ohmidog!

Colleen Spalioni went to an animal shelter to find a dog.

She went home with 27.

The rescued pooches — including 10 Chihuahua mixes, one purebred Chihuahua, a Jack Russell, a poodle, two shepherd mixes, two miniature pinschers and an Australian cattle dog mix — were apparently facing euthanasia.

Spalioni, of Sparks, Nevada, was looking for a dog to replace the pointer she lost in November to a car accident, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

She found one on the website DogsinDanger.com, which posts photos of dogs in shelters and the number of days until they are euthanized. It was nearly 400 miles away, but Spalioni made the trip to Delano, Calif., near Bakersfield, accompanied by a neighbor, in her pick-up.

There she learned how many more dogs were facing euthanasia — and adopted them all. Delano police animal control officers helped her load the 27 dogs into her pickup. Some fit in the cab, with the rest in the truck bed with a down blanket and a tarpaulin over the top.

Spalioni did all this while her husband was away on a business trip. He returns home today.

One dog died on the trip home, and two more since. The 24 others yelped enough to lead her neighbors to complain, and it has been pointed out to her that a local ordinance sets a limit of three dogs per household.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be in so much trouble or that so many  people would be so angry at what I did,” Spalioni said. “But after I lost my dog who gave me so much unconditional love, I couldn’t leave these dogs to die.”

She had found homes for all but three of the dogs as of Monday, and said she hoped to place the remaining dogs before her husband got home.

Although it’s winning all sorts of acclaim, “Companions to None,” a Texas documentary-maker’s unflinching look at the lives (and deaths) of Mexican street dogs, is being spurned by most networks, even Animal Planet.

The film — the first full-length documentary from Dallas-based director Bill Buchanan — was screened over the weekend at La Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City.

The documentary looks at the overpopulation of stray dogs in Mexico (they outnumber humans in some regions) and the macho culture that perpetuates it. One reason Mexicans are reluctant to sterilize their male dogs, Buchanan says, is their belief that it will make a dog “gay.”

Buchanan’s movie captures some harsh realities — from electrocution of dogs (the common method of euthanasia) to the often brutal treatment they face living on the streets.

Buchanan, according to a blog entry by the Los Angeles Times Mexico City correspondent, has faced problems finding a home for the film. Buchanan said American networks such as Animal Planet, Discovery and HBO passed on broadcasting it.

For more information about the documentary, visit its website.

Not only will Santa Claus be in South Baltimore’s Riverside Park this Saturday — but you and/or your pet can have your photo taken with him.

How do I know this? Because I was roped into filling the Santa suit — either because of my joviality, my sprouting white beard, or, more likely, a certain part of my anatomy that is increasingly shaking like a bowlful of jelly.

From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, your pooch, or cat, or pet of any sort (no highly poisonous snakes, please) can have their photo taken with Santa for the low, low price of $5.

The photo will then be made available to you online, where you can download it, or upload it, or whatever it is you do to get it. You can also turn it into a Christmas card. Your options, like the joys of the season, are limitless.

In addition to the photos with Santa, the event will included raffles, gift sale, free gift wrapping, dog and cat treats, and stuff to eat and drink.

The theme of the day is a South Baltimore Christmas (old school), so don’t be surprised if you see a pink flamingo or two, some highly tacky decorations, or Santa himself sneaking in a smoke between photo shoots. We also guarantee that somebody, at some point, will call you “hon.”

If  South Baltimore kitsch is not your bag, you can wait two weeks for the more traditional Photos with Santa event — to be held at Federal Hill Park, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 6. That will be staffed by a Santa to be named later.

Both events are fundraisers for the Franky Fund at BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter), which provides emergency medical care for sick and injured animals that might otherwise be euthanized.

The event’s sponsors include ohmidog!, Camp Bow Wow, Dogma, Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe, Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists, K-9 Kraving Raw Diet Dog Food, Bill’s Portable Welding, Baltimore Guide,  Firehouse Coffee Co. at the Canton Firehouse, Austin Grill, The Sweet Shop, UTZ, Steve’s Lunch, Amy’s Boutique, Federal Hill Wine & Spirits, M&L Discount Liquors, and Susan Harrington Designs.

