ohmidog!

“It was bad people who killed them,” 5-year-old Ethan Stalcup said after the bodies of his family’s two dogs were found, apparently killed with an axe.

“I don’t understand why anybody would do this,”  his mother, Rose Stalcup, said in an interview. “It really hurts to know that we live in a world where people can be this cruel.”

Her husband, J.P. Stalcup, wondered what the killers might do next: “What happens if, you know, they do that a couple more times and all of the sudden they’re not happy with – it’s not giving them as much jollies as it was the first couple times …”

That was before Japheth (J.P.) Daniel Stalcup admitted to police that it was he who killed his dogs — because, he said, he couldn’t afford to take care of them.

Now, as Stalcup awaits trial on charges of aggravated animal abuse, KATU – the station that aired the earlier interviews with the family — reports Stalcup has another dog, despite a judge’s order prohibiting it.

One of the conditions Stalcup agreed to in order to be free from jail until the trial was ”no possession or living with any animals.”

Stalcup, of Eagle Creek, Oregon,  initially reported his dogs — Duke, a black Lab, and Buddy, a Lab-blue heeler mix — missing last November. Two days later he reported to police that he had found their bodies, about 100 yards from the house. Stalcup told investigators the dogs appeared to have been hit with an axe several times. One of the dogs was tossed from a cliff, deputies said.

As the police investigation progressed, Stalcup eventually admitted to killing the dogs. His trial date is March 25.

Acting on a tip from a viewer, KATU visited his home on Monday, confirming the family had a new puppy.

J.P. Stalcup told a reporter that his lawyer had cleared it with a judge for him to have pets at home, but prosecutors were unaware of any such permission being granted.

(Photo: The Stalcup’s new puppy (at top) and one of their previous dogs, Duke / KATU)

Here’s a dog named Starship who’s guaranteed to send your heart into the stratosphere.

She has an ailment that requires her to eat in a high chair, like a baby.

Shelter officials at Greenville County Animal Care in South Carolina say the four-month-old dog, a collie mix, was starved for the first few weeks of her life and developed digestive issues. Specifically, the disorder is called Megaesophagus, meaning her esophagus is dilated.

She has to eat while sitting upright, which helps her food travel down into her stomach.

Once done dining, she has to stay in the high chair for another 30 minutes, according to this report by WSPA.

It took no time at all for her to adapt to the eating routine: “She just crawled right in and turned around,” said a shelter worker.

A South Carolina company, Archway Renovations, built the chair — called a Bailey chair — for Starship, and has offered to make an adjustable one for her as she grows larger.

Starship is looking for a new home, and shelter staff are hoping someone comes forward who’s willing to continue the feeding routine. She needs to eat 4-5 times daily and must be watched while eating and drinking.

“It’s just like someone who is handicapped, they figure a way to live their life happily,” said the shelter worker.

More information is available at Greenville Animal Care.

A lot of us are so dependent on our dogs we’d list them right up there with oxygen.

For Alida Knobloch, her dog is oxygen.

The three-year-old Georgia girl, who has a rare lung disease called neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy, or NEHI, breathes through a tube most of the time, attached to an oxygen tank, which is attached to her dog.

Her goldendoodle, Mr. Gibbs has been specially trained to tote the 6-pound tank, and to stay at Alida’s side.

Alida started having breathing problems by the time she was 6 months old, according to an MSNBC report. One day she turned blue and her parents, Aaron and Debbie Knobloch, rushed her to the hospital. Doctors stabilized her, but were baffled as to what her problem was.

Eventually, a specialist diagnosed NEHI, a condition that was only discovered in 2005,  There have been only 500 confirmed cases.

With the help of a small portable oxygen tank, Alida’s health improved, but cumbersome and limiting as that was for a toddler, her parents started looking for ways to make her life more normal.

According to the Daily Mail, the couple learned about service dogs from a TV program and started searching for a guide dog who could learn the necessary skills. When they heard about a trainer in Georgia, with a dog that was available, they moved from Utah to Georgia to work with her.

Mr. Gibbs was living with trainer Ashleigh Kinsleigh, and had finished his initial obedience training when the Knoblochs first visited.

“He had to learn to get under the table at restaurants,” Kinsleigh said. “He had to learn that if there were other animals he couldn’t just go and play with them. He had to stay right next to his girl and ignore all the fun things around him. He also had to build up to be able to carry around the full weight of the 6-pound tank.”

“His job is to go wherever she goes and do whatever she does,” Kinsleigh added. “If she wants to get on the bike and go down the driveway he has to learn to run alongside. If she’s going to ride on a slide, he has to learn to climb up and slide down behind her.”

Experts say that children with NEHI often outgrow the disease, or the condition becomes so mild they no longer require additional oxygen.

(Photo: Caters News Agency / Daily Mail)

When Lynn Jones, a baggage handler at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, pointed out the condition of a bloody and emaciated dog scheduled to be shipped to Texas, her boss told her to forget about it.

When she persisted, insisting the pointer needed help and would likely die in flight, she was fired.

Yesterday, her employer, Airport Terminal Services Inc., based in St. Louis, said she would be reinstated, with back pay.

Sally Leible, president of the firm, said Jones actions were courageous and the reaction of some management employees was regrettable. She told the Reno Gazette Journal the incident will be used as “teachable moment” for employees.

On Nov. 15, Jones raised enough of a stink about the suffering dog to get airport police to call Washoe County Regional Animal Services, which took custody of the pointer and provided it with veterinary care. The dog apparently was later shipped to its Texas owner, a hunter who keeps it in a kennel and has it shipped to the places he hunts.

The listless and sore-covered dog was lying in a pet carrier in the cargo area of the airport when Jones first saw it.

