ohmidog!

An engineer spotted a dog tied to train tracks in Riverside County, Calif., engaged the emergency braking system and was able to stop in time.

The dog’s owner, a 78-year-old man who was arrested at the scene, told authorities his family didn’t want the dog and he didn’t know what to do with him.

Union Pacific Railroad officials say the incident took place April 2.

The train’s engineer witnessed someone placing something on the tracks and, once he saw it was a dog, stopped the train in Mecca.

A Union Pacific special agent arrived, untied the 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix and detained the man, CBS in Los Angeles reported.

Charges weren’t pursued because ”the man appeared to be confused, or senile and didn’t fully understand what he had done,” John Welsh of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services said in a statement.

The man was released to family members.

The dog, who was nicknamed Banjo, was taken to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms where he was examined, treated and bathed.

Anyone interested in adopting Banjo, can email: shelterinfo@rivocha.org.

Here’s a dog named Starship who’s guaranteed to send your heart into the stratosphere.

She has an ailment that requires her to eat in a high chair, like a baby.

Shelter officials at Greenville County Animal Care in South Carolina say the four-month-old dog, a collie mix, was starved for the first few weeks of her life and developed digestive issues. Specifically, the disorder is called Megaesophagus, meaning her esophagus is dilated.

She has to eat while sitting upright, which helps her food travel down into her stomach.

Once done dining, she has to stay in the high chair for another 30 minutes, according to this report by WSPA.

It took no time at all for her to adapt to the eating routine: “She just crawled right in and turned around,” said a shelter worker.

A South Carolina company, Archway Renovations, built the chair — called a Bailey chair — for Starship, and has offered to make an adjustable one for her as she grows larger.

Starship is looking for a new home, and shelter staff are hoping someone comes forward who’s willing to continue the feeding routine. She needs to eat 4-5 times daily and must be watched while eating and drinking.

“It’s just like someone who is handicapped, they figure a way to live their life happily,” said the shelter worker.

More information is available at Greenville Animal Care.

There was at least one “Scout” in the crowd last night at the Winston-Salem Dash game, and he, or she — I didn’t check — was wearing a purple bandana.

The Dash, a Minor League baseball team, has made a major commitment to dogs this season, holding five “Pups in the Park” nights.

The events are sponsored by the Forsyth Humane Society, and last night’s was the second of the season, featuring some of the dogs who have graduated from its prison program, “A New Leash on Life,” in which inmates at Forsyth Correctional Center train dogs that go on to be adopted.

Here’s one of the graduates arriving now:

Last night’s canine attendees — all of whom watch from a grassy knoll in left field — included lots of boxers, like Colby and Cypress (below left) and Gunner (below right).

Also in the crowd was Darwin, a three-legged beagle who seems to be a regular on Pups in the Park night:

Here’s another fan we’ve seen at every game we’ve gone to:

The Humane Society’s mascot was there (played last night by my son, Joe), and he got a chance to meet the Dash mascot, Bolt:

For more information on “Pups in the Park” games, visit the Forsyth Humane Society and Winston-Salem Dash websites. And if you haven’t been to one with your dog, give it a try — it’s a great night, whether you love the game, or just love your dog.

Attention humans: Today’s lesson comes from Tanner and Blair — two hopeless cases that, together, found some hope.

Tanner is a two-year-old Golden Retriever who was born blind and with a seizure disorder. When Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue was unable to find him a home, he ended up at Woodland West Animal Hospital.

Blair is a one-year-old black Labrador mix brought to the same hospital after she was shot while living on the streets. While recovering physically, she was timid, nervous, and unlikely to find a forever home, either.

“One day they were exercising in a play yard together and they got together,” said the hospital’s director, Dr. Mike Jones.  “Blair all of a sudden seemed to realize that Tanner was blind and just started to help him around.”

Seeing the connection, hospital staff began to board Tanner and Blair together, with amazing results.

Tanner began seizing less; Blair came out of her shell.

“His seizure disorder was really, really bad and nothing — no medications — seemed to be helping,” Jones told ABC News.  “Anytime he [Tanner] seizes he expresses his bowels.”

Tanner had been seizing almost nightly, Jones said, but  after two or three weeks with Blair, “we realized Tanner wasn’t seizing anymore.  He’s not completely seizure free but it’s not constant anymore.”

