ohmidog!

Letting your dog ride on the back of your motorcycle may not be entirely responsible behavior, but we love this old video anyway, and the way it kind of oozes the Eighties.

It was a less politically correct era, when you could get away with something like this without amassing critics,  a time when you didn’t have to be Tom Selleck or Wilford Brimley to get away with wearing a moustache.

This vintage video featured Gary, a student at a community college in Troy, N.C., and his dog, named Dog.

Gary was enrolled in gunsmith school, and his dog, Dog, went with him everywhere, holding on tight to the shoulders of his master.

Gary, who traded a beer for Dog in California, described him as a “good companion, easier to get along with than a  girlfriend and a little less expensive.”

My Norwegian is a little rusty, so I can’t tell you much more than that this is an advertisement for an insurance company called Tryg in Norway.

I’m not sure if its message is don’t leave your dog in the car because it could die, or don’t leave your dog in the car because your window might get broken, or, you wouldn’t need to worry about your window getting broken if you have insurance.

Whichever it is, it still manages to make that first point, thanks to some fine acting by the dog in the starring role.

That’s Matisse, a four-year-old border collie who lives in Belgium. You can learn more about him, and the making of the commercial, in the video below.

(For all our “Woof in Advertising” selections click  here.)

A stray dog in Athens is becoming a celebrity due to his tendency to show up at riots — braving tear gas and fire bombs to join in the mayhem.

Sausage — though even his name is in dispute — is a ginger-colored mutt, who, like other strays in the city, is registered but owned by no one and allowed to roam the streets at will.

(Unlike places such as Fayetteville, North Carolina.)

Whenever there’s a demonstration, Sausage shows up — always siding with the protesters, observers say.

He has ”appeared on the front of just about every newspaper in Greece and wagged his tail on TV screens and websites around the world,” Reuters reports:

“On Wednesday when state workers marched against government cuts, Sausage was in his usual spot at the front, egging on the crowd with a hearty “Gav!” (Greek for “Woof!”), tripping up baton-wielding officers as they charged down the steps.”

The Reuters article says Sausage (Loukanikos in Greek) is also known as Kanellos, or Cinnamon, and as Dog No. 1842, according to his registration with the city’s Stray Animal Service.

Anna Makri, head of the department, said it was once sued because Sausage bit someone. ”He’s a loveable dog, but he’s a little bit hot-blooded,” she said.

Even with that, though, he and the other estimated 2,000 stray dogs in Athens aren’t rounded up, jailed or euthanized. Instead, the city pays to feed them, registers them, gives them collars and tags, spays, neuters, microchips and vaccinates them — then releases them back to the streets. 

“In most European countries, they solve this problem with euthanasia. But Greek culture is against that. Our law is about rehabilitating the dogs,” said Makri. “People here take care of them and love them. They are like everyone’s dog.”

Even with the financial crisis and all the unrest, the stray dog program, set up in 2003, continues.

The program was briefly interrupted by a reorganization in recent months, but it has resumed, according to Deputy Mayor Angelos Antonopoulos, who is a veterinarian.

“The municipality takes especial care of him because he’s so lovable.,” Antonopoulos said of Sausage. ”And he’s also a symbol — a symbol of freedom.”

(Photo:  Yannis Behrakis /Reuters)

If you live in the New York City area and have a multi-dog household, you (and your multi-dogs) have a chance to participate in an ongoing study being conducted by the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College.

Researchers at the lab are trying to figure out if dogs have a sense of fairness.

If you, like me, get a little nervous when you see the words “dog” and “laboratory” in the same sentence, don’t worry. This research has the ohmidog! seal of approval — the only thing that will enter their bodies will be treats.

In the study, dogs will be exposed to “fair” and “unfair” trainers — in terms of how they dispense treats — to see how they react.

Time slots are available between 1 and 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, and the researchers will take up only about 15 minutes of your dog’s time.

In addition to contributing to our human understanding of what’s going on inside dogs’ heads, your pet will receive a bag of treats. The testing will take place at Animal Haven,  251 Centre Street in SoHo.

