Martha Stewart’s new Chow puppy, Ghenghis Khan died along with 15 other dogs in a freak accident in a boarding kennel.

“The domestic maven wrote on her blog that she was “deeply saddened” by the death of her dog, Ghengis Khan, in Friday’s blast at Pazzazz Pet Boarding, a kennel in the Pocono Mountains that breeds and trains show dogs.

Fifteen dogs were killed in the explosion, and two more died over the weekend.

The kennel was getting a propane delivery when the tank ignited, setting the pens on fire and injuring the driver, Timothy Kleinhagen, of Summit Hill.

Though badly burned, Kleinhagen managed to toss a cairn terrier over the kennel fence to safety. He was listed in critical condition Monday at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

“That man is a hero,” said the kennel’s co-owner, Karen Tracy. “My heart goes out to his family.”

Oh my goodness – that’s the worst nightmare of any dog owner I know!  Unfortunately, you can’t do much to prevent freak accidents, but there are some basic safety steps you can take to help your dogs escape a fire.

• Make sure you have pet labels on the front and back doors, letting rescue services know how many pets and what types you have.  You don’t need to get fancy with breeds or descriptions, but letting firefights know that you have two dogs and three cats can help them.
• Keep leashes hanging by your doors.  Being able to control your dogs in a hurry can save their lives.
• And of course, keep your fire alarm in good working order.

image: Stock.xchg

Post from: Blisstree

Martha Stewart’s new puppy dies in kennel explosion

Oprah also owns two other Golden Retrievers, but her beloved Cocker Spaniels, Sophie and Soloman both passed away in the last couple of years.

I’ve owned a rescue Cocker for the past 10 years, and while I wouldn’t trade him for a million bucks – they’re not the dog for everyone!

Well bred Cocker Spaniels are healthy, playful dogs with a great attitude as family pets. They do require frequent brushing at home, clipping by a groomer and regular cleaning to keep their ears healthy.

Unfortunately, there are still lots of poor-quality dogs out there from puppy mills or backyard breeders.  My elderly rescue Cocker is obviously not from a responsible breeder and has has a history of shyness, food allergies, joint problems and more.

Would I ever part with him?  No way! He’s a lovely little dog, flaws and all – but it pays to know what issues your breed has before you adopt one.

image: Picapp

Post from: Blisstree

Oprah has adopted a new puppy!

image: Newscom

Mickey Rourke’s beloved Chihuahua, Loki, passed away early last week and as a tribute, the actor wore a necklace and pin featuring his dog during the Academy Awards.

I think it’s a lovely idea to have special mementoes like that.  In fact, why not make them now and wear them anytime?

The Mod Dog Shop will make a custom-made pendant with your dog’s photo on it:

image: Mod Dog Shop

You can even request a tiny little sterling silver bone charm to add on to it as well!

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Mickey Rourke at the Oscars

Designer Lela Rose brought her treasured pooch to her runway collection:

Aubrey O’Day (former member of Danity Kane) shared the spotlight on the red carpet with her pooch:

And of course, actor Mickey Rourke won’t even go for dinner without his Chihuahua

images: PicApp

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The dogs rule the roost at New York Fashion Week

Stump is the oldest dog to win the best in show title at the Garden and in fact, came out of retirement to do so.  That’s quite an accomplishment for a dog at any age – but for a 10 year old, that’s amazing!

image: PicApp

Post from: Blisstree

Congratulations Stump!

The new puppy is a Shiba Inu, a medium-size Japanese dog.  Shiba Inus are the oldest, and the smallest of all the dog breeds that Japan has produced.

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It’s a new puppy for Kelly Osbourne

Jessica Szohr, actress from the hit series, Gossip Girl was spotted bringing her treasured pooch to work with her:

Too cute!

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Dogs on the set of Gossip Girl

It’s that time of the week again to check out what b5media’s pet bloggers have been up to…

• The Kitty Blog has some great tips for keeping your pet safe this Valentine’s Day.
• Couture Critters shares a sweet shot of actor Mickey Rourke and his 17 year old Chihuahua, Loki.
• The Food Bowl wants to know if your pets share the bed with you?
• My favorite post from The Doggy Blog has got to be my top 10 reasons why dogs make great pets!

image: Stock.xchg

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Paw prints & Pets – the best of b5media’s animal blogs this week

It’s time to catch up with the week’s doggy news!  What’s been happening to our furry friends this week?

• Why it’s important to microchip your dogs – a Dachshund is reunited with his owners after going missing five years ago.
•  Want to know why I recommend getting your purebred puppy from a responsible breeder?  90 puppies were rescued from a backyard breeder in Florida – mostly toy breeds.
• Did you know that dogs are trained to sniff for cell phones now?  A prison in New Jersey is using specially-trained sniffer dogs to find cell phones that have been used to smuggle contraband into the jail.
• Remember Uno, the Best in Show winning Beagle from the Westminster Kennel Club dog show?  Macy’s has commissioned a float especially for this year’s Macy Parade.  Uno will ride along with David Frei before attending the National Dog Show as a special guest.

image: Stock.xchg

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Dogs in the news

Barney, George W Bush’s pooch – or the “First Dog” has nipped another guest of the White House!   Barney, a Scottish Terrier nipped a reporter’s finger after the reporter reached down to pet him.  A PR director also got her fingers chomped last week.

Dog bites are generally preventable and usually happen when people ignore warning signs from dogs.  Now, I’m not excusing this behavior – but we don’t know exactly what happened… and terriers don’t always like being petted by strangers, especially if they’re surprised!

Today’s lesson?  Don’t pet strange dogs if they’re not expecting you … especially if you’re a PR rep

image: PicApp

Post from: Blisstree

Barney bites again!