ohmidog!

We started the New Year off not with a bang, but with a gun.

My girlfriend, Tamara, went out back to feed the feral cats on New Year’s morning, and there, next to our urban compost heap, buried beneath some rocks, was what appeared to be a gun, or at least piece of one.

Having seen more than our share of television police dramas, we didn’t touch it, but I did — after calling the Baltimore police — take these pictures.

An officer arrived at our home, a rowhouse in South Baltimore, within minutes. He walked through our back yard, through a gate and into the small area where, if we try really hard, we can park our cars. We pointed out the firearm, which was apparently hidden there on New Year’s Eve, and he reached under the rocks and picked it up — without rubber gloves, without using a pencil. (I was sure he was going to use a pencil.)

It was an older looking firearm, made of wood — somewhere between pistol and rifle — with a small grip and a long barrel, not a sawed off shotgun, but resembling that. The officer, saying it looked capable of firing, took it into custody, then walked through the alley with it, rather than back through our house. He didn’t want it to discharge in our house, he said. But maybe he just wanted to avoid Ace, who had jumped up on him a couple of times when he arrived.

Within a few minutes of his departure, the feral cats were back, enjoying a meal.

Jasmine — the pit bull who went from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation to life with a young family of four in suburban Baltimore — graces the cover of this month’s Sports Illustrated.

One of three Vick dogs turned over to the Baltimore rescue organization Recycled Love for rehabilitation, Jasmine ended up in the home of Catalina Stirling, a 35-year-old artist and Recycled Love volunteer who, upon first meeting Jasmine, crawled into the cage where the dog cowered beneath a blanket.

The Sports Illustrated article looks at what has become of the 51 dogs seized from Vick’s Virginia estate — dogs that even some animal welfare organizations were saying had been so brutalized that euthanasia, not rehabilitation, was the only solution.

Jasmine was likely born at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels and, because of her youth, was a “bait dog,” used to provide practice matches for the fighting dogs, spending the rest of the time chained to a car axle in the nearby woods.

During evaluations of the Vick dogs, Jasmine was being considered for sanctuary with Best Friends in Utah, where the most severely traumatized dogs were sent, when Recycled Love volunteers went to see her and the other dogs being held at the Washington (DC) Animal Rescue League.

Stirling, seeing the dog under the blanket, crawled into the cage and began massaging and whispering to her, and Jasmine seemed to respond. The dog was turned over to Recycled Love, then sent to live with Stirling, her husband, two young children, two other dogs and a cat.

For months, Jasmine sat in her cage in Stirling’s house and refused to come out. “I had to pick her up and carry her outside so she could go to the bathroom,” Stirling says. “She wouldn’t even stand up until I had walked away. There’s a little hole in the yard, and once she was done, she would go lie in the hole.”

It was almost four months before Jasmine would get out of the cage by herself. Visits from another Vick dog living in Maryland, Sweet Pea, helped draw Jasmine out of her shell — enough so that after six months Stirling could finally take both dogs for a walk in a park near her house.

Jasmine is still fearful, the article says. She almost always walks with her head and tail down. She won’t let anyone approach her from behind, and she still spends most of the day in her pen, sitting there quietly, even thought the door is open.

In the end, 47 of the 51 Vick dogs were saved. Two died while in the shelters. One was destroyed because it was too violent; and another was euthanized for medical reasons. Twenty-two dogs went to Best Friends. The other 25 have been spread around the country. Ten went to California with BAD RAP. Fourteen of the 25 have been placed in permanent homes, and the rest are in foster care.

(To  learn more about the Vick dogs, you can check out ohmidog!’s earlier incarnation, Mutts.)

Earl Simmons, better know as rapper DMX, faces at least 90 days in jail after pleading guilty on Tuesday to drug, theft and animal cruelty charges, Arizona prosecutors said.

The Baltimore-born Simmons, 38, pleaded to three felony charges and one misdemeanor count in Maricopa County Superior Court under a deal to settle three criminal cases against him. He also agreed not to own any animals or posses firearms.

His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30.

“I am pleased that this defendant will be held accountable for both his drug and animal cruelty offenses,” said County Attorney Andrew Thomas, in a statement.

The rapper turned actor has been battling legal woes during the past year in Arizona, according to Reuters. In May, he was arrested on drug and animal cruelty charges after sheriff’s deputies raided his home in Phoenix. Authorities found dog carcasses and malnourished pit bulls at the residence.

