Frolicking with your dog on the beach is one of life’s greatest delights.

But between leash laws and all-out bans, the rulemakers have made that simple joy nearly impossible.

This Sunday's Modern Life section in the Sun features a story (find it here) on bringing your dog to the beach — as I did a couple weeks ago. We got in some frolicking, but then we had inside information from spending last summer on Indian River Inlet in Delaware.

For those unfamiliar with the rules, a trip to the beach can turn out to be a big disappointment — from finding a hotel that accepts their pooch to locating a beach that will permit him to set a paw in the sand.

Beach towns need to give their dog rules another look, and lighten up a bit, and I’d bet those that did would be rewarded by that ca-ching sound they so like to hear.

As it is now -- (I have yet to hear back from Ocean City on my proposal for a “dog week,” see earlier post) — only a few opportunities exist to hit the surf with your dog.

As previously promised, here are the dog rules, from north to south, at Delaware and Maryland beaches, all of which urge you to stay off the dunes and require you to clean up after your dog ...

Lewes: Dogs are allowed on the beach before 8 a.m., or after 6:30 p.m., from May 1- Sept. 30, and at all times during the rest of the year. Leashes are required.

Cape Henlopen State Park: Dogs are allowed in most areas, except for nature trails, fishing piers, park buildings and guarded swimming areas. They are allowed at the campground, but leaving them there unattended is prohibited.

Rehoboth Beach: Dogs are not allowed on the boardwalk or the beach from April 1 to Oct. 31. Off season, dogs are allowed but must be leashed.

Dewey Beach: Dogs are allowed on the beach before 9:30 a.m. and after 5:30 p.m. during the summer months, but only with a city dog license ($3).

Delaware Seashore State Park: Dogs on leashes are allowed on most beaches where surf fishing vehicles are permitted. These include the access points marked Three R’s Road, Conquest Road and Key Box Road.

Bethany Beach: Dogs are banned from the boardwalk and beach from May 15 to Sept. 30; in South Bethany, they are prohibited from May 1 to Sept. 30.

Fenwick Island: Dogs are not allowed on the beach from May 15 to Oct. 15. At other times, leashes are required.

Ocean City: Dogs are prohibited on beach and the boardwalk from May 1 to Sept. 30. The rest of the year, leashes are required.

Assateague: Dogs on leashes are allowed year-round at the Assateague National Seashore (except for nature trails), and in the beach campgrounds there; they are not allowed in Assateague State Park.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Earlier this week, we blogged about Elwood, the Chinese Crested mix who was named the “world’s ugliest dog” last week in California, and we linked to the CNN report that showed him in all his droopy-tongued uniqueness.

The next day, a reader complained that the piece -- and the contest itself -- "perpetuate the concept that all puppies, no matter what their physical deformities, deserve to live.

"This dog has a genetic malformation of its mouth, not a 'peculiarity,'" the reader who gave his name as Justin went on. "It is neither cute nor ugly. It is deformed, and its 'breeder' was correct to consider euthanasia over life. ...The owner of this dog did not 'rescue' it from anything."

Now we've got a dogfight, and it's ugly.

"He's the first idiot I've ever heard say that," said Karen Quigley, of Sewell, N.J., Elwood's owner.

“Elwood is not deformed. There’s nothing physically wrong with Elwood. He runs around the yard and wrestles with the other dogs. His tongue hangs out primarily because he doesn’t have teeth on that side; his teeth never grew in. . He has teeth in the front and on the right side, so he can eat anything.

“For people to say that – like this guy, or the breeder who was going to euthanize him because he was too ugly to sell – is wrong.

“You don’t just kill something because he’s unusual.”

I come down squarely on the side of Quigley and Elwood, whose story is a textbook example of why thinking twice, or maybe even six or seven times, is a good idea before resorting to euthanasia -- especially considering what Elwood has gone on to accomplish since being spared.

As an ambassador for rescue groups and humane societies, he has increased awareness of the need to adopt pets. As a visitor to hospitals and nursing homes, he has put smiles on the faces of hundreds. His story will be coming out as a children's book later this year, Quigley said.

Elwood came into Karen’s life through her boyfriend, an investigator with the New Jersey SPCA, who came across Elwood while investigating a cruelty case.

A woman had rescued Elwood from a breeder who, because of Elwood's perpetually droopy tongue, was going to euthanize him. Unfortunately, she had rescued more than a dozen others as well and, despite her good intentions, she was in over her head when it came to providing proper care for the animals, Quigley said.

As a result of result of the investigation, Elwood’s first rescuer was ordered to give up 11 of her dogs, including Elwood.

