ohmidog!

Ex-Boyfriend, the Baltimore-based apparel and accessory company that regularly donates 5 percent of its profits to area animal welfare groups, is hoping to pour more money into the cause in the month ahead.

Until April 17, the company will be donating 100 percent of proceeds from the sale of its line of keychain/bottle openers to local shelters and rescue organizations.

Ex-Boyfriend established the Sadie Fund after the death of company owner Matt Snow’s cat in 2008, donating 5 percent of net profits to animal advocacy groups.

In honor of April being Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, Snow says, the company will donate 100% of the profits generated by the sale of its new keychain bottle openers. The openers feature a selection of our designs, cost $6.50 and will be shipped for free through April 17th.

Ex-Boyfriend also offers a Cute Critters line of T-shirts (human and doggie), featuring Groucho Barks, Neil Arfstrong,  Chow Guevara, Fuzz Aldrin, Pirate Kitty, DJ Kitty (above).

Koozie, an 8-year-old mix-breed was rescued — and then re-rescued — from icy Lake Erie in New York. Monday.

After wandering away from her owner’s home outside Buffalo, she was spotted Monday night about 30 miles away, trapped on the ice off Westfield.

An Erie County Sheriff’s Department helicopter was summoned, but the rescue effort was put off until yesterday, when a crew member was lowered in a basket and plucked Koozie from the ice.

After being brought to shore, the dog immediately trotted back out onto the ice and had to be rescued a second time by the helicopter crew, according to the Associated Press.

She was checked out by a veterinarian and returned to her owner.

Champ, a four-year-old German Shepherd mix, was shot five times while protecting his family’s home in south Los Angeles.

Despite that, his owners no longer want him.

On Feb. 27th, Champ was shot by an intruder, leaving the dog with a broken jaw bone, nerve problems, a bullet entry under his eye, and wounds covering his neck, shoulder, and abdomen, KTLA reported.

Champ was kept as evidence while the intrusion case was pending, and was scheduled to be euthanized because his owners declined to get him the costly medical care he needed.

That’s when Coastal German Shepherd Rescue stepped in. The rescue group picked Champ up Friday and transported him to their veterinarian team at Alicia Pet Care Center, where his medical needs are being further assessed, said Tiffany Norton.

Veterinarians say he will likely not suffer any long term medical problems from the shooting.

Norton says that Champ’s medical bills are adding up and her organization is asking for help to save pay them. Coastal German Shepherd Rescue is also looking for someone to adopt Champ after he recovers.

“It’s gonna be a really special person who’s gonna bring him into their home,” Norton said. “Really right now, we’re looking for someone with a big heart who wants to support Champ.”

To foster, adopt, or donate to Champ’s medical fund, visit the Coastal German Shepherd Rescue’s website.

A major expansion of the adoption center at the Maryland SPCA was announced last week.

“We need facilities to reflect the changes that have enabled us to adopt out every healthy pet in our adoption program for the last two-and-a-half years,” Mary-Ann Pinkard, board president, said at the March 11 reception where the announcement was made.

The expansion will include creation of the Morton Gorn Center for Animal Adoption, a new area for adoption interviews, a waiting area, office space and two “animal showcases” for dog and cat housing of “long-timers” to promote their adoption.

A new animal intake center, separate from the adoption area, is also planned, including spaces to  assess animal behavior and a dog exam room.

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer, and work is expected to be completed within six months.

Other projects announced will be an expanded cat room, fire safety improvements, and improved accessibility.

The new adoption center is being named in memory of Morton Gorn, a real estate developer who cherished his dogs and his horses. The gift to name the center in his memory was made by his widow, Arlene Gorn, who was introduced to the Maryland SPCA by her daughter, Karen Colvin.

“Mrs. Gorn and the Colvins motivated and inspired us to move forward with this project at a time when many people were pulling back because of the economy,” said Aileen Gabbey, SPCA executive director. “Their generosity was an important cornerstone to making this project happen.”

The project is estimated to cost $1.8 million.

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 stray South Bronx mutt who was “discovered” in a shelter and went on to appear in the hit musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” is enjoying his retirement in a posh home on the upper West Side.

Found wandering the streets as an 8-month-old pup, Fred landed at an ASPCA shelter in New York in early 2005. 

There Bill Berloni, a theatrical animal agent who has trained stray dogs for Broadway shows for more than 30 years, found Fred, took him home and spent a year working with the dog.

Berloni, who also is a behavior consultant for the Humane Society of New York – a no-kill shelter that supports rescued animals — took Fred, a terrier mix, to try out against dozens of other canine hopefuls at the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” auditions.

The New York Daily News recounted Fred’s “wags to riches” story in an article today.

When the show closed in 2006, Berloni arranged for Fred (third from the left in the photo) to be adopted by Chris Grabenstein and his wife, J.J. Myers.