“The dog was so weak and torn up. It didn’t look like it could survive the flight,” she told the Gazette Journal.

Jones said her supervisor told her to load the dog on the plane because the animal’s paperwork was in order and its condition wasn’t her concern.

“I was crying,” she said. “I kept saying that dog could not be put on a plane.” She said she was fired on the spot by the supervisor, who yelled “‘That’s it, you’re done, you are out of here, go home.”

Jones is a former blackjack dealer, has three dogs of her own, and once  owned a dog grooming service. Even before getting her job back, she said she didn’t regret having taken a stand.

“I loved my job at the airport,” she said. ” … But I just couldn’t turn my back on that dog … My supervisor said it wasn’t my concern, but animal abuse is everyone’s concern who sees it.”

(Photo: Lynn Jones with her three dogs, Junior, Manny and Jewel, from left; by Marilyn Newton / Reno Gazette Journal)

A 28-year-old Newark woman has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty in the case of Patrick, a 1-year-old pit bull who was found almost starved to death after he was dumped down a garbage chute in a high-rise apartment building.

Kisha Curtis was charged Friday with two counts of abandonment and two counts of failure to provide proper sustenance, New Jersey SPCA officials said.

The dog was discovered by maintenance workers March 16 inside a garbage bin at Garden Spires, a 550-unit apartment building. Staff at the Associated Humane Societies/Popcorn Park called it one of the worst cases of cruelty they’ve ever seen.

Matthew Stanton, a spokesman for the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told FoxNews.com that Curtis, the alleged owner, faces two criminal counts and two civil counts, which he said could result in up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine and community service if convicted.

Stanton said Curtis told authorities she was unable to take care of the dog anymore, but she denied throwing the dog into the chute at the 22-story apartment building. The New Jersey SPCA is investigating whether anyone else was involved in the abuse and disposal of the animal.

Patrick, meanwhile, is slowly recovering at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls. Staff there say he is now standing and eating small amounts of food several times a day, though he remains pathetically thin.

AHS, which is paying for Patrick’s continuing care, is continuing to post daily updates on his condition. Most recently, they’ve reported that an ultrasound test found a foreign body lodged found inside the dog, and they speculated he may have swallowed something to quell the hunger that he was experiencing. 

AHS also arranged to have Patrick interviewed by an animal communicator, who reported he told her, among other things, ”I am broken, I don’t know why.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Associated Humane Societies and Popcorn Park Zoo)

Baltimore police said Monday that two 17-year-old boys have been charged with multiple accounts of animal cruelty in connection with using lighter fluid to set a cat named Mittens on fire in Baltimore’s Central Park Heights neighborhood.

The owner of the cat, who lives on the 3300 block of St. Ambrose Ave.,  told police that the animal had been set on fire by her grandson and a friend.

A witness told police that the suspects brought the cat onto a rear, second-floor deck three weeks ago and and put a milk crate on top of the pet. They then poured lighter fluid through the openings in the crate and dropped a book of lit matches into the crate, police said.

Police said the cat howled, knocked the milk crate over and leapt from the balcony, running in circles until the flames went out.

Mittens recently had three kittens, and continues to nurse them in her new surroundings — at Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS), where she is expected to survive her injuries.

Mittens’ ears were damaged as a result of the burns. She also sustained third- and fourth-degree burns on her back and side, according to BARCS.

The police dog shot by a Baltimore police officer is expected to make a full recovery, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Blade, who mistakenly attacked an officer during a pursuit of a suspect, underwent surgery today, according to staff at the Falls Road Animal Hospital, where the German shepherd was being treated.

The dog should be released this week, said Dr. Keisha Adkins, who performed the surgery. The dog faces four to six weeks of restricted movement but should be able to comfortably walk after that. Adkins said the surgery involved removing bullet fragments from the dog’s shoulder.

The unidentified officer who shot Blade wasn’t aware he was a police dog, a police department spokesman said.

The baby in Kentucky who was injured when dragged outside by the family dog is slowly improving, and his condition has been upgraded to critical.

Alexander James Smith, A.J. for short, was pulled from his bassinet, which makes more sense the original reports that he was removed from his crib, by the family dog, Dakota, at the family’s home in Jessamine County. The dog dragged him about 200 yards into the woods behind the house.

The baby suffered collapsed lungs, a fractured skull and broken ribs among other injuries. His father , Michael Smith, said the dog won’t be coming back to their home, but that he hoped it might be able to find a new one.

The dog is still under quarantine at the Jessamine County Save Center, which reports having received hundreds of calls have flooded the Jessamine County Save Center wanting to adopt the dog.

“I appreciate the concern and the outpouring of support, even from complete strangers,” Smith said. “It has been overwhelming and really comforting and helped us get through this difficult time.”

Ninety-two chow chows were seized after authorities this week discovered them living crated and cramped in a small house near Lancaster, Pa.

The chows were discovered in the house, basement, garage and car of Terri Palmer-Roby, founder of Pendragwn Chow Chow Rescue, a shelter for homeless members of the ancient Chinese breed.

Two dead and decaying dogs were removed from at the home during a Tuesday afternoon raid by the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, East Lampeter Township Police, and the Humane League of Lancaster County, according to the Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal.

All the dogs were caged and living in their own waste, many of them emaciated, with open wounds and matted fur, authorities said.

Before Tuesday’s raid, Palmer-Roby was a friend of the Humane League and other area shelters from which she pulled chows in hope of rehabilitating them and adopting them into permanent homes, said Megan Gallagher-Clark, vice president of development at the league.

Six League staff members removed the dogs from the home in shifts Tuesday. Some will be sent to shelters in Berks, York, Bucks and Montgomery counties.