ohmidog!

Though Santa loves all dogs, some dogs like Santa more than others.

And a few — I discovered during my two-hour stint as St. Nick yesterday in South Baltimore’s Riverside Park — want nothing to do with him at all.

During an event to raise money for BARCS Franky Fund, nearly 100 dogs showed up to have their pictures taken with Santa. You can see all of the photos here.

Most dogs were eager to hop in my lap, but a handful didn’t want to get anywhere near me. Golden retrievers seemed particularly wary of Santa, even when tempted with treats. But one way or another, we managed to get photos of every dog with Santa.

A few dogs, like Lola (above) couldn’t wait to get off Santa’s lap — even dogs who, like her, are long-time friends and normally love me in civilian attire.

The biggest problem was keeping my Santa beard on amid all the squirming. One dog, a golden retriever whose leash I was holding, pulled me out of my bright green lawn chair (a kitschy South Baltimore Christmas was our theme), to the ground, and then actually dragged me a foot or two.

I only got growled at a couple of times, and most of the subjects were cooperative — dogs, humans and the two cats that showed up. All in all, the hardest part was walking the three blocks to the park. Several children stopped me, one of whom wanted a motorcycle for Christmas, but settled for a hug.

Several hundred dollars were raised for the Franky Fund — an emergency fund at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter that provides medical care to sick and injured animals.

If you missed out, there will be another Franky Fund event (more traditional, and with a different Santa) Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Federal Hill Park.

(No animals were harmed in the making of this blog entry.)

I’m back from California — in the nick of time, in time to be Nick, and not a mimute too soon.

Today, I’m scheduled to be Santa Claus — at Riverside Park in South Baltimore — so I’ve got some big boots to fill, not to mention pants, jacket and cap.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can bring your pet to have his or her photo taken with what I hope will be a passable semblance of St. Nick. It’s a mere five bucks, and proceeds from the photos and all else that will be going on — raffles, gift sales, refreshments, etc. — will go to the Franky Fund at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

The Franky Fund pays for emergency medical care for animals that come in to the shelter sick or injured — dogs and cats that otherwise would likely be euthanized. (For more information about the event, and another at Federal Hill Park Dec. 6, click the banner ad at the top of this page.)

It wasn’t feeling a lot like Christmas in Los Angeles, what with 80-degree temperatures and all the fires raging.

The sprinkling of grey ash that covered my rental car wasn’t quite the same as a fresh white snowfall. Fortunately, I avoided having to pay extra for that, and I avoided getting towed away at the hotel, where the sign above warned guests not to leave their car in the check-in area.

After ten days on the road — counting a side trip to northern California where I got to meet America’s first cloned dog — I was ready to come home, even with predictions of snow. You might even say I was counting the mimutes.

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.

Pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation in Virginia are now gracing the labels of wine bottled by a Southern California winery.

Georgia, Handsome Dan, Curly and other pit bulls rescued from the ring and sent to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, are featured on a line of boutique red wines from Carivintas Winery, a company that combines wine-selling with philanthropy.

The Vicktory Dogs Wine Collection features colorful portraits of 22 dogs confiscated from Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels that now live at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah.

Each bottle includes a portrait of one of the dogs on the label. On the back, instead of a description of the wine, there’s a brief story about each four-legged friend, according to an Associated Press story.

Read more »

“Best In Show” the documentary-style send-up of the dog show crowd, will be shown at the Charles Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 12th in a benefit for Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

Tickets are available for $50, and the ticket price includes movie snacks and drinks. Paper tickets will not be issued, but there will be a master list of guests at the door. The event starts at 6 p.m., with the movie starting at 7 p.m.

To order, send a check (with “movie” written in the memo section) to BARCS, c/o Debbie Cameron, 149 W. Montgomery St., Baltimore, MD 21230. Be sure to include your phone number and e-mail address.

The clip above features one of my favorite lines in the movie: “We could not talk or talk forever, and still find things to not talk about.”

If it’s your dog, and you log in to ohmidog! and send us a comment, you are the lucky winner of an official limited (very, very limited) edition ohmidog! sweatshirt.

Hooded, no less.

At Saturday’s BARCStoberfest, ohmidog! (that’s our booth above) offered photos inside the “o” for a $1 contribution to BARCS Franky Fund, which provides emergency medical care for sick and injured animals. In the days ahead, those photos will be appearing atop our website.

