Animal House

Team Vivi may have suspended its formal search for the missing Westminster whippet, but it often springs into action when other animals go missing.

Consider Lexi, a female yellow Labrador Retriever who went missing on Thanksgiving Day at Springfield Blvd & 77th Avenue in Bayside, Queens -- an area very familiar to Vivi searchers. She was wearing a collar with tags and a matching leash when she got spooked and ran.

Lexi was sighted at about 5 a.m. the following Saturday morning in the same area.

Bonnie Folz just forwarded this email from Lexi's owner to us:

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Feels like old times -- Rosa is on the way to search.

Any info, please call Laura at 516-770-0659 or 516-804-0079.

As we creep upon the second anniversary of Vivi's disappearance into the marshlands of JFK Airport, her breeder, Bo Bengtson, is gearing up for still more publicity -- this time, of the welcome kind.

The book that Bo was working on when Vivi disappeared -- and the one whose deadlines went unmet over the many months he spent tracking down leads and writing updates about the whippet's whereabouts -- is finally being published.

"Best in Show: The World of Show Dogs and Dog Shows" (Bowtie, $34.95) bows next month, with a book signing planned at the AKC / Eukanuba National Championship in Long Beach, Calif., on Dec. 1 and 2.

The book highlights the show ring's biggest names -- including the two legendary poodle specialists, Frank Sabella and the late Anne Rogers Clark -- as well as the larger-than-life show dogs who need only be introduced by their call names -- Manhattan, Coco, Mick.

As for Vivi, she lives on in the show ring through her son, Ch. Boehm Bon Vivant.

For photos of Vivi's son, visit www.bohemwhippets.com, and scroll down to the sixth photo under "September 2007 Updates."

From today's email.

For details on Dallas' disappearance, click here.

< REWARD!
I just received a phone call from a heartbroken owner. His new puppy, a 7 mo old male Pomeranian, was stolen from his home in Morristown NJ (north Jersey) on Monday November 19th. Color: Red sable (Reddish orange with black hairs and trim) Weight, 3.5 lbs. The thieves took portable electronics, then as maybe an afterthought, took the carrier and the puppy, leaving the adult half brother. He just wants the puppy safe and home.

He is posting it on petfinder.com and it was on the front page of the local news, so AP is picking up the story.
Any good ideas, email
Amando Hernandez or call 973-290-0171. He can email a flyer.>>

This was posted on Craig's list last night:

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Date: 2007-11-18, 9:36PM EST

At around 3:30 this afternoon, some heartless creep abandoned 2 tiny chiuahuas on Southern State Parkway between exits 42 and 43. (State police said someone reported the guys license plate, hopefully he'll be arrested!). The dogs were last seen running on the west bound side of the parkway by the courthouse. Please keep your eyes open for these defenseless babies, Parkway Police and Islip animal control responded, but the dogs ran away. My neighbor got close to them, they are approachable, just got spooked . Even if they go to the town shelter, they should be adoptable so please if you see them, call the police or town shelter. They wont last long stuck on the side of the parkway. Thank you >>

Congo, the German shepherd from Princeton Township, N.J., who is on doggie death row for mauling a landscaper that came on to his family's property this summer, is out on bail.

A Superior Court judge signed a consent order to release the dog to his owner's custody this afternoon while his case is being appealed.

Among the conditions of the release: Congo must be muzzled whenever outside, and he cannot leave the family property without prior permission of the township's animal-control officer.

Angel’s Gate has a happy ending – sort of.

Confronted with disgruntled neighbors and zoning woes, Angel’s Gate, the animal hospice founded by retired nurse Susan Marino has decided to move off Island.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I must note that I am very good friends with Susan, and co-author of her book: “Getting Lucky: How One Special Dog Found Love and a Second Chance at Angel's Gate.”)

Susan has acquired a farm in the Catskill Mountains area in the small town of Delhi (pronounced “dell high”), about two hours from Manhattan.

As it has for the last several years, Angel’s Gate celebrates A Vegan Thanksgiving next Monday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. at Westbury Manor.

“Come celebrate with Angel's Gate as we give thanks for the many Blessings that we have received,” Susan writes. “The past year has held many challenges for us, but happily and thanks to your support, we are able to continue to fulfill our mission.”

Donation is $75 per person, $125 per couple, and $50 for children. To order tickets, call (631) 269-7641.

Another case of a canine wrongly accused -- at least as far as some dog folk are concerned.

Congo is a 2 1/2-year--old German shepherd from Princeton Township, N.J., who was sentenced to death for mauling gardener Giovanni Rivera, 42, on June 5. The dog's owners maintain that he was simply defending his family from a perceived threat.

On Tuesday, Municipal Court Judge Russell Annich Jr. let the euthanasia order stand. After clearing the packed courtroom because of outbursts from the crowd of mostly Congo supporters, he also ruled that four other shepherds owned by Guy and Elizabeth James be labeled "potentially dangerous." While this spares them from the needle, they will have to be muzzled when in public.

A euthanasia date was not set pending appeal.

The judge meanwhile, is receiving death threats.

The James family maintains that the workers did not heed warning to stay in the car. After one of the men confronted the dogs with a rake, Rivera ran to Elizabeth James for protection. James says Rivera grabbed her twice and pulled her down as he fell, provoking the dogs' protective instinct.

Rivera received a $250,000 settlement from the James' insurance company. He received 65 injections of rabies treatments because some of the dogs were unvaccinated at the time of the attack.

Meanwhile, an intense Internet campaign is underway to save Congo.

Congo supporters are urged to email Judge Annich in care of the Court Administrator: caroline_sapio@princeton-township.nj.us, as well as Gov. Corzine at www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html (609-292-6000) in hopes he will issue a pardon.

A representative at the governor's office confirmed that calls to the above number were being tallied.

As headlines go, "Man bites dog" -- maybe.

But "Man marries dog"?

Apparently, that's happened in the rural Indian province of Tamil Nadu when a 33-year-old man, convinced that his stroke resulted from clubbing two mating dogs to death when he was 18, sought to fix his bad karma.

An astrologer advised that marrying a female dog would restore movement to his limbs and his hearing.

The bride is a former stray named Selvi. No word on where they honeymooned.

Insurance companies are so busy listing breed-specific exemptions in their policies lately, it's refreshing to see one do something pro-active for animals for a change.

The Associated Press reports that Cleveland-based Progressive Corp. is providing collision coverage for customers' dogs and cats at no additional cost. It will pay up to $500 if a customer's animal is injured or killed in a car accident.

The company's pet benefit is not yet available in North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York or Virginia.

What to do with all that extra Vicodin? Don't flush it, warn the feds -- making fish and salamanders and assorted wildlife woozy by introducing powerful controlled substances into the environment can't be a good thing.

No, instead, mix your overage of OxyContin in with the kitty litter, or your dog's scooped poop, advises the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That way, marauding junkies will be less inclined to salvage it from your garbage.

You just can't make this stuff up.

Duke the pitbull still awaits word on his freedom.

In the meantime, a "Punish the Deed" quilt bearing Duke's likeness is being sold on eBay. Bidding ends Nov. 10.

Everyone's calendar is chockablock in December, but here's a day-long symposium I'd make some elbow room for: "Prosecuting Dangerous Owners and Muzzling Dangerous Dogs," presented by a consortium of legal and academic entities. Saturday, Dec. 1, at New York University's Lipton Hall in D'Agostino Hall (108 W. 3rd Street) from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.