ohmidog!

The newly elected sheriff of Chester County, South Carolina, says his dog was poisoned and died early this week.

Alex Underwood, the county’s first African-American sheriff, said he left A.J., his 19-month-old German shepherd, in the yard Sunday while attending a Martin Luther King Jr. parade.

Shortly after he got home, the dog started acting oddly and foaming at the mouth.

He died early Monday, according to a report in The Herald.

A.J. was in training to become a sheriff’s department K-9, and he frequently visited area schools, Underwood said.

Sheriff Underwood

“The kids loved him. We always took him around to different places,” he said. A.J. spent much of his time at the sheriff’s office.”Everybody knew him, I mean he was here. He’d be in 911, sometimes he’d be in my office, sometimes he’d be back in narcotics, he was just kind of, he was part of the family here,” said Underwood.

He said there are some possible suspects, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

“It’s like taking a child, he didn’t bother anybody,” said Underwood.

Obie, the former 77-pound dachshund, reached another milestone this week, weighing in at under 60 pounds.

According to his Facebook page, “Biggest Loser – Doxie Edition,” Obie tipped the scales at 59.14 at his weekly weigh-in Tuesday.

That brings his total weight loss to 17 pounds in 12 weeks — an average of 1.5 pounds a week, according to his foster mom for now, Nora Vanatta.

Vanatta, a veterinary technician who volunteered to foster the dog for Oregon Dachshund Rescue, has also started an Obie store, selling, for now, Obie t-shirts.

Obie, formerly known as A.J., was surrendered by his elderly owners, who apparently didn’t know when to stop feeding him.

Vanatta immediately put him on a diet, detailing his progress on a Facebook page and getting some major media attention in the process.

After that, Oregon Dachshund Rescue owner Jenell Rangan filed a lawsuit, claiming Vanatta wasn’t properly caring for him and seeking to get Obie back.

The case has yet to be heard, but a judge ruled last month that Vanatta should maintain custody for now.

Vanatta has collected thousands of dollars in donations for Obie from supporters, and says the money is being used for his care. He still needs dental work and may eventually need to have excess skin surgically removed.

“Whatever is left over after his rehab will go to help other reputable rescues and continue to educate the public and bring awareness to obesity,” she says on his Facebook page. But, she adds, she will have to use some of the donations to pay legal fees in connection with the lawsuit.

“The saddest part is that legal fees for 2 weeks are already 5 times what Obie’s medical bills are in 3 months,” Vanatta wrote in a Facebook post.

That doesn’t seem to be a big issue, judging from those leaving comments on the page. Wrote one commenter, ”I donated through Paypal and I don’t care how you use the money. Take yourself out to dinner if you want.”

The far more common message is this: Go Obie!

A standard dachshund who weighs more than twice what he probably should is drawing fans from around the world who, rather than laughing at his dilemma, are supporting his quest to lighten up.

Obie, formerly named A.J., was 77 pounds when he surrendered by his elderly owners, who were in declining health, in Washington state last month.

That, for a dachshund, is too fat to go on walks, and far more weight than their dainty joints, little legs and elongated backs were meant to bear.

As his new owner puts it, Obie’s humans were “loving him with food” and “they just couldn’t say ‘no’ to those big brown eyes.”

Nora Vanetta, a Portland veterinary technician, adopted Obie — formerly named A.J. — after learning about him through Oregon Dachshund Rescue.

She explains on Obie’s new Facebook page, “Biggest Loser Doxie [Dachshund] Edition:

“Our story began when a relative of this boy’s family stepped in and asked for help … Through many tears, the owners relinquished him. It is very frustrating and sad but we are thrilled to be able to help him, and now moving on with his new life.”

Until 5-year-old Obie arrived on Aug. 18, she wrote, she wasn’t sure he, at that weight, could really be a dachshund.

“I had no idea what to expect. I thought a basset hound would show up … to my astonishment he IS a dachshund and he actually weighs 77lbs. He is extremely sweet and loving. He was obviously loved and is a joy to work with.”

Vanetta is working to get Obie down to 30 to 40 pounds,and plans to incorporate hydrotherapy and a treadmill into his regimen once he lightens up enough to be mobile.

Meanwhile, his Facebook page – where Vanetta hopes fans can both track Obie’s progress and get advice on slimming down their own overweight dogs – Obie has accumulated more than 30,000 likes, and thousands of comments, and he regularly receives photos and words of encouragement from owners of dachshunds and others dogs.

Vanetta, who  has a degree in animal science, has has also set up a Paypal page (you can find it through the Facebook page) to encourage people to donate money to pay for his continued care.

She has put Obie on a specially formulated diet, and she’s hoping her other two dogs — a nine-year-old Labrador and five-year-old Dachshund — serve as role models for him.

“‘I feel tremendously blessed to be involved in his rehabilitation and I am amazed at the outpouring of love and support that I have received … My hope is that he can be an inspiration to any person or animal trying to lose weight.”

(Photos: Nora Vanetta)

The Kentucky couple whose dog carried their infant son from a bassinet into the woods behind their home, causing criticial injuries to the child, now wants the wolf hybrid returned home, authorities said Friday.

Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl told the Lexington Herald-Leader that a court order will be needed before Dakota the dog is returned to Michael Smith, of Jessamine County.

“I’m concerned about the safety of the child, and we are going to be reviewing the situation over the weekend to see what can be done to ensure the safety of the child,” Goettl said.

Smith had previously told reporters that Dakota would not return to his house. News that the dog might go back to the Smiths’ home came on the same day that the Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office said it had closed its investigation of the July 20 incident.

The baby, Alexander James “A.J.” Smith was 3 days old on July 20 when Dakota, a female wolf-dog hybrid, picked him up and carried him outside the Smiths’ Jessamine County home.

The baby suffered a cracked skull, cracked ribs, and a collapsed lung. He was in critical condition for several days at University of Kentucky Hospital, but has recovered and is back  home.

Michael Smith said at an earlier press conference that he hoped Dakota could be adopted by another owner: “Obviously, Dakota is not coming back into my house.”

The dog remains at the Jessamine County SAVE Center, the animal shelter for dogs and cats in Nicholasville, director Jenise Smith said.

The sad and disturbing case of the infant who was critically injured when he was snatched from his bassinet and carried to the woods by the family dog, now appears headed for a happy ending.

The baby, A.J., is home from the hospital, and is expected to recover fully. Meanwhile, Dakota, the 4-year-old “Native American Indian Dog, ” remains under the care of Jessamine County Animal Control’s SAVE Center where they are working to find him a home, ZooToo reports.

“We’ve had some nice offers from private homes,” said Jenise Smith, the center’s director.

At the time of the incident, in Nicholasville, Ky., just outside Lexington, AJ was just 3-days-old, having arrived home from the hospital on Sunday, July 19. He was snagged by the dog the next day, and spent nearly a week at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, suffering two collapsed lungs, a skull fracture, broken ribs and various cuts and bruises.

The 4-year-old dog is one of three the family has had for years. Dakota had never shown signs of aggression to the family’s two other children, the Smiths said. The dog has she shown no signs of violence since being taken from the family.

On a less uplifiting note, the SAVE Center reported hearing that scammers were apparently at work, fraudulently attempting to raise money for Dakota. SAVE officials issued a statement last week explaining that “any other websites, emails, etc, soliciting donations for Dakota are NOT connected to the SAVE Center.”