For more information, click here.

For information about other dog-friendly events, including Locust Point Dog Park’s pet photo with Santa event (featuring city council member Ed Reisinger as St. Nick), visit the ohmidog! “doggie doings” page.

Harvey Mackay, a columnist for the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul, had a nice column yesterday on what humans could learn from their dogs, if they only tried.

It was prompted by an email about a 6-year-old boy whose family dog was put to sleep.

As the dog drifted away, Mackay wrote, the little boy seemed to accept the dog’s transition — even when the rest of the family was struggling with why animal lives are shorter than human lives.

“I know why,” the young son announced. “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

The family’s veterinarian, Mackay said, offered a list if other lessons dogs can teach — similar to others I have read, but worth repeating just the same:

•When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. Dogs treat us like celebrities when we come home. There’s nothing wrong with showing people we care.

•Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride. On warm days, there’s nothing wrong with stopping to lie on your back on the grass.

•Take naps. If you can’t take a nap, at least take a break. It’ll improve your disposition.

•Run, romp and play daily. If you have a chance to have fun, go for it … Work hard and play hard.

•Let people touch you. Don’t be aloof. Allow people to get close to you.

•Avoid biting when a simple growl will do … It’s OK to warn people that you’re upset or even angry, but keep your temper in check.

•When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body. We have a right to be happy!

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.

In light of complaints about the number of animals it euthanizes, the Escondido Humane Society in California has decided to stop calling itself a “no-kill” shelter.

Seems “no kill” really means “we only kill a few,” and officials of the Escondido Humane Society have decided they don’t fit either definition.

Humane society board Chairman David Knox, a veterinarian, said the board of directors decided about two weeks ago to change the designation, removing it from its literature, although the agency remains committed to limiting animal deaths as much as possible, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

“The definition of no-kill versus the public perception of no-kill are completely different,” he said. “We don’t want to seem as though we are portraying something that is not true.”

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A report out of the Phillipines says a city dog pound that experimented with drowning dogs to euthanize them has returned to its practice of exterminating them by gas — specifically, by using auto exhaust pumped into a shed.

The Manila-based Animal Welfare Coalition (AWC) has assailed the local City Pound Office (CPO) of Cagayan De Oro City for drowning impounded strays in buckets of water.

Dr. Perla Asis, city veterinarian, confirmed they have experimented on various ways of killing unclaimed animals since 1996 but said they only used drowning once, according to a news report.

Joey Nacalaban, a photojournalist for a local newspaper, said he witnessed the drowning of at least 10 dogs at the city landfill in August and took pictures of the procedure.

“The dogs died in about five minutes (after immersion of their heads in water). The drowning was done in public,” he said.

“The City Pound Officer has committed a crime. He should go to jail,” said Ramona Eliza Consunji, AWC external affairs officer.

The City Veterinarian said intracranial injection have also been used, but those were stopped after a staffer lost a finger to a dog bit.

Instead, the CPO, in a bid to stem the spread of rabies, has opted to use gas poisoning to exterminate unclaimed animals, creating an improvised gas chamber fashioned out of wood. An average of 25 to 35 dogs are gassed on Thursdays using motor vehicle exhaust in a process that lasts up to about 40 minutes, she said.

Consunji said that if the city government wants to minimize the number of stray dogs, it should conduct a campaign to educate people on responsible pet ownership.

The North Shore Animal League — in an attempt to give voice to the estimated 25 million owners of mixed breed dogs — has launched the The American Mutt-i-grees Club.

With Kathryn Erbe, co-star of “Law & Order Criminal Intent,” serving as spokesperson, the club intends to register and provide certificates to mutts, elevate their standing and rally their owners to help stop animal cruelty and end euthanization of dogs by the millions each year.