The research project is led by Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know and a professor at Barnard College.

While the researchers are looking for dogs that live in families with multiple dogs, only one dog needs to attend, though others are welcome. The only other requirements are that your dog enjoys treats, has no food allergies, will sit for a treat, and is comfortable around other dogs and people.

To learn more or sign up, contact dogcognitionstudy@gmail.com

Warrick County, Indiana, appears to be living in the dark ages — at least when it comes to its animal shelter.

Operated by the animal control department, the county shelter makes little or no effort to adopt out animals, according to critics.

And last month, the dogs it had euthanized and dumped at a landfill near Boonville included one that was still alive.

So they took it back to the shelter — and killed it.

“Shelter” probably isn’t even the right word. It’s more like death row. The shelter’s kill rate is 90 percent, and unless an owner comes to reclaim a pet, or the local humane society pulls one out, most dogs end up being euthanized.

Or, as one TV report innocuously put it in the case of the landfill dog, he was taken back to the shelter and “given more medicine.”

The County Health Department told 14 News  it’s common procedure for euthanized dogs to be dumped into landfills, but that discarding a live dog was an unfortunate mistake.

According to Change.org, two people saw animal control officers dumping plastic bags at the landfill. Then they saw one bag start to move, and heard a panting sound come from inside it.

When they brought it to the attention of the animal control employees, one of the officers said, “Guess we’re taking this one back.” Without opening the bag, they tossed it in the back of the truck.

The county says the department’s two animal control officers apparently failed to confirm the dog was dead before taking it to  the dump. Both employees have been reprimanded.

Officials say it was an isolated event, but criticism of the county-run shelter is mounting.

Residents voiced numerous concerns to the Warrick County Commission on Monday night, according to another 14 News report.

Said one resident, ”Any time you try to go out there, nobody is there when you call. You leave message after message so you can set up an appointment and it makes it very difficult to adopt animals from there.”

County Commission Board President Don Williams defended the animal control officers saying they had a heavy workload, and blamed residents of Warrick County for neglecting their animals.

A petition demanding changes at the shelter — critics say it makes no effort to place adoptable animals on pet adoption websites, rarely answers its phone, and makes it difficult for visitors to view animals in its care — can be found at Change.org.

It’s clear to see — or maybe it isn’t — that Ace has found his new bar.

Ever since departing Baltimore, though he makes up for it by being social in other ways, I think he has missed his regular corner bar, which we never identify because dogs in bars are illegal in the city.

He idled away more than a few hours in there, though – starting as a pup, when he wasn’t even big enough to reach the bar.

And it was there, once he got big enough, that he first learned to jump up and, sensing something might be going on that involved food (even if it was only a lime), lay his front paws on the bar, as if waiting to be served.

The habit only became more entrenched during our year on the road, during which, in hopes it might get him a treat, he plopped his front paws on scores of cheap motel check-in counters.

At his new bar, Recreation Billiards, in downtown Winston-Salem, the habit has gotten totally out of control, thanks to a bartender named Katie, and the Beggin’ Strips they keep behind the counter.

Wednesday night, Ace (quickly ascertaining during our previous visits that Katie was a soft touch) must have jumped up on the bar 20 times, and if she wasn’t there with a treat, he’d drool on the counter until one came.

At one point, when he did it, there were three people taking pictures of him at once (damn puparazzi), including this non-blurry one (taken with her cell phone) by an actual award-winning photographer, Lauren Carroll:

We’ve started showing up there most Wednesday nights ($2 Yuenglings), and after about five visits, we’re to the point that there will usually be three or four people who remember Ace by name.

It’s partly a small town thing; partly, I can only assume, because he is so memorable a beast, unlike his master. (“Hi Ace! And what was your name again?”)

In any event, Ace — like Norm on “Cheers” — seems to love walking into a joint where people know him. Not as much as he loves the Beggin’ Strips, though.

Recreation Billiards welcomes dogs inside and out. They’ve always got treats handy (or at least they did before Ace cleaned them out Wednesday night), and are quick to offer a big bucket of water.

