ohmidog!

Taz — the last New York City police dog called into service after 9/11 that was still on the job — has died.

The German shepherd, almost 2 years old when he  joined other K-9s searching for survivors and cadavers at the World Trade Center, died of cardiac arrest last Sunday, the police department said.

The New York Times noted his passing yesterday.

Taz, who would have been 10 years old on Oct. 31, served in the Canine Emergency Service Unit, where his duties consisted of searching for evidence, suspects and missing persons.

Dogs, the Times article notes, have served the New York Police Department since 1908, when, in what was a novel idea at the time,  five dogs were promoted to be full-fledged members of the department.

The article also notes that a Times article back then noted “the possibility that the dog unit could be laughed out of official existence.”

The department currently has around 40 dogs, mostly German shepherds and bloodhounds.

During the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack, an average of eight dogs were on duty at a time, working 12-hour shifts every day, according to the Police Department.

In a statement, Taz’s handler, Officer Scott Ryan said, “His passing is not just a loss to me, my family and fellow K-9 officers, but to the city that Taz and his K-9 comrades so proudly and courageously served.”

Officer Ryan added, “I will ride with my partner Taz for the last time, as I head to Hartsdale Pet Cemetery to bring his ashes home.”

Las Vegas residents eagerly waiting to get their pups cleaned by Heidi Fleiss are going to have to wait a little more.

The 43-year-old former Hollywood madam’s attempt to open a dog grooming business — called the “Dirty Dog” — was blocked Wednesday by a District Court judge, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The judge ruled in favor of Jeffery Marvian, who alleged his estranged wife, Nickol, conspired to sell Fleiss their dog grooming business — named Little Buddy Bath and located in a Kmart shopping center — in violation of the couple’s ongoing divorce action.

Under the ruling, the shop will remain closed pending completion of the divorce proceedings.

Nickol Marvian said Fleiss had threatened and bullied her in text messages. “She basically threatened me (that) she would go to Family Court and try to get my daughter taken away from me and she also wanted all of her money back.”

Jeffery Marvian’s attorney, Shelley Lubritz, said Fleiss entered into the deal with Nickol Marvian knowing it was wrong.

“Ms. Fleiss’ hands are as dirty as the name she wants to put on the business,” Lubritz said after the hearing.

Porn star Kendra Jade Rossi was also involved in the deal, but the judge dropped her from the complaint because she was not with Fleiss and Nickol Marvian when the agreement was reached.

Add one more to the growing list of dog parks in Maryland –  Cabin John Dog Park in Bethesda.

Located in Cabin John Regional Park, at 10900 Westlake Dr., the dog park is free and open from sunrise to sunset.

A grand opening celebration is slated for Oct. 31, but the park is already accepting dogs. It will be closed from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays for maintenance.

“I’ve been receiving phone calls and inquiries about this for quite some time,” C.J. Lilly, a landscape architect and project manager for Park and Planning’s park development division told the Washington Post. “Even when I go out to the site, people walking their dogs are very curious and anxious to know when the dog park is going to open, so there was a certain clamor and excitement building up around this.”

The $158,000 park is slightly more than an acre and features separate fenced areas for large and small dogs, as well as a rock climbing structure.

It joins three other Montgomery County dog parks –  Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Ridge Road Recreational Park in Germantown and Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton.

A fifth dog park, slated for Olney Manor Regional Park in Olney, is under construction, and the county is evaluating other sites as well.

(Photo: Montgomery-National Capital Park & Planning Commission)

Owners of dogs that make “excessive noise ” could face fines of  up to $250 a day under an ordinance approved yesterday by a Chicago City Council committee.

Excessive noise is defined in the proposed ordinance as “repeated or habitual barking, whining, crying, howling (and) whimpering,” according to the Chicago Tribune. 

The law would apply to any animal, but the article doesn’t make clear whether that includes humans.

“It’s not an anti-dog thing,” said Alderman Patrick O’Connor, who co-sponsored the measure . “It’s not preventing dogs from being dogs. It just means that if you let your dog bark all day everyday, disturbing peace for people in the area, there’s a possibility now that police can do something.”

Under the law, the noise would have to occur continually for at least 10 minutes or intermittently for “a significant portion of the night.” It also would have to be louder than the average conversation at a distance of 100 feet or more. Complaints about a dog from three residents, from different addresses, could also trigger enforcement, leading to fines of $50 to $250.