If Tanner has a leash on, Blair will pick it up and guide her friend around. Tanner, meanwhile, has had a calming influence on Blair, making the former street dog — now that she has a mission – less timid and anxious.

Now the hospital and Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue are trying to find the two dogs a home together.

“They absolutely have to be adopted together,” Jones said.  “But it’s going to take a special home with someone who understands their special relationship plus understands seizure disorder and is ready to take on the responsibility.”

Cricket has only been at the Forsyth Humane Society for a couple of days, but already the rubenesque Chihuahua has been on a special outing.

Tuesday night, Cricket, along with two beagle siblings named Daisy and Boomer — who are also up for adoption — were taken to Pups in the Park, one of five dog-friendly evenings of baseball planned this summer by the Winston-Salem Dash.

The Forsyth Humane Society, a sponsor of the event, will be featuring some of their adoptable dogs at each of them.

Cricket — and we’re guessing the dog was named after the insect as opposed to the sport – seemed to take all the festivities in stride. Not that Cricket, who has been put on a diet, was striding that much.

More often, the portly pooch was being held by one of the many humane society volunteers on hand to help out.

My son and I met Cricket earlier in the day when we showed up for volunteer orientation at the Forsyth Humane Society, where we’ll be pitching in from time to time in the weeks ahead.

Cricket, Daisy and Boomer all arrived at the game in the humane society’s mobile unit.

All were outfitted in “Adopt Me” vests and mingled with arriving fans.

Since we were volunteering, Ace stayed home, but I was reminded of him every time I saw this dog (left), his lookalike, except for a white patch on her chest. Coco was adopted from the humane society last year.

We also ran into our old friend Darwin, a three-legged beagle we met during a Pups in the Park event last season.

“Macbeth” doesn’t have a particularly happy ending, but one of the stars of the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of the play might find one.

The performances of “Macbeth,” starting with a Thursday, April 12 premiere, will feature homeless dogs from the Baltimore Humane Society, including Sophia (above).

Sophia will appear in the premiere — a long way from when she was found starving and freezing on a garbage dump behind her owner’s home, able only to walk on her hind legs. Her owner said he had no use for her anymore and had not even named her for the months in which he owned her, according to the humane society. Sophia, a nine-month-old boxer mix, is now living with a foster family.

The Baltimore Humane Society says the Shakespeare Factory is also featuring adoptable dogs in the playbill and setting aside space for a humane society information table at all shows.

Baltimore Humane Society will be sharing the stage with The Shakespeare Factory throughout the rest of the year for several different plays.

Different dogs and cats will be appearing in each of the performances.

Macbeth will be performed beginning April 12 at the The Great Hall Theatre, St. Mary’s Outreach Center, 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore.  Additional performances will be April 20-22  and April 27–28.

For more information or tickets visit theshakespearefactory.com.

Anyone who sees Sophia or any of the other Baltimore Humane Society actors will get half off the adoption fee if they mention it when they come to the shelter and fill out an application.

A New Hampshire pet shop has shifted from selling pets supplied by breeders to saving pets in need of homes.

Judy Blackington, co-owner of Discount Pets in Salem,  decided to stop selling dogs at the end of February.

“Instead of buying our puppies off breeders, we decided to take puppies that are about to be killed,” she said. “We’ve saved seven puppies this week and get about 35 a month.”

According to Life With Dogs, the store has formed a partnership with Brookside Husky and Lab Rescue in Alton, Maine.

“We’ve never worked with a pet store like this,” said the rescue’s director, Nicky Bowman. “I think more pet stores ought to do this. I see every day the gruesome reality of puppy mills. We’re making a point to people that breeding really needs to stop because overpopulation is a problem.”

Shop owner Blackington says the change has been good for her conscience — and great for business.

“The breeder prices have gone up lately and the puppies haven’t been very healthy,” she said. “The customers don’t like paying $900 for a puppy and then have to spend more on the vet. These dogs are healthier than the ones we’ve gotten from breeders. I think it’s going to be better for the business, and people love it.”

Elizabeth Dobbins, director of the Salem Animal Rescue League, said other pet store owners should take note.

