ohmidog!

When a missing West Highland terrier in Florida returned home after three hours, her owner could tell right away something was wrong.

“She wobbled back into our yard about 10 p.m. I could tell she had been kicked because she screamed when I picked her up,” said Shawne Boardman, 49.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

“Bailey’s jaws were glued shut,” Boardman told the News-Press. “She was having trouble breathing.”

The North Fort Myers woman said she and her boyfriend pried open the 13-year-old dog’s jaws and fed it water with a turkey baster. She says she didn’t take Bailey to a veterinarian because they were able to open the dog’s mouth. But on Saturday, Bailey took a turn for the worse.

“She died in Dan’s lap,” Boardman says. “She was a great dog. Bailey was like our baby.”

Boardman says she buried Bailey next to a gardenia bush in her yard.

Glenn Johnson, operations manager for Lee County Animal Services, says whoever glued the dog’s jaws shut faces a third-degree felony. The maximum penalty is a fine of $5,000 and a sentence of five years in prison.

The incident is similar to one last month in Sanford, N.C., where a Chihuahua mix with its mouth glued shut was abandoned at a local shelter, according to pet-abuse.com

“The dog was unable to open its mouth,” said Abbey Lindauer, adoption coordinator for Sanford’s Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption (CARA). CARA workers spotted the dog’s suspected owner driving away in a red truck.

Lindauer said the dog died later that night after it was transported to the Lee County Animal Shelter.

Reports out of the Philippines indicate most of the remaining dogs seized from a Korean-run dogfighting operation are getting a second chance.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that at least two agencies are trying to rehabilitate some of the 223 pit bulls rescued in police raids on March 30.

Members of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), who were first on the scene after the raid, put down 33 dogs they said were sick, badly injured, and dangerously aggressive.

Since then, the newspaper reports, Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) and the Island Rescue Organization (IRO) have taken over the care of the Laguna pit bulls and have decided to try to save as many of the dogs as possible.

The raid and arrests in San Pablo City and Calauan, Laguna, angered many Philippine animal advocates — especially upon learning some of the suspects were on bail after being arrested on charges of running an online dog fighting operation in December.

“Aside from not wanting to see dogs fight,” Parsons says, “I think what enraged a lot more Filipinos was that this was done by people who had already been arrested, and are still operating with impunity here.”

Island Rescue Organization, already rehabilitating the 61 surviving pit bulls seized in the earlier raid, has taken over the care of the Laguna pit bulls.

“We will try and do what we can in the best way we can,” Nancy Cu-unjieng of Compassion and Responsibility for Animals told the Inquirer, ““and we’ve decided that we must give the dogs a chance to survive.”

Others are are stepping foward to assist.

Henry Monzones, who belongs to the group, Laguna Search and Rescue, has been visiting the site daily to help with head counts and to help design new shelters for the dogs.

In the meantime, the animals are still confined in the steel drums they were found in, but donated tarpaulins and nets are being pitched to shield them from the sun. Some of the dogs had died from heatstroke.

The large tarps were donated by Jay Lim, a businessman and dog trainer with the Philippine Mondioring Association, and his friend, Frenchman Julien Bourraux.

“What I love about pit bulls is, no matter what they’ve been through, if you show them love and respect, they’re willing to forgive anything … There’s definitely hope for these guys — we just have to convince people they’re not killers.”

Palm Beach County animal control officers seized a 10-year-old dog from a home in Belle Glade after her leg was reportedly cut off by her owner with a handsaw.

Luc Jean Baptiste, 48, was charged with felony animal cruelty after a witness said he duct-taped the dog’s mouth shut, hog-tied her, and sawed through her right front leg, the Palm Beach Post reports.

The witness told animal control officers that Baptiste removed the leg because the dog had injured it.

The dog also has a severe infection in her uterus, a sign that she has been used for frequent breeding, officials said.

Six other dogs and four puppies were also removed from the home, where sheriff’s deputies originally went to investigate a shooting.

Officials hope to repair the maimed dog’s leg and eventually put her up for adoption.

Animal control officials have named the pit bull mix Karma.

“I think that what goes around comes around,” said Animal Control Director Dianne Sauve. “I think whoever did this to this dog is going to be carrying a karmic debt for a long, long time.”

(Photos: Palm Beach County Animal Control)

A New Jersey woman apparently attempted do-it-yourself surgery on her husky mix, and heavily sedated two of her other pets with narcotics, for reasons police and the Cumberland County SPCA are still trying to figure out.