When her boyfriend told Quigley about Elwood, Quigley, who has five other dogs, had to have him. She picked him up, took him to a vet, and was assured that, other than his odd looks, and the lack of teeth on one side, there was nothing wrong with him.

“He brings more joy to people across this country. … I can't tell you the joy he brings to people. He sits on their lap and makes them feel good. Wherever I take him, he brightens up a room. He's one of a kind. There will never be another Elwood."

In a perfect world, maybe Elwood would have never been born -- maybe a breeder of questionable repute wouldn't have attempted to cash in on the "designer dog," or hybrid, fad and mated one funny looking breed of little dog (Chinese Crested) with another (Chihuahua), then been disappointed because the result was a little too funny looking.

But once he was born, Elwood absolutely deserved to live.

If we terminated every creature whose tongue hung out of its mouth, well, we'd have a lot of work on our hands; Baltimore's population would plummet; and I would lose some close friends.

And if we start calling dental problems deformities -- and make them punishable by death -- I'd probably get included in the first wave.

“He is what he is," Quigley, who works for an optical company, repeated. "We hope the message we get out is to adopt an animal, no matter how goofy he looks. Kids love Elwood, they adore him. I've never heard a child call him ugly. That's what inspired the children's book (Everyone Loves Elwood is the working title) and the lesson of it is that being different is a good thing."

That, in case you haven't noticed, is pretty much what the Mutts blog is all about as well.

Justin's point was that Elwood's quality of life was likely so poor that it would have been better for him to have no life at all. But, according to Quigley, the quality of her dog's life is high, and he's lifted the spirits of a lot of other lives, most of them human.

I'm not sure who should get to decide what constitutes a quality life, what constitutes ugly or what should be considered "deformed." But I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be Justin.

And I have no problem with an ugly dog contest at a county fair. It's cute; it's harmless; maybe -- in exposing people to something new and different -- it can even serve to enlighten.

More than that, it -- like Elwood -- shows just how beautiful ugly can be.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Canton Dog Park's 5th year anniversary party will be held Saturday, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The city's only official dog park -- the only public place where you can legally let your dog off its leash in Baltimore -- is at the intersection of South Bouldin and Toone Streets, just north of Boston Street in Canton.

The park is run by Canton Community Association, a non-profit organization, and all contributions to it are tax-deductible. It costs about $2,500 a year to maintain the park, the association says, and the anniversary party is one way they help raise that money.

The city Department of Recreation and Parks established rules for dog parks two years ago. Those require that community groups bear the expense of building and maintaining them. Since then, despite interest among neighbors of Patterson and Riverside parks to turn sections of those parks into dog parks, neither has been approved.

Canton Dog Park's anniversary party will feature a barbecue, dog treats from Dogma, prize raffles, and a "pool party," said Gina Schwind, president of Friends of Canton Dog Park.

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A new dog-themed bar and restaurant opened in Canton this week, with an exhibit of dog-themed paintings, but don’t plan on bringing your dog inside the Yellow Dog Tavern.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s something we should even try at this point,” said co-owner Amber Miller, citing the city’s seeming crackdown on dogs in bars and restaurants.

But there will be a bowl of water set out for pets that pass by, and customers are welcome to post photos of their pets on a wall at the The Yellow Dog, 700 S. Potomac St., which opened Monday.

For its first month, the bar will feature an exhibit of large paintings called "Big Dogs," which artist Gil Jawetz says “use a variety of painting techniques to explore what it means to be a canine. I used bright colors, blurred motion, and expressive subjects to try to portray what I like about them. … Their honesty, energy and optimism inspire me.

For more information and to see his work, go here.

Jawetz said 5 percent from the sales of his paintings during the exhibit will be donated to the Baltimore animal rescue group Recycled Love.

Formerly Mike’s Happy Hour, the corner bar near Patterson Park was sold and was being renovated before reopening as The Yellow Dog when the new owner died of cancer.
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When it was then sold to Miller and her partner, chef Anita Scheiding, who have four dogs between them — a Great Dane, English Mastiff and two Basset Hounds -- they decided to keep the name.

“Two of our dogs are kind of yellow, but we kept the name mostly in honor of him and because we liked it,” said Miller.

Miller said the tavern will feature the work of a new artist every month. The reception for the Jawetz exhibit will be July 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Today, we give a big Baltimore welcome to a "Dog" from Hawaii -- but, down boy, all this one's trying to capture is the hearts and minds of schoolchildren.

Borrowing little from TV's bounty hunter, but a lot from Flat Stanley — that one-dimensional dude who was popping up in photographs everywhere around the turn of the century — Rex Dubiel is traveling the country with a stuffed dog, photographing him in locations famous and not-so-famous, and keeping a log of it all for her elementary students back in Hawaii.

