Two Dogs

A draft horse named Bulldozer wore lace cuffs on its pasterns, a sheep had inflatable orange water wings on its legs, and two dogs -- one dressed as a butterfly, one as a bumblebee -- were being paraded in a wagon. It was fair time again in Howard County yesterday. The Howard County Fair launched its first official day in West Friendship with family-oriented events -- among them a pretty-animal contest and a pie-eating contest -- that drew crowds with their old-fashioned appeal. "Opening day of the fair should be a special family day of fun," said volunteer Jo Anne Hill of Lisbon, who organized the pretty-animal and pie-eating competitions.

When Kathy McSweeney's 2 1/2 -year-old mixed-breed dog Amy became anxious, disoriented and unable to walk last month, she rushed her to the vet while the family scoured the house and garage, searching for something that could have sickened the animal. McSweeney's family found the cause hidden in the bushes between their North Laurel home and their neighbor's property - two bowls filled with chicken bones, bacon grease and antifreeze. The dog died, and their neighbor, Jack Carl Schroeder, 58, of the 10600 block of Rachel Yates Court, was charged Wednesday with aggravated cruelty to animals, poisoning a dog and destruction of property, Howard County police said yesterday.

"Ryn, sit. Behave yourself," said Sgt. Steve L. Shatzer, looking at the constantly moving German shepherd at his feet. "You're in school."School was definitely in session as Sergeant Shatzer lectured to the fifth-grade students of Taneytown Elementary School Annex attending a monthly meeting for the "Just Say No" drug education program Friday.Sergeant Shatzer, a Westminster City Police officer, brought two dogs -- one trained to find drugs, the other to find explosives -- to Northwest Middle School's cafeteria to show the students a little about how the animals work in law enforcement.

One dog. That was the plan. Sallyann Jennings would go to the city animal shelter to rescue Jed, a retriever mix whose time was running out, and place him in a foster home until a permanent one could be found. That, after all, is what her organization, Recycled Love, is all about -- finding homes for strays and shelter dogs who, if they don't get adopted, are likely to be euthanized. But then Jennings heard about a stray spaniel mix who had given birth to four pups in the woods near an elementary school on the north side of the city -- all of which had been taken to the shelter as well -- and, after a visit last week, she knew she couldn't let the mother, who had been dubbed Meka, linger there.

The whole thing began early one morning when I stumbled downstairs in search of a cup of coffee and discovered a new dog in the kitchen. The old dog was there, too. The old dog was staring at me as he usually does, sending concentrated thought waves that said: "You! Get me food!" or "How 'bout one of those beef-and-chicken treats, sport?" Now the new dog was staring at me, too and putting out the same vibe. "There's a new dog in the kitchen," I shouted to my wife. "You don't miss much," she shouted back.

You think the Oklahoma City bombing was a tragedy?You think the murder of all those people, all those little children, was sad?Well, it was. But a cartoon dog dying, that's a real tragedy. That's really sad.Allow me to explain:"For Better or for Worse" is a comic strip that runs in about 1,500 newspapers around the world, including The Sun. I like it a lot.It is drawn by Lynn Johnston and portrays the life of an imaginary family, the Pattersons.There's a mother, father, three children and two dogs.

A draft horse named Bulldozer wore lace cuffs on its pasterns, a sheep had inflatable orange water wings on its legs, and two dogs - one dressed as a butterfly, one as a bumblebee - were being paraded in a wagon. It was fair time again in Howard County yesterday. The Howard County Fair launched its first official day in West Friendship with family-oriented events - among them a pretty-animal contest and a pie-eating contest - that drew crowds with their old-fashioned appeal. "Opening day of the fair should be a special family day of fun," said volunteer Jo Anne Hill of Lisbon, who organized the pretty-animal and pie-eating competitions.

When veterinarian Carl E. Rogge takes his March vacation, he goes north. Far, far north, to where the temperatures might climb to 10 degrees, glaciers loom over the landscape and the dogs look nothing like the suburban canines he leaves behind. He likes to golf, fly-fish and sail, but this is his other hobby: He is part of an army of volunteers at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the grueling 1,200-mile race through the Arctic wilderness, checking the physical condition of the 45-pound racers.

The troubled Rosa Bonheur pet cemetery in Elkridge has been left adrift -- with no one taking care of the property and dead pets thawing in a freezer without electric power.In the wake of an unsuccessful effort by the cemetery's owner to give the property back to a bank -- which the bank has not accepted -- it remains unclear who is in charge of the 22,000-plot site off U.S. 1 near Route 176.The cemetery's caretaker quit Friday. And after Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. cut off the power at the cemetery, the Howard County Health Department found two dogs -- a Yorkshire terrier and a white, medium-sized dog -- and a pot-bellied pig thawing in a 6-foot by 4-foot freezer yesterday in the cemetery's "preparing room."

Tim Mauck had just finished reading Don Wiseman's meter in the 1100 block of Greenwood Road in Pikesville two weeks ago and was heading for the next house when the two bull mastiffs attacked him."I was backing up, trying not to [let] them get closer," the five-year Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. employee said.But when he slipped and fell on wet grass, the two dogs -- weighing 150 pounds each -- went for him."They tackled me to the ground, they were kind of taking turns [biting me]. I was kicking them, trying to get them away."