Grabenstein, an author of adult mysteries and childrens’ ghost stories, has created a character based on him. The couple also built a rooftop dog area, where Fred can continue to enjoy the bright lights of the big city.

We told you at the beginning of this week about Ella, a young pup found wandering in Dundalk who was scooped up by a good samaritan.

We’re happy to report at the end of the week that Ella has a new home, in Baltimore’s Riverside neighborhood.

An employee of K-9 Kraving found the dog not far from her home. After knocking on doors in the area, and finding no one who claimed the dog, she took her home, with plans to drop her by a shelter.

When a friend offered to care for the five-month-old pup until a home was found, Ella, as she’d been dubbed by then, was brought to South Baltimore, stopping by my house on the way for a quick photo session.

After her photo and story appeared on ohmidog!, and was picked up by other blogs and spread on Facebook, a Riverside resident — deeming Ella too cute to pass up — contacted Ella’s foster mom.

He met Ella earlier this week, and planned to pick her up today to bring her to her new home, where she will be known as Lily.

Now, if only Miley could be that lucky.

 
A persistent dachschund saved a Washington family from a potentially damaging fire in their mobile home Sunday.

A 3-year-old dachshund named JoJo — who the family took home after finding him as a stray — is being credited for trying to shove 11-year-old Kalen Huntley out of her bed and alerting her parents to an electrical fire smoldering behind an outlet on her bedroom wall.

“Our dog saved our house,” Diane Urquhart, who lives in a mobile home park in Kennewick with her husband, Colt, and four of their five children, told the Tri-City Herald.

The couple and three of the kids were home early Sunday when JoJo, who normally sleeps in their daughter Kalen’s room, began repeatedly coming out the room and approaching the adults.

“He came out to see us four times, then kept going back into our daughter’s room,” Mrs. Urquhart said. On top of that, his ears weren’t in their happy position, she said.

“These ears we did not recognize,” she said. “And his face, if a dog can look worried, he looked worried.”

When she went into her daughter’s room, she smelled burning rubber and saw the dog nudging her sleeping daughter with his nose.

They called 911, and got everybody out of the house, taking their two cats and JoJo.

Urquhart said the wall at the head of her daughter’s bed was hot. Firefighters told the family the outlet, which had a lamp and alarm clock plugged into it, was minutes away from catching fire. When the family removed the outlet the next day, one side of it was scorched.

(Click here for all of the Wiener Awards.)

(Photo: Courtesy of Tri-City Herald)

 
As fearless, outspoken, and in your face as they portray themselves, you’d think the gang at Rescue Ink would be a little more forthcoming about whatever it is that is going on within the organization, where, by some accounts, nearly half of the members — representing God only knows how many tattoos — have pulled out.

Instead, other than a vaguely worded official statement, they’ve left it up to their fans to figure out just who has left, and why.

Despite the continuing success of their National Geographic Channel TV show, and a recently released book, there are reports — mostly on Facebook — that four members have left the organization and the TV show, pretty much in unison, to pursue other interests.

The only official confirmation I could find was a statement by Rescue Ink member Mary Fayet posted on the group’s Facebook page of Joe Panz:

“Rescue Ink is an ever evolving animal rescue organization dedicated to battling animal abuse and neglect and assisting other animal-welfare agencies and shelters do the same. With much regret, we announce that some participants of Rescue Ink have chosen to depart the organization and as such we wish these departing members the best of luck in their future endeavors and thank them for their countless hours of dedication promoting the mission of Rescue Ink.

“Please be assured, however, that Rescue Ink, thanks to our founding members, countless dedicated recruits and volunteers’ remains stronger than ever and will continue to promote the Rescue Ink mission.”

The statement doesn’t say who has left. But, from what I can gather from the Facebook pages of Rescue Ink’s original members at least four – Eric, Angel, Robert and Batso — have departed.

Batso Maccharoli reports on his Facebook page: “THE INK OF RESCUE INK, THE ELDEST AND ORIGINAL MEMBER BATSO, HAS FLOWN THE COOP. I have decided to no longer be affiliated with Rescue Ink. I will continue to keep balance and harmony in my life by doing what I love most – helping.”

Rescue Ink, a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Long Island, formed officially in 2008, and their TV show, “Rescue Ink: Unleashed,” premiered last year.

Art for the Animals, an exhibit benefiting Recycled Love has its official opening Saturday (Feb. 20) at  Gallery @ 32nd & Chestnut in Hampden.

The opening, postponed earlier due to the snow, will run from 6 to 11 p.m., and includes a silent auction, food, beverages and live music.

Presented  by Diversiform, the exhibit features works by artists Matt Bovie, KT Howard, Sandra Jones, Landis Expandis, Carly McKague, Nick Schauman and Kelly Walker.

More information is available at the event’s Facebook page