Stephanie Ballassi, of Bridgeton, had not been charged by Monday night, but she could face multiple charges of animal cruelty as the investigation continues, said Bev Greco, executive director of the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“This is not something we’ve ever dealt with before,” Greco told The Daily Journal.

On Sunday, Bridgeton police were called to Ballassi’s home  and found a bloody scene. The pets were immediately removed and taken to veterinary hospitals.

The husky mix was treated from a palm-sized head wound apparently caused when its owner attempted to surgically remove a lump on his head.

The other animals found in the house were lethargic, and investigators suspect they had been given human anti-depressants and anti-seizure medication.

A long-hair Persian-mix cat was also heavily drugged and had patches of her fur shaved off.

The husky mix, estimated to be about four years old, still hadn’t totally revived from whatever drugs he had been given, officials said.

SPCA investigators have visited Ballassi’s house before. In  2008, they were called to check on the welfare of five dogs and four cats she had at the time. No charges resulted.

In November 2011, Ballassi surrendered a basset hound, a German shepherd, three cats and a bird to the shelter. Ballassi said she was moving, but she continued to reside at the same address.

Both dogs went on to be adopted, the SPCA said.

(Cumberland County SPCA Executive Director Bev Grecco checks on a male husky that was taken from a Bridgeton home Monday; photo by Cody Glenn/ The Daily Journal)

Veterinarians and animal welfare workers today euthanized at least nine of the 300 pit bulls rescued from a dogfighting ring in the Philippines — and they expect to euthanize dozens more — primarily because of there are no facilities in which to rehabilitate them.

Anna Cabrera, of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, said 17 of the seized dogs had been put down a day after the raids.

Noting that some of the rescued dogs had been seized before from dogfighting operations, Cabrera said she feared many of them — if simply adopted out — could again end up facing “a fate worse than death.”

How many more will still be euthanized depends on their health, behavior, their potential to be rehabilitated, and the animal welfare group’s supply of drugs — reportedly only enough to euthanize 70 animals, the Associated Press reported.

Police arrested eight South Koreans suspected of running an illegal online gambling operations in which players outside the Philippines bet on dogs fighting at the compound. 

Welfare society veterinarian Wilford Almora said many of the pit bulls had injuries from previous fights, including ripped ears and tongues.

He said his group had enough drugs to euthanize 70 dogs, and had put down at least nine Tuesday afternoon with 13 more planned before they finished later in the evening.

“We are not in a hurry. We just want to make sure that the ones we put to sleep are the ones that deserve to be put to sleep based on their medical condition,” he said.

Cabrera said it was not possible to care for all the pit bulls that were rescued and it would be irresponsible to allow the injured animals to be adopted.

Most of the dogs were seized from a 5-acre coffee plantation in San Pablo city, where they were kept in metal fuel drums and tied to heavy steel chains. Police also recovered 30 dogs from an arena in the nearby town of Calauan where a dogfight was about to begin.

More than 300 dogs were rescued in the separate raids. The eight suspects, charged with animal cruelty and gambling, are being turned over to immigration officials.

If convicted of illegal gambling, they face a maximum of 12 years in prison. The charge of animal cruelty carries a penalty of up to two years. No one in the Philippines has ever served time for animal cruelty, the Associated Press reported.

(Photo: Philippine Animal Welfare Society)

An empty lot in an unfinished Phoenix development has become a dumping ground for dead dogs.

Neighbors say that after construction came to a halt at the new housing community, near 15th Avenue and Baseline, someone started using at least one lot to dump the carcasses of dogs.

Neighbors say they have found the remains of more than a dozen dogs on the development property, according to ABC 15.

A few of the dogs had chains and barbed wire around their necks. Neighbors say one had its throat cut.

Neighbors say the property has been foreclosed on and belongs to an out of state bank.

A former Watsonville police dog has been seized by Monterey County’s SPCA after he was found emaciated, dehydrated and neglected.

Ingo was taken from the home of former Watsonville police officer Francisco Ibarra.

Sgt. Stacy Sanders of the SPCA told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that an anonymous tip led them to Ibarra’s home in Salinas.

There, they found Ingo, who weighed just 55 pounds, about 25 pounds less than he should. His ribs and hipbones were showing, and there was no food in the back yard, the SPCA said.

Ingo has gained 15 pounds since SPCA officers seized him on Feb. 17.

“He is slowly recovering and gaining weight on a specialized diet on a prescribed feeding schedule,” said Beth Brookhouser of the SPCA.

The Monterey County district attorney’s office said Ibarra has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of failing to take care of an animal. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 18. The penalty, if he’s convicted, is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The SPCA said that, while it hasn’t determined if the dog is adoptable, he won’t be euthanized.