There’s “Surf Dog,” coolly crouched in his perpetual surfing stance, at a restaurant in Redondo Beach, Calif.; there he is again in the lap of an artist in Santa Fe, or in the Arizona desert, or aboard a Greyhound bus.

You get the picture. If you don't, you can here on Dubiel's blog.

Dubiel, who teaches third grade in Oahu, Hawaii, said she conceived of “Surf Dog,” shortly after the death of her 18-year-old Fox Terrier earlier this year –- first as an idea for a T-shirt, then as a teaching aid that would accompany her and her husband Bobby, an arborist, on their summer cross-country rail trip.

While "Surf Dog" has helped blunt the sadness of losing her own dog, Dubiel said, his intended purpose is far more lofty.

“Ultimately, I want to promote literacy,” Dubiel said. “Students can go on the blog, see the pictures, read and comment back to me.”

Like Flat Stanley, a 1964 children's book character who had new live breathed into him by schoolteachers in the late 1990s (but remained flat nevertheless), Surf Dog is intended to help students learn geography, reading and writing skills.

Before leaving Baltimore to visit her mother at Leisure World outside Washington, D.C., the Dubiels and Surf Dog planned to attend last night's Orioles game and have Surf Dog’s photo taken with the Oriole Bird, who is also stuffed, albeit with a human.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

If you haven't seen him yet, brace yourself, then click on this CNN report to see the world's ugliest dog -- Elwood, a Chinese Crested mix from Sewell, N.J.

It was Elwood's second time in the contest, which is held during the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif. Last year, he was second runner-up.

Elwood, who tips the scales at 6 pounds and whose tongue permanently dangles out of the left side of his mouth, was rescued by his owner from a breeder who planned to euthanize him because of his peculiarities. Since then, he's gone on to work with rescue groups, encouraging people to adopt animals and to spay/neuter their pets, according to his owner.

You can find the rest of this year's contestants, mostly Chinese Cresteds or mixes thereof, here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Hey, Mutts fans. We were really looking forward to this whole Take Your Dog to Work Day event today, but we've hit a snag. Everyone we've talked to either has a pet-free office, or it's a canine frenzy every day.

Anyone out there have special dispensation to bring your pet to work today just because of the national event? Post a comment, if so. We'd like to chat with you about it.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Friday is “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” brought to you by, of all people, Pet Sitters International.

You’d think pet sitters would be the last ones wanting you to bring your dog to work, but for nine years now they’ve been the main sponsors of the day, which the organization says is designed to show that dogs make great companions and to encourage pet adoptions.

PSI, an educational association representing more than 7,600 pet sitters, says having pets in the workplace is a growing trend.

Many larger companies, though, including the one I work for, still haven't warmed up to the idea.

“Everyone should be able to bring their dog to work with them,” said Terri Ball of Hampden, who works as a nanny in Ruxton and brings her boxer, Boomer, to her job everyday. “I bring him with me everywhere I go,” she said. “That dog is spoiled.”

Elise Gordon, an administrative assistant at Four Star Plastics in Beltsville doesn’t have a dog, but she has been bringing her cat Maddy to work with her for more than a year.

“My boss loves animals, and he doesn’t have one, so he asked if I could bring mine and it sort of became a fun thing,” she explained. “I bring him once every couple of weeks.

“Everybody takes turns playing with her and giving her treats, and it makes it sort of a more laid-back day. The atmosphere is a little bit more fun and it [makes] the day go by a lot faster to have this little furry thing running round.”

One company where dogs will be turning up for work is Chess Communications, which publishes the new Baltimore Dog Magazine, a quarterly magazine which debuted this month. (Perhaps you saw its bold "Doggie Style" billboard on the JFX.)

Publisher Denise Iannatuono says as many as 20 dogs could be present -- so many that they have invited the magazine's animal behavior columnist, Joy Freedman, to be on hand to mediate if necessary.

Iannatuono says it will be the highest number of dogs ever in the downtown headquarters at 901 Fayette St. "Well," she added, "the most four-legged ones, at least."

Regardless of whether you get to bring your dog to work, you are invited to the the Maryland SPCA at 3300 Falls Road, which will hold a Take Your Dog to Work Day "Yappy Hour" from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, featuring refreshments, a dog fashion show, tours and “bobbing for hot dogs.”

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate. Dogs are admitted free, but only one dog per person is permitted and it must be on a leash. Tickets can be purchased online here . The rain date is June 29.

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Ace and I were strolling past the booths at last weekend’s Bark in the Park, the Humane Society of Baltimore County’s annual fund-raiser, when nature called.

