador retrievers were killed in a SWAT team raid on his home, is asking a judge to order the county to change its policies because the county’s leaders have shown “they lack the will and credibility to do so,” Calvo said. “I’m tired of being embarrassed by Prince George’s County government. Our communities are tired of being embarrassed by this county’s failed leadership.”

Calvo’s house was raided last July after county police incorrectly identified his wife as part of a drug ring.

Sheriff Michael Jackson has defended his department’s actions, and last week said that an internal investigation had shown that his deputies had acted in a “professional and acceptable manner” by shooting the dogs because they had posed a threat.

Deputies opened fire on Calvo’s 7-year-old dog Payton immediately after entering the house, Calvo’s lawsuit said, and then they shot Calvo’s other dog, 4-year-old Chase, in back as he was running away, the Washington Examiner reported.

Spokesmen for the sheriff’s department and the police departments declined to discuss the lawsuit, which seeks uspecified damages.

Weight limits — those arbitrary, ill-conceived, downright discriminatory restrictions on dogs at many otherwise “pet-friendly” hotels — have bitten the dust at one California boutique hotel chain.

Joie de Vivre, California’s largest boutique hotel collection, has done away with its weight limit for canine guests, according to Hotels magazine. It has also dropped its pet surcharge.

Joie de Vivre has  doubled the number of its hotels that allow pets in the past eight months. Of its 35 hotels, 15 are now dog-friendly.

“We wanted to make our pet-friendly hotels even more hospitable to dogs, so we scrapped weight restrictions and standard pet surcharges so that more of our guests can enjoy traveling with their pets,”  said Joie de Vivre founder and CEO Chip Conley.

In the Bay Area, the chain (it prefers the term “collection”) offers more dog-friendly hotels than any other hotel group, with ten in San Francisco, three in the East Bay and Marin County and one in Silicon Valley. In Southern California, the new Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach and Hotel Maya in Long Beach welcome dogs and their owners. A third boutique hotel in Southern California – the Pacific Edge Hotel on Laguna Beach – will join Joie de Vivre’s pet-friendly pack this fall.

Joie de Vivre’s pet-friendly hotels offer special amenities that include in-room dog beds, dog food, water bowls, toys, and even a doggie turndown service. Each hotel offers different amenities and some offer fee-based grooming or dog walking upon request.

For more information, visit www.jdvhotels.com.

Inmates at the Arizona State Prison in Kingman are being teamed up with dogs in hopes of changing lives — both human and canine.

The prison collaborated with Mohave Companion Animal Rescue Efforts Network almost a year ago to partner inmates with unwanted dogs that have been rescued by local organizations, some of them just before they are scheduled to be euthanized.

Its the second go-round for a program of this type at the prison; an earlier one was shut down, according to Kingman Daily Miner.

Ten inmates are chosen for the six-week program, in which the inmates train the dogs in basic commands, thereby making them more adoptable.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s more excited, the inmates or the dogs,” said Warden Darla Elliot.

Each dog is paired with two inmates, who feed, walk, clean up after and train them for about six weeks. The only time the dogs and the inmates are separated is when the inmates go to eat or if an inmate has to go to the infirmary.

“Each new dog is a new challenge,”  said Randy Barrow, who has worked with four or five dogs since entering the program. “It  teaches a great deal of respect. It changes your behavior. You can’t be harsh with a dog. You can’t yell at them or they’ll start to absorb those traits. And those aren’t traits that people want in dogs.

“If you want to train a dog with problems you have to humble yourself,” he said. “You have to learn patience.”

Barrow said he plans to become a dog trainer when he is released and returns to his home near Phoenix.

(Photo: Inmates Ernest Zarza, Rod Knagge, Randy Barrow and Theo Randall talk about the Friends of the Pen program and their new dogs; courtesy Arizona State Prison)

A dog walker in England died after being trampled by a herd of cattle in a field in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police said the woman — not yet publicly identified – was walking two dogs on leashes Sunday near the hamlet of Gayle when the cattle apparently panicked and stampeded, according to a Press Association report

“She was surrounded by a herd of cattle and calves, and as a result of dogs being present the cattle reacted in an aggressive manner,” a police official said. Early press reports from England gave no indication of what happened to the dogs, a spaniel and a collie.

Last year, another woman, Sandra Pearce, 45, died in a cattle stampede as she crossed a field in  Suffolk, with her pet dogs.

Doctors treating people for dog and cat bites should be aware of an increasing risk of MRSA — Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — being transmitted from pets to humans, newly published research says.

MRSA, an uncommon strain of the bacteria in domestic animals, is being seen more often, according to research reported in the new issue The Lancet that focuses on infectious diseases.

“As community-acquired strains of MRSA increase in prevalence, a growing body of clinical evidence has documented MRSA colonisation in domestic animals, often implying direct infection from their human owners,” reports a team led by Dr Richard Oehler, of the University of South Florida. “MRSA colonisation has been documented in companion animals such as horses, dogs, and cats and these animals have been viewed as potential reservoirs of infection.”

“Pet owners are often unaware of the potential for transmission of life-threatening pathogens from their canine and feline companions,” the researchers said. “Clinicians must continue to promote loving pet ownership, take an adequate pet history, and be aware that associated diseases are preventable via recognition, education and simple precautions.”

Each year, dog and cat bites comprise around 1% of accident and emergency visits in the US and Europe. Severe infections occur in about 20% of bite cases, and are caused by bacteria in the animal’s mouth, plus other infectious agents from the person’s skin.

Some of the most talented dogs from the West Coast descended upon the San Diego County Fair last week to participate in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge — including some who have mastered surfing, an event that was added to the competition for the first time this year.

The canine sporting event also featured dog diving, freestyle flying disc, head-to-head weave poles, Jack Russell hurdle racing, and agility.

The 2009 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge was part of the San Diego County Fair and took place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on June 13th and 14th. Canine surfers competed in heats that were scored by a panel of judges, including U.S. Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis.

Police in Massachussetts are hoping a Saint Bernard might help them solve the mystery of his owner’s disappearance.

Police are searching for an elderly man who walked the Saint Bernard every morning near Accord Pond, a reservoir that supplies water to several South Shore communities.

The dog showed up alone Wednesday at a Chili’s restaurant, where a manager called police.

Last week, police let the dog loose in the woods near the pond, hoping he would lead them to a house, according to a Boston Globe article. But he just wandered around the area. On Wednesday, divers searched Accord Pond for nearly four hours, but did not find anything.

Since then, Leslie Badger, an animal control officer in Hingam, Mass., has been taking the dog around town, in hopes somebody might recognize him and be able to provide some clues to his owner’s identity.

Many people in the area saw the man walking the dog early in the morning on streets near the pond. But authorities haven’t found any one who knows his name and address.

Police are considering the possibility that the man abandoned the dog. Authorities say the dog is visibly upset, and that many have called offering to adopt him.