They draw a diverse mix of customers, unlike the homogenized crowds at some other local bars, and offer pool tables, foosball and darts, as well as the requisite TVs tuned into sporting events.

Ace doesn’t care about those amenities, though. In fact, I think he could do without the sounds of billiard balls smacking into each other, much like the sound of baseballs hitting bats.

But for all the attention and treats he gets, I can only conclude that he concludes it’s worth it. It may be mostly about the treats, but I don’t think it’s all about the treats. When bartender Katie took a break, he joined her, and lingered at her side even when she explained there were no more — going so far to sit on her foot, his way of saying “please don’t ever leave.”

What can I say? He’s a social animal.

As white and fluffy as the clouds overhead, this Great Pyrenees sprawled in the grass seems to go on forever.

That’s because what you’re seeing are really two Great Pyrenees — Pyreneeses, Pyreni? (Actually, the plural is the same as the singular.)

We stopped to photograph the pair over the weekend, while attending a fundraiser for a new dog park in Tanglewood, outside Winston-Salem.

From one angle (top photo), with the slimmer of the two hidden behind the more, shall we say, Rubenesque one, it looks like one loooooong dog.

Opal and Pearl, who are sisters, were both adopted through Carolina Great Pyrenees Rescue.

Animal control officials in New Bedford, Mass., are seeking the public’s help in finding the owners of  two pit bull-type dogs left in a vacant apartment — one of which, apparently starving, jumped out of a third-story window.

The emaciated 1-year-old female jumped from the window on Sept. 30, breaking her hip and hind leg, according to South Coast Today. She’s now being treated at Cape Cod Veterinary Specialties.

The second dog, a four-month-old puppy (pictured above), was found inside the apartment. The two were believed to have been abandoned two months ago when the tenants moved out.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston is asking for the public’s help to offset the costs associated with the dogs’ care and rehabilitation. Those interested in making a donation can call (617) 426-9170, Ext. 615, or visit www.arlboston.org/donate.

Anyone with information about the dogs or their owners is asked to contact New Bedford Animal Control Officer Emmanuel Maciel at (508) 991- 6366. 

“This constitutes felony cruelty against an innocent animal,” says Lt. Alan Borgal, director of the Center for Animal Protection at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. “We are counting on the public to step forward with information to help bring the person or persons responsible to justice.”

If the school district in Hudson, Wisconsin, has its way, an empty greyhound racing track could be turned into a school.

The school board approved an $8.25 million offer Monday to buy the St. Croix Meadows Greyhound Racing Park, but the purchase is contingent on voter approval.

District officials said Tuesday that the 130-acre property would be used to address long-term space needs for grades six to 12, according to the Pioneer Press.

It has not been determined whether it will be home to a high school or middle school, or what will happen to the building now standing there.

Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten said buying the property is a move toward reducing crowding at the middle and high schools.

The district has been in contact since 2009 with a representative from Miami-based Croixland Properties Ltd., the track’s owner. Initially, the sales price for the track was $20 million.

The dog track opened in 1991 and was losing as much as $7 million a year when it closed in 2001.

There was a  plan to turn it into a casino, but that was opposed by Indian tribes in Minnesota and Wisconsin who already operate casinos near the Twin Cities.

We came across this scene in Tanglewood Park in North Carolina and have been wondering how best to present it — especially after our report yesterday on how the power of the Internet is sometimes less than responsibly used (See nails and cheese).

Should we go with a fear-mongering, tabloid version: Enjoying a day of peaceful contemplation in the park, an unsuspecting human stares ahead as a vicious Great Dane, clearly on a rampage, sneaks up behind him and prepares to sever his well-shaved head with a single bite.

Or the blog version: OMG! Dude’s about to lose his head! ROFL! Arf, arf! LOL! Share this. Like this. Digg this. Fark this.

Naaah, let’s just keep it simple and go with the boring old truth: A man and a dog enjoy a lazy day in the park — so lazy that, after a good yawn, this big dog gives his owner’s dome a lick, circles once or twice and plops down beside him.