ohmidog!

There’s a new national campaign underway aimed at increasing the rate of shelter pet adoption in the US.

Every year, of the 8 million dogs and cats that enter animal shelters, 3 million of them are euthanized.

The new campaign, called the Shelter Pet Project (SPP), is sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund, and the Ad Council. It’s aim is to reverse the trend through education and public service announcements, and find more homes for homeless pets.

Specifically, it plans to give shelter pets an image make over — and clear up any misconception that abandoned animals are more unpredictable, or prone to illness or bad behavior.

We know how wrong that conception is, but apparently not everybody does, so the Shelter Pet Project, with help from a talking dog, is out to set the record straight.

The project has created an interactive website that has some great pet adoption resources, Pet Personals and an Adopt-A-Grams. We’ve added them to our list of non-profit rescue and shelter organizations. (See our rightside rail).

Halloween may be more than a week away, but the time to start costuming your pooch for BARCStoberfest is now.

BARCStoberfest takes place this Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Baltimore’s Patterson Park.

The costume contest, a perennial favorite, starts at 1:30 pm. Dogs can compete in any of several categories: Best Halloween Theme,  Best Hon/Best Boh, Matching Dog & Human and Most Original.

A Best in Show winner will be selected (by audience applause) from the four category winners. There’s a $15 entry fee for each category, and prizes in the contest are donated by Dogma.

Other contests at BARCStoberfest include most unique pet trick or talent, best tail wagger, best singer or howler, best kisser, fastest treat eater and smallest and largest dog. There’s a $5 entry fee for those competitions.

The 5th annual BARCStoberfest is a festival for animal lovers that helps raise funds for BARCS, which takes in 12.000 animals a year. If it’s rained out Saturday, it will be held Sunday.

Some of the country’s most athletic dogs competed at the National Finals of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge at Purina Farms near St. Louis over the weekend.

More than 30 canine athletes jumped, vaulted and dove their way into the records books as they competed in Olympic style events, including agility, Jack Russell hurdle racing, 60 weave pole, freestyle flying disc and the crowd favorite, dog diving.

Among those taking part was Olympian Greg Louganis, who competed with his dog, Dobby, in the small dog agility event.

The Philadelphia Eagles — as if to make amends for hiring a convicted dogfighter — have announced a half million dollar effort to reduce the abuse of animals, promote responsible adoption, encourage spaying and neutering and put an end to dog fighting through increased public education and awareness.

Eagles owner Christina Lurie and Eagles president Joe Banner announced the initiative yesterday. It was described as a half million dollar commitment to support animal welfare organizations. An Eagles press release on the campaign made no mention of Michael Vick, who the Eagles signed as quarterback after completion of his federal prison sentence for dogfighting.

As part of the new effort, the Eagles will donate $50,000 each to the Humane Society of the United States’ anti-dogfighting  program, a low cost spay and neuter facility operated by the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, and the Berks County Humane Society in support of its new mobile veterinary clinic.

The Eagles also announced they will coordinate a TAWK (Treating Animals With Kindness) series that brings animal experts to local schools, a public service announcement campaign involving Eagles players and a website with information and updates about the TAWK program, and information about animal welfare issues.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has terminated that state’s attempt to to crack down on puppy mills, vetoing legislation that would have limited breeders and others to having no more than 50 adult dogs.

Six states have passed puppy mill legislation this year; California is the only one where the governor has vetoed it.

The Associated Press reported that Schwarzenegger said he feared the bill would criminalize the lawful activities of pet shops, kennels and groups that raise assistance dogs.

“This measure would make it a crime for any person or entity to own or control more than 50 unsterilized adult dogs or cats for breeding or raising for sale as pets,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message. “I support measures designed to prevent animal cruelty and that punish persons engaged in the abuse of animals.”

Ahhh fall, my favorite season — that time of year when even old dogs get a little more spring in their step.  The coolness of yesterday morning was invigorating. Ace, upon stepping outside and taking in a whiff of the crispness in the air, was raring to go.

On our morning trip to the park, we drove the four blocks because my illegally parked car had to be moved anyway. We walked an extra loop around the path and veered into the grass to chase each other a little bit. We were both stepping a little more lively than usual.

My lively steps included one into a pile of dog poop, which I didn’t notice until enclosed in the car on the way home, by which time I had smeared both brake and gas pedal with it as well.

Not wanting to track it inside, I left my shoes outside, at the foot of the steps of my humble Formstone rowhouse, figuring I’d probably throw them away, anyway. They started losing their integrity three months ago — the body of the shoe having lost contact with the sole, resulting in a floppy thwack as I walked and a tendency to take in moisture.

I cleaned by brake and gas pedals, then spent a few hours at the computer before stepping back outside in my socks to find the shoes were gone. Someone had stolen my poopy shoes — my falling apart, probably even stinky before I stepped in poop, not long for the world, anyway, poopy shoes.

I didn’t feel all that violated — given that shoes were going to be thrown away. I took only a moment’s pleasure in the thought that the thief probably didn’t get around the corner before realizing his ill gotten booty was was contaminated with poopy. Perhaps, I thought, he even realized it immediately, but decided, once cleaned up, they might serve him well for a while. Maybe it’s a reflection of how hard times have gotten for some.

So as I don my new sneakers — quite spiffy and only $20 at Wal-Mart — here is my wish for the poopy shoe thief: I hope they — after a good cleaning and a little glue — bring you warmth and happiness throughout the season.

California dogs hit the surf in Huntington Beach over the weekend for a new charity event called the Surf City Surf Dog Competition. Here (after the obligatory advertisement — how better to sell gasoline than with a dancing dog?) is a news report on the event.

Jessica Simpson, having given up the search for her Malti-poo, says on her Twitter page that she doesn’t appreciate the false information her loved ones have received from pranksters claiming Daisy is alive.

The five-year-old dog was taken by a coyote last month.

“People  have been contacting my family and friends saying that Daisy has been found. Untrue. People are so cruel. please respect her memory.”

Daisy was a gift from ex-husband Nick Lachey. The dog was dragged from its back yard in Los Angeles  by a coyote in mid-September.

Simpson, who was recently in Morocco filming her VH1 reality show, The Price of Beauty, has more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter, where she regularly posts her doings, thoughts and epiphanies, including this recent dispatch:

“On my last day in Morocco i have finally learned it is spelled with 2 c’s and not and 2 r’s. i am a dweb!! i mean REALLY?!?!”

If fears of triggering asthma are keeping you from getting a dog, you might want to reconsider.

University of Arizona researchers say having a dog in the home at the time of a child’s birth may actually decrease his or her chance of developing asthma. And the National Institutes of Health think it’s worth almost a million dollars to find out for sure.

Serrine Lau and a team of researchers at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy have received a two-year, $937,000 challenge grant to study the issue.

“Several longitudinal studies have shown that exposure to certain domestic animals, for example, indoor dogs, during a person’s early life (even possibly before he or she is born) is associated with strong protection against asthma and asthma-related conditions later in life,” Lau said.

“The purpose of our research is to learn more about the biological mechanisms responsible for the protective effects of dog exposure. Conceivably, this could be a step toward someday leveraging these mechanisms for treatment or even preventive purposes.”

The team hypothesizes that exposure to dogs at an early age creates a “signature” (either the presence or the modification of a protein) in a child’s blood.

By comparing the signatures of children known to have been exposed to dogs at an early age with the signatures of children known not to have been exposed to dogs, and by noting the presence or absence of asthma in the children, the team hopes to learn more about how children exposed to dogs at an early age are protected from asthma.

(Photo: Courtesy of University of Arizona)

 
With “The Dog Whisperer” starting its sixth season, his new magazine hitting the stands last month and his fourth book going on sale, the New York Times Saturday took a long and mostly complimentary look at Cesar Millan and the empire he has built since crossing the border illegally 20 years ago.

Proclaiming him a “cultural icon”  the article recounts how the once-penniless native of Culiacán, Mexico (he became a U.S. citizen this year), became a dog trainer to the stars, then the world.

One of his first clients was Jada Pinkett (before she added the Smith) who in the early 1990′s was 20 and starring in a television sitcom. Millan helped Pinkett take control of her four Rottweilers, and they went on to become friends. When Millan told her he wanted to be on TV, the article says, she told him he wasn’t ready, and needed to study English.

Pinkett and Will Smith started recommending Mr. Millan to friends in the entertainment industry, starting with director Michael Bay, who needed help controlling his 230-pound mastiff, Mason. He’d later go to the aid of  Oprah Winfrey, former Disney chief Michael D. Eisner and director Ridley Scott, among others.

In addition to books, a magazine and a television show, Millan and his wife, Ilusion, runs Cesar Millan Inc., a constellation of businesses that coordinates Millan’s speaking engagements and executive leadership seminars;, and puts out a line of products including DVD’s, collars, organic dog food, fortified water, shampoos and toys. His website, cesarmillaninc.com, grosses annual sales in the mid-seven figures, according to a company spokesman.

The Times article devotes only one paragraph — tssst! – to the debate over Millan’s macho leader of the pack techniques:

Not everyone agrees with Mr. Millan’s methods. “Positivist” trainers like Ian Dunbar reject the idea that a submissive dog is a happy dog. Mr. Dunbar advocates treating dogs as companions, not followers. While Mr. Millan uses his hand like a mother dog uses her mouth — to nudge dogs to behave — Mr. Dunbar shuns physical corrections and relies instead on treats and rewards.

Despite any controversy, Millan’s fame and empire are only expected to grow.  This summer, the National Geographic Channel struck a deal with Fox to syndicate “Dog Whisperer” next fall.

(Photo: Courtesy of National Geographic Channel)