I, being human, headed discreetly to the porta-pottie (The term “port-a-john” is not permitted on this blog). Ace, being a dog, left his calling card smack dab in front of the booth of a Pikesville-based internet doggie boutique called Earth Doggy.

“Well, it doesn’t get much earthier than that,” I quipped, to no one’s appreciation.

I cleaned up the mess with a plastic grocery store bag, apologized to the Earth Doggy people and then bought something from them to ease any ill feelings that might have lingered: “Monthly Doos, the 2007 dog poop calendar.”

I got a deal on it, the year being half over.

The calendar features piles of dog poop in scenic settings. It's is the creation of Watch Your Step Productions in Portland, Ore. To see a preview of the 2008 calendar, go to www.monthlydoos.com where you will also see the company's new "Official Butt Crack Calendar").

The dog poop calendar got its start in 2003, after Oregon resident Scott Brunton, while hiking along the coast, spotted a pooping poodle near the pounding surf. Later, he stumbled across what the poodle had left behind, amid the sand and sea grass, basking in warm, orangish glow of the setting sun.

Moved by the scene, he did what any slightly abnormal person would: He snapped a photo.

Upon developing it, he said, he decided a themed calendar was in order, and he's been searching for scenically situated dog droppings ever since.

His company has also branched into other areas, making candy, candles and Christmas ornaments that resemble dog poop.

All of those items, and plenty that are actually useful, environmentally friendly and in good taste are available at www.earthdoggy.com.

And just to give this entry some redeeming value, and myself a kick in the pants, let me point out that picking up dog poop and tying it up tightly in a plastic grocery store or newspaper bag, only ensures that the poop will be around long after we are gone — more than 100 years, some estimate.

Encasing our dog poop, or for that matter our household garbage, in invulnerable plastic shrouds makes little sense, especially when biodegradable bags — from jumbo size on down —are available from numerous sources (www.biobagusa.com is just one.) Some environmentalists say flushing your dog droppings is best.

I'm not going to go that far, but I shall look into switching to biodegradable bags, and, I will of course continue to pick up what my earth doggy leaves behind. After all, I'd hate to see it end up on someone's shoes, or even worse, someone's calendar.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)
        

When the weather starts warming up, a young cat's fancy turns to, well, you know.

And by the time summer is here in earnest, animal shelters generally are at full kitty capacity.

This year is no exception -- in fact it may be a little worse, and some experts are blaming global warming, saying shorter winters and hotter temperatures are extending the breeding season, leading to an even greater annual cat population explosion.

Pets Across America, a national adoption organization, says shelters they contacted reported a 30 percent increase in cats and kittens in need of homes from 2005 to 2006.

"Basically there is no longer a reproduction lull with cat breeding cycles, and unfortunately, it seems more people are bringing boxes of kittens into our agencies during winter now," said Kathy Warnick, PAA president.

The Maryland SPCA is experiencing its own flood of cats, and as a result is making adopting a cat easier and more affordable for the month of June.

Incentives include lowering the adoption fee for cats from $80 to $40 for the the month (or two cats for $60). In addition all adopters will receive a small collar charm for their cat, and cats will be microchipped for free, normally a $30 charge. The Maryland SPCA is at 3300 Falls Road.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If your dog’s social calendar isn’t booked for tomorrow, there are two day-long events scheduled -- one in the city and one in the county -- that offer a chance to make some new friends and help support organizations that help find homes for animals.

The Humane Society of Baltimore County is holding its 14th annual “Bark in the Park Canine Games” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the shelter grounds at 1601 Nicodemus Road in Reisterstown.

Meanwhile, Recycled Love is holding “Row for Rescue,” an event built around Al Freihofer’s 75-mile fund-raising row (see Wednesday’s blog entry and story), that will feature vendors and dog games and activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Inner Harbor’s Rash Field.

The Bark in the Park games will include “dog pin bowling,” an obstacle course, treasure hunt, races, and contests for best dog kisser, dog singer, costume, tail wagger, trick and for the “most beauty challenged” dog. It will also offer microchipping ($25), and presentations on establishing dog parks and pet relaxation.

Cost is $5 per person, $10 for first dog and $7 for each additional dog.

Row for Rescue will feature an animal communicator, an animal acupuncturist, flyball, a silent auction, vendors and music.

My dog, Ace, will be dropping by both.

Whether you’re a city dog or a suburban dog, or a little of both, it sounds like both events offer a little something for everyone.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Any monkey can blog, I’ve heard it said.

But I’d like to prove it.

