ohmidog!

Singer Patti Page has re-recorded her classic hit, “How Much is that Doggie in the Window?” in hopes that a more politically correct version — “Do You See That Doggie in the Shelter?” — will steer the public away from puppy mills dogs.

The 81-year-old Page, whose autobiography, “This is My Song,” comes out next month, originally recorded “How Much is That Doggie” in 1952.

The re-recorded tune, she says, is an effort to bring attention to the plight of shelter dogs awaiting adoption and the deplorable conditions in puppy mills that supply dogs to some pet stores.

The new lyrics were written by Page’s publicist, Sanford Brokaw, and Chris Gantry, composer of the 1968 Glen Campbell classic, “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife.”

The first live performance of the song, during its recording, was played to an audience that included three rescued Bassett hounds and a rescued Italian Greyhound.

Page says she hopes that when people now hear the old familiar “Doggie” melody, they’ll think about homeless animals and animal shelters instead of pet stores and puppy mills.

A 12-year veteran of the Columbus, Ohio fire department is under investigation for allegedly shooting and killing his two dogs.

Dave Santuomo is accused of shooting the animals several times and dumping their remains in a Dumpster outside his fire station, 10TV in Columbus reported. An anonymous tip led officers from the Capital Area Humane Society to the Dumpster, behind Station 27, where they found two bloody bags containing the dogs’ bodies. 

Investigators believe Santuomo killed the dogs inside his home, and were looking into reports that Santuomo strung the dogs up on a beam in his basement before shooting them.

“This is a very grave, very horrific situation,” said Kerry Manion of the Capital Area Humane Society.  “We’re treating it very seriously.” Read more »

Authorities seized 127 dogs from an apparent dogfighting operation in western North Carolina and arrested the man who wrote the book on raising fighting dogs — or at least a book.

Officials of the Humane Society of the United States said Thursday that three arrests were made during the raid at Wildside Kennels in McGrady, N.C., which was the culmination of a three-year  investigation by the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, Wilkes County Animal Control agency and HSUS.

One of the men arrested, Wildside Kennels owner Ed Faron, is a known pit bull breeder and an influential figure in underground dogfighting, HSUS said. He co-wrote The Complete Gamedog: A Guide to Breeding and Raising the American Pit Bull Terrier, which includes graphic, supposedly fictional accounts of dogfight injuries.

More information about the kennel can be found on its website.

Faron and the other two men were each charged with felony counts of dogfighting and baiting; additional charges are pending.

Authorities found suspected dogfighting paraphernalia on the property and seized 127 dogs. Several dogs had scars consistent with dogfighting, according to an HSUS report.

“The raid of this suspected dogfighting operation is the culmination of an extensive investigation, and dogfighters everywhere should worry that they could be next,” said Chris Schindler, deputy manager of animal fighting law enforcement for HSUS.

It is a felony to possess a dog for the purpose of dogfighting in North Carolina. Those involved in illegal dogfighting can receive four to 10 months in prison.

(Photo: Ed Faron, from Wildside Kennels myspace page)

Jiffy the border collie mix is safe and warm and temporarily residing at a Wisconsin humane society after spending last Wednesday night frozen to the sidewalk outside his home.

The dog, 11-years-old and 70 pounds overweight, was let outside by his owner. Neighbors say she tried to get him up from the sidewalk but couldn’t, TV station WTOL reported. So she left him there.

After a concerned neighbor called police the next morning, shelter workers arrived and poured warm water over Jiffy’s back end to unstick him from the sidewalk, said Carey Payne of the Sheboygan County Humane Society.

Jiffy’s 59-year-old owner was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of animal neglect, Sheboygan Police Lt. Tim Eirich said. The woman, who was not identified by name, told police she checked on him every few hours.

The dog’s extra weight might have kept him alive, officials at the humane society said. The dog weighs 116 pounds–70 pounds more than he should.

“I think the extra layer of fat he has kept him insulated,” Payne said. The organization has received about a half dozen calls from people who want to adopt him.

A husband and wife who both worked at the Humane Society in Flagler County, Florida have been arrested after police found photographs of them having sex with animals and a 14-year-old girl, according to TV station WESH in Orlando.

Flagler Humane Society director Donna Howard was speechless and sickened when she was handed a compact disc full of photographs showing an employee of nine years, Carla Maldonado, 40, engaged in sex acts with at least one or possibly two dogs. The animals were ones Maldonado had adopted from the shelter.

Authorities say the photos were taken by Maldonado’s husband, David, who had also once worked at the humane society.

“To see her in that position with her own dogs, that were adopted here – it’s disgusting,” said Howard.