“Sadly, there is no shortage of adoptable pets in this country. So there’s room for plenty of us. Maybe that’s a trend of the future, that pet stores would look to go out and rescue animals instead of buying from breeders.”

Potential owners are required to submit an application and submit to a home visit, which Blackington says help ensures a better connection between dog and family.

“We’ve had more people come in than ever,” she said. “They love that we’re an adoption center now and not a puppy store.”

Remember this video, from a story we told you about back in October? On his balcony in Lincolnshire, a British man was videotaped as he beat his dog. After the video was posted on Facebook, an angry mob formed outside his house.

The man survived the mob, and the dog survived the man.

The Staffordshire bull terrier was seized by authorities, and turned out to be blind and deaf, making the behavior of his owner, Jonathan Bloomfield, 37, all the more repugnant.

Bloomfield avoided a prison sentence, but magistrates in Grimsby banned him from having a dog for 15 years.

Whatever happened to the dog? A lot, and it’s all good.

Butch, as he was previously known, was taken in by the RSPCA, where he was renamed Dodger. The RSPCA, after realizing he was deaf and almost totally blind, contacted specialists at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket to see if there was any chance that the 18-month-old dog’s sight could be restored.

“Dodger is the most adorable dog,” Claudia Hartley, the AHT’s head of small animal ophthalmology explained. “As soon as he arrived I fell in love with him and it wasn’t long before he’d work his charm on the rest of the vets and nurses here.”

Both his deafness and his blindness are believed to be congential. Dodger was apparently born with cataracts — something that, unlike his deafness, could be repaired. The AHT’s vets performed cataract surgery on Dodger’s right eye, with good results.

Dodger returned to the AHT last month to have his left-eye operated on and initial signs are very good, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.

The RSPCA has started the process of looking for a new home for Dodger.

“Although Dodger can now see, he is still completely deaf, and he’ll need a special owner who can understand his very specific needs,” said Kirstyn Gaunt, deputy manager at the RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre, where he is now housed.  “He has started to take on some basic sign language and he is a fast learner.”

Given the happy ending, we’ll end this post with a happier video:

A dog found shot on an Indian reservation is slowly recovering, and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians has donated $2,500 to help pay his medical bills.

Chance, a retriever mix about 18 months old, is being cared for at the San Diego County Department of Animal Services Shelter after being found on the side of a road on the reservation, according to Fox 5 in San Diego

“We are very proud of the Viejas tribal family member who first discovered Chance on the side of the road and called authorities for help, the Viejas tribal firefighter who responded first and provided aid to Chance, as well as the veterinary professionals who saved this dog’s life,” tribal chairman Anthony Pico said

“This shooting goes against everything Viejas stands for and we will do everything we can to make sure Chance eventually gets to a home where he can know the safety, comfort and love that he deserves,” Pico said.

A single bullet passed through Chance’s lungs and his treatment included four days in an oxygen chamber.

The dog was found Feb. 20 by a woman who spotted him from her car. Animal Services is investigating the shooting.

The tribal contribution will go into the Animal Services Department’s Spirit Fund, which pays for veterinary care beyond what the shelter can afford. The dog’s owner was located and surrendered him to the county.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, and San Diego Animal Advocates is offering an additional reward up to $2,000 for information leading to a conviction. Anyone with more information is urged to call county Animal Services at 619-236-2341, or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

(Photos: San Diego Department of Animal Services)

Here’s some video of those Valentine’s Day nuptials that took place a week ago at the Baltimore Humane Society.

In the canine ceremony, two dogs who were surrendered together were united in wholly matrimony. Shiloh, 2, and Trixie, 1, both Chihuahuas, were brought to the shelter because their owner had too many animals to take care of.

The feline wedding saw Otie, 4, a Maine Coon mix and Geo, 2, a calico, tie the knot. (Geo is a female, in case your hackles are rising). They became enamored with each other after both were placed in the humane society’s new communal cat area.

Both are considered bonded pairs, meaning the humane society will require they go to the same home.

If you’re interested in adopting either pair, contact the Baltimore Humane Society.

To read more about the ceremony, see more pictures, and see what items are included on the couples’ registries (said items benefitting all the dogs and cats at the shelter) visit photographer Mary Swift’s blog.

(Photo courtesy of Mary Swift Photography)