Adventures in teeth cleaning Our dog is so dainty ... we gave him another "dental ring" today in hopes that this time (unlike the last episode) he'd actually bite through the ring and 'scrub' his teeth. (Probably every other dog in the world instinctively knows what to do and bites right through it). Not our dog -- he gingerly placed it in his paws, licked it, then he figured out how to strip the yummy outer coating off without biting it. Then he patiently sucked on the strips he had pulled off the ring and then ... he swallowed them... oops, not good. sandpaper is not edible. So much for 'dental rings.' The rest of them are going in the trash.

Woman charged for 911 call for her dog PA Of course... she says she didn't mean to mislead dispatchers when she told them her "child" had stopped breathing... [Associated Press]

Get the scoop on police dogs If you want to find out more about what K-9 dogs go through and about the police that work with them, you'll want to check out the K-9 links at Patrol and Beyond, "the hottest police site..."

Laser surgery replaces scalpel in vet's practice  "Veterinarian Bryan Jones feels a little like a miracle worker these days. Operations that the Kingston vet would never have dared perform are now possible. Kittens can play just hours after [surgery] and dogs are finally leaving their incisions alone to heal..." He owes much of his success to a new tool in his trade: an AccuVet CO2 laser, costing $80,000. [Kingston-Whig Standard]

Dogs: better pets than alligators IL A womans' 35 year old son bought an alligator as a pet and installed a pool for it in their back yard. "Initially, I was somewhat amused that a four-foot gator was floating around the house," Mayor Ed Zabrocki said. But he vacations in Fort Myers, Flordia, where "once every six to eight weeks a little dog is gobbled up by an alligator, and that brings the reality home..." [Chicago Sun Times]

Dog abuse in today's news was very sad. Maybe abusers should get the abuse they mete out to their pets. Here are some of the reasons we need Blogathon2002 - to bring kindness back to the world:

• AZ Dog tied to pole in hot sun and left to die after giving birth
• UK Dog bleeding from eyes and legs: owner ignores it because work comes first.' (sad photo)
• AZ Dog covered with hot tar, including all four feet (photo) Dog is cringing with anxiety.
• Canada Dog doubles weight in custody battle (fattening a dog so much IS abuse)
• Dog addicted to nicotine (deplorable, even though owners are trying to stop his habit)

Speaking of wasting time, have you heard about 'Crap-Away' ? Some enterprising person has come up with a sign that dogs can read -- because as he says: "dogs CAN'T read."

" Dogs can smell a hundred times better than humans but they can't read the "Curb your dog" sign. There is one pet dog for every human in the United States. Forty seven tons of dog poop is deposited on the sidewalks and streets of New York every day. "

Here's where 'crap-away' comes to the rescue. You sprinkle it on your property (so safe, he claims you can sprinkle it on your food too ... mmmm) and  dogs avoid it like the plague...

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Creativity according to a bean counter If you can fritter your time away walking your dog, you just might be a supernova member of the "creative class," a class of people who are so creative, they are more loyal to their activities than their employer. 'The "creative class," according to [Richard] Florida, refers to people involved in problem-solving or "producing new forms and designs that are readily transferable and widely useful"-- software, movies, medicines, books and industrial designs.' [LA Times]

... or you might be ... bored, have too much time on your hands, not have money to spend on other things, retired ... or you might actually just like walking the dog ... [ sheesh ... who pays those guys to come up with these stupid theories...]

Patch, the dog, addicted to nicotine "A woman is trying to give up smoking to help cure her pet dog's 20-a-day addiction to cigarette ends. Patch the Jack Russell raids ash trays so he can chew the tobacco and spit the filters out." She says the dog is healthy but definitely addicted ... [yeechh, doesn't that count as dog abuse?] [Ananova.com Quirkies]

Thanks to the generous (anonymous) reader who made a $25 donation to Blogathon2002. Today, 215 participants have 1,871 sponsors, donating a total of $45,047.66 to a diversified list of charities, which include cancer research, dog rescue, aid to impoverished children worldwide... You make a difference...

Trash compacted dog almost trashed! VA Penny, a runaway dog, had a near brush with death after four months on the lam. Luckily for her, "Bill Hine, a warehouse worker, called animal services after a co-worker heard a dog yelping in the compactor while he was tossing out cardboard." When Animal Control located and read the microchip in her shoulder, they were able to reunite her with a family that was still searching for her ... [Washington Post]

Pecos, the burned dog: rest in peace TX The dog (set afire earlier this month) was euthanized on Tuesday. Donations covered the vet bill at Four Paws and the few dollars left over will be donated to local animal shelters and rescues. “We loved (Pecos), and I want to thank everybody for the donations; (But) I hope to God they find who did this. It makes me sick that someone did this to my dog.”

Dog beats cancer and helps human treatment Three months to live: that's all Navy, the golden retriever had to live without cancer treatment; with traditional treatment, the pup would lose its limbs and undergo chemotherapy, amputation and radiation. Instead, her owner opted for an experimental treatment of a mix of anti-angiogenic drugs. Navy suffered no side effects and is cancer-free today. Will the "Navy protocol" (named after the dog) work for humans... [USAtoday.com]

$1.3 million for dog attack victim WA "Mary Kay Moisio had been a real estate agent only about two months in 1999 when a 140-pound Rottweiler charged her and knocked her down, triggering years of back, knee and neck pain. A jury this week awarded Moisio more than $1.34 million for her pain, suffering, lost wages and medical bills..."

This award follows a trend which holds the owner of a perceived dangerous breed more responsible than in years past. "People are much more aware that if you have a breed of dog that can cause serious or fatal injuries, you need to be very vigilant taking care of those dogs." [The News Tribune]

Dog stuck in tree (root) Dogs can get stuck in just about anything, including a tree root. When Ozzie, a 3-year old rottweiler tried to get a squirrel he clamped his jaws around a tree root and got very stuck. A public works crew had to cut the tree down in order to free him. The dog remained calm, but his owner fretted the whole time... [Murrysville Star]