So here’s an open invitation to monkey caretakers in the Baltimore area. You supply the monkey, I’ll supply the computer, and we’ll see what he or she can churn out.

Until then, we’ll have to settle for monkeys who can paint, like Mr. Bailey, a 12-year-old capuchin monkey at the Little River Zoo in Oklahoma, the subject of this video, produced by LoganLProductions.com, and appearing in the online version of Readers Digest.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Retract:

 1. To take back; disavow

 2. To draw back or in

In the Sun’s Today section this morning is a story about Al Freihofer, who plans to row his boat all day long in the Inner Harbor Saturday to raise money for Recycled Love, a local dog rescue organization.

The story (click here) tells you all about that. What it doesn’t tell you is how, with some help from my dog, I almost killed the man.

But first we must go back to my new retractable leash.

I’d avoided getting a retractable leash, favoring the good old fashioned kind, until a dog trainer talked me into buying one a couple of weeks ago — a big, heavy duty model, about three times the size of a hockey puck.

It has its advantages – mainly, instead of Ace jerking my arm out of its socket every 10 seconds, it only happens about every 30 seconds with the retractable leash. He could roam and sniff a little more, and I could walk at a less hurky-jerky pace.

I hooked the new leash to my 115-pound dog last Wednesday, and, along with my 15-year-old son, walked down to the Inner Harbor to meet Al, who was being photographed by the paper while he practiced.

Ace and I sat on a wall and watched as Al’s Adirondack Guide Boat went out with the photographer and rowed back in. Then he offered my son a ride.

Al, an 8th grade English teacher and assistant headmaster at Boys’ Latin School, was holding the boat steady at the dock in front of the Maryland Science Center, and my son ran down to hop on. Ace suddenly jumped up and ran down there as well, extending the leash to its full 20 feet, at which point it flew out of my hand and headed -- while retracting, and at great speed -- directly for Al's head.

Despite my shout to "look out!" and despite me wishing I could at that moment retract the retractable leash, it hit Al smack in the mouth.

The leash landed in the boat as Al doubled over in pain, looking up a couple of times to stoically insist it was nothing. My son got his ride, but even from afar, I could see Al’s lip swelling up as the boat came back in.

"Don’t worry about it," he said again — proving what one might guess about a man who would row a boat all day long to raise money for dogs in need of homes.

This I can say in all objectivity and with no need for retraction: Al Freihofer is a very gracious man.

 ***

Row for Rescue activities will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Rash Field. They include pet-related vendors, pets available for adoption, flyball demonstrations, and appearances by an animal acupuncturist, an animal communicator and my dog Ace (star of the dogumentary "Hey, Mister, What Kind of Dog is That?"), who will be giving out pawtographs.

For more information on Freihofer’s row, visit http://www.rowforrescue.blogspot.com 

For more information on Recycled Love, visit http://www.recycledlove.org

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Well, at least two days of it.

Ace and I are back from Ocean City, and we can report that the town is deluged this week, as it is the same time every summer, with freshly graduated high school seniors, some of whom I'm sure are behaving quite responsibly and mannerly.

We, unfortunately, tended to only run into the rest of them -- those loud, expletive-spouting, engine-revving, beer-swilling teens who think they are invulnerable and seem intent on proving it.

I wrote about the "junebug" phenomenon last year -- during my summer-long assignment to the beach -- and part of that story got into how Ocean City motels once declined to accept celebrating high school graduates (kind of like many of them decline to accept families with dogs). Eventually business owners realized snubbing the seniors was economic suicide. 

Virtually all motels now rent to seniors, but there's still not that many allowing dogs, which is a bit of a double standard when you consider the similarities between the two groups.

Both are prone to urinating in public, fixated on "hooking up" and tend to travel in noisy and boisterous packs; both are capable of inflicting great damage on a motel room, making big messes on the carpet, getting into fights and barking and yelping all night long.

All of which gives me an idea -- and, no, it's not to require leashes on high school seniors. That would be wrong.

But why not a dog week, Ocean City? Maybe it could be the week before senior week, and all the motels would welcome dogs, and maybe a restaurant or two, as well, and maybe they'd be allowed on the boardwalk and beach, even. (Town rules prohibit dogs on the beach from May to September)

The town could even hold special safe and wholesome doggie functions for us to attend like it does with the seniors.

As it is now, it's difficult finding dog-friendly accommodations (we stayed at the Barefoot Mailman, which welcomes pets), and a dog visiting Ocean City, unless he knows how to play miniature golf, isn't going to have huge fun. (There are spots along Delaware's coast that do allow dogs, and that will be the topic of a future post).