Police said there were also photos of Carla Maldonado performing lewd acts with a 14-year-old girl — apparently a runaway the couple had become acquainted with — in 2005.

The couple’s dogs are still at the Maldonado’s Palm Coast home, being cared for by a relative. The Humane Society would like to take custody but they have no legal standing.

“I’m still sitting here wondering what is going to happen to those animals. And how many more times has it been done and what kind of damage that has been done,” said Howard.

America’s largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores, Petland Inc., is also the nation’s largest retail supporter of puppy mills, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

An eight-month investigation by the HSUS reveals that many Petland stores across the country are marketing puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers. There are more than 200 Petland stores worldwide, with about 140 in the U.S., and they sell tens of thousands of puppies each year.

Many of the puppies sold at Petland stores come from massive commercial breeders in Missouri and other Midwestern states, where hundreds of breeding dogs are packed into cramped, barren cages, the HSUS says.

The HSUS is urging people to contact Petland’s corporate headquarters to ask Petland to stop selling puppy mill puppies.

The Baltimore County Humane Society’s most ambitious celebration of dogs ever is just four days away — DogFest 2008, a day-long event that will see an an anticipated 3,000 or more humans and their dogs descend on Shawan Downs in Cockeysville.

Saturday’s fest combines two former humane society events into one.

“The community is very familiar and supportive of our past events called Bark in the Park and Paws on Parade,” said Andrew Levine, DogFest coordinator. “However, these grew into such large events that we needed to expand to a larger location and merge them together.”

Bark in the Park includes games and contests for dogs, with events like “Dog Bowling,” ”Musical Sit & Stay” and contests for ”Best Kisser” and “Best Tail Wagger.”

Paws on Parade is a 1 1/8-mile course owners can walk with their dogs around the Shawan Downs track. The entry fee for the walk is $30 per person.

Also new this year is the  “5K-9 Fun Run,” where owners can run a grass track with their dogs, with prizes going to those who collect the most pledge money for the run.

If that’s not enough, the eventn will also feature, Poe, the Raven’s mascot, Ravens cheerleaders and a classic car show, all included in the admission price.

“The event is really a big celebration for dogs because they bring so much happiness to their owners and families,” Levine said. “They are so loyal and dedicated to people and are considered as family members in most households.”

The festival’s purpose is to raise funds for the organziation and raise awareness. Local animal rescue groups will be on hand promoting pet adoptions.

The entrance fee, if you are not participating in the Paws on Parade Walk or 5K-9 Fun Run, is $20 per carload. Dogs on leashes are welcome. Retractable leashes are not permitted.

For more information, visit www.dogfest2008.org

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.”

Read more »

 

 On a trip this week to do some book research, I stopped for a visit at the Avery County Humane Society, up in the mountains of western North Carolina, and came across a pup who looked like a miniature version of my dog, Ace.

Ace, as you regulars know, is 130 pounds, a chow-Rottweiler mix (according to a DNA test) who’s so tall I can rest my hand on his back when we go for a walk.

Peanut, one of about 40 dogs at the shelter, was a mini-Ace — same face, same coat, same coloring, same floppy ears, same soulful eyes — but on bassett hound legs.

Seven months old, he was brought into the shelter because his owners lost their home to foreclosure, and had to move in with the in-laws.

The staff at the shelter was kind enough to let me play with him, and snap a few pictures.

The shelter was the cleanest I’ve ever seen — as pristine as the mountains in which it is nestled, and while the director wasn’t there, the youthful staff (none appeared to be over 21) seemed to have things well in hand.

Tempted I was to bring Ace home a little brother, reason won out (we’ve still got that newly arrived cat, after all) and I left Peanut behind, knowing he’s in good hands and hoping he’ll find a good home.

Best Friends Animal Society was among the animal welfare organizations lending a hand in shutting down the West Virginia puppy mill from which 1,000 dogs were removed over the weekend.

According to an article on its web site, the Utah-based organization had been working with the Parkersburg Humane Society since May, when the agency called for assistance in the case.

Best Friends says it also advised the Wood County prosecutor’s office in the case, and recently requested assistance from the Humane Society of the United States and other agencies to help with coordination of the operations at the local emergency shelter.

The fight against puppy mills, mass breeding operations that supply pet stores and fuel internet sales throughout the United States, is a priority initiative for Best Friends, which in the past two years led several other puppy mill busts, according to the article.

Puppy mills produce an estimated four million dogs in the U.S. each year for the pet sales market; meanwhile, an estimated six million homeless dogs and cats are killed in the U.S. each year, Best Friends points out.

The Best Friends web site also has an ongoing blog about the effort, written by one of members of the rescue team.

(Photo: Puppy at Whispering Oaks Kennels, courtesy of Best Friends)