ohmidog!

Poor Courteney Cox.

The former “Friends” star and her daughter Coco recently moved into a new 25th floor condo with their two dogs — and taking Hopper and Harley all the way down to the ground floor and outside to go to the bathroom late at night was just too difficult.

So she bought a pooch potty to put on her balcony, and when the Cavalier King Charles spaniels didn’t use the draining patch of artificial grass, she annointed it herself to get them interested.

That, at least, is what she said to Ellen DeGeneres in an interview that aired yesterday.

“I’m like, ‘How am I going to work this out? I could walk them at 10 p.m. at night but what if they have to go in the middle of the night?’” she said.

Apparently, solutions such as hiring a dog walker, or living somewhere with a yard, didn’t occur to the “Cougar Town” star.

Once the patch was in place, the dogs showed little interest in it, she said. “… Hopper and Harley would not go. I tried and I tried and it’s getting late and I can’t leave Coco in the condo by herself while I take them out so I just thought, ‘To hell with it. I’ll mark the grass.’”

Apparently, the idea of peeing in a jar, and then going out to pour it on the balcony patch, didn’t occur to her, either. Cox told DeGeneres she squatted on the balcony.

Given the product she’s using requires a new grass pad weekly, she told Ellen she’s worried she might have to keep reannointing them. “I didn’t think it through… but I will say Hopper peed on my pee.”

We have faith that Hopper and Harley, age 9 and 10, will be able to think it through, even without Cox marking every new patch, and — whether it’s 10 p.m. at night, or 6 a.m. in the morning — adjust to using the balcony potty.

(Photos: Screen grabs from Ellen DeGeneres show)

Star, the pit bull shot in the face by New York City police last month, is walking, playing with toys and eating on her own.

But she’s doing all that with one eye — veterinarians had to remove one damaged from the shooting — and her hearing is not what it used to be.

Star was guarding her master, who was having a seizure on a sidewalk, when she lunged at a police officer that stepped toward her. She was shot in the head and left in a pool of blood as a crowd gathered, many of whom who can be heard in a video of the incident questioning why police weren’t doing anything to help the dog, or the man.

Star underwent surgery Monday to remove her left eye and metal fragments wedged in her skull, and was transferred into the custody of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, a coalition of rescue groups and shelters. The Alliance is not disclosing her specific location.

“She suffered a significant degree of hearing loss, but her hearing is coming back and the vision in her right eye also seems to be improving.” said Richard Gentles, a spokesman for the Animal Care & Control.

“She has a lot of healing to do,” Steve Gruber, director of communications for the Mayor’s Alliance, told People.com.

The man she was trying to protect the day she was shot, identified as Lech Stankiewicz, hasn’t reclaimed Star.

Gruber said the Alliance hopes to find a caretaker for her “who can really understand what she’s been through.”

To contribute to Star’s care, you can donate here.

(Photo: New York City Animal Care & Control)

This video — and we warn that you might not want to watch it — shows New York City police shooting a pit bull that was seemingly trying to protect her owner, who was in the midst of a seizure.

It was an act that enraged many onlookers when it happened — on Aug. 13 –  and many more in the week since the video was posted on the Internet.

Most early reports about the incident were sketchy, and the facts — even 10 days later — still don’t seem to have fully come out. Other than these:

Lech Stankiewicz apparently suffered a seizure and ended up halfway on the sidewalk, halfway on the street. His dog Star stood by him.

As can be seen at the beginning of the video, a female bystander, apparently wanting to offer some assistance to the man, gets too close and is chased off by the dog. The dog then turns around and runs toward a police officer — one of at least two on the scene by then, both of whom had their guns drawn.

The first officer shoots the dog, and it appears the second one fires as well, leaving Star whimpering and writhing on the street.

The nine long minutes that follow are almost equally disturbing. No one goes to the aid of the dog, no one goes to the aid of the man, and police, whose numbers have swelled by then, seem concerned only with crowd control as both man and dog lay in the street.

Some websites were quick to report that Star had been “murdered” by police — like this outraged account on Gather.com – but she’s still alive.

Star was taken to Animal Care and Control (ACC) of NYC, but that organization saw fit, at least initially, to release no information.

The Lexus Project, which provides legal defense for dogs it thinks are being treated unfairly and is looking into the case, released a statement, but it didn’t say much either:

“We know that so many of you are concerned, worried and outraged about Star. This is an update and although I know you want more but please respect this is all we are permitted to say at this time. Star is very much alive and receiving medical care and holding her own. We will update as soon as we are permitted to. Thank you for your support and understanding.”

The video appeared on the Gothamist website and subsequently has been shown on many others.

Not to jump to too large a conclusion, but watching the video — and the inaction of authorities, other than shooting Star — suggests to me that police may need more  training for dealing with dogs, not to mention dealing with epileptic seizures.

In her soap opera persona, Julie Marie Berman — or Lulu on General Hospital — has engaged in some shameful behavior.

The daughter of Luke and Laura, she has stolen, lied, manipulated and, more than once, let her heart lead her astray, such as when, while still a “feisty teen,” she masterminded the break up of  her stepbrother Dillon Quartermaine’s relationship, then proceeded to offer him her virginity, but the condom broke and things got even more compilcated.

