ohmidog!

Skateboarding bulldogs Tyson and Tillman, as we suspected back in November, turned out to be a huge hit at the Tournament of Roses Parade.

As Maria Menounos reported for MSNBC, the dogs trained for months, on a track built on a moving truck, in preparation for the parade. For two and a half hours, they circled the track that was part of the Natural Balance float in the New Year’s Day parade.

Colleen Spalioni went to an animal shelter to find a dog.

She went home with 27.

The rescued pooches — including 10 Chihuahua mixes, one purebred Chihuahua, a Jack Russell, a poodle, two shepherd mixes, two miniature pinschers and an Australian cattle dog mix — were apparently facing euthanasia.

Spalioni, of Sparks, Nevada, was looking for a dog to replace the pointer she lost in November to a car accident, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

She found one on the website DogsinDanger.com, which posts photos of dogs in shelters and the number of days until they are euthanized. It was nearly 400 miles away, but Spalioni made the trip to Delano, Calif., near Bakersfield, accompanied by a neighbor, in her pick-up.

There she learned how many more dogs were facing euthanasia — and adopted them all. Delano police animal control officers helped her load the 27 dogs into her pickup. Some fit in the cab, with the rest in the truck bed with a down blanket and a tarpaulin over the top.

Spalioni did all this while her husband was away on a business trip. He returns home today.

One dog died on the trip home, and two more since. The 24 others yelped enough to lead her neighbors to complain, and it has been pointed out to her that a local ordinance sets a limit of three dogs per household.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be in so much trouble or that so many  people would be so angry at what I did,” Spalioni said. “But after I lost my dog who gave me so much unconditional love, I couldn’t leave these dogs to die.”

She had found homes for all but three of the dogs as of Monday, and said she hoped to place the remaining dogs before her husband got home.

John Schneider has made a radio appeal for the safe return of two puppies stolen with his car from a Los Angeles shopping mall.

“I understand what’s going on in the economy and I understand that… Nobody stole the car because the dogs were in it. If you have been given the gift of two little puppies or even one of our puppies - if you’ve been given the gift out of nowhere… Those puppies really belong to (my children).

Schneider, speaking on Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, went on to say:

“I’d very much like for you to consider doing the right thing and getting in touch with Valentine (the DJ of the show on which he appeared), getting in touch with the shelter and getting those puppies back in the Christmas home that they belong in.

“I’m not mad, I’m not gonna point a finger, I’m not gonna tell a tale. I would just like to have our puppies back for Christmas.”

The Yorkiepoo and Yorkshire Terrier - both 10 weeks old — were gifts that Schneider planned to give to his children for Christmas. They were in the back of his Cadillac Escalade when it was stolen from Sherman Oaks’ Fashion Square Mall. The car was later recovered, without the dogs.

Schneider played Bo Duke in the 1980s TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard” and appeared more recently as Superman’s father on the show “Smallville.”

“Superman’s dad would very much like to get his puppies back,” he told the radio station.

Two years ago, Roger Bowman of California saw Jesus in his doggie door — look carefully and you can see a shaggy man’s image, too — and he took it as an omen that he should not get rid of his two dogs, as he was contemplating.

Now, he’s put the doggie door — framed — up for bids on eBay, hoping it can attract enough money to help the family through hard times.

If you’re interested, better hurry — tomorrow’s the last day to submit a bid. As of yesterday, it was up to $1,185.

Two job layoffs and the housing market crash put Bowman’s family in an economic hole, and they’re hoping they can raise some money by selling it, though acknowledging it will be hard to part with.

“I think it created a calm and happiness in our house and that’s a miracle,” Bowman told TV station KESQ in Palm Springs.

Before Jesus appeared in the doggie door, Bowman said, his two dogs were unruly. After it appeared, well, they were still a handful, but it was easier to cope with. One has since died.

“I believe it was divinely created. It’s too much of a coincidence,” says Bowman. Bowman’s 12-year-old son says the door creates all kinds of miracles from making his family happier to fixing things.

“Our ice machine was broken for a long time and it wasn’t working yesterday, but then today there is ice,” says son Sean Vasquez. “I guess it’s the miracle of Jesus.”

