ohmidog!

That wolf-like creature that state wildlife officials are trying to capture in Philadelphia’s Pennypack Park may be somebody’s pet.

Kasey Lyons, 21, says it looks a lot like Levi, the timber wolf-Alaskan malamute mix he bought in Florida on Valentine’s Day for his then-fiancee. (That’s him above in his street clothes.)

A month later, while visiting Lyons’ mother, the couple lost the dog in Pennypack Park. Lyons placed ads and put up posters, but to no avail, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Tuesday night, Lyons saw a photo of the animal (left) and a story about the mystery creature on Philly.com.

He says it looked just like Levi, whose name is the same as Lyons’ middle one.

On Wednesday evening, Lyons searched a section of Pennypack Park where the animal had been spotted repeatedly over several months, bringing along Levi’s old leash, and his other dog, Tiny, a Lab-bulldog mix.

He had no luck, and while he vowed to resume the search this morning, his mission — like his relationship — doesn’t seem destined for a happy ending .

Lyons was living in Florida when he got the hybrid pup. He and then-fiancee Brittany Hopkin were training Levi when, according to Lyons, she let him loose and the hybrid ran off.

The couple have since broken up. Lyons lives in Philadelphia now, and Hopkin has relocated to Georgia.

Still, he wants to find the dog and return him to her. In Pennsylvania, though, one needs a special permit to own a hybrid wolf-dog. While Lyons says he bought the dog legally, for $400, in Florida and has papers and receipts, he doesn’t hold a permit.

Jerry Czech, a wildlife conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said the wolf-dog, once found, would have to be forfeited.

(Photos: Philadelphia Inquirer)

A dog who became a symbol of the dangers posed by trapping in Oregon has died — euthanized due to the pain she continued to suffer after her spine was damaged in an otter trap.

Kieri was on a bird-watching walk with her owner when she stuck her head into a trailside trap intended to instantly kill otters and beavers.

The 8-year-old, 38-pound Wheaten terrier, underwent surgery and seemed to be recovering, according to her owner, Jack Williamson. But in April, her pain returned. She underwent surgery this month, but continued to suffer and was put down Tuesday.

Kieri is among a half dozen dogs reported to have been caught in traps last winter in Central Oregon, three times more than usual,according to an Associated Press account based on a subscriber-only Bend Bulletin story.

State wildlife officials think the increase may be a result of trappers coping with high gasoline prices by setting their traps closer to town.

Williamson wants the state to ban the use of large body-gripping traps on land.

Members of the Oregon Trappers Association have met with Williamson and wildlife officials to discuss rules changes that would keep pets safer. The Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to review its rules when it meets next month.

According to a petition Williamson started on the website Care 2, current regulations in Oregon allow traps to be set on public land, concealed from view,  without penalty of any kind for placement of traps that result in serious injury to people, or pets that are under control of their owner.

You can find more information about Kieri and the petition at Kieri.org

(Photo: From Kieri.org)

Alley Cat Allies is leading a campaign against Loews Orlando resorts, calling on the hotel to stop the inhumane trapping of feral cats at their properties.

More than 31,000 people have signed a petition, and 68 people protested in front of Loews resorts on April 14, 2012 after the hotel abruptly changed its policy regarding the stray cats living on and around the property.

The hotel had agreed and endorsed a program in which 23 feral cats were trapped, neutered and returned to be managed as a colony.

But now the cats are being removed — trapped and taken to animal shelters where, given they are feral, they are not likely to be adopted, and very likely to be euthanized.

Regular feedings were halted, and Loews threatened to fire any employees who fed the cats. After allowing the cats to co-exist with guests, the hotel hired an exterminator to remove them.

Resort officials said the cats were a public health threat.

“The hotel chain says they are the most pet friendly hotel around and that they love having animals on site, and yet they continue to trap the feral cats and remove them,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies.

“There’s still time for Loews to do the right thing,” she added.

What is it about police agencies and the press in, shall we say, non-urban areas, that prevents them from seeing dog abuse when it seems to be staring them in the face?

The Muskegon Chronicle reports that deputies are “not sure abuse was involved” in injuries suffered by a dog found Monday afternoon … HANGING FROM A HOOK ON A TREE.

Pardon my caps. This reminds me of our recent report about a pit bull in Missouri who was dragged behind a car, tied to a pole and set on fire before being found dead, in a case the local TV station called “alleged animal abuse.”

In the new case,  a young male Sheltie-Pomeranian mix is expected to recover from the injury left by the large hook that protruded from the roof of his mouth.

Muskegon County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Herremans said the incident is being investigated and that while abuse has not been ruled out, it also is possible the dog was victimized by an illegal coyote trap.

Rescuers, however,  told WOOD TV-8 the animal was abused, and a local veterinarian who treated the dog concurred.

(It’s also interesting to note how, while the police and reporter call the male dog an “it,” the veterinarian refers to him as a he. Is there a connection, you think, between people who call a dog, even when the gender is known, an “it,” and how seriously they take animal abuse?)

Herremans said deputies are seeking the dog’s owner, who lives across the street from the wooded spot where the animal was found. He theorized it was possible the dog got caught in “some type of coyote trap.”

However, an official at Pound Buddies, a non-profit group that operates the county animal shelter, told WOOD TV-8 that the hook was too high for the small dog to reach by himself.

