ohmidog!

(Click picture for the video.)

The head of the Maryland Transit Authority’s police force went above and beyond the call of duty over the weekend when — in the midst of plenty of other snow-related challenges — he took the time to rescue a lost dog.

Colonel John Gavrilis, lured the dog over to his vehicle after spotting him along Moravia Road near I-895 in Baltimore.

The dog, it turned out, had run off during a walk with his owner in Patterson Park on Saturday.

“The dog was just in the middle of the street, so I got a ham sandwich out that I had packed with me and I lured him into my car,” said Gavrilis.

Shortly after that, Gavrilis spotted a WJZ news crew on Boston Street — and got the dog some airtime.

Jason Grady, meanwhile, the owner of the dog, named Toby, had put a  photo and notice of the missing dog on Craigslist.

Once the three-year-old hound turned up on the news, emails and phone calls started pouring in — to WJZ and at Grady’s home in Bolton Hill.

Grady had this message for Gavrilis, upon the return of his dog:

“Thank you Colonel … sorry about your sandwich …”

Contrary to what many, including PETA, might think , animals were used in the making of “Avatar” — but none were harmed, according to the American Humane Association.

“American Humane applauds ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron and the production for earning our highest rating by ensuring the safety of the animals used in the filming,” said Karen Rosa, vice president of American Humane’s Film & TV Unit.

While PETA has recognized the film and its director for using computer-generated images instead of live animals, American Humane says filmmakers also used live animals for motion capture, and explains the process on its website.

“This film was created using motion capture technology, in which performers wear miniature computerized motion sensors near joints and facial areas to capture the movements and facial muscle nuances that occur with each gesture, motion or expression. The live action was performed in a motion capture studio covered in dark fabric and carpet  and then recorded as computer animation data, which was then mapped onto a computerized 3-D model.

“In this technology, humans wear a bodysuit for the ‘capture,’ but animals need to be ‘captured’ differently because of their body shapes, fur and other characteristics. To prepare the animals for having their motion data recorded, trainers shaved small areas of fur or hair where the movements would be recorded, such as near joints and on the face. Velcro pads were attached to the shaved spots with a nontoxic, nonirritating silicone adhesive. White light-reflective balls were placed onto the Velcro to capture the motion data onto the computer. The exception to this was horses’ tails, which were not shaved, but wrapped in a sensor-laden material. The adhesive and any additional markings were washed off each evening after filming ended.

“Throughout the film, horses are seen outdoors standing or being ridden at a walk, canter or gallop. We also see people mounting, dismounting and falling off horses. These scenes were all filmed inside the capture studio. Horses were given ample room to start and stop running. …For scenes in which horses appear to be near fire, trainers cued them to ‘dance’ or act skittish or afraid — the horses were not actually agitated nor were they ever near fire.”

American Humane monitors the use of animals in movies, and, when merited, bestows the trademark “No animals were harmed in the making of this film” certifcation.

American Humane encourages moviemakers to use computer generated images to increase safety.

“If, upon review of the script, American Humane believes there to be any dangerous animal action, American Humane will strongly encourage simulating the action through the use of computer-generated images, animatronics or fake animal doubles to minimize the risk of injury to animals,” the organization’s guidelines state.

Once again, America’s spending on pets has grown despite the recession, with a 5.4 percent increase in 2009, according to the American Pet Products Association.

The APPA’s annual comprehensive review shows spending on animals, food, supplies, veterinary care, groming, boarding and pet sitting jumped to $45.5 billion in American in 2009, up from $43.2 billion in 2008.

The association projected another increase — of  nearly 5 percent – in 2010.

While growth came in all categories, health-care spending showed the biggest increase, with an 8.5 rise in spending on veterinary care — a result of medical advances leading to a greater range of services available.

“From CAT scans, root canals and cancer surgery to antibiotics, anti-depressants and even grief counseling, pet owners have more medical choices and spending options than ever before. This leads to an anticipated growth of another 6% in this category for 2010,” the APPA said.

As services available for pets continue to become more parallel to those for humans, the gap in the quality of life between humans and their pets is quickly disappearing, said APPA President Bob Vetere.

“We feel our pets give us so much it is no longer enough to simply give them a treat. We want to keep our pets healthier, longer, and are willing to spend what it takes to make it happen,” he said.

Service-based businesses like dog walkers, pooper-scoopers, trainers and even massage-therapists are booming, and day care, pet walking and pet sitting continue to be in high demand — parly a result of pet owners working longer hours.

The American Pet Products Association (APPA) is a not-for-profit trade association serving the interests of the pet products industry since 1958. Its mission is to promote, develop and advance pet ownership and the pet product industry.

Our favorite Super Bowl ad? This one, of course.

And that was even before we found out it only cost $200 to make.

Joshua Svoboda and Nick Dimondi, both in their 20’s, made the ad, called “Underdog,” with an untrained dog. They didn’t know it would even air Sunday night on CBS, according to the Associated Press.

It was one of four ads aired by Doritos maker Frito-Lay, all of which were created by fans, who were competing for $5 million in prize money if the ads ranked highly in commercial roundups.

The ad came in second in USA Today’s annual Super Bowl Ad Meter, which ranks ads based on a viewer panel’s response, winning the two ad-makers $600,000. The two, from Cary, N.C., said they planned to use the money to pursue film careers.

They said they wanted to make an ad with a dog because they felt those ads are more popular with consumers.

 
There are more cats and dogs in the UK than anyone thought.

According to figures in a new study, there are around 10.3 million cats and 10.5 million dogs in the UK, a total of 4 million more than pet food manufacturers had estimated, according to The Guardian.

