Ohmidog!!! This is it -- the last blog entry (from me anyway) on the Baltimore Sun "Mutts" blog.

I don't know what the newspaper's plans are for the blog.

My plans for me, though, involve leaving the paper as of today, writing a book and continuing a dog blog of my own.

If you wish to check it out, you can visit Ohmidog.com. (I'm the master of at least one domain now.) If you wish to reach me, you can send an email to muttsblog@verizon.net.

Thanks for the 376,313 visits you paid in the past year. Thanks for you astute comments, and your wacky ones as well. Thanks for letting me ramble on -- now and then -- about my own dog, Ace.

But thanks, most of all, for caring about animals -- and especially to those of you who take that compassion and turn it into action.

This video (and, no, that's not me singing to a litter of boxers) seemed a fitting goodbye.

In a way, and I mean this respectfully, you've been a lot like my dog, Ace -- you've been loyal, there for me when I need you, you've made me laugh, you've made me feel more secure. And I don't even have to clean up after you.

Just like Ace, you've made my life much richer. Thanks.

Oh heck, let's hear it one more time.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

A group of children watched yesterday as "Thor," a 3-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, sprung from a running board into a pool of water during the practice period for the DockDogs Big Air Wave competition at the 21st annual Harford County Farm Fair held at the Equestrian Center in Bel Air.

DockDogs sponsors regional, national and international dock jumping performance sport for dogs. It got started as a "filler" event during the 2000 ESPN Outdoor Games. Despite low expectations it took a giant leap to popularity.

In 2002 DockDogs was established as a company, and this year it is holding more than 100 events worldwide.

(Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Here on the last day of the Mutts blog -- at least the last day I will be associated with it -- we'll pay one last visit to the issue of mandatory spay/neuter laws, like the one proposed in Chicago that we mentioned yesterday.

The post drew a few comments, including this one from a guy named David, who said of the laws: "First they aren't designed to ease pet overpopulation -- they're designed to make it more and more expensive and difficult to own animals -- which is part of the radical animal rights agenda.

"Also, there isn't a pet overpopulation problem at all. Read Nathan Winograd's book -- "Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation" and you'll understand that it's simply a marketing issue and that there are plenty of adoption homes!"

Millions of euthanized animals, myself and reader Carey, disagree. But I'll let Carey respond. Here's what she wrote, quite eloquently, in our comments section:

Continue reading "The pet overpopulation myth?" »

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Five goats -- and the friendly family to whom they belong -- are helping Stephen Elliott make it through the night.

Formerly homeless, and formerly a heroin addict (one month clean, he points out), Elliott lives in a barn behind the Reisterstown home of Deanne Callegary and L.R. Wagner, who met him while volunteering at the shelter where he once stayed and later invited him to tend their goats.

When he can't sleep, reporter Julie Scharper points out in a story in today's Sun, Elliott, 47, leaves his mattress, walks to where the five goats live and spends some quiet moments scratching them behind their ears.

After years of drug abuse and months of homelessness, Elliott "has found solace, perhaps salvation, among a family of goats," Scharper reports. It has been his longest period of stability in years, and he's more hopeful than he has been in a long time.

To see the full story, and photos by Jed Kirschbaum, who also shot the video above, click here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tracy Santos, the cancer patient who led her troops through the Maryland SPCA's March for the Animals earlier this spring, will have all hands on deck on Sunday, Aug. 16 when the "Baltimore Bark Brigade" holds a dog-wash-a-thon at Eastern Animal Hospital.

Dog baths will be free with a donation to the Maryland SPCA. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Animal Hospital is at 6404 Eastern Ave. Treats for dogs, and humans, will also be available.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Former "The Price is Right" host Bob Barker lobbied Chicago's alderman yesterday to pass an ordinance requiring dogs and cats to be sterilized, but indications are the getting the proposal passed in the windy city isn't going to be a breeze.

During three hours of debate, aldermen expressed doubts about the proposal and questioned whether an ordinance requiring spaying or neutered of pets by age 6 months was even enforceable.

"There are so many cats and dogs being born in our country that it is impossible to find homes for all of them," said Barker, a longtime animal-welfare advocate. "We need legislation. It's the obvious answer. It's the only answer."

The ordinance would "prevent tremendous animal suffering, but beyond that it will save the taxpayers of Chicago thousands, millions of dollars" by reducing the need to shelter and euthanize animals, he said.

The aldermen who sponsored the ordinance cited dog attacks on Chicago residents as one of the reasons behind it, and said sterilized animals are less likely to be vicious.

