ohmidog!

Officials from the city Recreation and Parks department will be presenting and discussing plans for off-leash dog hours at Riverside Park at tonight’s meeting of the Riverside Neighborhood Association.

Baltimore opened its first enclosed off-leash dog area, at Latrobe Park in Locust Point, last month.

The city is considering establishing off-leash hours in unfenced areas of several other parks, including Riverside, Patterson, Wyman and Herring Run.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church, at the corner of Randall Street and Battery Avenue, across from the park.

Authorities are considering filing animal cruelty charges against a Pennsyvlania woman who was captured on video running over a dog with her truck, possibly on purpose.

Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham confirmed the office had received a case file from the Aston Police Department and, after review, asked Aston police to further investigate.

According to Aston Police Sgt. Michael Ruggieri, a township resident arrived at police headquarters last week and presented a video — which depicts a white dog being run over by a red truck. The dog was killed.

The video was posted on YouTube, as well as GoAston.com, but later removed from both sites, the Delaware County Times reports.

The woman said she accidentally ran over the dog Oct. 11, but the video reportedly suggests otherwise.

The weather cooperated beautifully this time around as BARCStoberfest — delayed for a week due to rain — drew large numbers of dogs and their owners to Baltimore’s Patterson Park for a day of contests, activities and a fund-raising walk held under crisp, clear skies.

Contests were held for best costume, owner-dog lookalikes, best kissers and more. In addition to those official contests, we’ve got some unofficial awards:

Best leg warmers — second place:

 (Official Lifesavers entry?)

 Best leg warmer — first place:

 (And a pretty dazzling flyball player, to boot.)

Best non-portable urinal:

(Toilet trees — for the man who has everything)

Cutest dog — scruffy division:

(If Hollywood ever needs another Benji…)

Best Hannibal Lecter imitation:

(Actually this fella was a sweetheart, all 195 pounds of him)

 Highest Flying Dog

(Chi Chi — flyball star, Karma Dog, and  friend of Ace)

 Cutest dog — wiener division:

Anne Arundel County police said the dog taken when her owner’s car was stolen in Annapolis has been found safe in her crate.

Ellie, an eight-month-old German short-haired pointer was reunited yesterday with her owner, Ben Terfehr, an Army sergeant based at Ft. Mead who is awaiting deployment to Iraq.

Police said the dog was discovered in her crate near an industrial park at Nursery Road and Central Avenue in the Linthicum area.

A friend of Terfehr’s said he told her the dog was found in a McDonald’s parking lot, and quoted him as saying — despite the fact that his jeep still hasn’t been found – ”I’m so happy!” The friend,  in a comment posted on ohmidog!, said Ellie’s toys were in the crate with her, and that the thief left a blanket over the crate, apparently to keep her warm.

After he and Ellie visited Quiet Waters Park last week, Terfehr went into a gas station in Annapolis buy a beverage and came out to find someone jumping into his Jeep and driving away.

Stinky in the parking lot

From all appearances, the stray dog laying on his side in the parking lot was already acquainted with the cruel side of Baltimore: The scars on his face, a tattered ear, a pus-filled eye, the ribs visible through his fur were all signs of neglect, and possible use by dogfighters.

But before the day was over, he’d find Baltimore — despite the high profile stories of dogs set afire and tortured cats — has a sweet side, too.

An employee of Agora Publishing came across the dog Friday in a nearby parking lot on St. Paul Street.

Matthew Wagner took photos of the dog, posted them on Craigslist and his Facebook page, and put a call in to the city’s Animal Control office.

Meanwhile, Michelle Ingrodi, a receptionist at Boston Street Animal Hospital, logged on to Facebook before going to work. She’d been sent a link from a friend she hadn’t seen in 10 years, who happened to be a friend of Wagner’s. It was about the dog Wagner had found.

When Ingrodi arrived for work, one of her first calls of the day was — in true Smalltimore style — from Wagner.

“He said he’d found a dog on the side of the parking lot and didn’t know what to do,” Ingrodi said. “He said he’d called animal  control and they hadn’t shown up. I told him, ‘You don’t want to call animal control.’  This dog was old and sick and they might put him down immediately due to lack of space and lack of funds.”

Wagner asked how much it would cost if he were to bring the dog in to be checked, but Ingrodi told him there was no way of knowing. It depended on how extensive his problems were. She suggested that Wagner bring the dog in and — through his friends and Internet connections — ask anyone who was willing to donate to the dog’s care to contact the animal hospital.

Wagner made an appointment for 4 p.m., then went back outside, got the dog, and brought him into the offices of Agora Publishing. He got back on the computer, revised his posts, including the veterinary office’s phone number; then he began asking co-workers if they might be willing to contribute.

Stinky at the vet

At 4 p.m., when he walked into the vets office, Ingrodi told him what had happened, within just a few short hours: The animal hospital had received $1,325 in donations — some form Wagner’s co-workers, most from strangers who’d seen the account he’d posted and photos of the dog on Facebook and Craigslist.

The dog was malnourished, had a bad cut on his eye, and had several infected wounds. He was estimated to be 10 to 12 years old. X-rays showed nothing was broken. His cuts were treated, and the dog — initially dubbed Stinky Madison — was given a bath and, later, an assortment of food and supplies at Dogma. Wagner took the dog home and, after a $500-plus vet bill, still had $700-plus for future care and treatment.