Ibarra, who was fired from the force in 2010, is seeking to be reinstated by the Watsonville Police Department.

(Photo: SPCA of Monterey County)

A Helena, Montana, man has been charged with animal cruelty after his dog was found to have a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit for humans driving motor vehicles.

Police responded to a call about an intoxicated dog at Smith’s Bar, where customers and staff were caring for the dog, a Pomeranian mix named Arly II.

According to police, the dog had trouble walking and standing.

Witnesses told police the dog had been given vodka in a car outside the bar.

Police took the dog to Alpine Animal Clinic, where veterinarian Dr. Michelle Richardson drew blood. Tests showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.348 percent. The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.

Arly II stayed at the animal hospital a few days and is now at the Lewis and Clark Humane Society pending the outcome of the criminal case, the Helena Independent Record reported.

Todd Harold Schrier, 49, was charged with animal cruelty and a felony drug charge related to the March 1 incident.

A year has passed since a starving pit bull was put in a plastic bag, dropped down a trash chute and found in a garbage bin at a high-rise apartment complex in Newark.

Just look at him now.

Dubbed Patrick — in honor of St. Patrick’s Day — he defied all the odds.

One year later, he’s looking healthy and happy — though a custody battle is still raging over him.

Meanwhile, his former owner, who turned down a plea deal, is scheduled to appear in court today for her trial on animal cruelty charges.

Patrick was originally taken in and cared for by the Associated Humane Societies, New Jersey’s largest animal shelter organization.

They took him to Garden State Veterinary Specialists, where, after a giant hairball was removed from his stomach, he began eating and gaining strength.

In the months that followed, by virtue of his inspiring story, he’d become a poster boy for the rescue organization, the veterinary hospital, and a few others that hoped to capitalize on his growing fame by using his case and image to fight for stronger animal abuse laws.

Associated Humane Societies  is seeking permanent custody, despite earlier rulings that he should remain in the custody of Garden State Veterinary Specialists of Tinton Falls.

Both sides accuse the other of trying to profit from Patrick’s plight.

Patrick weighed 19 pounds when he arrived there, and now weighs 50. He has been staying with Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, the hospital’s administrator, who wants to keep him.

AHS says Patrick should be returned, and that once he is, they would begin the process of finding a home for him. They deny that they are trying to make a profit off of him, and say the veterinary hospital didn’t have the right to take possession of a dog brought in for treatment.

Kisha Curtis, meanwhile, the dog’s former owner, rejected the state’s plea offer of 18 months in prison, a $5,000 fine, 30 days community service and termination of animal custody rights.

She is not accused of tossed the dog down the chute, only of neglecting and abandoning him.

(Photo credits: Top, The Patrick Miracle Facebook page; middle, Associated Humane Societies; bottom, Newark Star-Ledger)

Remember this video, from a story we told you about back in October? On his balcony in Lincolnshire, a British man was videotaped as he beat his dog. After the video was posted on Facebook, an angry mob formed outside his house.

The man survived the mob, and the dog survived the man.

The Staffordshire bull terrier was seized by authorities, and turned out to be blind and deaf, making the behavior of his owner, Jonathan Bloomfield, 37, all the more repugnant.

Bloomfield avoided a prison sentence, but magistrates in Grimsby banned him from having a dog for 15 years.

Whatever happened to the dog? A lot, and it’s all good.

Butch, as he was previously known, was taken in by the RSPCA, where he was renamed Dodger. The RSPCA, after realizing he was deaf and almost totally blind, contacted specialists at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket to see if there was any chance that the 18-month-old dog’s sight could be restored.

“Dodger is the most adorable dog,” Claudia Hartley, the AHT’s head of small animal ophthalmology explained. “As soon as he arrived I fell in love with him and it wasn’t long before he’d work his charm on the rest of the vets and nurses here.”

Both his deafness and his blindness are believed to be congential. Dodger was apparently born with cataracts — something that, unlike his deafness, could be repaired. The AHT’s vets performed cataract surgery on Dodger’s right eye, with good results.

Dodger returned to the AHT last month to have his left-eye operated on and initial signs are very good, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.

The RSPCA has started the process of looking for a new home for Dodger.

“Although Dodger can now see, he is still completely deaf, and he’ll need a special owner who can understand his very specific needs,” said Kirstyn Gaunt, deputy manager at the RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre, where he is now housed.  “He has started to take on some basic sign language and he is a fast learner.”

Given the happy ending, we’ll end this post with a happier video: