ohmidog!

A bloody and dirty blob of fur found in a sealed plastic trash bag in downtown Louisville this week has been cleaned up enough to reveal he is a Maltese, treated for fleas, anemia and pelvic fractures, and given the name Karma.

Authorities suspect, based on his injuries, that the 3-1/2-pound dog was thrown from a car window.

A $2,500 reward is being offered by the Humane Society of the United States for information leading to an arrest.

Wave3 News reports that the dog was dumped Tuesday at the intersection of Chestnut and Louisville streets.

A woman stopped at a traffic light heard a noise, got out of her car, ripped the bag open and found the dog inside.

Rebecca Eaves of the Shamrock Pet Foundation said the dog was “”absolutely covered in flea nests, severely anemic, parasites inside and outside, the whole nine yards.”

Dr. Scott Rizzo of Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners said Karma has pelvic fractures, likely the result of being thrown or dropped onto the concrete.

Believed to be 2-3-years old, the dog was originally thought to be a brown terrier mix, but once cleaned up he was revealed to be white.

“He’s a little Maltese and he’s white,” Dr. Rizzo said. “You never would have thought that when he came in.” He said Karma’s fractures may be able to heal without surgery.

Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Animal Services at (502) 363-6609.   

The Shamrock Foundation’s Arrow Fund (P.O. Box 24033 Louisville, KY, 40224) is collecting donations for Karma’s medical care.

A state representative in Tennessee has removed a video from her YouTube channel that showed her holding her dog outside the window of a moving car and laughing as it went “air swimming.”

State Rep. Julia Hurley took the video down two days after posting it, but insisted — sounding a little like Mitt Romney talking about Seamus — that Pepper, a Chinese crested, enjoys being held out into the wind, outside of a fast moving car.

Hurley, who’s seeking a second term, said she removed the video because she “didn’t want to deal with” criticism she calls politically motivated. “I think it’s a liberal ploy to take the attention off the bills and the legislation I’ve passed and the positive things I’ve done, to make me look like a bad person,” the Lenoir City Republican said.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Hurley’s short video titled “Pepper Air Swims” was pulled two days after being posted on YouTube.

The newspaper wrote about the video after being contacted by the Rev. Peggy Blanchard, who criticized the video in an email. “I find Ms. Hurley’s behavior to be extremely unkind and irresponsible. While Ms. Hurley and her friend are laughing and having fun, the dog is clearly terrified.”

“This sort of behavior exhibited by a person who has a position of leadership sets a very poor example of behavior for both adults and children,” Blanchard wrote.

Hurley countered, “My dog obviously enjoys it. She’s very happy.” Still, she said, the backlash could lead her to stop posting social media updates.

“People say they want a legislator they can relate to, they want an open-door policy and know everything that’s going on,” she said. “But you try to give them that, and they use it against you to try to make you look like a bad person.”

Pepper was the subject of previous media attention when the lawmaker was thrown out of the Roane County courthouse for bringing her dog along in March. She argued that the 11-pound dog is classified as a service animal, though she brought the pet along as a companion.

Upon her election to the House in 2010, Hurley drew national attention for crediting her success to the time she spent working at Hooters restaurants, in a two-page article for the chain’s magazine.

She was the subject of another embarassing video, as well, when a state trooper pulled her over in 2011 for speeding, and a dashboard camera recorded the hard time she gave the officer about the ticket she received. Here’s that video:

(Photo: Erik Schelzig / Associated Press)

A collar belonging to Warren G. Harding’s Airedale terrier, Laddie Boy, was stolen this week from the former president’s historic home in Ohio.

Strangely, it was apparently the only item taken in the Tuesday heist at the Harding Home and Museum in Marion.

“I don’t think there is a single item in this collection that matters more or is more important or special to the thousands of schoolchildren who pass through this home each year,” Sherry Hall, site manager, told the Columbus Dispatch.

“It’s a real connection to history for them” added Hall, who has overseen the site for nearly13 years. “They see that collar and learn about Laddie Boy and say, ‘Look. I have a dog, too. I’m just like the president.’”

On Tuesday morning, a  groundskeeper found a ladder leaning against the home and a second story window open. A pry bar was found close by.

Hall, when she arrived at work, found a jewelry box belonging to Harding’s wife, Florence Kling Harding, broken and on the floor and other rooms in disarray.

But the collar, which had been sitting on a chest behind ropes that kept visitors at a distance, was gone.

Marion police distributed photos of the collar, hoping that if a thief tried to pawn it or sell it, it would be reported.

“I would say whoever stole it had been in there before, knew what it was and where it was and went in to get that and only that,” Marion Police Lt. Mark Beaschler said.

The dog collar, made from Alaskan gold nuggets, was fashioned especially for Laddie Boy, whose name is written in raised letters on the center.

During Harding’s term as the country’s 29th president, Laddie Boy had his own chair at the White House, which he sat in during cabinet meetings.

(Photos: Ohio Historical Society)

Ace has a new top obsession — a neighbor named Tom, who has taken over the first place spot previously held by a neighbor named Al.

Ace hit it off immediately with Al, an older man who lives about five doors down. When Al started giving Ace treats, his apartment became the first place Ace looked when he went outside. When Al bought a jumbo bag of chicken jerky treats to hand out when Ace went by, the relationship grew even stronger. He loves Al, but he loved those jerky treats the way an addict loves crack.

Since Christmas, though, Ace’s priorities have changed. My next door neighbor got a kitten.

He is a very cute kitten, and very tiny. Ace — and we should point out here that cats are the only species Ace seems more taken with than humans — has met Tom once, sniffing him while his owner held him.

Ever since then, the first thing Ace does when he goes outside — even before peeing — is to run over to the neighbor’s front window to see if the cat is there. He stares up at the window, then he jumps up, putting his paws on the sill. The first time he did that, the cat jumped down and disappeared.

The next time, the cat wasn’t bothered in the least. And now the cat seems to be waiting for him. He’ll gaze at Ace, paw at the window and press his face against it. After a couple of weeks, they both seem to view the visits as a regular part of the day’s schedule, and Ace seems to think checking on the cat is his new job.

If the cat is not in the window, Ace will jump up, peer in, crane his neck, look side to side and get upset. Eventually, the cat will appear, and then they will stare at each other as long as I allow it.

It takes a lot of urging to pull Ace away.

I am 99.999 percent sure Ace does not want to eat the kitten. He has shacked up with cats before, and been enamored with them, though only one we visited seemed to tolerate his interest.

But because the kitten is so young he would only be one swallow, and because the kitten has had some health issues, they’ve yet to hang out together unrestrained and in person.

As for Al, Ace still bolts off when sees him, even though we’ve dropped the chicken jerky treats. They were made in China, and — though I doubt they were responsible for Ace’s recent health issues — both Al and I had read some warnings about them.

I’m 99.99999 percent positive that Ace isn’t looking at Tom as a treat — even if he does sometimes drool a little while staring in his window.

But Ace’s Tom-excitement and his jerky-excitement appear to be two different things. With the jerky, he gets all drooly and subservient. With Tom, his tail and ears perk up. He seems more intent, more studious, less zombie-like, as if it’s more an intellectual hunger than a physical one.

One of these days, they’ll get to spend some time together. Maybe, with all the anticipation behind him, that will make him less obsessed, or then again it could make him more that way. Until then, they’ll continue to relate, three or four times a day, through glass and screen.

Note to neighbor: You might detect some small holes in your screen; I fully (or at least 99.999999 percent) intend to buy you a new one.

A New York family has filed a lawsuit saying a police officer searching their home slapped their 7-pound dog with enough force to send him flying out a third story window.

Chuwie, described as a mix of miniature pinscher and Pomeranian, survived the fall, but the family says he hasn’t been the same since police burst into their Bronx apartment a year ago, guns drawn, for what turned out to be a failed drug raid.

“How could a police officer do that to a tiny dog?”’ the New York Post quoted Iris Ramos as saying. Her son-in-law, Ronald Estevez, 27, owns Chuwie.

The family says Chuwie, though he barked at police, never tried to attack an officer.

“Children were crying. Guns were being pointed in their faces,’’ said family lawyer Jeffrey Emdin, who filed the suit in Bronx Civil Court. It names the city and NYPD as defendants and seeks $300 for vet bills and unspecified other damages.

Emdin said Iris Ramos’ brother, daughter, son-in-law and niece were arrested for drug possession, but that their cases were later dismissed.

The lawsuit says Chuwie jumped on a bed and began barking when the police came in. When one officer slapped him with the back of his hand, the dog flew four feet, through the bars in the open window and plummeted three stories, landing on a patch of grass.

