ohmidog!

Nice digs, huh? It’s the new “mini mansion” Paris Hilton had designed and built for her dogs. It’s  a smaller version of Paris’ Beverly Hills home, right down to the miniature furniture similar to her own. The lavish doghouse also has air conditioning, “Chewy Vuitton” beds, closets, two floors, a spiral staircase and chandelier, according to the Daily Mail.

Paris has been posting photos of the  puppy palace on Twitter, probably because flauntingmywealth.com doesn’t exist yet. Give it time.

The luxurious house was built for Hilton’s 13 dogs, who include Marilyn Monroe, Dolce , Harajuku Bitch and Tinkerbell.

Writing on her Twitter page, the 28-year-old said: “I have to admit, I may have spoiled them a little too much. But how can I not? Just look at those sweet lil’ faces.”

After nearly seven months missing on the cold mean streets of Middletown, Connecticut, a wayward hound named Lady has been found — but the family that had adopted her before she ran off doesn’t want her anymore.

Not exactly the happy ending of a Disney movie, but it’s not quite as hard-boiled as it sounds. The adoptive family had only had Lady for a few hours when, while on a walk, she bolted.

That was back in November. Ever since then animal control officers have been trying to track her down as reports came in about her being spotted in different parts of town. At one point, she was seen negotiating the rugged terrain of Wesleyan University. Another time she was spotted in a family’s backyard dog house.

Each time, though, according to the Middletown Press, she would elude authorities.

“She obviously has very good survival instincts to last through the frigid winter,” Middletown Animal Control Officer Gail Petras said. “It’s rare we have a dog like this that’s out for so long.”

Petras said those who spotted Lady about town in the first two months — after she was adopted from the Connecticut Humane Society and then fled — reported she was dragging a long, bright pink leash behind her. Later sightings had her pulling a short pink leash. After that, reports had her pulling no leash at all.

In early March, the night before a bad snowstorm, Lady showed up in Ruth and Cliff Drechsler-Martells’ doghouse. They left food for her and, while she’d eat it, she wouldn’t let them near her. When they approached, she ran away.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Lady — a hound mix, about two years old, picked out another house, walked through the open door and curled up on the living room floor. The homeowners, holding a barbecue, assumed she’d been brought by a guest. After all their guests left, Lady was still there. The hound was still wearing her tags from the Humane Society, and her adopters were contacted.

Shocked to hear Lady was still alive, the owners told Petras they couldn’t take her back because they’d gotten another dog in the interim.

The Drechsler-Martells are considering adopting Lady, but aren’t sure she’d get along with their 9-year-old dog.

Petras said Lady loves other dogs; she is spayed and she has all of her shots, and she can be reached in care of Middletown Animal Control at 860-344-3298.

Lest you thought teaching dogs to ride a skateboard was a uniquely American pursuit (see Tyson and Tillman), meet Bazooka, who according to Reuters is Japan’s top, and probably only, skateboarding dog.

The two year-old English Bulldog was immediately taken with the skateboard, according to his owner, Yoshio Ishikawa.

“When he was 5-months old, he saw someone skateboarding in the street, and that must have switched him on,” says Ishikawa, who designs canine clothing.

Ishikawa has Bazooka’s boards custom-made, ensuring that they have no toxic varnishes and are of an appropriate length. “He bites and just keeps gnawing on them, so we’re actually on our 15th custom-made board as of now,” Ishikawa said.

Baltimore police  have charged two teenagers with dousing a pit bull with gasoline and setting it on fire, but a press conference on the arrests was canceled yesterday.

Police said the arrests were made over the weekend.

The suspects were charged as juveniles, and their identities have not been made public. One TV report, however, identified them as 17-year-old twin brothers.

A WBAL-TV report identified the boys’ mother as Denise Griffin. Mrs. Griffin said her sons were taken in for questioning on Friday night.

“I know they didn’t do it. I keep hearing different things around the neighborhood about the dog ran up to there. The dog — nobody said the dog was right there. So, I feel as though I know my boys didn’t do it. It’s a reward out and then wasn’t nobody picked up around there until they said something about a reward,” Griffin said.

The case had raised the ire of animal welfare advocates across the country, and between public donations and those from humane organizations, thousands of dollars poured into a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who killed the dog, who was named Phoenix after she arrived at the Baltimore animal shelter.

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Baltimore Police say two juveniles have been charged with setting Phoenix, the pit bull,  on fire.

The dog died three days later.

Police spokesman Donny Moses said Monday that Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld would announce the arrests at an 11:30 a.m. news conference.

Moses says police weren’t releasing the names of the two people charged because of their age. Police have not said what charges the youths face, Fox News reported.

Baltimore police officer Syreeta Teel rescued the burning dog May 27, putting the fire out with her sweater. She was taken to BARCS and later died while receiving medical care in Pennsylvania. The case led to an outcry by animal welfare activists and spurred a petition asking the city to take stronger steps to combat animal abuse.

