ohmidog!

A pit bull puppy, still recovering from being abused by dogfighters, ran off from her foster home in New Jersey, but she was apparently drawn back by the smell of bacon.

Or it could have been the love.

Misty, only nine months old, was found on a Brooklyn street corner earlier this month, covered in wounds and bites from being used as a bait dog.

She was placed in a city shelter, then pulled by Second Chance Rescue, which moved her into a foster home. On Friday, she escaped from the backyard of that home.

Friends and neighbors joined in on the weekend-long search. Thousands of flyers were posted, and a $2,000 reward was offered. More than $4,500 was quickly raised to help in the search, and more than 14,000 people had, by Monday, “liked” her Facebook page.

But it was bacon — not social media — that apparently led to her safe return.

“The whole thing is unbelievable,” Misty’s foster mom, Erin Early-Hamilton, told NJ.com.

When someone suggested slapping some bacon on the backyard grill to lure the dog home, Early-Hamilton — despite being a vegan — was willing to give it a try.

She was sitting in a chair, and her husband was at the grill, when Misty came wandering home around 2 p.m. Monday.

(Photo: Facebook)

One of the first graduates of a Philadelphia prison program that pairs troubled dogs with inmates was recognized at the National Dog Show over the weekend.

Vivian Peyton, a pit bull mix and former bait dog, was honored as a Purina Therapy Dog Ambassador.

Vivian was in the second graduating class of Philadelphia’s New Leash on Life USA, a program that, unlike some similar ones, actually sees dogs and inmates become cellmates.

It’s aimed at helping both dogs in need of homes and inmates in need of job skills. Poorly socialized or misbehaving dogs, through the training, get a better chance to be adopted; the inmates, in addition to getting a break from their otherwise mostly lonely and idle existence, learn to be dog trainers.

New Leash on Life USA is currently training their fifth class of dogs, with 28 dogs scheduled to graduate, according to a press release.

Vivian, was rescued by New Leash on Life USA and spent three months completing the prison training program.

When she arrived, she was wounded, severely underweight and apprehensive around people, but it only took a few days for her to come out of her shell. She went on to pass her canine good citizen test in prison.

Then she was adopted by Michele Pich, a Veterinary Grief Counselor at PennVet. Vivian, now a certified therapy dog, comforts grieving pet lovers and visits children at the Ronald McDonald House.

“We are incredibly proud of Vivian Peyton for showing the resiliency of animals and what can be accomplished with love and care,” said Marian V. Marchese, the founder of New Leash on Life USA. “She will always be New Leash on Life USA’s ambassador dog.”

(Top photo courtesy of New Leash on Life USA; bottom photo, of Vivian and Pich, by Connie Kang / Daily Pennsylvanian)

For the second time in just over a month, Anne Arundel County officials are trying to track down owners of a pit bull found severely injured and abandoned.

A resident brought an injured female pit bull to animal control headquarters last week after she was found on Ritchie Highway near 11th Avenue — less than five miles from where a male pit bull, also injured, was discovered early last month.

Police suspect both were used by dogfighters as as bait dogs.

The female had deep scars and had sustained numerous bites, including a large open wound under her front arm, according to the Baltimore Sun.

She’s being called Princess at Waugh Chapel Animal Hospital, which is treating both her and Rocky Road, the pit bull found injured last month.

Both animals are expected to survive, officers said.

Princess will stay at the animal hospital for treatment and then be released to the SPCA of Anne Arundel County, WUSA reported. Rocky Road is expected to be released to Tara’s House rescue soon, say police.

Police are investigating both cases, and have asked the public to report any suspicious activity, such as “high numbers of dogs, particularly dominant breed dogs, being kept in one location, a high volume of people coming and going from a particular area and injured dogs, who appear to have been involved in a fight.”

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for abandoning the Rocky Road and Princess.

Animal control officers in Anne Arundel County are seeking the owners of an injured pit bull found last week in Linthicum.

And it’s not so they can hold a reunion.

A citizen called authorities about the dog, found on the 600 block of Andover Road, NBC 4 in Washington reported.

Officers found the dog suffering from multiple wounds — possibly from being used as a bait dog by dog fighters — but described him as affectionate, even though he was barely able to walk.

The Waugh Chapel Animal Hospital offered to treat the dog, who they have named Rocky Road.

Rocky underwent surgery and is now in stable condition. He is  expected to take several weeks to recover, after which he’ll be placed in the care of Tara’s House, a rescue group.

Earlier this year, Michael Vick was given the key to the city of Dallas.

Now, Mel, one of Michael Vick’s former dogs, has one, too.

As for who’s more deserving, well, you know how I feel.

Those of you who follow Travels with Ace may remember our meeting with Mel in Dallas last July.

Mel was only about a year old when he was seized from the Vick estate and dogfighting operation  in Virginia, where he was believed to have been used as a bait dog. He was one of 47 survivors, and one of the 22 who, deemed most hopeless, were sent to Best Friends, the animal sanctuary in southern Utah.

After spending nearly two years at the Utah animal sanctuary, Mel was adopted by Richard Hunter, a Dallas radio personality and his wife Sunny, manager of VIP services for a swanky gentlemen’s club called The Lodge.

