ohmidog!

I’m a proponent of spending more time with your dog, and less with your computer, but here’s an interesting, and interactive,  presentation from WNYC in New York, which has mapped out not just what breeds dominate the city’s neighborhoods, but what names as well.

Citywide, the top three female names for dogs are Bella, Princess and Lola; the top male names are Max, Rocky and Lucky and the top breeds are Yorkie, Shih Tzu and Maltese.

(Actually the most popular dog in New York is the mutt, and WYNC does report that elsewhere. Somehow they didn’t rate getting on the map, though.)

What’s the most fun though is scrolling through the boroughs to see where Lola tops Lucy, where Buddy beats Buster as the name of choice, and what breeds are, from neighborhood to neighborhood, most predominant. While Yorkies dominate most areas, there are enclaves where Labs and Chihuahuas and pit bulls are owned in the highest numbers. There’s a major English bulldog contingent in lower Manhattan, and pit bulls are the highest in number in Bed Stuy.

The list is based on information WNYC obtained from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which runs the city’s dog licensing program.

The feature has some other bells and whistles, too, including opportunities to play games and make a t-shirt.

Just after WNYC came out with its map, Gothamist put together an interactive map of its own – this back in January — claiming to show not where the dogs are, but where their poop is, or at least where it’s most complained about. The map shows what neighborhoods have the most barking dog complaints, too.

One wonders what would happen if those two interactive maps were to interact. Would that reveal large dogs named Brutus leave bigger droppings than Chihuahuas named Princess? That Sparky barks more than Snoozy?

Somewhere we have to draw line on all this interactivity with our computers — especially that share of it that’s presenting information that’s just everyday knowledge or common sense or entirely bogus.

In those cases, your time would be better spend interacting with the dog.

The founder of the dog rescue organization that moved its headquarters into Michael Vick’s old house was charged Monday with animal cruelty, the Daily Press in Hampton Roads reported.

Surry County deputies served a search warrant at Dogs Deserve Better’s Good Newz Rehab Center for Chained and Penned Dogs.

According to court records, they were looking for Tasers and mace allegedly used on the rescued dogs.

Authorities said the search and investigation were prompted by allegations from former staff and volunteers working at the center on Moonlight Drive — the same house where Philadelphia Eagles quarterback lived when he bankrolled a dog-fighting operation.

Dogs Deserve Better founder Tamira Thayne was charged with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one count of inadequate care of animals, also a misdemeanor, according to Surry County Chief Animal Control Officer Tracy Terry.

She’s scheduled to appear Sept. 25 in Surry General District Court.

According to the search warrant, deputies were searching for all paperwork connected to dogs that have been housed on the property since the facility opened in June 2011, including veterinary records and receipts.

The search warrant alleged that “animals are being maced and tased on regular basis” and dogs are being cratedfor long periods, up to 19 hours a day. According to the warrant, injured and sick dogs are not getting proper veterinary care.

Terry declined to discuss what, if anything, was found in the search.

Authorities removed one dog from the kennel, but Terry refused to say why.

Terry said she began investigating July 20 after receiving mailed complaints, including pictures, from current and former employees and volunteers.

(Photo: Adrin Snider / Daily Press)

A three dog per homeowner limit went into effect this week in Fayetteville, N.C. — a city that seems to just keep getting more heavy-handed when it comes to dogs.

Effective Sunday, in the city that recently sent hired hands to round up strays, dead or alive, homeowners in single family residences are allowed to legally keep three dogs; while apartment renters are limited to two.

And in an effort to crack down on the thousands of local residents who don’t register their dogs, the city has also worked out an arrangement with veterinarians, authorizing them to issue city licenses when pet owners bring their dogs in for vaccinations. That takes effect Jan. 1.

The measures are designed to make the rules in Fayetteville the same as they are in surrounding Cumberland County, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

Dr. John Lauby, director of Cumberland County Animal Control, which also handles animal control for the city, said his department doesn’t plan to go door to door counting dogs, but it will respond to complaints from citizens about residents harboring too many dogs.

There are no cats limits in Fayetteville, or Cumberland County.

Officials hope the more stringent rules will cut down on complaints involving barking and loose dogs, as well as unsanitary yards where dogs are kept.

Fayetteville residents who previously had more than three dogs can keep them, assuming they are up to date on on the pet fees they pay on their property tax bills.

The county has about 39,000 licensed dogs and cats and, it estimates, about 30,000 non-registered ones.

The county is sending letters to those scofflaws, he said.

“We want to be proactive in preventing the spread of rabies from the wild animal population to humans,” he said.

The license fee is $7 per dog or cat if it has been spayed or neutered; $25 if not.

Those discovered illegally harboring more than the allowable number of pets will be fined $100 for a first offense and given a “reasonable amount of time” to find new homes for the excess dogs.

Nearly 63,000 people have signed a petition asking Nestle Purina to recall chicken jerky treats manufactured in China — the subject of nearly 1,000 consumer complaints, an FDA investigation and a class action lawsuit.

