Dog

The item regarding the shooting of the Siberian husky in Severn ("Officer shoots, kills dog in Arundel," Aug. 4) should serve as a wake-up call for the residents. You have a gun-happy "federal officer" (what is he, FBI?) in your midst! He needs a course in patience, anger-management and re-training in the use of his weapon, in addition to tips on dog training; he should have unleashed his dog in a dog park. A leashed dog is not free and feels threatened by other dogs. If he was off-duty, why was he carrying his weapon?

I am writing to commend Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein and his staff for their outstanding work on the Phoenix dog burning case ("Twins acquitted in dog-burning case," April 12). Although The Snyder Foundation for Animals is an organization which advocates for the welfare of animals, we have never viewed this case as strictly an animal abuse issue. As so much contemporary research has conclusively demonstrated, the uncomfortable reality is that serious abuse of animals often escalates to later violence against people.

Few situations are more stressful than law school final exams, and 'tis the season. But frazzled test-takers at the University of Baltimore School of Law will enjoy a stress-free zone full of soft fluffy dog love and puppy kisses tomorrow thanks to an enterprising student and Pets on Wheels . Seven therapy dogs and their human volunteers will visit the law school lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 3, to de-stress students in the middle...

A New Jersey woman has been charged with animal cruelty after she left her dog in the car while she and her family went into a restaurant and ate Chinese food. The dog hanged itself in the car with its leash while the family ate. According to the Asbury Park Press , the Yorkie named Scoobey, was left tied to the headrest of the minivan with its leash. As Scoobey ran around the van while the family ate dinner, the leash became a tight noose and by the time the family finished eating and got back outside, the dog had died.

It's a moment every dog dreams about and Baltimore baker Duff Goldman is going to be an integral part of it. Uggie, the fetching Jack Russel who won hearts by stealing the show in last year's critically acclaimed movie"The Artist,"is getting his paw prints on Hollywood's walk of fame. And Goldman has the honor of making a cake for the event, which is apparently also part-retirement party for the pup. According to the Hollywood Reporter and the Charm City Cakes Twitter feed, Goldman will create a cake that Uggie is sure to go wild for -- one in the shape of a fire hydrant.

Rockville police shot and killed a 120-pound Rottweiler-pit bull mix early Sunday after trying for hours to subdue the dog after it attacked its owner. Officers first tried using a Taser on the dog, named Jesus, but the dog ignored the shocks. Police say the dog's 38-year-old owner underwent surgery Saturday night for injuries including puncture wounds to his chest and thigh. Three children were in the house but weren't injured. Police were called to the home at 6:20 p.m. Saturday and spent hours trying to capture the animal.

People loooooove to complain about dog poop under foot. Understandable. Wait till they find out that wayward exrement is also turning up in the air. You can't escape it! According to a new study by University of Colorado Boulder, most of the wintertime airborne bacteria in Cleveland and Detroit is fecal matter. And most likely, it's the fecal matter of dogs. I'll repeat that -- it's not just that poop is turning up in the air sporadically in these cities -- it's MOST of the bacteria there.

When is the value of the life of one animal not the same as that of another animal? I guess it is when one is a dog and one is a deer. Apparently it is "the right thing to do" according to one rescuer and "it would have been the wrong thing for anyone to turn their back" according to another rescuer, when talking about the rescue of a dog who ended up in the water in the Inner Harbor ( "Baltimore Police officers rescue dog from Inner Harbor," ...

The Johnson brothers may have "faintly smiled" and "high fived" their friends upon the news that their trial in the burning of the dog Phoenix ended in a hung jury, but I surely would not want to be standing in their shoes on the final Judgment Day! S.G.K. Duffy

I walk Centennial Lake every day and the number of cigarette butts (Our View, July 14)I see can be counted on one hand. Dog feces is another matter, and the efforts of our leaders should be focused on that. I prefer to step on a discarded cigarette butt than the other any time. Dennis Smith Ellicott City