Speaking of crazy ideas, we stopped by Ocean Gallery, where owner Joe Kro-Art, the king of crazy ideas, is trying to talk the city into a massive work of oceanfront public art he calls "Boathenge."

Inspired by Stonehenge, and Nebraska's whimsical tourist attraction, "Carhenge," Kro-Art wants to plant a line of boats in the sand on the beach at Ocean City.

Knowing him, the idea is not going to go away, so I didn't bother to suggest what I thought might be a better concept: "Seniorhenge."

No, that would be wrong.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Ace and I are in Ocean City today (he needed some beach time), but we interrupt our mini-vacation to bring you the following baby duck bulletin, courtesy of the Associated Press, based on reporting by the Reading Eagle:

WEST LAWN, Pa. - Real estate agent Liliana Gomez told sales manager Larry Kitchen about a duck she saw peering down a storm drain on her way to work last week at GMAC Real Estate Premier Network in Wyomissing, and the two drove back to look.

Five baby ducks had fallen into the drain on State Hill Road in Spring Township. The mother paced nervously. Soon medics from the Western Berks Ambulance Association were working to retrieve the ducklings, attracting attention amidst rush-hour traffic.

"All of a sudden, people were stopping and wanting to help," said Gomez, 38. Mike Roth, paramedic and Spring Township deputy fire chief, lifted the grate, climbed 4 feet and began lifting ducks up to two other paramedics. "I handed them up and somebody put them in a box," Roth said.

Reunited in a nearby field, the mother checked the ducklings, and waddled off with them stringing along behind her.

"We all felt good," Kitchen said. "It showed that people have a compassionate side. It was a nice way to start a day."

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It’s close kin to racism, in my view — “breedism,” we’ll call it — and some insurance companies have taken to practicing it freely.

Today, in a world increasingly prone to attaching meaningless labels and making snap judgments, what breed or breeds are in your dog may raise your homeowner's insurance premiums — or even keep you from getting coverage — as shown in this report by Jacque Estes of the Daytona Beach News Journal ...

When homeowners go looking for insurance, the first question they may be asked is “What kind of dog do you have?”

I am shopping for homeowners insurance and was startled that this was their first concern, especially since I live a block from the ocean.

Certain breeds of dogs are on a hit list of sorts, and owning a dog on the list can have homeowners scrambling for coverage or looking for a new home for their pet.

 “For the past several years, we have seen an increasing trend of homeowners insurance companies refusing to renew or canceling insurance policies because of dog breeds,” said Adam Goldfarb, issues specialist for companion animals of the Humane Society of United States.

 The lists seem random, with insurance carriers having different dogs listed as high-risk pets, including mixed breeds.

Goldfarb questioned the ability of insurance companies to determine and distinguish different breeds. “Even experts can disagree about the breed of a dog, and here are untrained people making the determination,” he said. He gave one example of a homeowner who had his policy canceled because he owned a German shepherd, a breed included on many lists. Even after the homeowner explained that his dog was an Australian shepherd, the insurance company wouldn’t budge. “An Australian shepherd is a totally different breed, but their attitude was a shepherd is a shepherd,” Goldfarb said.

Animal shelters and humane societies throughout the United States, already experiencing a population explosion of unwanted pets, may also be affected.

“One of the challenges for shelters is that the potential adopter may not be able to find renter’s or homeowner’s insurance for a dog they want to adopt,” said Goldfarb.

 While some states have passed legislation that prevents insurance companies from charging pet owners more for insurance because of the breed of their dog, homeowners in Florida have no recourse to challenge the insurance company’s decision.

“We have pursued the issue in other states, but not in Florida,” said Laura Bevan, HSUS Southeast Regional Director. “On a national level we have tried to work with the insurance companies.”

“One of the biggest problems with this policy is there are not a lot of standards or regulations in place for people to address, and there is no form of appeal,” Goldfarb said.

Despite the fact there is no official appeal process, Bevan suggested pet owners present the insurance company with documentation that includes letters from the veterinarian and proof of obedience training. “Whatever it takes to show that your dog is a good citizen,” Bevan said.

“The best option for pet owners is to do a lot of leg work,” Goldfarb said. “Lists vary with insurance companies, and in some cases different agents within the same company will have different policies.”

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)
        

Men’s Health magazine has ranked Baltimore as one of the worst cities in the country in which to be a dog.

And – no bones about it — they couldn’t be more right.

Baltimore, El Paso, Jacksonville, Washington and Detroit make up the bottom five of the magazine’s 50-city list, whose rankings are based on factors that include the number of dog owners, dog parks, pet supply stores, animal shelters, kennels and veterinarians, as well as overall dog health and strictness of animal cruelty laws.