Muttigrees.org is the website of the group, created by the Pet Savers Foundation, the developmental arm of the massive North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington, N.Y.

“People are incredibly proud of their mixed breeds, and the time is ripe for there to be a way for them to communicate, share ideas and celebrate their choice,” J. John Stevenson, president of NSALA and managing director of the foundation says.

Stevenson, USA Today reports, thinks the new club for mongrel lovers will not only be appreciated, but will “change, over time, the way many people view mixed-breed dogs in shelters.”

Mixed breeds make up more than three-fourths of the dogs that enter shelters, are slower to get adopted, and make the majority of the 3 million dogs euthanized in shelters every year.

The American Kennel Club, though its focus is on purebreds, has also put forth opportunities for mixed breeds and their owners, including registration operations that issue paperwork for hybrids not recognized by the American Kennel Club, and by sponsoring organizations that put on competitive events for mixed-breed dogs.

Mutt-i-grees will “occupy a very different space” from the existing registries and clubs, says Stevenson. “We want to become somewhat the AARP of mixed-breed dogs. Just as AARP advocates issues relevant to seniors by aggregating a tremendous number of members, we, too, want to channel the voice of 25 million mixed-breed owners, to raise awareness and promote regulation to diminish the stronghold of puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell today said the killing of 80 dogs by two breeders — and the fact that it was entirely legal — has “shocked and disgusted citizens all over the commonwealth,” and he called on legislators to approve proposed reforms to the state dog law.

“These violent killings were totally unnecessary, particularly considering that there are rescue societies that would have taken all of the dogs, regardless of their ages or conditions,” Rendell said.

Two weeks ago, kennel owners Elmer and Ammon Zimmerman of Berks County shot 80 dogs and closed their kennels after dog wardens ordered kennel repairs and veterinary checks for 39 dogs suffering flea and fly bites. Pennsylvania’s current dog law does not prohibit kennel owners from euthanizing their dogs with firearms, even if the dogs are healthy

“Clearly, the time has come to enact legislation that would make this practice illegal and raise the standards under which the state’s commercial breeding kennel industry operates. There is simply no excuse for continued inaction,” the governor said.

The governor made his appeal during a news conference at the Schuylkill River Dog Park, accompanied by Maggie, one of his family’s two golden retrievers. Maggie and Ginger are former breeding dogs who were rescued and adopted by the Rendells.

Under legislation pending in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, only veterinarians would be authorized to euthanize dogs in commercial breeding kennels.

The bill also doubles the minimum floor space for cages at commercial breeding kennels,  prohibits stacking cages, ensures dogs get outdoor exercise (currently not required) and requires kennel cages to have solid floors.

In addition breeders would be required to hav dogs checked by a veterinarian annually or during each pregnancy. Many dogs now never see a vet throughout their entire lives.

The way the city of Houston treats its domestic animals is a “national embarassment” — and that’s according to the city’s own newspaper, the Houston Chronicle.

As the city’s director of animal control departs, the newspaper, in an editorial, urged that the city “seize the moment” and hire a replacement to tackle the problems associated with the “tens of thousands of abandoned or mistreated animals that Houston produces in wildly increasing numbers.”

Not that the departing director, Kent Anderson, didn’t give it a shot.

Anderson tried to transform Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) into a no-kill shelter, only to be ”frustrated by the low budget and relentlessly irresponsible behavior that have made Houstonians’ treatment of domestic animals a national embarrassment,” the editorial stated.

About 80 percent of the shelter’s animals were euthanized when he started the job in 2006; about 80 percent still are, the newspaper said. In other ways, the shelter has improved from the mess it reportedly was when Anderson inherited it.

“…The shelter was filthy and inhumane; volunteers routinely had to step over sacks of just-killed animals to feed and water those still alive,” the newspaper editorial said. “When animal control trucks rolled up to the facility, some of the animals would already be dead from being left unattended in the heat.”

Anderson, citing personal reasons, is leaving the job to return to Dallas.