A violation would result in a ticket ordering the owner to have the pet fixed. If that failed, a $100 fine would be issued after 60 days. If another 60 days passed, a second fine could reach $500, and the city could impound and sterilize the animal. Owners couldn't reclaim then until paying the fines and other costs.

The proposal is backed by PAWS Chicago, a no-kill humane organization focused on reducing the number of stray animals, and the Humane Society of the United States.

It's opposed by the Chicago and Illinois State Veterinary Medical Associations, which say decisions on pet sterilization are best made by a veterinarian and pet owner.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Save this date: On Aug. 23 National Dog Day 2008 will be celebrated on Solomon's Island.

The Calvert Marine Museum was chosen by the Animal Miracle Foundation, creator of National Dog Day, to host the free event, which will include a host of acitivies for dog lovers.

National Dog Day is about finding new families for unwanted dogs in the United States. The lifesaving goal for this year's celebration is for 20,000 dogs to find new homes through the main event in Maryland and adoption events nationwide. Last year, it helped nearly 15,000 dogs from coast to coast find homes in one day.

The event starts at 10 a.m. and runs all day. It features dog shows, vendors, entertainment, contests, demonstrations, children's activities, celebrities and most importantly, dog adoptions offered by numerous nonprofit rescue organizations.

The event will also honor Maya, the Pit Bull, National Dog Day 2008's "Hero Dog of the Year" and Luka, the National Dog Day 2008 "Great American Shelter Dog." There will also be a concert from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Calvert Concert Pavilion, featuring popular, animal loving performers such as Stop Motion Poetry, Orion Walsh and Lauren D'Aria.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Wonderful as those "Greatest American Dogs" are, should we really have to put up with all those greatly annoying humans on the show?

That's the question Anita Gates asks in a review of the new reality show.

"As the fourth episode is broadcast on Wednesday (the show has been moved from Thursday nights to Wednesdays), I am resigned to the producers’ intent to make the series “Most Annoying American Dog Owner” instead," she writes. "Clearly somebody was inspired more by Christopher Guest’s comic film “Best in Show,” a study in human inanity, than by a love of animals."

While calling reality shows "one of the most hideous, soul-destroying genres ever hatched," Gates goes on to point out that GAD has had some good moments, "like the first time Elvis, the scrappy Parson Russell terrier from New York, and Andrew, the silky-haired, 10-pound Maltese from Virginia, play together on the lawn, running their little legs off."

She calls Brandy, a California fashion designer, the Omarosa (villainous contestant on “The Apprentice”) of the group. “I won’t tolerate anybody touching my dog,” she announced in the first episode.

All in all though, Gates wants more footage of dogs, less of dog owners, and she particularly likes the relay races, Frisbee catching, hoop-jumping, chutes and mazes.

"Note to producers: More of this, please.," she writes. "If you’re hoping to win doting dog lovers as viewers, take the cameras off the owners and point them toward the pets."

Posted by John Woestendiek at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

The Humane Society of Baltimore County has taken its annual fund-raiser, Bark in the Park, turned it into something far huger, and given it all a new name -- DogFest 2008, which will take place Oct 4, 2008 at Shawan Downs.

This year, there's a admission fee to the day-long event ($20), but there will also be a lot more activities  to take part in -- from the traditional dog agility course and contests to a classic car show, a 5K-9 run, and the Paws on Parade Walk.

It's all laid out on the DogFest Web site.

To take part in the Paws on Parade Walk of the 5K run, you should register before Sept. 19. There's a $25 fee for run, and for the walk, but a $30 donation includes a DogFest 2008 T-shirt, dog goody bag, and admission to all activities and events.

Dogs are permitted in both the walk and the run, but there's a limit of one dog per person in the run, and they must be on (non-retractable) leashes at all times.

Partipants are encouraged to collect pledges to the Humane Society for their running and walking.

Activities planned in connection with the Bark in the Park event, which runs from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., include a dog agility course, a dog swim area, dog games, dog contests and educational sessions on Pet CPR, Lyme disease, pet friendly gardening and Kong stuffing and recipes.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

A six-legged deer found in Georgia after being attacked by two dogs has a new home.

An Athens woman with a permit to keep unique animals in captivity has agreed to take the deer, the Associated Press reported.

The deer is now recovering at West Rome Animal Clinic in Rome, Ga., after undergoing surgery for its minor injuries. It was found July 18 in Everett Springs, Ga.

Berry College animal science professor George Gallagher said the animal's condition prevents it from surviving in the wild.

The fawn has two complete pelvises and two tails. One of the tails had to be amputated.

Gallagher said the fawn has a condition that is similar to Siamese twins in humans.

Photo by Associated Press

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)