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This ad takes a canine habit familiar to us all and turns it on its rear.

Called “Contradictions Dog,” the ad was produced by Hungry Man advertising for Starburst and came out this summer.

All of our “Woof in Advertising” selections can be found archived here.

The retrial of twin brothers Travers and Tremayne Johnson, accused of setting a pit bull on fire in Baltimore way back in 2009, has been delayed again.

Now it’s scheduled for Nov. 18, which will be nearly two and a half years after the incident.

Attempts to save the young female pit bull, later named Phoenix, were unsuccessful and she died five days later.

Their first trial ended with a hung jury when jurors could not reach a unanimous decision. One juror believed the evidence presented didn’t prove they were guilty.

Prosecutors filed charges against the brothers again, and the new trial was scheduled for May, then postponed until September.

The case led to the creation of an anti-animal abuse task force by then-mayor Sheila Dixon. That task force has since become a city commission.

If being 15 years old and seven months pregnant weren’t trouble enough, Codi Robertson woke up on the family sofa earlier this month shaking uncontrollably.

Codi, before she blacked out, called for her mother, but her mother didn’t hear her.

Her dog Mickey did.

The 8-year-old Alaskan Eskimo dog woke up Codi’s mother, Debbie Denning, who found her daughter in the middle of what doctors would later say was a pregnancy-related seizure.

“She was not responsive, limp, sweaty,” Denning, of Idaho Falls, told Local News 8.

Denning called 911, and Roberston was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where her baby boy was delivered two months premature via C-section.

Doctors told the pair that both Codi and the baby could have died had Denning not reached her daughter when she did.

Codi said the baby, named Wyatt — 10 days old today — will be in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit until November.

As for Mickey: “She’s one amazing dog,” she said.

A pit bull mix — who looks like he has a little Great Dane in him, as well — was found this week wandering the streets of southwest Atlanta with an arrow through his head.

The reward for information leading to the perpetrator had risen by Friday to $6,000 — including a $5,000 donation from Norred & Associates, an Atlanta-based security firm, according to WTVM.

A Fulton County Animal Control officer discovered the 1-year-old dog on Kenner Drive after a resident contacted Atlanta police.

The dog was taken for emergency veterinary care and the arrow was removed.

Once he recovers from his injuries the dog, who has been nicknamed Arrow, will be available for adoption.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Fulton County Animal Services at (404) 613-0358.

A puppy was found tied to a tree in Greensboro yesterday, with third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body.

The dog was picked up after an anonymous call to animal control.

He’s now in the care of the Guilford County Animal Shelter.

Executive Director Marsha Williams told Fox News that the hound mix was found at a small apartment complex off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Chemical and powder residue were found on the three-month-old dog, samples of which were sent to Greensboro police, Williams said.

The dog may have been burned a week or two ago, Williams said.

Other than the burns, the dog, who has been named Hoyt, looked healthy and had no broken bones, Williams said.

Shelter veterinarians have performed skin grafts, wrapped the dog in burn bandages, and given him pain medicine and antibiotics, she said.

“He’s in a lot of pain,” Williams said. “He’s a real sweet dog.”

News 14 reported that the puppy’s caretaker, Anthony Jones, said he had found the dog and was caring for it when one day the dog became disoriented. He said the burns couldhave resulted from a pet shampoo he used on the dog.

Jones said he called animal control to have them come get the dog, but didn’t tell them he was the pet’s owner because he didn’t want to be responsible for paying for its medical care.

Hoyt’s case is the first of its kind this year. Last year, a Pomeranian mix named Bailey was found burned, the third such case in a 13-month period.

Hoyt is being treated with money donated to Susie’s Fund, which was created in 2009 after the dog the fund is named after was badly burned. Her case led to the legislature approving stricter penalties for animal abuse cases.

The shelter is hosting a “Bark & Wine” fundraiser from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Dog-Gone Fun at 203 Berry Garden Road in Kernersville. Tickets cost $20, and all proceeds go to Susie’s Fund.

Dental repairs — not mine this time, but my mother’s — took me to nearby Pfafftown last week, about a 15 minute drive, during which I annoyed by mother by repeatedly prouncing the first silent “f” in the North Carolina town’s name.

The correct pronunciation is “Poff-town.” But I kept calling it “Puh-foff-town” and she kept correcting me, not realizing, at least at first, that I was doing it on pfurpose.