We’ll be featuring four different dogs in the “o” — off an on — over the next two weeks, at which time our website’s banner ad will return to its normal money-making function. (Contact us if you’re interested in that.)

Meantime, spot your dog, log in, and leave a comment — something as simple as “Hey, that’s my dog, where’s my sweatshirt?” – and you’ll get a sweatshirt.

(In addition to that, you’ll need to send us an email, muttsblog@verizon.net, stating your name, mailing address and size.)

Be sure and use the same email address you used when you signed in to have your dog’s photo taken in the “o” (at BARCStoberfest on Saturday).

     Rescue groups, dogs in costume and the Orioles mascot were just a few of the sights to be seen at yesterday’s BARCStoberfest at Patterson Park.
     The annual fundraising event is held by Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

Ace’s Kissing Booth (and Dog Breath Emporium) drew more than a few takers at yesterday’s BARCSstoberfest at Patterson Park and, at $1 a smooch, helped the ohmidog! booth raise $75 for BARCS “Franky Fund.”

The Franky Fund helps sick and injured animals at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) get the emergency medical care they need so they can be put up for adoption.

Nearly a dozen adventurous humans bellied up to the booth for a kiss from Ace, an act we ensured would take place by smearing a little peanut butter on their noses. (Ace was adopted from BARCS three years ago.)

We’ll have more photos from BARCStoberfest tomorrow — and if your dog is the one pictured in the ohmidog! “O,” you can leave a comment and win an ohmidog! sweatshirt.

You should be at BARCStoberfest.

That’s where we are — at Patterson Park, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Get your dog and go.

And don’t forget to stop by the ohmidog! booth — for free goodies (courtesy of Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe, K-9 Kraving Dog Food and Love of Dog Bakery), Ace’s (at your own risk) Kissing Booth and Dog Breath Emporium, exciting carnival-like games (except you don’t get ripped off), and a chance to get your dog in ohimdog!, both literally and online.

All money raised by the ohmidog! booth is going to the Franky Fund for sick and injured animals at BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter).

     You can strut your mutt, lug your pug or carry you Cairn. You can festoon your dachsund, decorate your doberman or gussy up your Great Dane. Maybe, for a fee, you can even kiss my Ace.

     When you think about it, there is no good reason not to show up for BARCStoberfest Saturday at Patterson Park.

    The big annual fundraising event for Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) kicks off at 11 a.m. (Rain date is Sunday.)  From its always popular costume contest, to a one-mile “Strut your Mutt” fund-raising walk (new this year), this year’s BARCStoberfest promises to be loaded with fun, freebies, prizes, spectacles and useful information – and it’s all aimed at helping homeless pets in Baltimore.

     As an official sponsor of BARCStoberfest, ohmidog! will have a booth at the event, occupied by Ace and me. The ohmidog! booth will be handing out home-baked dog goodies, while supplies last, from three of our advertisers — Love of Dog Bakery, K-9 Kraving and Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe.

     If that weren’t enough, the ohmidog! booth will also be featuring at least two exciting, carnival-like game that tests your skills (one involves tennis balls and the “o” in ohmidog!), an opportunity to have your dog’s photo taken (also involving the “o” in ohmidog!), and — unless the health department poo-poos my idea — a chance to let my dog lay one on you at Ace’s Kissing Booth and Dogbreath Emporium.

     In addition to providing my booth with free treats, Love of Dog Bakery, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month, has designated BARCS as its official charity of the month, meaning 5 percent of all of the company’s online sales in October will go to the shelter.

     Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe also has a long relationship with BARCS. On the last Saturday of every month, one of BARCS’ adoptable dogs is a guest at the store on Light Street in Federal Hill.

     My dog Ace has a connection, too — BARCS is where he ended up three years ago after being found roaming the streets of Baltimore.

    He was one of about 11,000 pets that pass through BARCS each year.

     Supporting BARCStoberfest will lead to more happy endings, for more dogs (not to mention humans). BARCS is raising money to improve its facilities, hire additional staff and help more homeless animals.

    All money raised at the ohmidog! booth will go to BARCS’ “Franky Fund,” which provides medical attention for seriously sick or injured animals that come to the facility.

     Because BARCS lacks the funding for expensive, specialized treatment of homeless pets, they are the ones that most often are euthanized. The Franky Fund helps provide the medical treatment that can lead to the animal getting adopted instead.

     BARCStoberfest runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the “Strut Your Mutt” walk from noon to 3 p.m.