Here’s a closer look, courtesy of eBay:

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.

Two renowned (at least on Youtube) skateboarding bulldogs — Tillman (above) and Tyson (below) will be taking part in the Rose Bowl Parade.

The dogs will be skateboarding on a track built around the Natural Balance float, which features a 15-foot long skateboard and a 16-foot tall bulldog made of flowers.

Now that’s entertainment.

The float is being sponsored by Natural Balance, the premium pet food line founded by Dick Van Patten and his son, Jimmy Van Patten.

This is the first time Natural Balance has participated in the annual Rose Parade. The custom made track encircling the float is being built by skate track designer Aaron Spohn. Tyson and Tillman will be accompanied on the float by Van Patten and his son.

In conjunction with the float, Natural Balance has announced a competition for the World’s Most Amazing Dog Contest. Dog owners all over the country are being asked to submit a video or photo of their dog which will be uploaded to the Natural Balance website and voted on by fans. The winner and their dog will join Tyson and Tillman on the Natural Balance float in the 2009 Rose Parade on January 1.

The winning submission will be chosen November 30th.

Visit the Natural Balance website for more information.

I’m in Los Angeles — day three, now — hoping to meet some people and pin down some interviews for my book on pet cloning.

One of them, whose unlisted phone number I don’t have, is Liam Lynch, creator of the video above, which is about his cloned cat, Finnegan Forcefield.

I exchanged emails with Lynch a couple of months ago, and he seemed game for an interview. But my latest emails to him haven’t been answered, meaning either he changed his mind or he’s wrapped up in a project.

Read more »

Effective tomorrow, if you own an unaltered dog or cat in Los Angeles, you’re technically an outlaw.

As the website of L.A. Animal Services has been telling citizens – via a digital countdown of the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the city’s spay/neuter law goes into effect Wednesday — time’s almost up.

The Los Angeles City Council approved the measure in February in hopes of stemming the number of unwanted and stray animals in shelters. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 3 million to 4 million animals are euthanized in shelters nationwide each year. About 15,000 are euthanized a year in Los Angeles, according to a report by the City Controller

Dogs and cats exempted from the ordinance, according to the Los Angeles Times, include those that are being trained for special activities, have medical excuses, are show dogs or belong to owners aspire for their animals to join the show circuit.

The ordinance also has a lenient grace period, allowing four months before it is enforced. Even then, owners who have been found not to be in compliance have 60 days to alter their pets or pay a $100 fine. A third offense results in a $500 fine.

A report by City Controller Laura Chick said it’s doubtful that L.A. Animal Services will be able to enforce the new law.

“No one is sure how spay and neuter canvassing or enforcement should occur. The department plans to rely primarily on voluntary compliance,” she wrote. 

Ed Boks, general manager of L.A. Animal Services, responded by saying his department would enforce the measure “to the fullest extent possible. Owners should not conclude that they can avoid compliance without consequence.”

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Saturday that would have banned motorists from holding a live animal in their laps or arms while driving.

The lap-dog measure — dubbed the “Paris Hilton Bill” in honor of the celebrity dog lover — had been ridiculed by Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives as excessive government.

Schwarzenegger voiced no opinion on the bill, saying only that he didn’t consider it a priority, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee.

Had it been approved, violators would have faced a base fine of $35, which could have risen to $150 with state and county fees.

Assemblyman Bill Maze, the bill’s author, said he proposed the bill after seeing a Tulare County woman driving with three dogs on her lap.

“You’ve got a live animal that has a mind of its own,” Maze said. “It can get tangled in the steering wheel or pinned between your knees. It can create a real hazard for yourself and everyone else.”

The governor has approved other restrictions on drivers — banning text messaging and using phones without a hands-free device.

California Highway Patrol statistics show that four people were killed and 346 others injured in collisions from 2001 to 2007 due to driver inattention caused by an animal — but no breakdown exists of how many were in their owner’s lap.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance found in a 2006 survey that 8 percent of drivers had held a pet while behind the wheel.

One of our intrepid correspondents, braving the wilds of YouTube, tracked down this old video of 71’s arrival at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California, 22 years ago.

We share it here in memory of the elephant, who (see below) died last week.