ohmidog!

The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever attacked a pit bull mix with an ax in Bradenton, Florida is up to $13,600 — thanks to a big donation from the co-creator of “The Simpsons.”

Hollywood writer, producer and director Sam Simon pledged $10,000 to the reward created to help find those responsible for leaving a 2-year-old red and white pit bull mix named Axel with a two-inch-deep gash in his head, apparently inflicted by an ax.

Simon is founder of the Sam Simon Foundation, which adopts dogs from shelters and trains them as hearing dogs for the deaf, and runs a variety of other programs aimed at saving the lives of dogs and enriching the lives of humans.

Simon announced the contribution Friday morning on the nationally syndicated radio show of Bubba The Love Sponge. (Bubba kicked in $1,000 as well.)

The donations brought the reward to over $13,000, according to the Bradenton Herald.

Axel — as he was named by his rescuers — was picked up last Monday by a Manatee County Animal Services officer and rushed to Beach Veterinary Clinic, where he immediately underwent surgery.

The veterinarian’s office reports that, except when under anesthesia, Axel’s tail has been wagging constantly.

The wound damaged the dog’s sinus cavity and while pieces of his skull had to be removed during the operation, he is expected to make a full recovery, veterinarian Luke Berglund said.

Axel’s medical care is being funded by No Kill Manatee County, and you can find more details on Axel’s newly created Facebook page.

The $13,600 reward, which will be given to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved

Axel is being given pain medicine and antibiotics, and will undergo treatment for heartworms this week. Based on his other scars, it’s possible he was used in dogfights or as a bait dog.

Anyone with information about the incident, or interested in fostering Axel, can call Manatee County Animal Services at 941-742-5933 ext. 8314. Tips can also be reported to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-634-TIPS(8477).

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was one smart dog. In any event an injured dog in New Mexico walked through the automatic doors and into the emergency room at San Juan Regional Medical Center over the weekend.

Staff and patients were stunned to see the unaccompanied German shepherd mix, about 7 to 8 years old, walk through the doors with blood on his nose and paw, and a small puncture wound on a rear leg.

Animal control officer Robin Loev responded to the hospital, where he found people gathered around the dog, giving him water, according to the Daily Times in Farmington.

Loev couldn’t find the source of the blood and it didn’t appear the dog was hit by a car. The puncture wound, probably from being bitten by another dog, didn’t require treatment.

Loev took the dog to the Farmington Animal Shelter, where it was vaccinated and given water and a warm blanket.

“Some of these situations that come up make you wonder just how intelligent these animals are,” Loev said.

 (Photo: Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times)

An 11-year-old boy in Virginia used a gun stolen from a neighbor to shoot another neighbor’s dog  — because he thought the dog was barking too much, authorities said.

The incident occurred Monday afternoon in Spotsylvania, about two miles from Riverbend High School, according to the Free Lance Star in Fredericksburg.

The dog’s owner told deputies he heard his dog barking, a shot and then whimpering. The owner went outside and found the dog, a German Shepherd mix named Molly, lying on the front porch with a gunshot wound to her neck.

The dog, after being treated at St. Francis Animal Hospital, is back home and recovering.

Deputies were later contacted by the boy’s mother, who said her son admitted stealing a .22-caliber long rifle from a neighbor’s garage and using it to shoot the dog.

The boy was charged with larceny of a firearm, illegal possession of a rifle by a person under 18, reckless handling of a firearm and cruelty to animals. He was placed in the Rappahannock Juvenile Detention Center.

Blade, the German shepherd police dog who was mistakenly shot by a police officer Sunday appears to be recovering nicely, judging from this Baltimore Sun video.

The Sun’s Peter Hermann reports on his blog, Baltimore Crime Beat, that Blade suffered a gunshot in the left shoulder from a .40 caliber handgun.

Officer Steven W. Sturm, Blade’s handler, told reporters outside the Falls Road Animal Hospital that the dog might be able to go back to work. “He’s a tough dog,” Sturm said.

Blade was shot while pursing several people who bailed from a car whose driver evaded a traffic checkpoint. The dog’s handler released Blade from his leash and commanded him to track down the running suspects. A police officers who was approaching from the other direction, was attacked by the dog and fired his weapon, not knowing it was a police dog.

“They were just both in the same spot at the same time, and Blade was doing what he was taught to do,” Sturm said. He added, “It’s dangerous because unlike us … we see somebody with a gun or a weapon, or whatever, we will get out of the way. Dogs react totally the opposite. They go. No matter what they see, they’re going to be going unless we call them off.”

Florida DJ Shannon Burke was arrested Thursday and charged with shooting his wife and dog, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said.

Burke, whose full name is Edward Shannon Burke, got angry at his dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, got a handgun and threatened to shoot it, according to WESH, the NBC affiliate in Orlando.

When the gun discharged, the bullet went through the dog’s leg and struck his wife, Catherine, on the side of her head, according to a police report.

Burke, 43, was charged with aggravated battery with a weapon and animal cruelty. Bond was set at $10,000 at a court appearance on Friday. He was also ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet on his ankle. The incident took place Wednesday at the couple’s home in Altamonte Springs.

In a recording of Burke’s 911 call, he tells the dispatcher he was playing with a gun that he didn’t know was loaded, and it went off. He says the bullet struck the side of his wife’s head.

Catherine Burke was treated for non-life threatening injuries. The dog was treated at an emergency animal clinic and survived.

Burke is on RealRadio 104.1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wikipedia describes his show as “mixture of outrageous daily, biker attitude and personality, and right-wing style rants.”

(Photo: Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)