(Photo: DMX’s album “Year of the Dog… Again”)

Three years and $3 million in the making, the Downtown Dog Resort & Spa has opened in South Baltimore.

Owned by Baltimore attorney Barry R. Glazer, the new facility offers boarding, day care and grooming by appointment. It has a hydrotherapy pool and doggie gym, as well, and future plans call for a veterinary clinic and retail space.

Dog owners can also choose from special packages and a menu of extras that include, gourmet meals, cuddle time, bottled water and email updates. Boarding prices start at $32 a night, and go up to $49 a night for the kennnel’s “ultra resort” rooms, which are larger and offer flat screen TV, fluffy bed and web cams.

The kennel, which is taking reservations for the Christmas holidays, has 90 units, and Glazer plans to devote at least 10 spaces to rescue dogs.

It’s also very convenient to I-95 — in its shadow, in fact — in the area off Hanover Street that is home to the recently cleaned up and soon to reopen Swann Park. The park was closed in April, 2007, after tests found elevated arsenic levels in the soil. About 13,000 tons of contaminated soil were removed from the park, which was above the approved cleanup standard. It’s scheduled to reopen in 2009.

The Dog Report & Spa, at 200 W. McComas St., doesn’t have a website up yet, but it can be reached at 443-869-4071, or by emailing thedowntowndogresortandspa@gmail.com.

Glazer — whatever you may think of his law firm’s TV ads (”Don’t urinate on my leg and tell me it’s raining”) – has a history of helping out dogs, footing the bill for medical services for more than a few pets rescued by Recycled Love. He was recently profiled by “b,” the Baltimore Sun’s lite version.

Here’s his famous ad, which someone recorded off a TV and put on Youtube. The urination line is a sanitized version of one in the movie “The Outlaw Josey Wales” — “Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining.”

Though Santa loves all dogs, some dogs like Santa more than others.

And a few — I discovered during my two-hour stint as St. Nick yesterday in South Baltimore’s Riverside Park — want nothing to do with him at all.

During an event to raise money for BARCS Franky Fund, nearly 100 dogs showed up to have their pictures taken with Santa. You can see all of the photos here.

Most dogs were eager to hop in my lap, but a handful didn’t want to get anywhere near me. Golden retrievers seemed particularly wary of Santa, even when tempted with treats. But one way or another, we managed to get photos of every dog with Santa.

A few dogs, like Lola (above) couldn’t wait to get off Santa’s lap — even dogs who, like her, are long-time friends and normally love me in civilian attire.

The biggest problem was keeping my Santa beard on amid all the squirming. One dog, a golden retriever whose leash I was holding, pulled me out of my bright green lawn chair (a kitschy South Baltimore Christmas was our theme), to the ground, and then actually dragged me a foot or two.

I only got growled at a couple of times, and most of the subjects were cooperative — dogs, humans and the two cats that showed up. All in all, the hardest part was walking the three blocks to the park. Several children stopped me, one of whom wanted a motorcycle for Christmas, but settled for a hug.

Several hundred dollars were raised for the Franky Fund — an emergency fund at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter that provides medical care to sick and injured animals.

If you missed out, there will be another Franky Fund event (more traditional, and with a different Santa) Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Federal Hill Park.

(No animals were harmed in the making of this blog entry.)

Just a reminder that, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, in Baltimore’s Riverside Park, you can get your pet’s photo taken with Santa — and by doing so help raise money for BARCS Franky Fund for Sick and Injured Animals.

For details, scroll down, or click here.

Tomorrow is National Pit Bull Awareness Day, and B-More Dog Inc., a Baltimore-based organization  advocating for responsible dog ownership, is urging its members and pit bull owners everywhere to show off the breed’s good side.

The day was created last year by Bless the Bullys, a pit bull rescue and education organization based in Tennessee, in an effort counter the negative publicity surrounding pit bulls

“This event’s goal is to focus on the pit bulls and their owners who aren’t making the news: Responsible, devoted owners that responsibly care for their dogs and do their best to make sure their dogs are good ambassadors for the breed,” B-More Dog officials said in a press release.

