ohmidog!

The Maryland SPCA is holding a special screening of Hotel for Dogs Saturday morning at Regal Cinemas Hunt Valley.

Admission is free, but a $5 donation is requested. Donations will help provide food, vaccinations, spay/neuter, shelter, care and enrichment for homeless and lost animals at The Maryland SPCA.

The film stars Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin as two kids who secretly take in nine stray dogs, using an abandoned building as a dog hotel.

Several adoptable dogs from The Maryland SPCA will be at the theater. Doors open at 10:00 a.m. The movie starts at 10:30 a.m. The theater is at 118 Shawan Road in Cockeysvile.

All moviegoers will be automatically entered into a drawing for one of ten free special edition stuffed dogs. Additional stuffed dogs will be available for a $15 donation.

Because space is limited the SPCA recommends registering by Thursday if you plan to attend. To do so, contact Tami Gosheff at tgosheff@mdspca.org with the names and email addresses of those attending. Names must be on the list for admission.

We can think of no better way to mark this Thanksgiving than with this piece, written by Alcestis “Cooky” Oberg, a contributor to USA Today who remembers more than a few dogs waiting for scraps under the dinner table…

“Spaniels, shepherds, setters, poodles, ridgebacks, Labradors and whatnots. All these dogs were strays — lost canines who wandered into our lives and nestled into our hearts. We lived together as a multispecies family, enjoying the seasons, the feasts, the joys together. The dogs were there to soothe our sorrows, too, and to ease the passage of time in the lonely moments of the night.

In an op-ed piece, Oberg gives thanks for her animals and their rescuers.

“This Thanksgiving, I will give thanks for my animal companions in life and for the hundreds of organizations and thousands of people who take notice of such creatures throughout the nation — rescuing them, defending them and finding them homes. It is hard and sometimes unpleasant work, and nobody gets rich doing it. But the ultimate test of our humanity is how we treat animals, and these people redeem our species by saving millions of helpless creatures every year.

Oberg writes of adopting her dog Sierra.

My local SPCA’s efforts brought me my dog, Sierra, 13 years ago. My kids urged me to go there after a beloved pet dog died suddenly. I was crying as we walked past the cages — and in the last one stood Sierra. She was a large spayed female Labrador/shepherd mix, about a year old. She wagged her long magnificent tail confidently as soon as I looked at her, and her brown honest eyes spoke to me as if to say, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

And of losing her.

“My old girlfriend Sierra died in her sleep this summer at a very old age — the human equivalent of 105 — with three generations of my family and my large circle of friends mourning the loss of this true and noble soul. We buried her in the shade of the pecan tree she favored, not far from the large sand pile where the children play with toy soldiers and trucks, and beside the path to the barn we walked together twice a day to feed the horses. She will remain in death as ever she was in life — in the heart of my family.

“I’ll especially miss my sweet old beggar with her soulful smoldering eyes beside my chair this Thanksgiving. But I’ll say a prayer of thanks for having known her, for how lucky I was to have found her that cold day at the SPCA 13 years ago.

“She brought us laughter, protection, devotion — and a kind of love that was distilled to a purity that we’ve rarely found in any other aspect of our life journey.

(Photo: A Viszla named Laila — who just so happens to have her own blog — appears thankful for her owner, and vice versa, during a walk in Baltimore’s Riverside Park; by John Woestendiek)

Massachusetts voters yesterday approved a measure that will ban greyhound racing in the state by 2010.

“This is a victory for everyone in Massachusetts who cares about dogs,” said Christine Dorchak, co-chairwoman of the Committee to Protect Dogs.

The ban, which takes effect in 2010, passed 56 percent to 44 percent, with more than two-thirds of the precincts reporting, according to the Boston Globe:

“The contentious ballot question passed amid emotional ad campaigns by both sides. Proponents used images of sad-eyed greyhounds that they say are caged inhumanely and raced to injury, while opponents put the spotlight on the employees who would be out of work if the ballot passed.”

A similar ballot question was narrowly defeated in 2000, but this time around voters strongly supported the measure, despite track owners’ arguments that the ban would cost jobs at a time of economic hardship.

“We did it. We did it for the dogs,” a victorious Carey Thiel, executive director of Grey2K USA, said at a postelection party of some 60 supporters at Jillian’s Billiards Club. “For 75 years, greyhounds in our state have endured terrible confinement and suffered serious injuries. We’re better than that.”

The Committee to Protect Dogs used data kept by the State Racing Commission since mid-2002 showing injuries to more than 800 greyhounds.