But not a recall.

The most recent data shows that since November the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has logged over 900 reports of canine illnesses and deaths associated with chicken jerky treats made in China.

“I lost my best friend Sampson on Friday, January 13, 2012,” writes Terry Safranek, who started a petition for a recall of the treats on Change.org . “He died 9 days after ingesting the last food he ever ate: Waggin’ Train ‘Wholesome’ Chicken Jerky.”

While Sampson’s death is one of the cases still under investigation by the FDA, Safranek urges consumers to contact Nestle Purina and ask them to voluntarily recall the product.

Meanwhile, a Chicago area dog owner has filed a class action lawsuit against Nestle Purina, alleging that Waggin Train chicken jerky treats, made in China, were responsible for the death of his 9-year-old Pomeranian.

Dennis Adkins of Orland Park, Ill., filed the lawsuit in April 18 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He said his dog died of kidney failure two weeks after consuming the product.

The suit names as defendants Waggin’ Train LLC, the manufacturer of the product; Nestlé Purina Petcare Co., which is the corporation that owns the brand; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the distributor.

The lawsuit states Nestlé Purina and Waggin’ Train have received more than 500 complaints about dogs becoming sick and dying after consuming the treats, yet continues to market their product as being “wholesome.” Read more »

The chief of police in Brattleboro, Vermont, has apologized for the department’s shooting of a sick dog with a shotgun on school grounds.

Chief Gene Wrinn , acknowledged that his officers didn’t follow procedure during the March 21 incident and that they failed to call animal control officers, in accordance with policy.

His remarks came during a meeting Tuesday with residents, held at a local library, according to the  Brattleboro Reformer

“We screwed up. We apologize for that, and we’re going to try to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “We’ve gotten some good feedback. We’re not sweeping anything under the carpet. We’re having conversations.”

Wrinn said two officers responded to the Green Street School playground for a dog complaint, and one of the officers used a shotgun to kill the animal, believed to be a pit bull or pit bull mix.

“It was truly unfortunate that the department had to take the dog’s life, but it had to happen,” Wrinn said.

While some have described the dog as “dying,” other residents say it may have just been ill. “It probably was hungry. It probably was dehydrated,” said one.

Wrinn declined to say if the two officers involved had been disciplined. “That’s a personnel matter, and it can’t be discussed,” he said.

Wrinn noted that department representatives have met with the Windham County Humane Society. “This may be a great opportunity for training for the officers,” he added.

Pet Airways — viewed as salvation for those who hoped to avoid their dogs traveling, luggage-like, in cargo holds — has hit some turbulence.

Created in 2009 by a California real estate developer, the airline in recent months has canceled flights, leaving dogs and cats stranded and their owners inconvenienced and angry, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Pet Airways appears to be suffering a fate similar to its counterparts that cater to human travelers, the Times article said:

“Dog and cat owners are angry about canceled flights. Travel sites are abuzz with complaints, including customers who claim they have not received refunds for paid-for flights. And the company is burning through cash at a rapid rate.”

Alysa Binder, the co-founder of Pet Airways, acknowledged in an e-mail to theTimes that the airline has had some problems procuring planes from contractors and needed to cancel “some flights during the holidays and into the new year.”

“We are a very new company that is pioneering, just as FedEx pioneered the overnight packaging business,” Binder told the Times. “We have ups and downs, but we are keeping our eyes on the long-term goal of providing a safe and comfortable transportation option for the pets.”

The company, which says it has flown more than 7,000 cats and dogs, is still taking reservations, according to its website.

Pet Airways offers service to nine cities. Flights run from about $100 to more than $1,000 each way, and roughly 40 pets can sit in crates in the main cabin (the airline carries pets only), monitored during the trip by a  pet attendant.

The airline was a welcome alternative to the major airlines, some of which ban pets in the cabin entirely. Most typically store animals in the plane’s cargo hold, where temperatures can vary wildly and have contributed to deaths. According to the Department of Transportation, 122 dogs died in cargo holds on U.S. airlines between May 2005 and July 2010.

Records indicate Pet Airways had no flights between Dec. 16 and Jan. 16, and it is unclear if it has had any flights since then, according to the Times.

“We are working toward being in the air as soon as we can be assured that the planes are ready for our use,” Binder said.  

In a recent regulatory report, the company said it did “not currently have sufficient cash on hand to meet our financing needs … Our auditors have raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

What happened when a locally-aired McDonalds ad noted that eating new Chicken McBites is safer “than petting a stray pit bull?”

This:

McDonalds has since pulled the radio ad and issued an apology.

(For all our Woof in Advertising posts, click here.)

A warrant has been issued for a man who placed needles in hot dogs and left them in his yard, leading to the death of a neighbor’s dog.

Jinx, a black Lab, was euthanized after surgery showed needles — more than 20 of which she had vomited up — had perforated her stomach.

“I miss her the most when I drop food on the floor and look down and realize she isn’t there to clean up after me,” 16-year-old Ryleigh Wann, of Monroe, Michigan, said of her dog.