“This year, B-More Dog encourages responsible pit bull owners in the Baltimore area to celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Day,” they said. “Walk your well-behaved dog in your local park or neighborhood. Find out how to certify your dog as a Canine Good Citizen or seek training advice for your rowdy dog. Talk to your local pet store about putting out fliers that explain the myths vs. the facts about pit bulls.”

B-More Dog (short for Baltimore Dog Owners Guild) was formed to promote responsible dog ownership, and to enhance the relationships of dogs and their owners by fostering responsible care and stewardship. It got its start in the fall of 2007 after a proposal was made to pass breed specific legislation in Baltimore County. 

The proposed law, which would have required all pit bull owners to muzzle their dogs and confine them in locked kennels, was not passed — but those who own and love pit bull type dogs took it as a warning.

“Many of us felt that we needed to do more to help the American pit bull terrier regain its status as a valuable working dog and cherished family pet,” the non-profit organization’s website says.

“Pit bulls and their owners are fighting for their rights and reputations right now. Pit bulls face abuse, neglect, torture, and overbreeding by people who do not have the dogs’ best interests at heart; their owners face negative stereotypes and prejudices, simply because they choose to own pit bulls. 

“We hope that through education, mentoring, and outreach, we can help pit bull owners become better ambassadors for our breed and eventually reduce some of the misunderstandings about pit bulls and the people who love them.”

Stray dogs are playing star roles in a groundbreaking Croatian show that has won rave reviews for raising awareness about abandoned canines and homeless people.

The play is based on Paul Auster’s 1999 novel “Timbuktu,” a dog-narrated tale of a hobo poet and his canine companion, Mr. Bones, whose wanderings come to an end in Baltimore. (Auster was profiled in Salon about seven years ago.)

The Croation production, directed by Borut Separovic, premiered in Zagreb earlier this month.

The director cast a dozen strays from a Zagreb animal shelter, with the main role of “Kosta” (Mr. Bones) played by Cap, an eight-year-old champion border collie.

The play consists mainly of a 45-minute monologue by Mr. Bones, with narration provided by an actor from his chair in the audience. Mr. Bones, according to an AFP article, receives quiet orders from instructor Alen Marekovic in the front row as he recounts the story of his life with his deceased master Willy.

“It’s a story that emphasises the incredible love between a dog and his master, a homeless person,” Separovic told AFP.

“Timbuktu offers a therapeutic insight into how not to interpret democracy solely through rights, but also through responsibly and solidarity towards others.”

At one point, the 12 stray dogs come on stage, a net falls between them and the audience and the play switches to the style of a documentary. The narrator tells the audience: “These dogs have a story which resembles that of Kosta’s. We call on you to provide them a home. You can contact me after the show.”

“For me it was extremely important that real, abandoned dogs appear in the play and be given a chance to be adopted,” said Separovic.

Separovic stressed the play also aimed at focussing attention on the fate of homeless people, 12 of whom play a role from the audience.

The team hopes that all the stray dogs involved will be adopted during the 11 performances in October.

Separovic said he set out to enlighten audiences through the project, which he says he created for his 10-year-old daughter Katarina and dedicated to his 13-year-old black labrador Max.

“I would like young people to understand that it’s important to take care of others, those who are in a worse situation then we are,” he said.

If it’s your dog, and you log in to ohmidog! and send us a comment, you are the lucky winner of an official limited (very, very limited) edition ohmidog! sweatshirt.

Hooded, no less.

At Saturday’s BARCStoberfest, ohmidog! (that’s our booth above) offered photos inside the “o” for a $1 contribution to BARCS Franky Fund, which provides emergency medical care for sick and injured animals. In the days ahead, those photos will be appearing atop our website.

We’ll be featuring four different dogs in the “o” — off an on — over the next two weeks, at which time our website’s banner ad will return to its normal money-making function. (Contact us if you’re interested in that.)

Meantime, spot your dog, log in, and leave a comment — something as simple as “Hey, that’s my dog, where’s my sweatshirt?” – and you’ll get a sweatshirt.

(In addition to that, you’ll need to send us an email, muttsblog@verizon.net, stating your name, mailing address and size.)

Be sure and use the same email address you used when you signed in to have your dog’s photo taken in the “o” (at BARCStoberfest on Saturday).

     Rescue groups, dogs in costume and the Orioles mascot were just a few of the sights to be seen at yesterday’s BARCStoberfest at Patterson Park.
     The annual fundraising event is held by Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).