ohmidog!

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.

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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.”

“America’s Got Talent” is the grammatically incorrect name of an NBC television program in which three people who, as far as I know, have never displayed any of their own, judge whether other humans have talent.

This season, though, another species somehow sneaked in, or is it snuck?

A dog named Rory, whose Frisbee skills are indeed stunning, is one of five contestants who have made it to the semi-finals. Rory beat out singer and piano player Charles DeWayne for the final position.

Before the final vote judge Piers Morgan — a former tabloid editor who serves as the token British snot on the panel — said if the dog was chosen over DeWayne, it would be “the biggest scandal” in the history of the show.

Judges David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne, however, called Rory’s performance “brilliant.”

The Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington is hosting a fundraiser today for Trooper, the dog who was rescued from a dumpster after losing a dog fight.

The event will feature tours, games for children, face painting, raffles and more. It starts at 11 a.m. at the Friendship Hospital for Animals, 4105 Brandywine Street, NW.

The dog was found barely alive, duct taped inside a trash bag. Washington Humane Society officials said the dog had apparently been discarded after being used in a dogfight.

If you were thinking unthinkably cruel animal torture was strictly an urban phenomenon, take a look — if you have the stomach for it — at this item from the Northeast Booster.

The Booster — an Internet conglomeration of recycled news from Baltimore area newspapers – reports that three men were arrested and charged with animal cruelty Thursday after they allegedly tortured a cat in a microwave, then put it in a freezer, then tossed it into a river.

Kevin Abel, 19, Scott McDowell, 18, and Richard Rioux, 25, were all arrested last week in connection with the cat’s death, which occurred July 31 in the Edgemere area, according to Bill Toohey, a Baltimore County police spokesman.

Abel, who lives in White Marsh, was house sitting for a friend when he apparently invited the other two men over.

Toohey said the cat was spun on the floor, beaten, placed on ceiling fan, put in the microwave, and closed in the freezer before being placed in a bag with rocks and tossed into Back River, off Lynch Point.

The next day, the owner of the cat — whose identity wasn’t  revealed – was informed by McDowell that the animal was dead. All three men were intoxicated at the time of the incident, Toohey said.

Abel, Rioux, of White Marsh, and McDowell, of  Sparrows Point, were all charged with animal cruelty.  A hearing for all three is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 29 in District Court in Essex.

The dog kennels at the animal shelter in Fairfax County, Va., will be closed for at least two weeks due to an outbreak of canine flu.

Only two cases at the shelter have been confirmed through testing, but more than two dozen dogs at the shelter are showing symptoms of the highly contagious virus, according to the Fairfax Times. There are about 60 dogs at the shelter.

“We do feel we have it contained and we’ve taken all of the steps we can to prevent it from spreading,” said Karen Diviney, animal shelter director.

A smaller kennel area is set up to house uninfected dogs, including those just coming in to the shelter. While they can’t legally refuse to accept new animals, Diviney said shelter officials are urging people not to bring dogs to the shelter if they have any other options.

At least six cases of canine influenza have been confirmed in the county, the Washington Post reported.

Three dogs have been treated at Deepwood Veterinary Clinic in Centreville, one of whom died, said Dr. Wanda Pool, chief veterinarian. “We’re very, very worried about this in the community,” Pool said. She said dog owners should be careful about taking their dog to a dog park, doggie day care or boarding facility.

Canine influenza was first identified in 2004 and has been confirmed in 30 states now. Pool said this is the first time, to her knowledge, that the virus has been confirmed in Northern Virginia. A vet clinic in Sterling has also reported one confirmed case, she said.

Like the flu virus in humans, dogs can have a range of symptoms from the virus and most do not get seriously ill. Older dogs or dogs with other health problems are more susceptible to develop pneumonia or secondary infections that can cause more serious illness or death, Pool said. Humans and other animals cannot get sick from the virus, but can help spread it if they have been in contact with a dog that is sneezing or coughing. The virus can live on surfaces or clothing for up to 48 hours, Pool said.

My most favorite football team is now my least favorite football team: The Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick to a two-year contract.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed the disgraced quarterback — who just months ago completed his 18-month sentence for dogfighting — to a one-year deal with an option for a second year, ESPN reports.

“I think everybody deserves a second chance,” Vick said Friday, a day after signing the deal, according to the Associated Press. “We all have issues, we all deal with certain things and we all have our own set of inequities. I think as long as you are willing to come back and do it the right way and do the right things and that you’re committed, then I think you deserve it. But you only get one shot at a second chance, and I am conscious of that.”

Angry fans brought dogs and waited outside the team’s practice facility, carrying signs and banners to display their outrage.

“How could they sign Michael Vick?” said Mark Pascetta of Ridley Township. “They are supposed to be a character team. We don’t need him.”

Within hours of the announcement, Michael Vick Eagles jerseys were on sale — everywhere from the NFL’s website to that of CBS — and calls for a boycott of the Eagles were being mounted on Facebook and other websites.

Vicks will earn $1.6 million under the first year of the contract, with the second-year option worth $5.2 million. Vick can also earn an additional $3 million in incentives over the two years of the contract, ESPN reported.

The Eagles were reportedly not the first team to extend an offer to Vick. Fox Sports reported that the Cincinnati Bengals first offered Vick a two-year deal worth about $2.3 million.

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