Martin Mersereau, director of the cruelty casework division of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, told Fox New he hopes the juveniles receive maximum penalties for the incident if convicted.

“We’re thrilled to hear [of the arrests],” he said. ”People who abuse animals rarely do it once and almost never stop there.”

Mersereau said abuse of animals is common among serial killers and that FBI officials frequently use such crimes to gauge the potential threat of suspected and known criminals.

“The biggest mistake here is that people call this a ‘boys being boys’ thing,” Mersereau said. “I do hope they’re charged with felonies for malicious torture.”

Penalties for felony animal abuse in Maryland include up to $5,000 in fines and three years imprisonment, he said.

For five straight days, Greg Wong returned to the lonely stretch of highway on Wyoming’s prairie where his wife was killed, searching not for closure but for Sammie and Maddie, the two small dogs traveling with her.

Hours after state police on May 30 called his home in Laramie, notifying him that his wife, Susan, had been killed  on Highway 487, Wong made the first two-hour trip, arriving at 2 a.m., just as a tow truck pulled the SUV his wife had been driving from a deep ravine.

Police told Wong that his wife apparently lost control of the vehicle. It rolled over three times and landed in the ravine. Police told him no dogs were found inside the vehicle, or in the area.

Wong told the Casper Star-Tribune that as soon as he got the news, it was as if he heard his wife’s voice in his head, saying “find the dogs.”

“I guess a lot of it didn’t soak in,” he said. “…You get to that point where you almost turn into a zombie. You are afraid to start thinking about it too much because emotionally you can’t handle it. I kept focusing on ‘you have to find those dogs.’ In a way, I was thinking my last connection to my wife was those dogs.”

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A little dog named Spaz barked big enough to wake his partially deaf owner, alerting her that her mobile home in Groveland, Florida, was on fire.

Lillian Miller, 58, who had turned off her hearing aid, heard Spaz barking about 3 a.m.

She took the Chihuahua mix outside, thinking he needed to go to the bathroom, and, on her way back in, she noticed flames coming from her living room window, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“He must have heard the fire alarm, but she couldn’t hear it because she didn’t have her hearing aids in,” said Miller’s mother, Eudora Miller.

“As far as I’m concerned, he saved her life,” Miller said.

Remember Tarra and Bella, the elephant and dog who became steadfast friends at a Tennessee animal sanctuary?

Here’s a new development that’s almost as refreshing as the original story. After the report by Steve Hartman aired at CBS, The Elephant Sanctuary, located outside of Nashville, was deluged with calls and offers.

“The pair showed such devotion, such tenderness and trust, it was almost hard to believe,” Hartman reports in this update. “The whole story seemed like a Disney movie to a lot of people – including people at Disney.”

Disney pitched a live action movie that would star Tarra or another trained elephant. Scott Blais and Carol Buckley, cofounders of the sanctuary, answered with a resounding no.

“It just goes against the core of who the sanctuary is,” Blais said.

“We don’t want them to be in those environments where they’re dominated and trained to perform for people,” Buckley said.

As Hartmann summed up: “Here at the sanctuary, they’ve got this crazy idea that animals — elephants especially — aren’t just here to serve us. They honestly believe that some animals are here for the same reasons we are — to love and do for others, whether it’s appreciated or not.”

Well said, Steve-O.

While Tarra and Bella won’t be going to the big screen, they will be showing up in picture book. It will be coming out Sept. 8, and profits will be used to support the sanctuary.

To find out more about it, click here.

The original story of Tarra and Bella was one of most popular videos of all time at CBSNews.com, so it deserves an encore:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Here’s a pretty slick video, new on YouTube, that explains what B-more Dog is all about.

The organization got started a couple of years ago, originally to dissuade Baltimore County from passing breed specific legislation against pit bulls, which the county wisely avoided.

Since then its mission has become to promote responsible dog ownership through education and outreach in the Baltimore Metro area and to enhance the relationships of dogs and their owners by fostering responsible care and stewardship.

B-More Dog is open to anyone. It will assist any breed of dog, even though its primary focus is to assist owners of pit bull breeds.

This video shows the good work they’re doing, and that the students at Towson University’s Electronic Media & Film Department, who put it together, are no slouches either.

(If you’re a college student, and have done a project related to dogs and posted it on YouTube, let us know. We’ll gladly air it here.)

The Montgomery County Humane Society’s “Paws in the Park Walk” will be held Sunday at Wheaton Regional Park, from noon to 4 p.m.

Proceeds from the 11th annual walk benefit the homeless animals under the care of the Montgomery County Humane Society, and Critters for the Cure, which supports women battling cancer. Walkers may specify the organization of their choice.

The event will take place by the old ice arena at Wheaton Regional Park, 11751 Orebaugh Ave., in Wheaton, Maryland. Registration starts at noon, and the walk beings at 1 p.m.

The event will also feature, a canine performance show, an ice cream social, a best dressed canine contest ($10 entry per dog), a dog trick contest and free canine good citizen tests.  For more information visit the Montgomery County Humane Society website.