ohmidog!

Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is lowering its adoption fees for the rest of December, and will waive it entirely for animals two years old and older.

The move comes amid a surplus of abandoned dogs and cats — many of them dropped off by families facing financial difficulties.

“We’re being inundated with healthy, adoptable animals,” said BARCS executive director Jennifer Mead-Brause told the Baltimore Sun. “We have people driving up in U-Hauls, dropping off their pets. It’s heartbreaking.”

On top of that, the economic downturn has resulted in fewer people showing up to adopt.

For pups and kittens six months and younger, the fee will continue to be the usual $65, which includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, and preventatives. For animals aged 7 months up to 2 years, the fee hs been dropped to $10, and for animals under two, there will be no fee at all.

The reduced fees are in effect from Dec. 13 through Dec. 31.

To see the animals now at BARCS, you can visit BARCS Petfinder page, or visit in person, at 301 Stockholm St. Shelter Hours are Monday to Friday, 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The second of two photos-with-Santa events to raise money for sick and injured animals at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) was held at Federal Hill Park yesterday.

Despite chilly temperatures — as Elroy the Chihuahua can attest - scads of dogs showed up for the event, which – along with one two weekends ago at Riverside Park – raised $1,945 for the Franky Fund.

The photos were posted on the Internet for easy downloading.

To see and download the Riverside Park pictures click here. For the Federal Park pictures click here.

Sponsors of the events included ohmidog!, Camp Bow Wow, Dogma, Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe, Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists, K-9 Kraving Raw Diet Dog Food, Bill’s Portable Welding, Baltimore Guide,  Firehouse Coffee Co. at the Canton Firehouse, Austin Grill, The Sweet Shop, UTZ, Steve’s Lunch, Amy’s Boutique, Federal Hill Wine & Spirits, M&L Discount Liquors, and Susan Harrington Designs.

Reminder: Between 11 am. and 1 p.m. tomorrow at Federal Hill Park, you can get your pet’s photo taken with Santa Claus and help support the Franky Fund for sick and injured animals at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS). The fee is $5 and pictures are made available on the internet for downloading. To see photos from the last event, at Riverside Park, click here.

Santa will also be posing with pets in Locust Point tomorrow, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Of course he can be in two places at once, he’s Santa!)

The Locust Point Dog Park Committee will be taking photos of pets with Santa at the Tide Point deck area, at the end of Hull Street. Pictures are $15 each, and will be emailed. All proceeds benefit the Locust Point Dog Park.

More on these and other dog friendly activities can be found on our “Doggie Doings” page.

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.)

I’m back from California — in the nick of time, in time to be Nick, and not a mimute too soon.

Today, I’m scheduled to be Santa Claus — at Riverside Park in South Baltimore — so I’ve got some big boots to fill, not to mention pants, jacket and cap.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can bring your pet to have his or her photo taken with what I hope will be a passable semblance of St. Nick. It’s a mere five bucks, and proceeds from the photos and all else that will be going on — raffles, gift sales, refreshments, etc. — will go to the Franky Fund at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

The Franky Fund pays for emergency medical care for animals that come in to the shelter sick or injured — dogs and cats that otherwise would likely be euthanized. (For more information about the event, and another at Federal Hill Park Dec. 6, click the banner ad at the top of this page.)

It wasn’t feeling a lot like Christmas in Los Angeles, what with 80-degree temperatures and all the fires raging.

The sprinkling of grey ash that covered my rental car wasn’t quite the same as a fresh white snowfall. Fortunately, I avoided having to pay extra for that, and I avoided getting towed away at the hotel, where the sign above warned guests not to leave their car in the check-in area.

After ten days on the road — counting a side trip to northern California where I got to meet America’s first cloned dog — I was ready to come home, even with predictions of snow. You might even say I was counting the mimutes.

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.

Not only will Santa Claus be in South Baltimore’s Riverside Park this Saturday — but you and/or your pet can have your photo taken with him.

How do I know this? Because I was roped into filling the Santa suit — either because of my joviality, my sprouting white beard, or, more likely, a certain part of my anatomy that is increasingly shaking like a bowlful of jelly.

From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, your pooch, or cat, or pet of any sort (no highly poisonous snakes, please) can have their photo taken with Santa for the low, low price of $5.

The photo will then be made available to you online, where you can download it, or upload it, or whatever it is you do to get it. You can also turn it into a Christmas card. Your options, like the joys of the season, are limitless.

In addition to the photos with Santa, the event will included raffles, gift sale, free gift wrapping, dog and cat treats, and stuff to eat and drink.

The theme of the day is a South Baltimore Christmas (old school), so don’t be surprised if you see a pink flamingo or two, some highly tacky decorations, or Santa himself sneaking in a smoke between photo shoots. We also guarantee that somebody, at some point, will call you “hon.”

If  South Baltimore kitsch is not your bag, you can wait two weeks for the more traditional Photos with Santa event — to be held at Federal Hill Park, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 6. That will be staffed by a Santa to be named later.

Both events are fundraisers for the Franky Fund at BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter), which provides emergency medical care for sick and injured animals that might otherwise be euthanized.

The event’s sponsors include ohmidog!, Camp Bow Wow, Dogma, Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe, Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists, K-9 Kraving Raw Diet Dog Food, Bill’s Portable Welding, Baltimore Guide,  Firehouse Coffee Co. at the Canton Firehouse, Austin Grill, The Sweet Shop, UTZ, Steve’s Lunch, Amy’s Boutique, Federal Hill Wine & Spirits, M&L Discount Liquors, and Susan Harrington Designs.

For more information, click here.

For information about other dog-friendly events, including Locust Point Dog Park’s pet photo with Santa event (featuring city council member Ed Reisinger as St. Nick), visit the ohmidog! “doggie doings” page.

“Best In Show” the documentary-style send-up of the dog show crowd, will be shown at the Charles Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 12th in a benefit for Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

Tickets are available for $50, and the ticket price includes movie snacks and drinks. Paper tickets will not be issued, but there will be a master list of guests at the door. The event starts at 6 p.m., with the movie starting at 7 p.m.

To order, send a check (with “movie” written in the memo section) to BARCS, c/o Debbie Cameron, 149 W. Montgomery St., Baltimore, MD 21230. Be sure to include your phone number and e-mail address.

The clip above features one of my favorite lines in the movie: “We could not talk or talk forever, and still find things to not talk about.”

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).