Ryleigh’s father, Andy Wann of Monroe, went to police after a veterinarian, finding more than 20 needles still in the dog’s stomach and intestines, euthanized Jinx.

Accused in the 8-year-old dog’s death is 64-year-old Gary Pinchoff, who lives two doors down from Wann. Pinchoff told the Toledo Blade Tuesday that he put the needles inside pieces of hot dog to chase away wildlife that had been destroying his garden, and he never intended to harm anyone’s pet.

The Monroe News reported that a warrant was issued for Pinchoff’s arrest yesterday.

San Francisco is considering terminating its $1.4 million in art contracts with Brooklyn sculptor Tom Otterness, who once shot and killed a dog on film and called it art.

San Francisco’s Arts Commission, which is in charge of publicly funded art projects, will hold a meeting today to vote on whether to rescind the contracts, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

The commission awarded Otterness earlier this year with a $750,000 contract for 59 bronze sculptures in the Moscone station of the proposed Central Subway project. That was in addition to a $700,000 contract he received last year for a sculpture at San Francisco General Hospital.

The commission said it was unaware of the incident in his past when they approved the contracts, the second of which was signed in September.

Apparently they missed out on the hubbub on the east coast when, in May, Otterness was awarded $750,000 to sculpt a set of lions to sit outside the Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library.

Otterness, when he was 25, shot and killed a small black and white dog he adopted from a shelter for an art project — basically a repeated loop of film showing the execution. He called it ”Shot Dog Film.”

The incident has repeatedly surfaced during the career of Otterness, who is famous for his whimsical sculptures of people and animals, and it did again after he received the second San Francisco contract. After media reports and amid public complaints, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee placed a hold on both contracts, pending review.

Arts Commission Chairman PJ Johnston said that review is completed, and discussions have been held, but he declined to discuss them and said he was unsure how he would vote. He said he was concerned with the commission “getting into the position of judging the artist rather than the art.”

If I may boldy opine: I don’t understand that statement, or piece of one, but I’m not a real artist. I see nothing wrong with judging both the artist and the art, or, for that matter, the actor and his acting, the football player and the football play, the author and the book, or the arts commissioner and the art he commissions. Doing something well should not relieve one of  the responsibility of being a decent human being, or following the rules everyone else lives by.

End of bold opining.

It’s unclear whether the city, if it terminates the contract, will be able to redeem the $365,750 in payments it has already made to Otterness, the Examiner reported.

The San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission, called for the termination of the contracts in an Oct. 14 letter sent to the mayor and the Arts Commission.

“The city of St. Francis cannot display, with public funding, art from someone who has committed such an unconscionable act of animal cruelty,” the letter said.

St. Francis, after whom the city is named, is the patron saint of animals.

A South Korean festival aimed at promoting the consumption of dog meat has been canceled after protests from animal welfare activists.

The Korea Dog Farmers’ Association had scheduled the festival for Friday, to be held in the traditional open-air market in the city of Seongnam just south of Seoul — the one I visited while researching my book, and where I took the photos that appear on this page.

Moran Market is a block long outdoor market that sells, produce, vegetable, herbs and animals, including dogs, which can be butchered to order. One can pick a live dog, for $100-$150 and have it butchered. About two-thirds of the dog meat sold in Seoul (not counting that prepared in restaurants) is sold there.

The festival planned to showcase various canine delicacies including barbecued dog, sausages and steamed paws. Also featured would have been cosmetics and spirits made with canine ingredients.

But South Korea’s young and burgeoning animal welfare movement, and concerns over international perceptions, managed to bring those plans to a halt, said Ann Yong-Geun, an adviser to the Dog Farmers Association.

“We couldn’t possibly go on with the plan due to endless phone calls of complaint… now there are few willing to rent us a place for the event,” Ann, a professor of nutrition at Chung Cheong University, told AFP.

Ann said the festival would have displayed video clips and pictures of farms raising dogs under sanitary conditions, contrary to public perceptions.

About 600 farms raise dogs for meat in South Korea, where their meat has long been eaten by a portion of the population. Dog soup, or Boshintang, is considered, by some, a summer delicacy.

Growing numbers of Koreans oppose the practice and consider it an international embarrassment. The planned festival sparked opposition from South Korean animal rights groups and many Internet users.

“This is making our country an international laughing stock, and making the whole world mistakenly believe that all South Koreans eat dogs,” said Park So-Youn, head of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth.

“Canines are the animals emotionally closest to humans. You can’t just publicly celebrate killing and eating them,” Park said.

I got to meet Park during my visit to Seoul, while researching my book, “DOG, INC.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man’s Best Friend.”

It was in Seoul that the first dog clone was produced (Snuppy), an achievement that was in part due to scientist’s easy access to farm dogs for use as egg donors and surrogates. The successful cloning of dog led to the formation of two companies — one in the U.S. and one in Seoul. Only the one in Seoul remains, and continues to clone dogs for profit.