ohmidog!

Fox News is reporting that country singer Mindy McCready’s fatal shooting of her own dog before she commited suicide Sunday was “not an act of malice at all.”

Fox quotes an unidentified friend as saying, “Mindy really loved her dog … It would have been more of a case where she just didn’t want to leave the dog alone.”

How thoughtful.

Not to speak ill of the dead, or to suggest rational behavior should be expected from those in the clutches of mental illness, but there are better ways of securing a future for your dog when you’ve decided you no longer want one for yourself.

And to describe an act like that as anything close to kind-hearted is just plain wrong.

A better description — even if the misguided thinking behind it was a hope they would end up in the same place in the hereafter  – would be selfish.

McCready, who had attempted suicide twice earlier,  had reportedly been depressed since the father of her youngest child, record producer David Wilson, died earlier this year from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. That took place on the same front porch where McCready shot the dog and herself.

“Based on what we have found at the scene at this time, we do believe that she took the life of the dog that we are being told by family members belonged to Mr. Wilson before she took her own life,” said Sheriff Marty Moss of Cleburne County.

McCready’s two sons, aged ten months and six, were removed from her home by a judge on Feb. 6. After that, McCready was committed to a rehabilitation facility for mental health and alcohol abuse examinations, but released two days later.

“She didn’t really have a support network and coming home to an empty house seems to be what really did it,” the source told Fox News. “It is tragic. She was a sweet and kind girl at heart.”

Whatever other morals her tragic life holds, however kind her heart was, whatever her legacy might be, one thing stands out — given the course she chose for her beloved dog — about her messy end:

How much more tragic the story might have been had her children not been taken from her.

(Photo: Associated Press)

Troubled country music star Mindy McCready, whose life read like a sad, sometimes X-rated country song, was found dead of an apparent suicide — commited, according to some reports, seconds after fatally shooting her own dog.

TMZ quoted sources close to the 37-year-old singer as saying neighbors heard two gunshots coming from her home in Arkansas, one of which was fired at her dog.

According to CNN, McCready, who rose to stardom in the 1990s, had suffered two drug overdoses, was arrested on drug charges and twice attempted suicide before 2005 ended.

After a drug overdose in 2010, she joined the cast of VH1′s “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” a reality show about celebrities being treated for alcohol and drug addiction.

Also in 2010, Vivid Entertainment released a porn video called “Mindy McCready, Baseball Mistress” that featured McCready having sex with a boyfriend and talking about her exploits, as a teenager, with baseball player Roger Clemens.

McCready had long struggled with addiction, mental illness and man problems — often publicly.

This year, the father of the younger of her two children, record producer David Wilson, was found dead in his home on Jan. 13 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Over the weekend, the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office said McCready’s body was found on her front porch after neighbors reported hearing shots.

McCready’s children had been removed from her home by a judge on Feb. 6, after which she spent two days in a treatment facility for a mental-health and alcohol-abuse evaluation.

Singer/songwriter Jen Foster is donating 50 percent of proceeds from downloads of the song “Christmas Time is Here” to Hope for Paws, a Los-Angeles-based rescue organization.

Written with LA songwriter/producer Rich Jacques, the song represents a departure for her. Most of her songs, she says, are “thematically intense.”

“I wanted to create something light, fun, and feel-good for the holidays,” she said. 

For the video, Foster, who has a dog named Bug, invited submissions of photos of pets celebrating the holidays.

Our recent post about Bobby, a Nicaraguan street dog, drew a comment from Mary Graham Bliss, the founder and executive director of Practical Small Projects, a non-profit organization that works to create health, education, and income-generating opportunities in West Africa.

She wrote to share a song, written and performed by her husband, Evan Bliss, who lives with her in Nicaragua.

Last year, they rescued a starving dog from the street in Nicaragua, and named her Tila. In addition to being “the most precious gift to our family,” Tila inspired Evan to write “Sweet Dog,” a song dedicated to rescuing stray dogs in the impoverished world where shelter systems often do not exist.

“The idea was to show people what amazing and loyal pets these dogs can make if given a chance. We also hope the images and song will inspire others to consider adoption and rescuing,” Mary wrote. “Tila will be traveling with us to Haiti for our next assignment.”

Evan Bliss, a Billboard Songwriting Contest-winning singer/songwriter from Washington, says on the song’s YouTube page that “Sweet Dog” is “the most important piece of music/art I have done to date. I have witnessed first hand how far off our preconceptions about stray/street dogs are and how vital it is to dismantle any misleading ‘facts.’ I was inspired to write, record, and create a video in order to share this idea with the world and to honor such deserving and beautiful animals.

“My wife opened my eyes to this dire situation, living in Nicaragua opened my mind to the reality of it, and our pride and joy Tila (our rescued stray dog) opened our hearts to sheer beauty that can arise from despair. I love this song and it is my hope that you share this with people that know or need to know about this often overlooked global issue.”

Gory Bateson and Dougie Mac chose what they call “the famous dog poop sculpture in Beverly Hills” to record this “public service announcement” — a musical reminder to pick up your dog’s poop.

The sculpture isn’t really of dog poop (though there is some resemblance), it’s just modern art.

Similarly, “Gory Bateson” isn’t really Gory Bateson – he’s a modern-day artistic creation, as well.

