ohmidog!

Here’s an ending almost too happy to be believed.

Three years ago, a Washington man surrendered his family dog, a five-year-old shepherd mix named Haley, to the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County.

An unspecified family crisis forced the family to give up the dog, the humane society said.

Though gone, she was not forgotten. The father still kept photos of the dog on his iphone, and his daughter, now 12, was, still missing and talking about the dog they had said goodbye to years earlier.

This week, with their crisis averted and the family having decided to get another dog, the father dropped by the Tacoma Humane Society to look at potential adoptees. Though it’s not uncommon for shelter dogs to start jumping and yapping when people come by, one dog went particularly crazy when the father approached, staff members say.

Taking a closer look, the father was shocked to see that the dog making all the noise was — you guessed it — Haley!

As it turns out, Haley, after being surrendered by the family, was adopted in 2007, but the family that adopted her the second time had so much trouble with her continually running away they’d returned her, just a few days ago.

The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County, which related the story on their  Facebook page, said the dog and her original family are now reunited.

A dog seen wandering around Danville, Virginia last week with a plastic container stuck over his head — in the fashion of a spaceman or deep sea diver — has been captured and relieved of his involuntary helmet.

A police officer captured the dog Friday morning, after a resident spotted him and called for help.

He’s now in the custody of the the Danville Humane Society, which has named him “Jughead.”

The Humane Society had been trying to catch “Jughead” all week because the plastic container — similar to one cheese puffs might come in — was preventing him from eating or drinking. They’d offered a $500 reward to anyone who could capture him.

Danville Police Officer Mike Smith captured the dog Friday after a woman spotted him resting on a porch on Colquhoun Street, the Danville News reported.

“He was eager to drink. He seems to be doing better now. He seems to have come around a little bit. He was very scared and very shy when we first saw him but he seems to be doing better now, Danville Humane Society Director Paulette Dean said.

The Humane Society says it will put Jughead — believed to be a pit bull-chow mix, about four years old — up for adoption if no owner is found.

Dean said Jughead wasn’t the first animal to get entrapped in litter. The society has had cases of stray cats, a fox and a raccoon getting their head stuck in containers.

“There are dangers of littering,” she said. “People need to keep their trash contained.”

And their dogs, too.

A black Lab named Felony who worked for the police department in Howard Lake, Minnesota, escaped from his kennel, ended up at the local humane society and, after getting labeled aggressive, was euthanized.

Felony, 10 years old and nearing the end of his police career as a drug sniffer, was discovered missing on October 30 when a police officer arrived to pick him up for work.

Police immediately called the Wright County Humane Society. The dog wasn’t there. But he did end up there a day later when a Howard Lake resident found him and called the local dog catcher, KARE11 in the Twin Cities reported.

“Our officer contacted the Animal Humane Society on Friday evening shortly after contacting the dog catcher, said Chief Tracy Vetruba. “Unfortunately, at that time the dog catcher still had the dog, who he did not believe was our dog, and it ‘was’ our dog.”

With no tags or microchip on the dog,  a spokesperson for the Animal Humane Society said workers had no idea Felony was a K-9 officer. Felony was placed on a 5-day mandatory hold, during which he demonstrated aggressive behavior. Tests determined that he was dangerous and unadoptable, and Felony was euthanized, the humane society says.

“Our officers were devastated to learn that he was put down,” said Cheif Vetruba. “He will absolutely be missed by our officers.”

Howard Lake’s police chief will look into the events that led to Felony’s death as part of a larger examination of the department’s K-9 program, and he hopes to get a new dog for the department.

Here’s a look inside the cavernous warehouse in St. Louis that has served as the emergency shelter for the hundreds of dogs seized in this summer’s massive five-state dog-fighting raid — the largest in U.S. history.

The Humane Society of Missouri, at one point, was sheltering more than 400 dogs, and 100 newly born puppies, at the emergency shelter, the first public access to which was granted last week to the Associated Press.

More than 120 of the seized pit bulls have been placed in foster homes, but about that many still remain in the temporary shelter. Another 160 dogs were put down because of injuries, illness or behavior.

“They are not a vicious animal. They are the victims of abuse,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations for the Humane Society of Missouri. “That face and their eyes tell the story. They only want to be in someone’s home, on a couch, or sleeping at someone’s feet, maybe chew up a rug or two for entertainment. They’re learning for the first time how to be a dog.”

Animal behaviorist Pamela Reid, who was part of the team that evaluated the dogs, said a surprising two-thirds tested well for nonaggression and adoptability. She’s fostering one puppy, although one of her favorite dogs had to be euthanized because he showed aggression toward men.

Dozens of rescued dogs — among the 400 pit bulls that were rescued in July in the largest dog fighting bust in U.S. history — left St. Louis yesterday morning for new homes across the country, Fox2 News in St. Louis reported.

The dogs were brought to the Humane Society in July after being seized in a five-state raid that led to nearly 30 arrests.

Twenty-six of the pit bulls left in the morning to be dropped off at adoptive homes in Utah, Oregon and California.

Another 31 dogs were leaving St. Louis yesterday for homes on the east coast.

