ohmidog!

A Cane Corso with his ears clipped off was found tied to the back door of an elementary school in Woodbridge, N.J.

Authorities are looking for the dog’s owner, who apparently attempted to crop the dog’s ears at home.

John Hagerty, a spokesman for Woodbridge Township, said the dog is between 5 and 7 years old, with “what appears to be a ‘home done’ ear cropping — the ears are cut flush to the head.”

The dog, wearing a pronged choke collar and a leash, was found by a school employee Tuesday at School No. 9 in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge, NJ.com reported.

Hagerty said the dog has been examined and treated by a veterinarian and is being held at the shelter.

Matt Stanton, a spokesman for the New Jersey SPCA said officers were dispatched to Woodbridge to investigate.

Hagerty said anyone with information about the owner or the dog should call the shelter at 732- 855-0600 (extension 5007).

(Photo: Woodbridge Township)

Here’s a simple do-it-yourself project I won’t be doing.

I’m not totally against technology. I just think something as simple and basic as walking a dog should stay simple and basic. And this device that records how far your dog has walked — at least the home-made version — seems a whole lot of work to go to for that information.

In this video, Becky Stern of Adafruit Industries — sort of a Martha Stewart for the geek set – shows how to make a GPS collar that shows how far your dog walks on a typical trip around the block. It also displays a progress bar “to make sure you and your dog achieve a set goal.”

I got dizzy just watching it. Maybe, technologically, I’ve been left behind.

After viewing this, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to catch up.

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)

“Copperseverance”

Acrylic on canvas

By John Woestendiek/2011

Price: $1,800

Depicting man’s dogged uphill climb – the abysses he must cross, the spillage that inevitably occurs, and above all the Sisyphean, never-give-up perseverance that is at his emotional core (know what I’m sayin’?)  — “Copperseverance” is the first in John Woestendiek’s “Copper” series.

A one of its kind artwork, it is currently is on display in the artist’s home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but available for purchase (shipping and handling not included) because he can always just make another one and, because it was kinda fun, probably will.

A Florida man who used glue and dental floss to perform surgery on a dog that was injured while under his care has seen the animal cruelty charges filed against him dropped.

Although the dog died, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said it reviewed the case and determined there wasn’t enough evidence to convict William Ralph Jones Jr., of Oakland Park, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Jones, 55, was arrested in January on two counts of felony animal cruelty. He was accused of using glue to seal a 3-inch cut that the dog suffered when she escaped from Jones’ yard. When that didn’t work, he allegedly stitched up the dog with dental floss and used chloroform to knock her unconscious, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

Jones’ acts caused Zoe — a 2-year-old hound-retriever mix who was left in Jones’ care by his daughter’s friend — to suffer excessive and unnecessary pain, the sheriff’s office said.

Upon reviewing the case, the State Attorney’s Office issued a memo stating that Jones “executed extremely poor judgment, but did not intend to hurt the animal.

“I’m just in shock that they’re allowing him to get away with this,” Danielle Vecchio, Zoe’s owner, told the Sentinel Tuesday. “They’re basically saying that he can’t be charged for stupidity.”

The attorney general’s office said, “The fact that he did this while she had an injury is evidence to the fact that he was trying to help the dog — albeit in a painful manner.”

Somehow, in three years of dog-blogging, I’ve managed to avoid addressing the issue of anal glands.

The time has come to express myself.

Dog anal glands are two small glands located on either side of your dog’s anus, each of which holds a tiny amount of a foul smelling brown liquid. For a long time, traditional wisdom among groomers was that, every now and then, those glands should be squeezed, or expressed, to clear them.

Fortunately, especially for groomers and do-it-yourself expressers, the wisdom has changed — so much so that some experts, including veterinarian Karen Becker, featured in the video above, now advise that anal glands, as a rule, be left the heck alone.

That’s because your dog knows how to express himself, so to speak.

Whenever a dog urinates or defecates, the act applies pressure to the anal glands, and a tiny bit of the fluid is released. Dogs also have the ability to express at will, by raising their tails, which they often do when meeting a new dog — as in “Allow me to introduce you, new acquaintance, to eau de Ace.” They just emit a tiny amount, not detectable by humans, but enough to lead those meeting for the first time to a long bout of mutual butt sniffing.