Dropping her off at the dentist, I returned to a spot we had passed by, which, though I had only gotten a brief glance, appeared to be an enchanted kudzu forest.

Just as I suspected, I found three canines. (There is no kudzu patch in which I cannot spot the shapes of dogs — though some, admittedly, are clearer than others.)

First, I saw a pfair of kudzu wolves, howling at the sky:

Then I saw what looked like a St. Bernard, or Newfoundland. (Pfeel pfree to disagree.)

Back at the dentist, my mother was done and waiting for me, and, as pfate would have it, I learned a return trip was going to be necessary in the afternoon.

Ace, who mad missed out on the first jaunt, came along on the second, and after again dropping off my mother, we followed some signs pointing to C.G. Hill Memorial Park.

The park is a beautiful setting, with winding trails and a duck pond.

It also contains a hollow poplar tree in which, according to the county, a farmer once hid his cow and calf to save them from being poached by Union soldiers during the Civil War.

A lightning strike led to the decay, which formed the hollow center. The tree has been used over the centuries to stash weapons and as shelter by travelers.

It has also been dubbed the “Loving Tree” – but we’re not sure, and the county’s website doesn’t say, whether that’s because it lovingly provided shelter, or because of hanky-panky that may or may not have taken place within its confines.

Looking at it, I’m not sure how it could have held a cow and calf, much less an amorous couple. Why the space is no bigger than an airplane’s restroom.

Rather than imagine the hijinks that might have occured within the tree, I  pfocused on the pfair of ducks, becoming pfascinated with the pfretty rings of color around their eyes:

While at the park we ran into Thor, a three-year-old Chihuahua-rat terrier mix.

Thor’s from Texas, his owner said, and apparently bounced around between assorted college students before one of them sent him home to her mother.

She filled me in on where people commonly let their dogs run unleashed — even though park rules require leashes — but, suspecting my mother might be pfinished with having her dental work installed, I didn’t have time to check it out.

One the way to drop her back home, I told her about the pfark, just down the road from Ronald Reagan High School. Now there was a pfresident.

“Puh-fofftown is pretty nice,” I told her.

“It’s pronounced ‘poff-town,’” she corrected me for the tenth time.

“Puh-false,” I retorted. It’s Puh-fofftown.”

She rolled her eyes, as if in pfain.

That was her signal she had pfinally had enough of that game.

I’m going to keep pronouncing it Puh-fofftown, though, with apologies to all the Puh-foffs that live there and who it is named after, because, just like dentists, I sometimes like to strike a nerve.

And because I know, despite being in the minority, I must be right — as sure there are cows in trees and dogs in kudzu.

A rapidly climbing euthanasia rate at the Wake County Animal Center in Raleigh prompted volunteers to take their concerns to a local television station.

No one disputes the figures: In January, the Wake County shelter euthanized 131 dogs, or about 18 percent of those brought in. By August, that number had climbed to 327 euthanized dogs, or nearly 42 percent of the intake, according to WRAL.

The Wake County shelter is one of the more progressive government-run shelters in the state, and it was working toward establishing a “no kill” policy.

But a rising number of surrendered and abandoned animals, and some bouts with diseases and sickness have forced an increased in euthanizations.

Wake County’s euthanasia rate last year was 28 percent — far better than most North Carolina counties. Orange County (Chapel Hill) had a 33 percent rate; Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) reported a 50 percent rate; and in Cumberland County a whopping 73 percent of the dogs that entered the county shelter last year were euthanized.

Cumberland County, you’ll recall — and if you don’t we’ll help you — is where a private wildlife control company has been hired to round up stray dogs around Fayetteville.

Mims Wildlife Damage Control, working with animal control staff, have hunted down 80 or more stray or feral dogs.

“As of Monday 80 packs of dogs have been removed, 57 of those were field euthanized, 27 were taken to the Cumberland County animal shelter,” said Jon Soles, with Cumberland County public information.

If you’re wondering about that math, yes it does add up to 84.

If you’re wondering what “field euthanized” is, it means shot and killed.

Of those allowed to live, four have been adopted out, and eight are in foster care.

Meanwhile, back in Raleigh, the volunteers say they came forward in an attempt to slow Wake County’s rising rate of euthanasia.

“We really want to come together as a group to figure out ways that we can stop this needless killing of animals,” one of the volunteers, Julie Powers, told the TV station’s investigative team.