Formed by Grey2K USA, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Medical Center, the committee spent nearly $500,000 through Oct. 15, campaign finance reports show, and received about $144,000 in in-kind contributions.

Decked out in a red, white and blue bandanna, a once homeless Iraqi mutt named Ratchet jumped out of his crate and wagged his tail at the airport Monday, three flights and two days after his much-postponed departure from Iraq.

Discovered by Army Spc. Gwen Beberg and fellow soldiers in a burning trash pile on the streets of Baghdad, Ratchet was taken in by Beberg, whose efforts to have him shipped home led to the dog being confiscated by U.S. military officials.

Later, the Army relented — its rules forbid soldiers bringing dogs home from foreign lands — and Ratchet was placed aboard a flight to Kuwait, another to Amsterdam, then another to Washington.

He will spend two nights in a kennel before flying to Minneapolis, where Beberg’s parents will pick him up. Beberg is scheduled to return home next month, the Associated Press reported. Northwest Airlines is donating the flight to Minnesota.

“I’m very excited that Ratchet will be waiting for me when I get home from Iraq! Words can’t describe it,” Beberg said in an e-mail to friends and family. “I hope that Ratchet’s story will inspire people to continue the efforts to bring more service members’ animals home from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The dog was rescued by Operation Baghdad Pups, run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International. The group, which has now brought 63 animals to the U.S., says the effort both saves dogs and cats and helps soldiers who benefit from the bond with the animals.

Ratchet frolicked on a grassy patch outside the airport before heading off to Clocktower Animal Hospital in Herndon, Va., for a checkup and some shots, where he was pronounced “extremely healthy.

Ratchet, a dog adopted by a U.S. soldier in Iraq, was put aboard a plane to Kuwait today and is expected to be flown to Washington tomorrow, CNN reported.

Operation Baghdad Pups, a project of SPCA International, said once a veterinarian determines the dog is healthy he will be flown to Minnesota — the home state of Sgt. Gwen Beberg, one of a group of soliders who saved Ratchet from a burning trash pile.

Beberg tried to have the dog flown home to the United States on October 1, but the military, which prohibits soldiers from adopting pets abroad and bringing them home, confiscated the dog on the way to the airport.

Operation Baghdad Pups returned to pick up Ratchet this weekend, after the military reconsidered and cleared Ratchet’s trip. More than 65,000 people signed two online petitions urging the military to let Ratchet go to the United States.

On Sunday, private security contractors took Ratchet from a base to the airport, where he was put on a charter flight to Kuwait. Northwest Airlines is donating the flights from Kuwait to Minnesota, SPCA  officials said.

Beberg’s deployment started in September 2007 and is scheduled to end in November.

“She was absolutely miserable in the war and was really struggling to keep going every day. Ratchet turned it around for her,” SPCA spokeswoman Stephanie Scroggs said last week.

Beberg’s mother, Patricia Beberg, in a statement released by the SPCA, said Ratchet “was the savior of her [daughter's] sanity” in Iraq.

Once you’ve gone to the trouble of dressing your dog up, you might as well enter him or her in the DoggySpace Halloween costume contest.

DoggySpace, a social networking site for dogs, is sponsoring a costume contest to benefit local chapters of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA). Dog owners can post pictures at DoggySpace, where site members can vote for their favorite costume.

DoggySpace will donate $6,000 to the winning dog‘s local SPCA chapter.

“Many SPCA‘s are privately funded, which means they are under-funded,” said Levi Thorton, Doggyspace founder. “Prize money from this contest will go directly to a local SPCA to help with the organization‘s mission of raising awareness of animal abuse and promoting programs such as good pet care and spay/neuter awareness initiatives.“

Over 75 SPCA chapters have joined the cause, and more than 2,000 votes have already been cast on photos posted at doggyspace, including this one of Blanco, a Chihuahua dressed as a bumblebee.

Dog lovers have until October 31 to push their favorite costume to the winning spot.

Doggyspace.com is a social network for dog owners, with free membership. Dog owners can create a doggy portfolio, form groups, and post their favorite photos and videos while connecting with other “friends“ in the neighborhood, from the dog park, across the country or in another country.

More than a thousand animals displaced by Hurricane Ike have been taken in by the Houston SPCA — horses, ducks, goats, iguanas and even a bear.

The shelter began taking in animals even before the storm crashed ashore Saturday, many of them coming from Brazoria County and the Bay Area SPCA in Galveston, which were forced to evacuate. The Houston shelter set up a web page on the hurricane, which includes a list of items they need help with.