“His co-workers started calling first, making $50 donations,” said Ingroti, who was answering the phones at the animal hospital. “Then people started sharing it on a Facebook, random people –  even someone from California. We had $325 within 25 minutes. Our phones have never rung like that. I had to turn down four or five donations.

“Here’s a dog who probably lay down in the gutter thinking ‘this is it.’  Then all these random people come together to save him — just complete strangers. I’m blown away, especially considering the way things are going in shelters now, with a lot of people giving up their pets. Something like this restores your faith in humanity.”

Wagner plans to care for the dog at least temporarily, she said.

Ingroti said the dog left the hospital looking tired but content. “He’s got some tired old bones, and he’s a little apprehensive.  You can see in his eyes that something has happened to him, and he’s  just not sure it’s a good idea to come near you. But he takes love if you give it.”

Baltimore, this time, gave it.

A dog in Idaho fell down a 270-foot deep well, spent 24 hours at the bottom of it, and survived.

Jordan, a 10-year-old English pointer, suffered a broken back and a bruised heart, and veterinarians said it’s it’s almost inconceivable that she’s still alive, KIVI reported. (Click the photo above for the video report.)

After lowering a video camera down the well to determine the dog was still alive, rescuers hauled her up. She spent five hours in surgery. Veterinarians say there is a 50 percent chance she will regain use of back legs.

Either way, her owner is happy to have her back. “She has this will to live, I think, that’s unbelievable,” she said.

Sen. Al Franken’s first piece of legislation — aimed at increasing the supply of service dogs for veterans – has been passed and is headed to the White House for approval.

Under the legislation, the Veterans Administration would develop partnerships with organizations that provide disabled veterans with service dogs. Franken said the measure will cost about $5 million and is designed not to interfere with non-profit organizations providing service dogs.

“The government is going to pay for essentially every other dog. What I didn’t want to happen was to dry up the funding for the organizations like Hearing and Service Dogs in Minneapolis and all of these non-profits who have been providing dogs to some vets.”

Franken said about 200 veterans will get dogs as a result of the legislation. The legislation was passed yesterday as apart of the Defense Authorization bill, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

Franken introduced the legislation after meeting Luis Carlos Montalvan, a veteran who said his service dog improved his quality of life.

Otto — a nearly 21-year-old dachshund mix from across the pond — has been proclaimed the world’s oldest dog by the Guinness Book of World Records.

To be precise — for all those who will be coming out of the woodwork saying their dogs are older — Otto is 20 years and eight months, the UK’s Daily Mail reports.

Owners Lynn and Peter Jones, from Shrewsbury, entered him for the title with Guinness World Records after learning of the death last month of the previous title holder, a 21-year-old dachshund  in New York named Chanel.

Otto’s claim to the record was approved this week. Mrs. Jones, 53, has owned Otto since he was six weeks old.

They attribute his longevity to “plenty of love, plenty of good food” and regular veterinary check-ups.

Otto has arthritis, and doesn’t appreciate walks like he used to. “He gets about ten yards down the road then looks back over his shoulder as if to say ‘I want to go home,’” Mrs. Jones said. “But he’s still playful. He can still jump all over people when they come round.”

The oldest dog on record was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who lived to 29 years and five months before having to be put down in 1939.

 
A soldier awaiting deployment to Iraq this spring had his car stolen in Annapolis when he stopped for gas yesterday — with his puppy inside.

Army Sgt. Benjamin Terfehr, based at Ft. Mead, appeared on ABC2′s “Good Morning Maryland” today, issuing an appeal to get the dog back.

Terfehr, assigned to the military police, had taken Ellie, his German shorthaired pointer, to Quiet Waters Park. Afterwards, he stopped for gas, and ran inside the station to buy an energy drink. When he came out, he saw his car, a grey Jeep Cherokee, being driven away.

Terfehr said he got the brown and white dog a few months ago, after a broken engagement. He planned for the dog to stay at his mother’s house in Minnesota during his upcoming deployment.

“I could care less about the car, I just want the dog in the back,” Terfehr said.

“I want her to come home to.”

If you have any information about the car or dog, contact Terfehr at terf_12@hotmail.com

 
Jenny Campbell was was taking photos by the Ann Street wharf  in Baltimore Wednesday when she heard a splash.

A dog had fallen, or jumped, into the water, and, as is the case along most of the harbor, there was no easy way out.

Campbell and a man who heard the splash from his docked sailboat tried to coax the dog close enough that they might reach in and pull her out, but when she did get close enough, she nipped at their outreached hands.

Campbell called 911.”There’s an animal in the water and she’s fading fast,” she told the operator, who patched Campbell through to the police department’s marine division.

Meanwhile, others had gathered to try and help the dog, both on the land, and in the water. One couple on a boat pulled alongside the dog, but she nipped at them as well.

Shortly after that, a patrolman pulled up, the police helicopter was overhead, and a police boat arrived and spotted the dog, pulling alongside of her and reeling her in.

The dog was taken to Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS), where, if unclaimed, she will be put up for adoption.

“She needs a home,” Campbell added, “This is a beautiful animal that needs a fantastic, loving person to care for her.”

(Photos by Jenny Campbell)