ohmidog!

A former University of Georgia professor and his wife found dead along the highway Saturday morning were apparently killed by a pack of dogs, according to the state medical examiner.

Lothar Karl Schweder, 77, who had taught German at the university, and his wife, Sherry Schweder, 65, who worked at the university’s main library, were found on a road where they often walked their own dogs, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The couple were found by visiting Jehovah’s Witness members.

After an autopsy Monday morning, Oglethorpe County Coroner James Mathews told the University of Georgia student newspaper, The Red & Black, that a dog attack was to blame.

“It was the results of a brutal dog attack,” Mathews said. “Without being graphic there were bites from head to toe… There are a lot of weird circumstances with this one. I’ve been coroner for 28 years, and this is one of the weirdest cases I’ve investigated.”

The state Bureau of Investigation responded to a call about the bodies around 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

Oglethorpe County animal control officials were out Monday looking for the dogs in the area, along Highway 77, near Highway 78.

It has been a year since we last checked in on Batman – around the time researchers at the University of Minnesota began an experimental procedure to save him from an aggressive brain tumor.

The 13-year-old shepherd mix had a form of brain cancer called a glioma — the same type of cancer Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy is battling.

University of Minnesota veterinary surgeon G. Elizabeth Pluhar, who has spent the past year caring for Batman, said last week his tumor seems to have disappeared, according to the Associated Press.

“I don’t see any tumor right now,” she says. “Which is wonderful.”

Gliomas are tricky to treat because they send out little tentacles that infiltrate other parts of the brain, and surgery alone usually isn’t sufficient to cure a glioma.

Researchers from the vet school devised a treatment for Batman that began with surgery, followed by gene therapy and a custom-made, anticancer vaccine designed to boost his immune system.

Researcher John Ohlfest, who helped create the new immune therapies, said the vaccine is made up of dead cancer cells from Batman’s tumor that have been enhanced in a way that makes them much more obvious to the dog’s immune system.

Read more »

The Kentucky couple whose dog carried their infant son from a bassinet into the woods behind their home, causing criticial injuries to the child, now wants the wolf hybrid returned home, authorities said Friday.

Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl told the Lexington Herald-Leader that a court order will be needed before Dakota the dog is returned to Michael Smith, of Jessamine County.

“I’m concerned about the safety of the child, and we are going to be reviewing the situation over the weekend to see what can be done to ensure the safety of the child,” Goettl said.

Smith had previously told reporters that Dakota would not return to his house. News that the dog might go back to the Smiths’ home came on the same day that the Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office said it had closed its investigation of the July 20 incident.

The baby, Alexander James “A.J.” Smith was 3 days old on July 20 when Dakota, a female wolf-dog hybrid, picked him up and carried him outside the Smiths’ Jessamine County home.

The baby suffered a cracked skull, cracked ribs, and a collapsed lung. He was in critical condition for several days at University of Kentucky Hospital, but has recovered and is back  home.

Michael Smith said at an earlier press conference that he hoped Dakota could be adopted by another owner: “Obviously, Dakota is not coming back into my house.”

The dog remains at the Jessamine County SAVE Center, the animal shelter for dogs and cats in Nicholasville, director Jenise Smith said.

 
A group of Montgomery County residents have come together to push for a new dog park in Randolph Hills Local Park, near Rockville. You can keep up with their efforts on the Randolph Dog Club’s new website.

The club describes its mission as  working with the Montgomery County government to build an off-leash dog park on land within the park.

According to the club, Montgomery County, with 25,000 licensed dogs, has only three dog parks; that’s a ratio of 8,333 dogs per park.

“Dog parks have many advantages: they promote responsible dog ownership, reduce criminal activity in adjoining areas, properly socialize dogs and provide an exercise outlet which keeps dogs physically and emotionally healthy,” the website says.

The proposed park would serve communities such as Kensington, Garret Park, Aspen Hill and North Bethesda, where dog owners now must travel miles from their home to find the nearest dog park.

Mongtgomery County’s three existing dog parks are at Black Hill Regional Park, 20930 Lake Ridge Drive in Boyds; Ridge Road Recreational Park, 21155 Frederick Road in Germantown; and Wheaton Regional Park, 2000 Shorefield Road in Wheaton.

The SPCA in New Zealand is calling for a change in the law after its investigation into the killing and cooking of a pet dog by a Tongan family in Auckland.

As long as the animal is slaughtered humanely — how’s that for a contradiction of terms? — eating a dog is not illegal  in New Zealand.

The family who barbecued their pet dog say back home in Tonga dog meat is considered a delicacy, and they didn’t realize they were doing anything wrong.

Paea Taufa was found roasting his pitbull mix in a pit at his home. The dog had been skinned and gutted and was partially charred when SPCA inspectors arrived.

Auckland City’s mayor, John Banks, said the family needs to be educated rather than charged with a crime, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Banks, an animal rights activist for years, says better education on local customs and sensibilities is needed. “This activity is deeply offensive and totally wrong in our New Zealand society. For many people, this is absolutely repulsive,” the mayor said. “But the way forward is education. This man has obviously not been taught that killing and eating a domestic pet is not right in New Zealand.”