The Atlanta Humane Society added $5,000 to the reward  for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot and killed a Griffin Police Department German Shepherd.

The dog’s handler, Griffin police Cpl. Chad Moxon, and his family had already put up $1,000 , according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Moxon discoverd Jimi, the police dog, and his own dog, Yeager, missing from their kennel at his home in Lamar County last week.

Moxon said he searched all Monday night and most of Tuesday night for the dogs, handing out about 300 flyers. On Wednesday morning he received a call about a German shepherd found dead in a ditch. It turned out to be Jimi. The 3-year-old dog was shot in the side with a shotgun and dumped there. 

“I just sat down in the ditch for the next 30 minutes. I didn’t have the energy to get him out,” Moxon said.

Shortly after he got home a neighbor called with the news that Yeager had been found, badly beaten, but alive.

“Hes still at home recovering,” Moxon said of his 2-year-old dog, also a German Shepherd. ” I’m hoping he’ll recover in the next few days.”

A Sunday fire at the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Killeen, Texas, killed 99 cats and 12 dogs.

Volunteers on MOnday descended upon the shelter, operated by the Centex Humane Society, to help clean and repair the facility, which is expected to be closed for at least two weeks.

The fire started around 1:30 a.m. Sunday and was reported by a passing driver. It was quickly extinguished, according to the Killeen Daily Herald. No animals were burned. Instead, the fire’s smoke killed all the animals.

The  fire remains under investigation, but it is believed to have started in or near a kitchen close to the building’s entrance. Only one dog and two cats in the front of the building survived the fire. The dog, a 2-year-old Pomeranian named Shirley, had been struck by a car two weeks ago when she darted into the street after she escaped from a volunteer during a walk.

She and the other surviving animals were transported to foster care in private homes and at other shelters.

“They are like your kids after awhile,” said Dana Ingram, a kennel technician. “I know all the ones that passed away. It was very hard.”

More than 60 volunteers from Fort Hood and local churches crowded the shelter Monday. Many volunteers covered their faces with masks to avoid the smell of smoke that lingered in the hallways. The cleanup began Sunday when almost 100 people responded.

 
The tough tattooed guys from Rescue Ink are coming to Baltimore.

At the urging of Jill Rosen, author of the Baltimore Sun’s “Unleashed” blog, more than 100 Baltimore residents  pledged to get tattoos if the motley but warm-hearted crew of the National Geographic Channel program would visit Baltimore.

Appropriately enough, they’ll be making their appearance on Pit Bull Awareness Day, Sunday, Oct. 25, teaming up with the Baltimore Humane Society and B-More Dog to hold a rally against animal cruelty.

The day before — Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – will be the Tattoo-a-thon, sponsored by Baltimore Tattoo Museum, 1534 Eastern Avenue. The shop says it will try to accommodate all of those who pledged to go under the needle, operating on a first come, first served basis. Proceeds from the Tattoo-a-thon will benefit both the Baltimore Humane Society and Rescue Ink.

The party continues on Sunday from 12 p.m. to  4 p.m. at the Baltimore Humane Society, 1601 Nicodemus Road, when Rescue Ink will be on hand to celebrate Pit Bull Awareness Day and to rally people against animal cruelty. B-More Dog will also be on hand to conduct demonstrations and speak on responsible pet ownership practices.

For more information call 410-833-8848 or visit www.baltimorehumane.org

There’s a new national campaign underway aimed at increasing the rate of shelter pet adoption in the US.

Every year, of the 8 million dogs and cats that enter animal shelters, 3 million of them are euthanized.

The new campaign, called the Shelter Pet Project (SPP), is sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund, and the Ad Council. It’s aim is to reverse the trend through education and public service announcements, and find more homes for homeless pets.

Specifically, it plans to give shelter pets an image make over — and clear up any misconception that abandoned animals are more unpredictable, or prone to illness or bad behavior.

We know how wrong that conception is, but apparently not everybody does, so the Shelter Pet Project, with help from a talking dog, is out to set the record straight.

The project has created an interactive website that has some great pet adoption resources, Pet Personals and an Adopt-A-Grams. We’ve added them to our list of non-profit rescue and shelter organizations. (See our rightside rail).

The Philadelphia Eagles — as if to make amends for hiring a convicted dogfighter — have announced a half million dollar effort to reduce the abuse of animals, promote responsible adoption, encourage spaying and neutering and put an end to dog fighting through increased public education and awareness.

Eagles owner Christina Lurie and Eagles president Joe Banner announced the initiative yesterday. It was described as a half million dollar commitment to support animal welfare organizations. An Eagles press release on the campaign made no mention of Michael Vick, who the Eagles signed as quarterback after completion of his federal prison sentence for dogfighting.

As part of the new effort, the Eagles will donate $50,000 each to the Humane Society of the United States’ anti-dogfighting  program, a low cost spay and neuter facility operated by the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, and the Berks County Humane Society in support of its new mobile veterinary clinic.

The Eagles also announced they will coordinate a TAWK (Treating Animals With Kindness) series that brings animal experts to local schools, a public service announcement campaign involving Eagles players and a website with information and updates about the TAWK program, and information about animal welfare issues.