Only once has my dog Ace been the victim of a manual anal gland expressing, by a groomer in Alabama who was pretty much insisting it be done, and insisting I watch and learn. She squeezed and squeezed but nothing came out. Finally she gave up, saying maybe they didn’t need expressing after all.

Many dogs never develop any problem with their anal glands, especially those who are eating quality food — not big on fillers — that lead to a firm stool. A firm stool will create the pressure needed to naturally express the glands.

When the anal glands are not sufficiently expressed, bacteria can build up, which can lead to infections, which can lead to an abscess, which can lead to further problems.

If your dog is scooting or dragging his rear across the floor, emitting foul odors from his rear, or licking and chewing the area, those are signs that his anal glands may not be properly expressing. A visit to a groomer, or better yet a vet, can, shall we say, rectify the situation. 

If want to do it at home — and trust me, you don’t — you can learn more at  Lovetoknow.com. To see more of Dr. Becker’s reports, visit Mercola Healthy Pets.

First, he tried super glue. And when that wasn’t enough to close a three-inch cut on the chest of a dog he was temporarily caring for, a Florida man rendered the dog unconscious with chloroform and stitched her up with dental floss, authorities say.

Broward County deputies took William Ralph Jones Jr., 55, of Oakland Park, into custody Wednesday and charged him with two counts of felony animal cruelty, Florida’s Sun Sentinel reported.

Jones’ impromptu surgery caused Zoe, a 2-year-old retriever mix, to suffer excessive and unnecessary pain, the sheriff’s office said.

Danielle Vecchio, Zoe’s owner, said she moved to a home that prohibited pets last year, leaving Zoe in the care of Jones, her friend’s father. “It’s horrible to think about what they did to her,” she said. “They called me only after she was dead.”

Zoe had repeatedly escaped from Jones’ yard, and on Jan. 12 suffered a cut of about 3 inches to her chest, the Sheriff’s Office said. Jones first tried to seal Zoe’s wound with super glue, but when it reopened the next day, he placed her on his coffee table and instructed his roommate to give the dog a muscle relaxant, the sheriff’s report states.

The dog, still conscious,  wouldn’t calm down, so Jones got his roommate and his daughter to hold her down and held a solution over her muzzle that he said was chloroform before attempting to sew up the wound. After that, the dog never regained consciousness.

Jones posted $5,000 bond and was freed from jail yesterday.

The Oregon man who used a hammer to try to euthanize his daughter’s dog, then buried it alive, has been sentenced to 120 days in jail for misdemeanor animal abuse.

Hyrum Long, 75, of Forest Grove, said Tuesday he was trying to euthanize the dog in October when he hit it on the head with a hammer and buried it up to its neck. The dog, named Molly, was rescued by police but later euthanized by a veterinarian because of injuries and apparent long-term neglect.

Judge Rick Knapp called the situation “appalling” and told Long what he had done was “monstrous and barbaric.” Long, according to the Associated Press, also was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

An Oregon man used a hammer to euthanize his daughter’s old and ailing dog, then buried it — only to later get arrested when the dog’s cries were heard by a neighbor, according to police.

Responding to that neighbor’s report, police found Molly, a 13-year-old lab mix, buried up to her neck in the family’s backyard, but still alive.

Hyrum Long, 75, and his daughter, 49-year-old Susan Johnson, were arrested Monday by Forest Grove police and charged with animal abuse and neglect, according to KGW News in Portland, Oregon.

Long admitted he made a mistake when he tried to euthanize his daughter’s dog, and said they thought the dog had cancer. Family members said they didn’t have the money to pay to euthanize their dog.

Forest Grove Police Capt. Aaron Ashbaugh said a necropsy report from the Oregon Humane Society indicated the dog had suffered from a chronic skin disease, body sores from lying down for prolonged periods of time, long-term malnutrition and chronic starvation. He said there were indications the dog had not eaten for at least four to five days.

The father and daughter were not at the home when police arrived and found the dog buried up to its neck with an obvious head injury. Officers dug Molly out of the ground, and she was taken by Washington County Animal Control to the Humane Society.

Spokesperson Barbara Baugnon said the 13-year-old dog was in extreme pain and in terrible condition when she arrived. “She couldn’t lift her head but her eyes were following people around the room; obviously she was suffering,” Baugnon said.

Baugnon said they decided the only “humane thing to do” was euthanize the dog.