Volunteers said they also worry that ongoing issues with the heating and air conditioning units might contribute to sick animals.

Andre Pierce, Wake County’s environmental health and safety director, says the shelter is committed to finding better ways to save the dogs.

“No one wants to euthanize animals,” he said. “We would much rather them go to a permanent home – a forever home – and go out the front door rather than go out the back door.”

Davidson County, North Carolina, already a terrible place to die if you’re a dog — at least one that ends up in the county shelter — this week became a not-so-great place to live as a dog, either.

In the Davidson County town of Lexington, it’s now against the law to bring your dog to a city-sponsored function, even on a leash, or to keep your dog in your front yard, even if it’s fenced.

The Lexington City Council unanimously approved stricter controls on dogs at its Monday night meeting, all of which are effective immediately.

The measures include giving the police department the power to determine what dogs are dangerous and seize them; prohibiting dogs from attending city-sponsored public events; and requiring areas where dogs are fenced be only in backyards, 50 feet from neighboring structures and 20 feet from sidewalks.

The stricter measures stemmed from complaints from residents and an incident last year, in which an unleashed dog described as a pit bull killed a resident’s Yorkshire terrier, according to The Dispatch in Davidson County.

The new ordinance does not prohibit tethering — as long as it is in the back yard, is done without a heavy chain, and does not prevent an animal from reaching food, water or shelter.

“We require chains and tethering devices to be of a reasonable weight and length for the size of the animal to treat those animals humanely,” Lexington Police Department Capt. Mark Sink said.

Beyond that, and the fact that the city council didn’t ban any specific breeds, it’s hard to find much humanity in the new regulations.

But then again, Lexington is in Davidson County, whose commissioners last month — despite hundreds of residents showing up to encourage a much needed change — voted to continue it’s preferred method of euthanizing dogs: A gas chamber.

Read more »

Rolled into a North Carolina courtroom in a green wagon, a pit bull mix named Chamberlin watched as one of two people accused of neglecting him so severely he’ll likely never fully recover was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Chamberlin, who Guilford County Animal Shelter officials said spent more than two months chained in a yard with little or no food — along with another dog who didn’t survive — was neglected to the point that his muscle tissue deteriorated, his bones fused and his claws circled back into his footpads.

Chamberlin, whose case led to a proposed law to make prosecution of neglect cases easier, called “Chamberlin’s Law,” entered the shelter over a year ago, and remains there, normally getting around on a cart that supports his front legs.

While he does have occasional outings, Wednesday’s might have been the most unusual of all.

Chamberlin was accompanied by shelter staff to today’s sentencing of Wilburt Morrison, Jr., 56. Morrison and his former live-in companion, Nellie Brock, were arrested last September and charged with two counts of animal cruelty each.

Chamberlin arrived at the Guilford County Courthouse in High Point atop a pink cushion in a heavy duty wagon, flanked by shelter staff and about 20 animal advocates.

When Morrison’s hearing began, the dog was rolled into the courtroom to the front row of seats.

(Brock rejected a plea agreement and will stand trial on the charges.)

Morrison’s attorney told the judge that Brock, not Morrison, was the owner of the dogs, and that Morrison had been ”under the impression that she would bring food to the dogs.”

He said the case was not as “black and white” as it appeared, and pointed out that, contrary to some earlier news reports, it was Morrison who called animal control to come get the dog.

Prosectors allowed a representative of Susie’s Miracle Fund — named after a burned dog whose case led to laws imposing harsher penalties for animal abuse in North Carolina — to read a statement. Upon its completion, the prosecutor said, “Finally, I would present Chamberlin.”

The black pit bull mix was wheeled into the middle of the courtroom, poking his head over the rails. After about 20 seconds of silence, he was pulled back to the front row.

Superior Court Judge John O. Craig, III, while he had some strong words for Morrison, accepted the plea agreement prosecutors offered.

Morrison in exchange for pleading to one count of animal cruelty (a second was dropped) was given a suspended 7 to 9-month prison sentence. He will spend 30 days in jail, and three years on probation. He was also ordered to make $1,000 in restitution to help cover Chamberlin’s medical bills.

The plea agreement also prohibits Morrison from having pets during his three-year probationary period.

“I don’t want him even to have a guppy,” the judge said. “Not even a pet rock.”

