You all know Inge Irby of Second Chance & Happy Tails. I got an e-mail from her the other day, and she is dealing with a bunch of pregnant dogs that have been dumped on her. Her friend Joan is helping out with fostering. (Correction: I had first said the Dover Humane Society was helping, but I misunderstood).

One dog is Snowball, a female Husky with beautiful blue eyes and a creamy coat. She just had 5 puppies. Then, a basset/beagle mix Joy, who had 7 puppies on Christmas Day. There is also a pregnant lab due to have puppies any day.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of mouths to feed and vet care that will be needed, as well as homes for both mothers and puppies when the time comes. If you can help out with donations of puppy food or money to help with expenses, call Inge at 503-8300 or visit her Web site at www.secondchancehappytails.petfinder.org where you can make a PayPal donation.

Pictures above are of the two new Moms. Aren't they beautiful? I'm loving the basset mix--she has a sweet face like Peanut and I've always been partial to short-legged mutts! She looks so sad poor girl.

Precious Friends: Remember Pugsley, the little pug mix I posted a while back who needed an operation for a broken leg/hip? The little Trooper? Well, I got a note from them and the operation is scheduled for today, Jan. 7. They also thank everyone for the donations they received on behalf of the little guy.

Michael Vick's Pit Bulls: This story was brought to my attention by my fellow copy editor Jake, who knew I'd like it. It is by Associated Press writer Paul Foy. I thought you'd all want to know:

SALT LAKE CITY — Twenty-two of the pit bulls seized from suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation are sniffing the dry desert air, getting to know human kindness and gobbling treats at a Utah animal sanctuary.

Each dog has its own pen inside an octagonal housing unit and an outdoor run. They’re being fed “canine caviar” — a special dog-food formulation. They’re chewing rubber bones. They can wrestle rubber toys filled with doggie treats.

“We’re walking these guys and touching them more,” said Patty Hegwood, director of animal care for the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, about 260 miles south of Salt Lake City.

“This is red cliffs and rocks and desert as oppose to Virginia, which is green and humid. So they have lots of noses up in the air, taking in all the different smells. Some are a little pensive. They’re trying to figure out where they are, basically. They’re looking at us like, ’Who the heck are you?”’

The dogs landed Wednesday after an 8-hour flight in a chartered twin-prop from Richmond, Va. Other shelters are taking another 25 dogs from Vick’s 15-acre country estate in southeastern Virginia.

“It’s the end of a long grind for these guys,” Best Friends spokesman John Polis said.

“Our fondest hope is that they get adopted, but we have to be very conservative because these dogs come from a rough background,” he said.

Caretakers are keeping the pit bulls separated from some 600 other dogs at a 3,000-acre sanctuary that leases another 30,000 acres of federal land for grazing animals.Best Friends has 400 employees.

Helping the pit bulls adjust to a new social life will be difficult, but their handlers will observe the animals for at least six months and work to correct any behavior problems, Polis said.

Polis said the sanctuary euthanizes dogs only for medical reasons.
A court order prevents the sanctuary from discussing any of the dogs’ conditions until a man linked with the dogfighting operation is sentenced Jan. 25, Polis said.
Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.

The Best Friends sanctuary will appear in a new National Geographic channel series called “Dog Town” that starts Friday.