When our travels took us through Texas we met up with Hunter and Mel, joining them for a ride around town because Mel seems most comfortable in the car. Ace piled in the back seat with Mel and the Hunter’s older dog, Pumpkin.

The next time we heard from Richard Hunter, was in February, after he confronted Vick during a Dallas appearance.

Hunter, one of many who were outraged that Vick was being presented a key to the city by interim Mayor Dwaine Caraway, got as close as he could to him and offered him a chance to see his former dog Mel. Vick didn’t take him up on the offer and Hunter was shoved away by the quarterback’s entourage.

Now we get word that, over the weekend, Dallas City Council member Angela Hunt surprised  Hunter by presenting him the John LaBella Award at an Eastlake Pet Orphanage banquet — and presenting Mel with a key to the city.

During the presentation, the Dallas Morning News reports, Hunt had some choice words for Caraway.

“One of my colleagues in the city of Dallas showed a grave lapse in judgment by awarding the highest honor our city an bestow – our key to the city – on someone who was entirely undeserving and someone who has shown serious cruelty and inhumanity,” she said.

Hunt then awarded Mel with a key to the city — an edible one no less.

Dolly, a Florida pit bull, was a stray when she arrived at Seminole County Animal Control in 2009. She was adopted, but the ending wasn’t happy.

She was returned to the shelter earlier this year — with cuts, scrapes and scars.

The owner said Dolly was starting fights with his other dogs, but animal control thinks Dolly was being used as a “bait dog” in a dogfighting operation, according to TV station WESH.

Now Dolly’s wounds have healed, and Erica Daniel, the shelter worker who intended to foster her, has decided to keep her. Erica also made the video that’s above.

Dolly also has a Facebook page.

Trooper, the pit bull found bleeding, duct taped in a bag and left for dead in a Washington D.C. dumpster in August, continues to recuperate and will soon be available for adoption.

“She’s nearing the completion of her rehabilitation and we anticipate she’ll be entering an adoption program real soon,” Scott Giacoppo of the Washington Humane Society told the Washington City Paper.

A resident of an apartment building in southeast Washington was throwing her trash into a dumpster when she found the dog, sticking her head out of a bag. The Washington Humane Society took the dog to Friendship Hospital for Animals, where she was treated.

Investigators believe Trooper was used as a “bait” animal by dogfighters.

After surgeries and treatment, Trooper left the hospital in October (when the report above appeared), for months of therapy at a facility that specializes in the emotional rehabilitation of abused animals.

The Washington Humane Society is still offering a $1500 reward for anyone who has information leading to an arrest in the case.

Dave and Debbie Adams, who opened their home to Hector — the homeless, toothless, but far from  hopeless American Eskimo dog we introduced you to last week — have filed an update on how he’s adjusting to his new long-term foster home.

From all indications, Hector is getting stronger, more emotionally secure and bonding well with his new family, including Jack, the family’s Jack Russell mix. Here’s what Dave says:

Hector continues to improve. We have seen a physical improvement as far as his back legs getting stronger. When we first brought him home there was difficulty getting up on the sofa. Since then we notice he is able to jump up on his own.

There is an emotional improvement as well. He has become more at ease with the environment as well with his want to be close. Last night for instance Debbie left the bedroom and closed the door behind her and I noticed that Hector waited at the door for her to return (he’s becoming a mama’s boy).

We purchased a new doggie pillow for him to lay on. Debbie and I laid on the floor and called him over to it and he laid on it and licked my face as if to say “Thanks”. This morning we left Jack and Hector at the house and went out for breakfast …  When we returned Jack was there to greet us like he always does by jumping up and down, but then for the first time Hector jumped on me standing on his hind legs as if to say “Hi Dad”.

So far this has been a great experience for us and we are appreciative for the opportunity to put love back into Hector’s life.

Dave

It may not take a village to save a dog, but the more people that pitch in, the easier it is.

Take Hector. His headed-for-a-happy-ending story is the kind that happens thousands of times a day. At it’s simplest, it’s merely a matter of well-intentioned people communicating. But when you take a closer look, it’s amazing, and a little inspiring, how many people can get involved to save one dog.

First, in Hector’s case, came the animal control officers who swooped him up.

Found wandering at a Baltimore park, Hector — believed to be, beneath all his scraggliness, an American Eskimo dog — was taken to Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), where staff and volunteers cared for him, gave him a name, arranged to have him neutered, and assessed his temperament and condition. The former was fine. The latter needed some work.

Hector was not just underweight. He was toothless.

He showed no other apparent injuries, but some suspect Hector, because his teeth appear to have been pulled, might have been used as a “bait dog” by dogfighters. Because the wounds in his mouth were still open, and subject to infection, Hector was taken to veterinarian Marcella Bonner, of Swan Park Animal Hospital.

She tried to repair his gums, but the holes were too big. Hector probably needs a specialist, and even then — once the holes in his gums are healed — isn’t likely to be gnawing any bones.

Hector was returned to BARCS, but, because of his medical problems and his less than stellar appearance, he was an unlikely candidate for adoption — the only alternative to which is to end up on the PTS (put to sleep) list.

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