The maximum penalty Morrison could have received was 15 months in prison, because “Susie’s Law” had yet to go into effect at the time of his arrest.

Calling the dogs’ treatment “deplorable,” Craig said who owned the dogs was not the issue: “Even though the dogs may not technically have been owned by you, they were on your property and in your care.” 

Chamberlin, with a member of the shelter staff

“They’re like children or elderly adults who can’t fend for themselves,” the judge added. “They are totally dependent on humans,” he added — and even moreso when they are chained, and unable to reach or seek their own food.

Judge Craig thanked Chamberlin’s backers for coming, but lamented that the same kind of support isn’t shown in cases involving the abuse and neglect of children and the elderly.

After the hearing, Nellie Brock spoke to reporters outside the courthouse, saying that, while the dogs belonged to her, Morrison was responsible for them.

“He put me out in May. He was responsible. Where I was at I could not take those dogs,” she said. She said she turned down a plea bargain because, ”I’m not guilty … I didn’t abuse my dogs.” A trial date has yet to be set.

Brock hugs Chamberlin

In the most awkward moment of the afternoon, Brock approached the dog outside the courthouse, knelt down and spent several minutes petting and hugging him before an animal shelter official interrupted.

“He’s a strong dog and he has a good will and he knows in his heart that I didn’t do anything,” Brock said. “I pray every night for him.”

(Photos by John Woestendiek / ohmidog!)

Wally and Boo — a Chihuahua and a pit bull — were dropped off at an animal shelter in southern California (not the no-kill kind) by their owner, who was moving and could no longer care for them.

It didn’t take long for the Rancho Cucamonga shelter, in San Bernadino County, to see the strong connection between the two.

During their stay at the shelter, Boo, the 4-year-old pit bull, and Wally, the 6-year-old Chihuahua, protected and comforted each other in the same kennel. 

When separated, both would become depressed.

The shelter did its best — including making the video above — to try and adopt them out as a pair, but found no takers.

At one adoption fair, the pair was spotted by members of the The Fuzzy Pet Foundation, a Los Angeles area rescue group.

“We were so touched by their bond, but we also knew it would not be easy to place into a forever home a pit bull and a Chihuahua together,” said Sheila Choi, Fuzzy Pet’s CEO and founder.

“We asked the animal shelter to give us a little time to network, and begged them not to put to sleep Boo and Wally,” Choi said.

Joe Pulcinella, Rancho Cucamonga director of animal care and services, said Wally and Boo were never scheduled to be euthanized — and that the shelter spent five months trying to adopt them out together “because they were so bonded.”

Rancho Cucamonga has increased its adoption rate to about 90 percent, but still, as Choi saw it, the pair getting put down was a possibility.

“For many days and weeks, we made more than a thousand phone calls, sent out a slew of e-mails to our network of friends, family members, donors, and general supporters, hoping to find Boo and Wally a loving, permanent home. It was not an easy feat. No one had come forward to adopt this pair of lovers,” Choi told ohmidog!

That’s when Choi remembered a conversation she had with a classmate at Harvard’s Kennedy School, where she’s enrolled in a two-year master’s program.

“This classmate, Jack Jaskaran, also a New York City police captain, and I always talked about our love for pit bulls. Jack had owned pit bulls all his life, and had talked to me about adopting another one or two dogs after he graduated from the program last year.”

Fuzzy Pet shared Boo and Wally’s story with Jaskaran’s family, as well as a video the Rancho Cucamonga shelter had made and posted on YouTube. They agreed to adopt the pair.

“We bailed out both Boo and Wally on August 3, 2011. We have sheltered them at a cage-free boarding facility ever since, and today, they will be flying in cabin (NOT cargo) via a pet aircraft for NYC,” Choi said yesterday.

The Jaskarans were eagerly awaiting their arrival. “My little girl looks at the dogs’ video clip daily … She keeps telling me about Wally’s smile. We are very excited about them,” said Jaskaran.

The pair arrived, together, in New York today.

“The Fuzzy Pet Foundation believes in giving every pet a second chance,” said Choi. “Pit Bulls, especially, have a bad reputation and we want to share with everyone that they are a loyal and loving dog breed. Boo and Wally were considered by the animal shelter difficult to re-home as a pair, but we truly performed a miracle.”

(See the comments on this post for the remarks of Wally and Boo’s original owners.)