The report, based on polling, also concludes that cat owners are better educated.

The study is the first published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in 20 years — when there were 6.2 million cats and 6.4 million dogs.

Cats, according to the study, are more likely to live in households with someone with a college degree. A poll of 2,524 households found that 47.2% of those with a cat had at least one person educated to degree level, compared with 38.4% of homes with dogs. We will presume that cat owners did the math.

Last year, the Pet Food Manufacturers Association estimated — not too precisely, as it turns out — the size of the UK domestic cat and dog population at about 8 million each.

The new study, published in the Veterinary Record by Jane Murray, a cats protection lecturer in feline epidemiology at Bristol University, does not take into account strays or those animals in shelters.

About  7% of UK households own both a cat and dog.

A former animal control officer in Hoosick, N.Y., admitted in court last week that he shot and killed stray or loose dogs and buried them in a manure pile on his farm.

Matthew Beck, 46, pleaded guilty to official misconduct, larceny, cruelty to animals and violating environmental regulations.

According to the Albany Times Union, he will spend 10 days confined to home with a monitoring device, two weekends in jail and be placed on three years’ probation.

The case began last spring when a local resident, April Stevens, learned that Beck had picked up her two missing dogs. The dogs never showed up in the local animal shelter, though.

Investigators went to Beck’s farm, dug through his manure pile and discovered several dog carcasses, including two skulls with bullet holes which were determined to have been owned by another resident. Stevens’ dogs were never found but Beck pleaded guilty to the larceny charge in connection to their disappearance, as well as other misdemeanors.

“This is not what we really wanted. We wanted to see him do some real jail time,” said Stevens, who was wearing pictures of her dogs pinned to her shirt.  “At least there is some jail time to give him an opportunity to think about what he did.”

 
Dogs, among all the other things they teach us, show us how to live in the moment — to see the snow as something to be played in as opposed to something to be whined about.

Then again, they don’t have to shovel it.

Part of me, upon confronting two feet of snow, wants to go to sleep in that moment and wake up in a future moment when it has all melted, and then proceed to live in that moment.

Which brings us to this weekend’s momentous snow.

Like most dogs, Ace loves the snow. A good covering of it seems to take years off his age. Snow, for dogs, is a fountain of youth. It brings out their inner child, which, with them, is already pretty close to the surface anyway.

That said, even Ace was briefly flummoxed by 25 inches of it — the most he’s ever seen. When I opened the front door, there was a two-foot wall of snow. He stared at it for a few seconds, then busted through and down the steps.

 
Even for a big dog like him, the only way to move forward was with a series of bunny-style hops — and, unlike with me, each hop served to invigorate him more. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” his entire body said. With me trudging and him hopping, we worked our way to a plowed road and to the park, where other snow-invigorated canines frolicked with abandon.

 
Even among more elderly dogs at the park, the snow seemed to have made them young again, bringing more spring to their steps, more sparkle to their eyes. It made me reflect back to my New Year’s resolutions – to look at things, including burdensome ones like two feet of snow, and see the joyous opportunities they present.

Like dogs do.

(Photos by John Woestendiek)

Those guitar-playing birds we showed you yesterday were pretty cool, but they were just the opening act for Nora, the Piano Cat, shown here in a performance last year with the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra in Lithuania.

The “CATcerto” was the project of Lithuanian conductor, composer and artist Mindaugas Piecaitis.

Nora, a rescued cat whose piano skills have been widely featured on the Internet, appeared live, via a video hookup.

For more information on the performance, visit catcerto.com.

If you would like to adopt a rescued cat and teach her to play piano, might I suggest Miley, whose musical talents are as yet untapped. (Piano not included.)

French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot creates works by drawing on the rhythms of daily life to produce sound in unexpected ways.

For his installation in The Curve in London, Boursier-Mougenot created a walk-though aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other musical instruments. As the birds go about their routine activities, perching on or feeding from the various pieces of equipment, they create a captivating, live soundscape.

The exhibit runs from Feb. 27 to May 23.

To understand this video clip you need the following background: New Orleans Saints fans are known to chant “Who Dat” in support of their football team.

Otherwise, the humans would just appear to be a bunch of fools, which of course they still kinda do even with that background knowledge.

Be that as it may, these particular fans have chosen to let a beagle lead them in the cheer — the ownership of which has become a matter of dispute.

The full chant is “Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints? Who Dat? Who Dat?”

The NFL is claiming it owns the phrase “Who Dat,” and has issued cease-and-desist orders against New Orleans vendors who sell Saints memorabilia with the wording.

New Orleans fans, the Wall Street Journal has reported, are outraged by the claim, contending the NFL never cared about the chant when the football team was losing, or after it was ousted from its home stadium in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, finishing the season 3-13.

“The Saints actually win something and go to the Super Bowl, and the NFL sees a way they can make a penny,” complained Dan Frazier, general manager of local sports-talk radio station 690 WIST.

“Who dat,” locals say, was part of the local lingo well before it became the rallying cry at Saints games.

The Journal article says St. Augustine High School, an all-boys Catholic school in the city, started the chant in 1972 at its own football games. “Who dat talking about beating them Knights? Nobody! Nobody!”

The saying went on to become the rallying cry for the Saints, and, in the 1980s, New Orleans singer Aaron Neville made a video, singing “who dat” alongside team members.

But now, according to the NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, “If ‘who dat’ is used in a manner to refer to Saints football, then the Saints own the rights.”

Under that reasoning, I guess the Philadelphia Eagles, and therefore the NFL, own the rights to, and any profits from, dogfighting, as well.

Either way, they’re still a bunch of bullies.