ohmidog!

An engineer spotted a dog tied to train tracks in Riverside County, Calif., engaged the emergency braking system and was able to stop in time.

The dog’s owner, a 78-year-old man who was arrested at the scene, told authorities his family didn’t want the dog and he didn’t know what to do with him.

Union Pacific Railroad officials say the incident took place April 2.

The train’s engineer witnessed someone placing something on the tracks and, once he saw it was a dog, stopped the train in Mecca.

A Union Pacific special agent arrived, untied the 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix and detained the man, CBS in Los Angeles reported.

Charges weren’t pursued because ”the man appeared to be confused, or senile and didn’t fully understand what he had done,” John Welsh of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services said in a statement.

The man was released to family members.

The dog, who was nicknamed Banjo, was taken to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms where he was examined, treated and bathed.

Anyone interested in adopting Banjo, can email: shelterinfo@rivocha.org.

Authorities are crediting a three-year-old girl’s dog with keeping her alive during a freezing night lost in a forest in Poland.

“This dog is the most important part of this story, he is a hero,” said firefighter Grzegorz Szymonowski. “It is thanks to this dog that the girl survived the night.”

Rescue workers searched for the girl, named Julia, after she wandered into the forest near her village in southwestern Poland.

Her dog drew the attention of searchers, and also likely kept her from freezing to death, according to Reuters.

The girl’s grandmother, Danuta Balak, says the dog was the girl’s best friend.

“She was with this dog all the time. She didn’t go anywhere without it. When she was with me, when I was looking after her, she constantly said, ‘Granny, the dog needs to come in the house. And she told me to cut bread and she fed it all the time.”

Julia is being treated for a mild case of frostbite.

Poisoned and buried alive, a Jack Russell terrier was unearthed in France by a man who saw the ground moving and ran to get a shovel.

Firefighters rushed the dog — named Ethan — to an animal hospital, where he is recovering, according to the Associated Press.

Sabrina Zamora, president of an animal association in Charleville-Mezieres,  125 miles northeast of Paris, said the dog was dug up by a pedestrian who noticed the ground wiggling along a lakeside pedestrian path.

Veterinarian Philippe Michon said when firemen brought the terrier to his office “he  was completely cold, he was barely breathing.”

Michon used hot water bottles to warm up Ethan’s body and hydrated him with intravenous fluids. Within 24 hours, he was back on his feet. The vet said convulsions from being poisoned may have been what led to his grave being noticed.

Ethan was identified through a microchip that also revealed he’d been buried alive on his  third birthday.

His owner told police he had given the dog away earlier, but police are continuing their investigation.

(Photo: Sabrina Zamora, president of an animal protection association, holds Ethan at Ligue Interet a la  Societe et de l’Animal; Associated Press)

Heartworm and a cancerous tumor have delayed snout surgery for Kabang, the Philippine dog that lost half her face when she stepped between two children and an oncoming motorcycle.

A veterinarian at the University of California, Davis, says both could be potentially fatal if not treated.

“Fortunately for Kabang, her disease is not very advanced,” Dr. Jane Sykes, a UC Davis infectious disease specialist, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “She has a good prognosis.”

Sykes said veterinarians will have to treat the two ailments — including chemotherapy for the tumor — and that it could be as long as six months before her snout problems can be addressed.

Donations from 20 countries financed Kabang’s trip to the U.S. Vets at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital plan at least two surgeries, one focusing on dental work and the other to close the gaping wound on her face, which, left open, could lead to infection.

But before that can happen they need to treat the heartworm and the cancerous tumor, which vets say was sexually transmitted.

Sykes said more than 90 percent of such cases are cured with chemotherapy.

Both the tumor and the heartworm are common ailments in tropical  regions where dogs run loose, as in the Philippines.

Kabang was originally found in a swamp near Zamboanga by a man who planned on feeding her to his family. But the dog bonded with Rudy Bunggal’s 11-year-old daughter and his 3-year-old niece and last year stepped between them and a motorcycle, shearing off her snout.

Kabang disappeared for two weeks after the motorcycle accident, but was greeted as a hero when she returned to Bunggal’s home.

She delivered six puppies at a local dog pound in April of this year, apparently having become pregnant during her two week disappearance.

Sykes said Kabang is “a pleasure to work with … It is wonderful that people have seen how wonderful dogs can be to human lives. … I think we owe her a service in return.”