O’Connor noted the two dogs who live at his home “could be the poster children for this ordinance — two small, little yappy dogs, but if I leave them out for hours on end, I’m an irresponsible dog owner.”

The ordinance still needs approval from the full City Council.

Normally, a lioness that encounters an oryx kills and eats it.

In 2001, though a lioness in Kenya, nicknamed Kamuniak, came across a baby oryx and, instead of eating it, adopted it. Their story was recounted last week on the National Geographic Channel’s special, “Unlikely Animal Friends.”

The Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks is holding neighborhood meetings to get more input on creating off leash areas for dogs at some city parks.

Tonight, city officials will hold a second forum on creating off-leash hours and a fenced-in, off-leash area in Patterson Park. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Wolfe Street Academy on the corner of Gough and Wolfe Street in Upper Fells Point.

Later this month, city Recreation and Parks staff will appear at a meeting of the Riverside Action Group to hear neighborhood opinions on where to locate an off-leash area in Riverside Park in south Baltimore, and which hours to specify as off-leash.

That meeting is scheduled for Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church, 1530 Battery Avenue.

Food & Wine magazine has named what it considers the top five dog-friendliest cities in the U.S. They are: Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Diego and San Francisco.

The article in the magazine, published by American Express, focuses mostly on dog-friendly dining and lodging opportunities. Here’s what it had to say about the top five:

Boston: Dogs are allowed on the city’s public transit system, and there’s an off-leash dog park in Boston Common. Dog-friendly restaurants include Rocca Kitchen & Bar (around the corner from Peter’s Park dog run), where a section of the patio is set aside for diners with dogs, lined with water bowls and treats from nearby Polka Dog Bakery. Dogs are also welcome — when the Red Sox aren’t playing at home — at La Verdad Taqueria.

Chicago: The city’s park system includes the 18-mile Lakefront Trail and three dog beaches. Dog-friendly restaurants include Brasserie JO, which offers complimentary house-made dog biscuits.

Miami: Most shops on Lincoln Road Mall put out water bowls, and many local restaurants allow dogs, including Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink,  where dogs can feast on dog treats baked by the pastry chef.

San Diego: In addition to its numerous dog beaches, the city abounds with  dog-friendly restaurants, including Nine-Ten and Cafe Chloe, where 75 percent of the staff volunteers at animal-rights agencies.

San Francisco: The pedestrian walkway on the Golden Gate Bridge and the historic streetcars both allow dogs. Dog-friendly restaurants include Pizzeria Delfina and Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, with a dog-friendly patio that’s ideal for watching sunsets.

(Photo via San Francisco Citizen)

You don’t hear much about the scourge of finch fighting, or canary brawls.

But apparently, just like dogfighting, they exist.

A Connecticut judge has granted probation to 15 of 19 men arrested in connection with a bird-fighting operation in Shelton, Conn, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities arrested the Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey residents, all natives of Brazil, after a July 26 raid at a Shelton home that led to the seizure of 150 birds, mostly saffron finches and canaries.

Here’s a CNN story from back when they were arrested.

The judge agreed to drop charges of cruelty to animals and illegal gambling if the men stay out of trouble during a one-year probation period.

The homeowner, 42-year-old Jurames Goulart is due in court Thursday. Three other men’s cases are pending. The birds are now at animal sanctuaries.

The Irish love dogs far more than cats, according to a new study about pet ownership.

Research by University College Dublin found that 36 percent of homes in Ireland have a dog, while just one in 10 homes own a cat, IrishCentral.com reports.

The dog-to-cat ratio is much more drastic than in most other countries, including the U.S, where nearly 40 percent of homes have dogs, compared to about 34 percent with cats.

Researchers believe the Irish may lean more toward dogs because of the  prevalence of farming and the higher number of people living in rural areas.

But dogs also seem to have a better image than cats in Ireland, the study notes. They’re viewed more as pets while cats are largely considered stray animals.

Tony Forshaw of the Siamese and All Breeds Cat Club of Ireland said there is less of a history of cat-owning in Ireland, compared with the U.S. or Britain, and that “Irish people tend to laugh at cats.”

Forshaw blames the Irish dog bias on the fact that dogs get more screen time in movies and TV.

(Photo: Costumecraze.com)