ohmidog!

Zeus, the Doberman pinscher shot Monday night by a trespasser, underwent an operation yesterday as more than enough donations poured in to pay for his surgery.

Zeus was shot in the face after being let out into his backyard in Metairie, Louisiana.

“It’s unbelievable. People have been way more then generous, way more than expected,” said Heather Hilton, client services managers for Southeast Veterinary Specialists.

The bullet shattered part of Zeus’ jaw and lodged in the dog’s shoulder.

Zeus’ owner, Henry McCaskill, was trying to come up with the $3,419 required to perform the surgery, but concerned citizens began calling up the animal hospital to make donations after the dog’s story was publicized, the Times-Picayune reported.

The animal hospital said once the amount was reached, it had stopped accepting donations, but said names and numbers were being taken in case additional procedures become necessary.

In the process of tallying the numbers of purebred dogs in America — or at least those that are registered — the American Kennel Club detected some interesting trends, such as how the nation’s most popular dog, the Labrador retriever, is losing ground in some towns.

The fastest climbing breed, meanwhile, in terms of popularity, is the Havanese.

According to the AKC figures, more U.S. cities featured a breed other than the Labrador Retriever in the top spot this year than in 2008.

The German shepherd took over as No. 1 in Columbus, Detroit, Honolulu, Memphis, Miami, Providence and West Palm Beach.

The Yorkshire terrier bumped the Lab in Oakland, Tampa, New York City and Philadelphia.

And the bulldog became top dog in Los Angeles (despite other surveys that say Chihuahuas are the most predominant breed there). The AKC says celebrity bulldog owners — Adam Sandler, Kelly Osborne and John Legend among them — might be a reason behind the bulldog’s rise.

In what strikes me as a particularly odd tidbit, the bull terrier — 57th nationally — is the most popular breed in Newark, N.J. (Please feel free to explain that to me if you know the story behind it.)

To find out where your dog ranks nationally (keeping in mind the nation’s most popular dog isn’t a breed at all, but the mutt), click here.

There was only one city in America where the Labrador retriever didn’t factor into the Top 5 – Providence, R.I. In 2008, the Lab was No. 2 in Providence.

Over the past 10 years, the AKC says, the fastest growing breed nationally is the Havanese, having risen from 92nd to 32nd. Also rising quickly in national popularity have been the bulldog (from 21st to 7th); the French bulldog (from 73rd to 24th); and the Cavalier King Charles spaniel (from 58th to 25th).

Working K-9 breeds favored by law enforcement and the military have shown modest gains as pets over the same period, with the Belgian Malinois seeing its popularity rise from 95th to 81st, the border collie going from 71st to 52nd, the bloodhound rising from 51st to 43rd, and the Doberman pinscher climbing 23rd to 15th.

The AKC suspects easy-to-groom breeds are becoming more popular, as evidenced by the mastiff climbing from 39th to 27th and the Rhodesian ridgeback going from 56th to 48th. Higher maintenance breeds, meanwhile, such as the  Komondor, the Puli, the Irish terrier and the Sealyham terrier, have all seen their AKC popularity ranking drop in the past 10 years.

Even pre-Bo, the AKC, the Portuguese water dog was on the rise in popularity. The breed chosen by the First Family ranked 80th a decade ago and climbed to 60th in 2009.

(Photo: The Havanese, America’s fastest growing breed/Courtesy of AKC)

Yesterday, we told you about Natt Nevins, and how her beloved dachsund, Nikkie, died the day after Nevins passed.

Now comes news out of Orlando of Becky Carter and her Doberman pinscher, Tasha, who enjoyed life together, fought cancer together and comforted each other through chemotherapy. Over the weekend, they also died within a day of each other — in this case, Tasha first, on Saturday, and Carter on Sunday.

We’ve all heard, and maybe even put a little credence in, those tales of married couples who have grown so close to each other that, when one dies, the other quickly follows. Might we be getting so close to dogs that the same holds true, or at least has anecdotal support?

“This dog and Becky were so close. It’s kind of like they were tired of fighting,” Becky’s husband, Kenny Carter told the Orlando Sentinel.

At the time of her death, Becky hadn’t been told of Tasha’s demise, which came as the Doberman was chasing squirrels. Tasha was 7. Funeral services were held yesterday for Carter, who was buried with Tasha’s ashes.

Carter, who was 62, found Tasha through an ad in the paper when the dog was a puppy.

In 2005, Carter was diagnosed with lung cancer and began chemotherapy treatments, Tasha would lay by her owner’s bed or at her feet. Two years later, as Carter’s cancer went into remission, Tasha was diagnosed with lymphoma and given three to five months to live. The couple started the dog on chemotherapy to buy a little more time. A month ago, veterinarians, detecting an abnormal heart rhythm, decided against another round of chemotherapy for the dog.

Her husband said he thinks Tasha died first so she would be there to welcome his wife into heaven.

According to the American Kennel Club’s breed standards, a Doberman pinscher should have a docked tail and “cropped and erect” ears — an appearance (above right) of “alertness,” albeit one achieved through surgery, rubber bands, tape and splints.

The altered appearance of the Doberman is one we’ve seen so often that we’ve come to accept it as normal, even though an unalderated Doberman (above left) has floppy ears and a whip-like tail.

Why do we do it — not just to the Doberman, but about 50 other breeds that are still commonly docked and cropped?

Mainly because of the aforementioned standards, based on traditions — barbaric, silly traditions, but traditions all the same.

Docking Dobermans goes all the way back to the man who created them, Louis Dobermann, who mixed a handful of breeds in hopes of coming up with a medium-sized guard dog. Being guards, they needed to look alert. Hence, the tail docking and ear cropping.

With breed standards under fire — primarily those that have led to inbreeding and genetic health defects among some breeds — the practice of docking tails and cropping ears should be re-examined, too 

The American Veterinary Medical Association, which had long recommended against docking and cropping for cosmetic purposes, came down harder on the practice in a new policy adopted last year, calling for them both to removed from breed standards.

The AKC, in response to the AVMA policy change, said that “mislabeling these procedures as ‘cosmetic’ is a severe mischaracterization that connotes a lack of respect and knowledge of history and the function of purebred dogs … These breed characteristics are procedures performed to insure the safety of dogs that on a daily basis perform heroic roles with Homeland Security, serve in the U.S. Military and at Police Departments protecting tens of thousands of communities throughout our nation as well as competing in the field.”

That high and mighty stance came close to painting those who might oppose docking and cropping as unpatriotic. I’m pretty sure letting dogs keep their tails is not going to compromise national security, or lead to more crime.

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