Of the 10 best cities — Colorado Springs, Portland and Albuquerque were the top three — nine were in the west.

Why is Baltimore so far down on the list?

Lots of reasons, many of which will be addressed from time to time in this blog. For now, we’ll take just one measure: dog parks.

Seattle, ranked fifth on the list, has 12 of them. We have one.

One.

One tiny, fenced-in corner lot is the only public place in Baltimore where your dog can legally be off its leash — Canton Dog Park, at S. Bouldin and Toone streets. (To learn more about it, go here.

At any other city park in Baltimore, you run the risk of getting a ticket for letting your dog run free, which carries a $100 fine, more for subsequent offenses.

(I know this because I’ve gotten one, and that adventure, as well as our pending trip through the canine justice system will be the topic of upcoming posts).

In addition to cracking down on romping dogs in parks, the city, though it denies it is a concerted effort, has increasingly been ordering once dog-friendly bars and restaurants to remove pooches from their premises, or face losing their licenses. (Scroll down to see "Who Kicked the Dogs Out.")

While some small pockets of it still remain, dog-friendliness in Baltimore is eroding.

The reason is simple: Dogs can’t vote (though I’m convinced they, if given the opportunity, could do at least a good a job of it as we seem to).

On top of that, the anti-dog people here are far more organized and vocal than the pro-dog people.

And while it seems wrong to mix something as pure as dogs with something as tainted as politics, there is no other way to keep dogs and their owners from being pushed around.

That’s how it is.

And until dog lovers unite, loudly, it’s going to stay that way.

***

The full Men's Health article is here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)
        

Here's an item that has it all — bunnies (both the Playboy kind and the wildlife kind), tomcats (in both meanings of that word as well) and a chance to use the words “neuter” and “Hef’” in the same sentence.

The Florida Keys Keynoter reports that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Monday will start a feral cat roundup in the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key in an attempt to protect endangered marsh rabbits that the cats are preying on.

The rabbit victims are of a species named after Playboy founder and editor Hugh Hefner, who funded the 1980 study that identified them as endangered. Now Hefner is ponying up some dough to keep the captured cats that are feeding on his namesake species —Sylvilagus palustris hefneri — from being euthanized.

“I have made a contribution to Stand Up for Animals, a local nonprofit that operates two animal shelters in the Florida Keys. … (to) provide the greatest chance of saving both the rabbits and the cats.” Hefner said in an e-mail to the Keynoter.

The director of Stand Up for Animals, Linda Gottwald, who had written Hefner a letter asking for support, appeared Friday on a radio show hosted by Bridget Marquardt, one of “Hef’s girls” on the television show The Girls Next Door.

Gottwald said her organization had a rescued tomcat that they named “Hef,” who they planned to put up for adoption after neutering him. They’ve also named kittens after all three Playboy models on the show, Bridget, Holly and Kendra.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It was busy evening at Light Street Animal Hospital, and an assortment of dogs and cats waited in the crowded lobby when Ace and I walked in for some booster shots yesterday.

Only one seat was empty, next to a man and his daughter. He held a cat carrier in his lap, and the meows coming from it drew Ace’s attention, leading him to whimper, tilt his head and try to inch closer to the cat to sniff things out.

On Ace’s first attempt to get near the cat carrier, the girl, probably about 10 years old and only about two-thirds of Ace’s weight, quickly stepped between my dog and the cat carrier, her hands clasped behind her.

I was holding Ace close to me on his leash, but still only inches separated him and the girl.

“He’s very big,” she said with a gulp.

Eventually, she reached out a hand to pet him, but not once during the 30-minute wait did she step aside from protecting her cat. She just stood there, a human barricade, her hands on her hips.

“What if my dog wasn’t friendly?” I asked her at one point. “What if he was a mean, snarly, barking dog. Would you still be standing there?”

She didn’t need to think for even a second.

 “Yes,” she said.

 “I love my cat.”

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Ace’s next adventure, and his next “dogumentary,” are underway – and while we’re not going to spill all the beans here, we will use this space to keep you posted on how it’s going.

In his first videotaped adventure, you’ll recall (and if you don’t, you can find it elsewhere on this page), Ace, a shelter mutt, went on a search for his roots, or at least got dragged along as I sought them out.

Among other things, we learned (through DNA testing) that his heritage is primarily Chow and Rottweiler.

Now he is in training to become a therapy dog. We’ll be working to help children improve their reading (in a program similar to this one written about in The Sun last week, www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-md.co.dogs31may31,0,7974674.story, and possibly with people with autism at the League for People With Disabilities, www.leagueforpeople.org

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for about a year now, ever since I saw the effect my extra large mutt had on residents of the retirement community in which my mother lives — or at least those who didn’t run in the other direction.