To prepare for the influx, Houston moved about 300 of its own animals up for adoption to other shelters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and San Antonio and set up an animal rescue hotline. (Those needing help with their pets can call 713-861-0161 or toll-free 877-661-0161.)

Thirty-seven staff members from the Houston SPCA stayed with the animals overnight Friday to tend to them.

“As of right now, the animals are OK, but we haven’t been able to go outside because it’s pretty bad out here,” said Meera Nandlal, the Houston SPCA’s public relations manager. “As soon as we’re able to go outside and check on them, we will.”

She said the hotline phone “has been ringing off the hook.”

The shelter is housing about 300 dogs, 400 cats, 60 horses and 40 other farm animals. The SPCA also has taken in wildlife including pelicans, falcons, owls, ducks and the bear, which is part of an animal cruelty case.

Mercer advised people who see or have animals in need of rescue to call the hotline. She said staff would be prioritizing the rescue efforts and working primarily on “the animals in the greatest danger.” Veterinarians are on hand to perform surgeries as needed.

She also warned that there would likely be a flood of strays in the streets because of pets left behind in the storm. Animal control authorities will be taking care of them.

Luckily, help is on the way for the Houston SPCA. Mercer said teams from Colorado animal shelters as well as those from the Los Angeles and Louisiana SPCAs and others around the country are flying in to provide support.

(Photo: Houston SPCA)

Jennifer Carle was signing copies of her new book “Seeing Eye Human” at the Barnes & Noble in Whitemarsh Saturday — a noble act when you consider that Carle’s not making a penny: All proceeds from the sale of the book are going to the Maryland SPCA.
That’s where Carle adopted her black lab mix, Winn (short for Winsome), in 1994.
Winn quickly proved herself to be a handful, chowing down on Carle’s couch, instilling fear in other other dogs, biting a neighbor and causing a ruckus during obedience class.

But, as the years passed, a funny thing happened, the overprotective dog, as she aged, got arthritic, and blind and deaf, and she and her family reversed roles: The overprotective dog came to need protection and, in providing it, Carle learned a little about dogs, humans and life.

Winn died a year ago this Friday.

Published by Tate Publishing, “Seeing Eye Human” was released this summer.  Carle — a longtime supporter of the Maryland SPCA – worked as a psychologist before raising two children and going to work in her husband’s medical practice in Towson, where the family also lives.

She will also be appearing at Dogfest 2008, the Humane Society of Baltimore County’s big fundraising event at Shawan Downs on Oct. 4.

In another fundraising project for the SPCA, Carle is designing an ice cream flavor — the contents yet to be determined — which will be called Paw Prints. Twenty percent of its sales, at Lee’s Ice Cream in Towson, will go the Maryland SPCA.

“Seeing Eye Human,” which sells for $10.99, is available at area Barnes & Nobles, as well as The Book Escape, Lucky Lucy’s Canine Cafe, Dogma and other local stores.

Mike and Miriam Snyder, of Vineland City, N.J., regretfully turned their two Shih Tzus over to a shelter at the beginning of this month. With Miriam ill, and Mike with his hands full, they felt they were no longer able to properly care for the dogs, named Gabby and Marty.

Last week, after one of their sons quit his job and returned home to help his parents, they decided to get the brother and sister Shih Tzus back.

But when Mike returned to the Cumberland County SPCA he learned that Marty had been adopted — the day after his family had dropped him off.

The other dog, Gabby, was still at the shelter. But after the family filled out adoption papers and made arrangements to return and reclaim her a few days later — after she was spayed — they found out someone else had beat them to the punch.

As for Marty, shelter director Bev Greco told The Daily Journal in Vineland that, while strays are kept for seven days before being made available, owner-released animals are put up for adoption immediately — a rule the family apparently didn’t understand.

As for Gabby, Greco said another application to adopt her had been received a day before the Snyders came to ask for their dog.  She said the shelter tried to call the family about the situation, but a phone number they left was not working.

Mike Snyder says he was not told about the competing application.

Greco said she had no plan to contact the people who adopted Marty and Gabby. “They’ve both got very good homes,” she said.

On Wednesday though, the family got a lead on the whereabouts of Gabby after placing an in Vineland’s Daily Journal. It was from a woman who said she drove another a woman to the shelter to adoptd Gabby. She promised to contact the woman about giving back the dog.

As of yesterday, the family was still waiting.