(Photo: Matthew McDermott / New York Post)

My Norwegian is a little rusty, so I can’t tell you much more than that this is an advertisement for an insurance company called Tryg in Norway.

I’m not sure if its message is don’t leave your dog in the car because it could die, or don’t leave your dog in the car because your window might get broken, or, you wouldn’t need to worry about your window getting broken if you have insurance.

Whichever it is, it still manages to make that first point, thanks to some fine acting by the dog in the starring role.

That’s Matisse, a four-year-old border collie who lives in Belgium. You can learn more about him, and the making of the commercial, in the video below.

(For all our “Woof in Advertising” selections click  here.)

Animal control officials in New Bedford, Mass., are seeking the public’s help in finding the owners of  two pit bull-type dogs left in a vacant apartment — one of which, apparently starving, jumped out of a third-story window.

The emaciated 1-year-old female jumped from the window on Sept. 30, breaking her hip and hind leg, according to South Coast Today. She’s now being treated at Cape Cod Veterinary Specialties.

The second dog, a four-month-old puppy (pictured above), was found inside the apartment. The two were believed to have been abandoned two months ago when the tenants moved out.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston is asking for the public’s help to offset the costs associated with the dogs’ care and rehabilitation. Those interested in making a donation can call (617) 426-9170, Ext. 615, or visit www.arlboston.org/donate.

Anyone with information about the dogs or their owners is asked to contact New Bedford Animal Control Officer Emmanuel Maciel at (508) 991- 6366. 

“This constitutes felony cruelty against an innocent animal,” says Lt. Alan Borgal, director of the Center for Animal Protection at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. “We are counting on the public to step forward with information to help bring the person or persons responsible to justice.”

Two tiny Shih Tzus who police say were thrown out the window of a moving car in Muncie, Indiana, this week are now recovering and up for adoption.

Muncie police say a witness saw the two Shih Tzus being tossed out a blue Buick Rendezvous Tuesday morning.

“I don’t know how anyone could do that,” Phil Peckinbaugh, of the Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) told FOX 59 in Indianapolis. “These are two almost baby dogs. I don’t know what they could’ve done to deserve that.”

ARF is caring for the dogs, both of whom appeared to have been neglected. One has a broken leg.

“They both had to have fluids, because they were so dehydrated and undernourished,” said Peckinbaugh. “And they also had to be completely shaved down – their bodies were covered in gnats from head to toe.”

Staff at ARF have named the dogs, believed to be brothers, Lyle and Tate.

Both dogs are up for adoption, and ARF is seeking donations to help cover medical costs. If you are interested in donating or adopting, call (765) 282-2733 or email info@munciearf.com.

I was quietly enjoying my new nest the other day when a visitor landed on it.

This bird hit the window screen with a bit of a bang, but didn’t bounce off. Instead, it held on, clinging to the side of my apartment and looking in.

It didn’t appear stuck, injured, or even dazed, as Ace and I, from the other side of the window, walked right up to it. It wasn’t disturbed when I took a few pictures. It just clung there, sideways, looking inside — as if slapping into my window wasn’t an accident, but exactly what it planned to do.

For a moment, I wondered whether it was Jehovah’s Witness bird, there to chirp a bit about the Lord and hand me a pamphlet I could read at my convenience after it left. Or that it was going to try and sell me some magazine subscriptions to help it get through bird college.

Neither subject came up though, and a couple of minutes after it adhered itself to my front window, it left.

It’s a good thing I screen my visitors.

Twice in the last month, dogs have been tossed from fast-moving vehicles in central Pennsylvania.

The most recent case was Monday night, when someone threw a blue-nose pit bull named Dallas from a brown Cadillac, Harrisburg police said.

Cpl. Deric Moody said a witness saw the dog thrown from the car and called police. The dog suffered an apparent broken leg and other injuries, and was being treated at a veterinary hospital near Mechanicsburg, according to the York Dispatch.

Shortly after officers arrived to interview the witness, Dallas’ owner showed up at the scene. He told police that the dog disappeared after he let him out earlier. Police believe the unattended dog was likely stolen.

On March 5, someone threw a dog from a speeding silver or gray pickup truck on Route 30 in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, near the Marietta Pike overpass. That dog, a shiba inu later named Sherman (pictured above), was taken to the Humane League of Lancaster County and is recovering from his injuries.