Gateson is the internet persona of Nick Trujillo, a California State University, Sacramento, communications professor  who, a la Spinal Tap, established an alter ego as the burned out former lead singer of the mythic band The Ethnogs.

It’s all aimed at exploring how viral media works — how popular sensations emerge within the new media landscape. Trujillo has posted more than 70 videos on YouTube under the guise of Gory in hopes of seeing the character go viral.

Gory said he was inspired after he happened by the silver sculpture ( “Erratic,” by artist Roxy Paine, on Santa Monica Boulevard, across from Beverly Hills City Hall). “It looked like dog poop to me. I had dogs for 25 years so I tend to see the world in dog terms.”

Gory points out that he was not paid by Beverly Hills to make the announcement, but undertook it on his own, with his fellow Ethnog, ”Dougie Mac” (who’s really Dr. Bob Krizek, a professor of communication at St. Louis University.)

The song may be a fake public service announcement, performed by a made-up characters, in front of a sculpture that’s open to interpretation, but its message, Gory says, is real:

Pick up that poop.

The work of two dog-loving artists merge in this video, which combines the paintings of Seattle dog artist Nancy Schutt with the music of Emily Westman, a Seattle singer-songwriter.

Schutt commissioned the song specifically to go with the video displaying her paintings.

“I love dogs because they have a joyful countenance, Schutt writes on her website, “they don’t hold grudges and are shameless bout their tastes and preferences. If we don’t interfere, they fell good about themselves all the time.”

Halloween may be more than a week away, but the time to start costuming your pooch for BARCStoberfest is now.

BARCStoberfest takes place this Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Baltimore’s Patterson Park.

The costume contest, a perennial favorite, starts at 1:30 pm. Dogs can compete in any of several categories: Best Halloween Theme,  Best Hon/Best Boh, Matching Dog & Human and Most Original.

A Best in Show winner will be selected (by audience applause) from the four category winners. There’s a $15 entry fee for each category, and prizes in the contest are donated by Dogma.

Other contests at BARCStoberfest include most unique pet trick or talent, best tail wagger, best singer or howler, best kisser, fastest treat eater and smallest and largest dog. There’s a $5 entry fee for those competitions.

The 5th annual BARCStoberfest is a festival for animal lovers that helps raise funds for BARCS, which takes in 12.000 animals a year. If it’s rained out Saturday, it will be held Sunday.

This little ditty is quickly approaching the one-million-view mark on YouTube.

Between that and five different people having sent it to me in the past couple of weeks, I thought this would be a good time to share it — if it hasn’t already showed up in your inbox.

The artist is Wendy Francisco, who you can learn more about  on her website.

Wendy was born in 1955 in Boston, grew up in Del Mar, California and graduated from San Diego State University. She has been been involved with music, art, writing, photography, nature and animals since she childhood.

She learned guitar at age 8 and began to write her own songs. She was asked to perform often and in 1979, was signed to Sparrow Records. Wendy has since traveled all over the United States and beyond doing concerts. Her voice was used at the opening of ”Dear John” with Judd Hirsch.

In 2008, she participated in the editing of the book ”Wesley The Owl” by author Stacey O’ Brien. Most recently, she created this You Tube video, her first animation.

Wendy, according to her website, struggles with modern day religion which she believes limits most people and women in particular. Wendy believes that religion often masks the character of G-O-D.

Wendy is married to singer/songwriter Don Francisco, and lives in the mountains of Colorado where she continues to produce art, writings, and music. She also raises Friesian cross horses, Ragdoll cats, and Colorado Mountain Dogs.

Singer Aubrey O’Day says she thinks it’s perfectly OK to dye her dog.

The former Danity Kane singer regularly changes the color of her one-year-old Maltese, named Ginger.

“She likes to have looks,” O’Day, 25, explained to  Usmagazine.com. “It actually seems like such a taboo weird thing nowadays, but if you research online, you will see a whole underworld of dogs who are dyed.”

O’Day says she changes her dog’s appearance “for different occasions,” revealing that she recently dyed the pup green because she “loves the (Boston) Celtics.”

“She sits on my lap, and I have a brush, and I paint it on and use foils.” Ginger, she says, “loves attention and because she’s colored and has different outfits, she gets so much of it. She prefers it.”

I think it’s a safe bet that it’s not Ginger who’s seeking the attention here. And assuming the dog likes being dyed just because she doesn’t object makes about as much sense as O’Day’s if-it’s-on-the-Internet-it-must-be-ok philosophy.

What is it that makes celebrities think that the animal kingdom exists to provide them with fashion accessories?

(Photo: Joe Corrigan/Getty Images, via USMagazine.com)

Two animal rescue organizations are each $12,500 richer after the television show TMZ took singer-songwriter John Mayer up on his challenge to track down his mug shot.

After Mayer made the $25,000 challenge on Twitter, Harvey Levin and company tracked down a 2001 mugshot, taken in Atlanta after Mayer’s arrest for driving with a suspended license. The case was dismissed one month later.

Mayer wrote checks to two charities selected by TMZ, Ace of Hearts and Pet Orphans of Southern California.

Ace of Hearts is an organization dedicated to rescuing dogs on the day they are to be euthanized  from various Los Angeles shelters and placing them in loving homes.

Pet Orphans of Southern California is a 30-year-old non-profit that also rescues and finds home for dogs and cats and works to educate the public on responsible pet ownership.