Residents in the neighborhood said the dog was normally kept tied up.

A National Zoo bird researcher denied in court Wednesday that she fed rat poison and antifreeze to feral cats roaming her D.C. neighborhood.

“Absolutely not, no I did not,” Nico Dauphine said after taking the stand in her own defense Wednesday in Superior Court, WJLA reported.

Dauphine is a postdoctoral fellow with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo.

Prosecutors have presented evidence of her disdain for free-roaming cats, as well as a surveillance tape that they said showed her walking up to a planter where food was kept, reaching into her purse, then reaching into the cat food and leaving.

Dauphine argued in court that she was trying to get rid of the food because it attracted rats: “I went over to the planter, took out the food, put it in a plastic bag and threw it out,” she said.

Prosecutors have entered as evidence a number of quotes and articles in which Dauphine describes cats as an invasive species that should be euthanized. One online lecture by Dauphine is entitled “Apocalypse Meow – Free Ranging Cats and the Destruction of American Wildlife.”

Both sides presented closing arguments in the animal cruelty trial Wednesday and Judge Truman Morrison is scheduled to give his verdict Monday afternoon.

Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization, says attempts to poison free-roaming cats — not uncommon across the country — often pose a threat to pets and wildlife..

“There are no ‘safe poisons’ and there is no ‘safe way’ to poison,” said Dr. Frank McMillan, director of well-being studies at Best Friends Animal Society.

Says Laura Nirenberg, Best Friends’ legislative analyst for cat initiatives.”The sad truth is that not only is poisoning an indiscriminate and inhumane method of controlling animal populations, it is unnecessary, especially when growing evidence from communities across the country shows that trap-neuter-return, commonly known as TNR, is the most efficient and cost-effective method.”

We don’t really know that Jan Van Dusen is crazy, we just suspect a tinge of that might be involved — and it could be good crazy or bad crazy – when someone invites 70 stray cats into their home.

Van Dusen, 59, is a former family-law attorney who lives alone (not counting the cats) in Oakland, Calif., where she’s a volunteer and foster care provider for an organization called Fix Our Ferals, which traps, neuters and cares for stray and feral cats.

In her 2004 tax return, Van Dusen deducted $12,068 in expenses related to caring for foster cats in her modest home – food, veterinarian bills, cat litter, paper towels, garbage bags, and a portion of her utility bills.

The IRS, as you might guess, said no, declaring the costs she incurred caring for strays as “nondeductible personal expenses,” as opposed to charitable contributions.

Van Dusen — and we’re sure all 70 cats agreed — didn’t think that was right and contested the IRS decision.

In 2009, the case wound up in Tax Court, where Van Dusen represented herself because she couldn’t afford a lawyer.

“If it came down to helping a cat with a medical problem or saving for retirement, I would spend on the cat’s care—as will a lot of rescue workers,” she told the Wall Street Journal, which carried a story Saturday about her victory.

According to the Journal, it was also a victory for animal rescue volunteers across the country, and volunteers in general. There are more than 1.5 million IRS-recognized charities, the article said, and the ruling makes clear that unreimbursed expenses incurred by volunteers working for them are deductible.

Van Dusen learned she had won her case earlier this month. “I was stunned,” she said. “It feels great to have established this precedent.”

She said her pretrial dealings with the IRS were “intimidating.” Once in court, she said, the agency’s lawyers “tried to portray me as a crazy cat lady.” The judge, Richard Morrsion, patiently allowed her to state her case.

“He had to go through all these receipts from Costco and ask questions like, ‘What were these paper towels used for?’ ”

Under his ruling, Van Dusen was allowed to deduct most of some bills and half of others for care of the feral cats. The judge stopped short of granting her total deduction because she didn’t have a valid letter from the charity acknowledging her volunteer work.

The IRS declined to comment on the case. It has 90 days to contest the ruling in  federal appeals court.

(Photo: By Michael Mullady; source: Wall Street Journal)

Andre, a dog who was forced to chew off two of his legs to escape an illegal trap in Alaska, was equipped with two prosthetic limbs this week in Denver.

Andre was rescued last winter when a woman saw him dragging himself across a country road, leaving a trail of blood behind. Though he’s a large mixed breed, he weighed only 38 pounds. Since then, Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue has been caring for him.

On Wednesday, the surgery to attach the prosthetics was completed. Now, he begins the process of learning to walk on all fours again, though he had managed to learn to get around on two.

“Andre is just like a bicycle. If he’s moving he has balance and can keep upright. As soon as he slows down, he has to lean against something or sit down,” says Martin Kaufmann of OrthoPets, who fitted Andre with his new legs.

“Right now he has to learn to figure out he can touch the ground with his back leg and front leg. And he actually has to learn there is a leg to use again,” Kaufmann told Fox News in Denver.

Kaufmann created the artificial limbs using plastic, foam and bicycle tires.

“Use your legs,” he told Andre as they tested out the devices in a parking lot.

Andre arrived in Denver last week and was taken to OrthoPets on Monday to begin what was a three- day process, according to the Denver Post.

Denver’s American Humane Association contributed $2,000 to Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue to put towards Andre’s medical bills. Orthopets and the woman that found Andre are footing the rest of the bill.