I don’t think, though I don’t watch the show, she’s a bad person;  but more of a good person who bad things happen, to — over and over and over. She’s had bombs strapped to her body, been a waitress in a brothel, been stuck under a beam in freezing water, and been abducted and held hostage repeatedly. I don’t think she has been in a coma yet — though her mother has — but give her time.

In real life, Julie admits to making at least one mistake, too — buying a dog online.

While dating her future husband, Mike Grady, they decided they wanted a dog. She ended up on “a huge web site that had, literally, every color imaginable of the breed I was interested in. I thought, ‘Great!’ So I ordered my dog online … then I got another one. The first one came with a lot of issues that we’re still dealing with today.

“I thought  I was doing the right thing by not going to the pet store. But I think it is safe to say that I ordered our dogs right from the puppymill. I had no idea that I was doing that. I thought that because they were AKC registered, and I talked to the breeders on the phone, that everything was normal. But after receiving our dog, I started to question the validity of the breeder and the care that they give their animals.”

Julie and Mike educated themselves on the horrors of puppy mills, became proponents of adoption and are now pushing that cause in their newly formed company, Better Buddies.

Along with a third partner, they reached out to Best Friends Animal Society to join forces on ending the homeless pet problem and push  adoption as the best choice when searching for a pet. The company has pledged 10 percent of its profits to the organization.

With its current merchandising limited to hemp dog beds, Better Buddies, Julie says, plans to expand — all while bringing together the worlds of design, quality, eco-awareness and social change.

The idea for the company, their website says, came during a visit to a pet store.

“While rummaging through an endless stock of uninspired, low-quality pet toys, we found ourselves asking, ‘Why aren’t there more eco-friendly options out there?’ …  Even more of a challenge, a pet-adoption in the store was begging us not to leave without adding another adorable, yet needy pet to our clan.

“And then it hit us…why not … make high-quality ‘green’ products that are actually thoughtful in design and style, while simultaneously giving back to animals in need. And right there, in that mess of pet store mania, Better Buddies, Inc. was born.”

PETA, knowing better than most how much cute and fuzzy things appeal to the public, has tapped Justin Bieber to start in his second public service announcement for the organization.

Justin sings the praises of adopting pets in a PSA whose tagline is, “Animals Can Make U Smile. Adopt From Your Local Shelter.”

According to PETA, Bieber wants his fans to know that buying a dog or a cat from a pet store or a breeder takes a home away from a shelter animal,  3 to 4 million of which end up euthanized in America each year. Buying a dog, PETA says, supports puppy mills, operations in which dogs are raised in cramped, crude, and filthy conditions.

While preparing for the release of his debut album, My World, Bieber devoted some time to talk to peta2 about compassion for animals — something he says his dog Sam helped instill in him. ”We moved to a city where we didn’t really know anybody, so I kinda wanted a friend around. And Sam was kinda like that friend.”

Bieber appears not with Sam, but with a dog named Bijoux in the newest PETA spot.

“It’s really important that people adopt,” Bieber says. “I really encourage going out to an animal shelter or a place where you can get a dog that has been abandoned or doesn’t have a home.”

You can learn more about Justin Bieber and his public service announcement at peta2.com

Twenty-five west coast Chihuahuas were flown to the east coast in hopes of finding new homes, courtesy of actress Katherine Heigl.

The dogs were transferred from Kinder 4 Rescue in Los Angeles, where there is a surplus of Chihuahuas, to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua in New Hampshire, where the breed is in greater demand.

Humane society executive director Karen Bill and Kinder 4 Rescue director Laurel Kinder had been trying for about three months to move the dogs from Hollywood to the northeast. They contacted the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation — founded in honor of the “Grey’s Anatomy” star’s late brother — and it offered $25,000 to fly the dogs to Boston.

“It was amazing,” Bill told PEOPLEPets.com. “The ideal situation come true.”

Bill called the abundance of Chihuahuas in California a ”Hollywood-made crisis …From ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ to Paris Hilton, people see these dogs and think they’re cute accessories, but they’re not. They’re living beings that need attention.”

Before the dogs even arrived, more than 40 people contacted the humane society in New Hampshire about adopting the dogs, who range in age from about 1 to 4 years old.

Canadian-born actress Rachelle Lefevre, one of the stars of the movie “Twilight,” has taped a public service announcement for Best Friends Animal Society, urging viewers to adopt rather than purchase from a pet store or breeder.

Lefevre, who plays Victoria in both “Twilight” and its sequel, “New Moon,” is the new spokeswoman for Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products campaign.

Filmmaker Geoff Talbot is looking for a three-legged star.

Through his blog and Twitter, Talbot — an actor, filmmaker, writer, comedian and veterinary surgeon — is searching for a dog to play Scrap, a role in his new movie, “Lucky & Rich.”

The ideal candidate is missing a hind leg, is medium-sized, non-aggressive and has “big cinematic doggie eyes,” according to an entry on his blog, “seven sentences.” The blog entry also carries pictures of the contenders so far.

The movie is described as a “24-hour Bohemian love story between a Czech prostitute called Lucky and a homeless New Zealand bum named Rich.”

The film will be shot in Prague from November 2009 to February 2010 and both dog and guardian will be transported there by the moviemaker. The dog playing Scrap will be under constant veterinary supervision and care, he assures candidates.

Photos of possible candidates can be sent to help.find.scrap@gmail.com.

(Photo: Frankie, one of the dogs submitted for consideration, from Talbot’s blog)