While missing the top of her snout, Kabang is able to lap up food and water with her tongue, Sykes said, and may still be able to smell some things.

Vets are also seeking permission from her owner to spay Kabang.

Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, say they are confident they can improve the condition of Kabang, the dog who lost her snout and upper jaw when she jumped in front of a motorcycle, saving two little girls from harm.

Kabang arrived at the school from the Philippines last week, nearly a year after the accident, and was given an hour-long preliminary exam.

A mixed-breed dog, Kabang lunged in front of two girls — the daughter and niece of her owner — that were crossing a roadway in Zamboanga City. Her snout and upper jaw became caught in the motorcycle’s spokes, leaving her with only half a face.

An international campaign raised the money to bring Kabang to the United States for a consultation with veterinary reconstructive surgery specialists at UC Davis.

Vets at William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital don’t plan to fullyy reconstruct Kabang’s snout, or fit her with a prosthetic. Instead, they are attempting to close the gaping wound on her face, preventing further infections.

Kabang is expected to be at UC Davis for at least six weeks.

Veterinary surgeons Boaz Arzi and Frank Verstraete assessed Kabang’s overall condition and conducted blood and urine tests last week.

“We are pleased with what we discovered today,” Verstraete said. “We are confident we can improve her condition going forward.”

Arzi and Verstraete are consulting with Anton Mari H. Lim, Kabang’s veterinarian from the Philippines, who accompanied Kabang on the trip, to develop a treatment plan.

Kabang’s owner found her as an abandoned puppy in a paddy field, and, according to reports, initially kept the dog with the intention of feeding it to his family.

But his 11-year-old daughter and 3-year-old niece grew close to Kabang — her name means “spotty” in Visayan – and the dog became protective of them.

Arzi and Verstraete anticipate that Kabang will need at least two surgeries. The first likely would focus on dental work. The second would attempt to close the gaping wound on the dog’s face, protecting her from infection.

The veterinary hospital’s website includes background information on Kabang, and will feature updates on her progress. You can find a collection of photos of her arrival here.

(Photos: Veterinary medical student Heather Kennedy greets Kabang during an intake exam at William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at UC Davis; courtesy of UC Davis, by Gregory Urquiaga)

With donations coming in from people in 18 different countries, enough money has been raised to bring Kabang, the Philippine dog who lost her snout to save two children, to the United States for surgery.

Kabang departed for the U.S. Monday.

Veterinarian Anton Mari Lim accompanied her during the trip, GMA News reported.

Kabang, whose owners make about $3.50 a day, will receive the $20,000 surgery at the University of California, Davis.

A mixed breed street dog from Zamboanga City, Kabang suffered extensive injuries to her nose, face and upper jaw after being hit by a motorcycle last winter, leaving her with only half a snout.

Kabang reportedly “threw herself” in the path of the motorcycle, keeping it from hitting two girls, 11 an 3, who were crossing the street. Neither the girls nor the driver of the motorcycle were seriously injured.

Kabang’s snout got stuck in the motorcycle’s front wheel and the top of it was ripped off.

The wound, veterinarians say, will requires maxilla facial specialty surgery to restore function and properly close the wounds

Veterinarians, who have been giving Kabang antibiotics to slow down the infection from her wounds and vitamins to boost her immune system, says she’s in good enough shape now to undergo the surgery.

One vet in the Philipppines compared Kabang’s situation to an air conditioner without a filter.

“When you take out the whole snout you’re taking out the filter. So whatever dust, whatever germs is in the environment it goes straight into the lungs.”

A mother dog was photographed rescuing her litter of puppies from a house fire in Chile.

In the photos, a German shepherd mix named “Amanda” carries five of her 10-day old pups in her mouth, dropping each onto a fire truck as flames ravaged her owner’s home Thursday in Santa Rosa de Temuco, Chile.

The fire, at the home of Omar Torres, the father of boxer Tumbaito Jose Torres, was apparently the result of a car bomb explosion.

The puppies were transported to La Clínica Veterinaria Altamira where four are recuperating with their mother. 

One of the puppies died on Thursday night after suffering burns to his abdomen and mouth.

Veterinarian Felipe Lara told the Chilean newspaper Soy Temuco that Amanda defended her puppies when they tried to take them away for treatment.