Most of the programs I was able to find in a quick Internet search back then seemed a little pricey (especially since I was donating my time and my dog to the effort), and I put the idea on hold on that big back burner where most of my noble thoughts end up.

Then, I heard about Karma Dogs, karmadogs.org a non-profit organization that uses dogs to help improve literacy skills among school students and works with children and adults with developmental disabilities to improve communication and socialization skills. All the dogs Karma Dogs uses were saved by rescue organizations.

There’s a training fee of $75, and Ace, so far, has passed with flying colors. The weekend before last, he was tested at the PetSmart in Towson, where Karma Dogs trainers walked him through crowds, made loud noises, gave him some forceful hugs and bumped into him enough to ensure that those sort of things didn’t make him angry.

At a third meeting last week, without Ace, I watched as Karma Dogs director Kelly Gould and her dog, Dirk, worked with a 13-year-old boy with autism — teaching him to feed, brush, walk and, most important, bond with Dirk, who was a Hurricane Katrina refugee dog.

Ace and I are scheduled to attend that program at the league, and a Karma Dogs reading program at the Baltimore County Public Library in Towson in June and July.

Watch for movie and report in early August.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Have you been to Adoption Alley yet?

Here are the directions: Scroll back up this page until you come to a grey- shaded area on the right side of the screen. You'll come to a cat. Then scroll up just a hiar more to the dog, whose photo is under the heading "video."

Click on it, wait a few seconds — depending on the speed of your computer — and you'll see our growing list of videos about animals in need of adoption.

The first was Pooh, the dean of mutts at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter.

Pooh has been at BARCS longer than any other dog there, and still is, and he was the first to be showcased in our new video feature about local pets in need of homes. Granger, the second dog listed, is still available as well.

Every other week, we’ll feature a new pet available for adoption.

If you represent an animal shelter or rescue group and have a candidate, send me the information at mutts@baltsun.com and I’ll get in touch to arrange a visit.

For more complete lists of adoptable animals, you can go to www.petfinders.com, or the Web sites of local shelters and rescue organizations, many of which can be found through the link listed under “Resources” near the bottom of that same gray-shaded column.

Our goal here is not to give you an exhaustive list, only to pique your interest and introduce you to a few homeless local pets in a little more depth than snapshots provide.

Once pets are adopted, we’ll make note of that, but we plan to keep them in the alley, and we ask that, should you adopt one, you keep us posted on your adventures and misadventures through our forum.

If you’ve already adopted/rescued a pet and want to share your experiences, those are welcome on our forum, too. Just go about three inches down the gray-shaded column from Adoption Alley.

And for those of you who might be giving some thought to adopting a pet, and just need a little push, we’re pleased to pass on these incentives.

If you’ve adopted a pet this year, or you’re planning to, you can qualify for a free pet food coupon and other goodies from the Humane Society of the United States.

As part of the organization’s “Proud 2 Adopt” campaign, which started in April, the HSUS is offering a “care package” to anyone who has adopted a pet from a local shelter or rescue group since January. The package includes a T-shirt, bumper sticker, certificate and coupon for Hill’s Science Diet pet food. All you need to do is send you adoption paperwork to HSUS. For details, go to www.proud2adopt.org

When you adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue group, you’re saving two lives, the HSUS says — that of the adopted pet, and that of the homeless animal that gets to move into his space. About 4 million cats and dogs (three-fourths of them mutts) are euthanized annually. That’s about half of those who enter shelters.

You’re also saving money, often getting a healthier animal and avoiding supporting “puppy mills” — factory style breeding operations that put profit above the welfare of dogs, the HSUS says.

An even bigger payoff is in store for the person who takes home the 3 millionth pet adopted through PetSmart, the national pet supply chain that made the decision to stop selling dogs and cats and turned to promoting adoptions instead.

That lucky person and pet will be receiving a lifetime supply of pet food, grooming and training, a year’s worth of veterinary services and a shopping cart loaded with supplies.

Established by PetSmart in 1994, PetSmart Charities partners with more than 3,400 animal welfare agencies and thousands of PetSmart associates in 900 PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Canada to facilitate pet adoptions. For more information visit www.petsmart.com

We here at the Mutts blog can’t top that, but, in a way slimmed down version of that same spirit, and because Pooh has been in shelter for way too long now, we’re going to provide an incentive of our own.

The person or family who adopts Pooh will receive a lovely doggie gift basket, with a retail value of not less than $9.99, hand-delivered (paw-delivered?) by Ace and me, provided they let me know, and they don’t live too far away.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)