ohmidog!

An Arizona man rang in 2012 with the happy news that the dog he lost a month ago while traveling through Montana has been found.

And, given it’s “National Pet Travel Safety Day” — yes, really — what better time to share that news.

Phil Nichols, 79, was heading back to Arizona from Helena, Montana, on Nov. 28 when he discovered his 6-year-old Lab mix, Buddy, was missing.

Buddy rode in the camper in the bed of Nichols’ pickup — and we won’t debate the safety of that practice here. He was in the camper, Nichols said, when he stopped for gas in Dillon. But on his next stop, Idaho Falls, he checked and found Buddy was gone.

Nichols drove 150 miles back to Dillon and spent a day and a half searching before heading, doglessly, back to Arizona.

In Pocatello, Idaho, Nichols, cut off by another car, hit a guardrail and rolled his vehicle. He wasn’t seriously injured, but the camper was crushed. Nichols wonders if Buddy somehow had a “sixth sense” about the accident and got out of the camper — though he doesn’t know how — before it was too late.

“I think the dog has more brains than I do,” said Nichols, who adopted Buddy from an animal shelter.

One month after Buddy’s disappearance, back in Montana, animal control officers got a  call Thursday about a wounded stray dog in the Buxton area, about 10 miles southwest of Butte, according to the Billings Gazette.

Animal control officer Charlie Dick responded, spending 45 minutes coaxing the limping dog toward him with treats, before snagging him.

The dog was emaciated, had scratches on his face, and a wounded rear foot. In addition to freezing temperatures, and having to survive in the wild, Buddy had been shot with BB’s, X-rays by a veterinarian revealed.

“What a little survivor,” Dick said. ” He was out there a long time.”

Animal control was able to locate and contact Buddy’s owner through a lost dog ad on Craigslist, which had been posted by Nichols’ daughter in Helena.

Nichols said he plans to reunite with Buddy once the vet pronounces the dog ready to leave, but that he may call his dog before then.

“I just want them to put the phone to his ear and let him hear my voice,” Nichols said. “I think that would make him feel better.”

(Photo: Buddy and Nichols before they got separated)

Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS) is waiving the $65 adoption fee for selected dogs and cats for the entire month of March.

Dogs and cats that can be adopted for free will be identified at the shelter with a basketball sticker on their cages.

Included in the adoption fee are spay/neuter surgery; vaccinations for rabies, DHLPP and bordatella for dogs or FVRCP for cats; de-worming, a flea preventative, a general examination, a food sample, and a month of free health insurance. Baltimore City residents will have to pay a $10 license fee.

In addition to waiving some fees, BARCS will be offering microchipping for $20 per pet – only $5 for those who were adopted at BARCS.

BARCS is the largest shelter in Baltimore and the surrounding area, taking in over 11,000 animals each year.

More information about animals available for adoption may be found at the BARCS website. BARCS located at 301 Stockholm Street, across from the M&T Bank Stadium, and is open for adoptions Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Baltimore area animal shelters have one week to go in their race to place 500 cats in adoptive homes by the end of the month — and so far they are on target to make the goal.

“It is so wonderful to see the people of the Baltimore area opening their hearts and homes to cats and kittens during this campaign,” said Jennifer Mead-Brause, executive director of Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter (BARCS). “We still have plenty of wonderful cats and kittens who need new homes. This is the best time to consider adoption. And if you already have a cat and kitten, this is the very best time to adopt a playmate for him or her.”

During the month of June, cat and kitten adoption fees are being waived at BARCS, the Maryland SPCA, and the Baltimore Humane Society.

From June 1 through 21 Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) and the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MD SPCA) adopted out 344 cats. Information about the campaign is available at Baltimore500.org.

Adoption fees for cats and kittens are being waived for the entire month, and six local veterinary clinics are offering free exams for cats and kittens adopted at participating shelters in June.

Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is running a  “Love is in Bloom” adoption special through May. Every Sunday this month, adoption fees will be reduced from $65 to just $5 for any animal.

BARCS is also looking for some foster homes for kittens and cats, which, this being spring, are showing up at the shelter in extreme numbers.

BARCS says it is particularly desperate for foster homes for motherless kittens who need to be bottle fed. No experience is necessary, and training will be provided.

If you can help, contact BARCS at 410-396-4695, or email Debra Rahl (debra.rahl@baltimorecity.gov) or Frank Branchini (frank.branchini@baltimorecity.gov).

There are plenty of other ways to help out BARCS, short of taking home an animal. Among the items BARCS gladly accepts donations of are: Leashes, (6 feet long, 1″ thick, nylon), collars, cat litter (no-clumping), toys (without catnip), cardboard box lids (like those from cases of food/paper for use as disposable litter pans), paper towels, dish detergent, bleach, 32-gallon heavy-duty trash bags, hoses, gauze, alcohol, distilled water, latex gloves, peroxide, hand sanitizer, copy paper, laminating sheets and index cards (3 x 5).