ohmidog!

Authorities say up to 14 dogs were involved in the fatal attack on a former University of Georgia professor and his wife, as they walked near their home in Lexington.

The dogs that mauled Lothar Karl Schweder, 77, and Sherry Schweder, 65, were known to neighbors, belonged to a many who used to live nearby, and had not shown signs of aggression before, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. The newspaper reported later today that the dogs, all mixed breeds, will be euthanized.

The dogs were still standing over the slain couple when the coroner arrived at the scene on Saturday.  They seemed to be guarding the bodies as if they were prey, said James Matthews, coroner for Oglethorpe County. “They were not aggressive whatsoever,” he said. “I guess that’s what makes the attack so hard to figure out.”

An autopsy performed at the GBI Crime Lab concluded that the dogs were responsible for the deaths. “There’s nothing to indicate foul play,” said Jim Fullington, special agent in charge of the GBI’s Athens office.

Sherry Schweder was out looking for one of her own six dogs when she was attacked. Her husband was killed after he went looking for his wife, Matthews said. Their mutilated bodies were found by a pair of visiting Jehovah’s Witnesses about 12 hours after they went missing.

The dogs belong to a man who used to live in the area but was forced to move because of medical problems, neighbors said. A friend would take the former owner to the property to feed the dogs, they said.

Matthews said the dogs, rounded up Monday afternoon by animal control officers from a neighboring county, showed no signs of malnourishment or rabies and said Oglethorpe County had never received complaints about the dogs.

Fullington, the GBI agent, said he was not sure what would happen to the dogs.

Lothar Schweder taught German at UGA, and his wife worked as a humanities bibliographer at the university’s main library. They were known as avid animal lovers and often walked their dogs on the same quiet road where they died.

Just what this dog has against Barack Obama isn’t clear — but it is clear he won’t take a treat when Obama’s name is attached.

Apparently he’s been trained in such a way that the name Barack Obama serves as a negative, uh, what’s the word, stimulus.

 
I’m not going to make fun of this study. I’m not going to make fun of this study. I’m not going to make fun of this …

Ah, I can’t resist.

A study at Cornell University is trying to determine whether walking the dog helps owners shed and keep off unwanted pounds, according to USA Today’s Paw Print Post.

If that sounds like a no-brainer — one of those things that perhaps man could figure out without an expensive study –  consider this: “An early look at the data shows that the dogs who walk the most steps have a better body condition score.”

In all fairness, there’s more to the study than determining whether exercise is good for us and our dogs; and dog walking habits could, if properly approached, make for some pretty interesting reading.

Basically, I see three types of dogwalkers: Those who jog with their dogs, clearly getting exercise; those who hike or walk laps with their dogs, also getting exercise; and those who take their dogs to the park and let the dogs get all the exercise while they sit on the bench, yap with fellow dog walkers, smoke, or talk on cell phones.

In defense of the latter group, it should be pointed out that we they, are still getting exercise by virtue of walking to the park, and that, rather than being total slouches, they may prefer to let their dogs playfully romp and socialize off leash with other dogs — thereby getting even more exercise (the dogs, anyway) than they would by being walked in boring circles on a rope.

It should also be pointed out that members of the more sedentary latter group — while violating leash laws — are also allowing their dogs to gain social skills, and, perhaps, honing their own in the process.

But back to the study. Cornell researcher Barbour Warren says they are analyzing everything from how much dogs and humans actually walk together to human attitudes, and the decisions to walk the dog or not walk the dog.

“We’re trying to get people to make small changes in the amount of food they take and the amount of physical activity they take,” says Warren, “and finding out how dog walking might be involved and how typical veterinary practices might be involved in helping more.”

Warren says the study stems from the rise of obesity in the USA and obesity-related illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and arthritis. More than two-thirds of the people across the nation are overweight and one third are considered obese. Dogs are increasingly falling into those categories as well.

“We became interested in trying to prevent weight gain,” he says. “Dog walking offers two of the key elements for regular physical activity, purpose and companionship. Dogs can provide both of these in spades.”

The goal of the study is to develop the necessary data and tools to build a program to combat obesity by increasing dog walking as a form of family exercise.

New York dog writer Nadia Zonis recently appeared on New York’s WNYC to tout the newest in a series of guides for walking your dog in the city.

Zonis, the New York editor for Urbanhound.com, is the author of “City Walks With Dogs, New York,” which includes 50 flash cards, each depicting a different route, and the pet-friendly attractions you’ll encounter along the way.

Some of the walks included are SoHo and the West Village, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Roosevelt Island and Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue. You can order it from Amazon here.