(Photos: Associated Press /Jose Monsalve, Diario El Austral de La Araucaria)

A dog who has been credited with saving the lives of two young girls in the Philippines — and lost part of her snout in the process — may soon be flown to the United States for reconstructive surgery.

Kabang reportedly “threw herself” in the path of a motorcycle in February.

According to the News Inquirer, the motorcycle had been speeding down a street in Zamboanga City, when cousins Dina Bunggal, 11, and Princess Diansing, 3, stepped into its path.

Kabang “emerged from nowhere” and jumped in front of the motorcycle. Neither the girls nor the driver of the motorcycle were seriously injured.

Kabang, owned by Bunggal’s family, was. Badly. Her snout got stuck in the motorcycle’s front wheel and the top of it was ripped off.

“The bones holding her upper snout were crushed, and we could not do anything to save it. We just pulled her off the wheel,” said Rudy Bunggal, Dina’s father.

The family refused to allow the dog to be euthanized.

“It does not matter if she’s ugly now. What is important to us is she saved our children and we cannot thank her enough for that,” Bunggal said.

While seeming to recover, and becoming pregnant, Kabang remains at risk for infections.

But between Kabang’s heroics, and help from animal welfare organizations, donations are coming in, and the family hopes to send the dog to the veterinary hospital at University of California in Davis to get the wounds fully treated and closed, according to Dog Heirs.

The trip and surgery are expect to cost $20,000. The Bunggal family makes about $3.50 a day.

“The more time that goes by, the more Kabang is at risk of infection … Her chances are better the sooner she can get those wounds closed,” said Karen Kenngott, the US coordinator for the Animal Welfare Coalition.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Kabang has become a “superstar,” the family says. ”People come here to have their photos taken with the dog. Some came with medicines and vitamins,” Bunggal told the News Inquirer. Others have donated money and clothes to the family.

“We are so thankful. We did not ask for those things, but still we are thankful.”

(Photo: From Alvin Sabay’s blog, The World Behind My Wall. More photos of Kabang can be found there.)

Nana, a 2-year-old Saint Bernard who helped a New York family of five escape unharmed from their burning house, was honored yesterday.

Nana perished in the fire at an 1819 farmhouse, just outside of Jamestown, but husband, wife and all three kids escaped.

In honor of Nana, the Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village, a nonprofit agency that teaches safety education, held a special ceremony.

“We consider her a fire hero just because of her instinct, and that she knew to wake the father, who was downstairs at the time,” said Terri Kindberg, the agency’s executive director, told the Buffalo News.

The Invisible Fence Company donated two pet resuscitation kits to the two local fire companies that responded to the scene in hopes that they will someday save the life of a pet, Kindberg said.

On Jan. 17, Menash Petscher was awakened by Nana licking his face, and woke up to smell smoke and find the house in flames, a result of an ember escaping from the fireplace.

Petscher went upstairs to get his two youngest daughters, and Nana followed them. After taking the children to safety, he went back into the house and called Nana, but she didn’t come.

When state police arrived, it was too late to re-enter the house.

For about a day, the family hoped Nana had escaped the house on her own and would return, but they found the dog’s body inside the house as it was being demolished.

A Massachusetts pit bull is being credited with pulling her owner off the railroad tracks, saving her from an oncoming freight train.

And that, lest you find it hard to believe, is according to both the driver of the train and the woman’s son, a Boston police officer.

The woman survived, uninjured, but the dog — named Lilly — was severely hurt and lost a front leg.

Boston police officer David Lanteigne said he rescued Lilly from a shelter to serve as a companion for his mother, who suffers from alcoholism.

“We saved her life and she saved my mom’s life,” he told WCVB in Boston.

Lanteigne’s mother, Christine Spain, apparently fell unconscious onto train tracks in Shirley last Wednesday.

When help arrived, Lilly was covered in blood but still standing guard over her owner.

Lilly was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Acton, and later to Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.

“Lilly was either pushing or pulling my mother off the tracks,” said Lanteigne. “There wasn’t enough time and … just prior to the train making impact Lilly had intentionally gotten between the train and my mother, and had taken the hit.”

“I’m supposed to be the strong one. I’m supposed to be here for her, but she’s been so great, so tough through all this,” Lanteigne said of his dog. “It almost seems like she’s the one comforting me and being there for me and making me feel better.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Angell Animal Medical Center)