All Over Albany

Severed dog head found along Route 85

Weird/disturbing story of the day: Albany police say a severed dog head found along Route 85 near the Harriman State Office Campus Monday morning. From the press release:

The Animal Control Officer located a pit bull's head that had been severed. It was on the roadway just before the Washington Avenue overpass. A search of the immediate area initially did not locate the body of the dog. ...

It initially could not be determined whether it's had been intentionally severed or if it was struck by a car.

A search was conducted late this morning and the dog's body was found in between the eastbound and westbound lanes in between the cement supports of the Washington Avenue overpass.

The owner of the dog, who lives in Albany, was located today and she told police the dog was acting strange this past Friday and it got loose from her and took off. She had put out flyers and posters for her dog and called the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society to report her dog missing.

APD spokesman Jimmy Miller told the TU today that the DEC pathologist who examined the dog called the case "very unusual."

Full press release after the jump.

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Capital Hills is open (for dogs)

Otto enjoys the wide open space.

A few people have asked about this recently, so we figured it's worth a mention: Capital Hills, the Albany municipal golf course, is now closed for golf -- which means it's open for dogs, walkers, cross country skiers, snowshoers, and tiny humans who like to sled.

Capital Hills might just be the best place in the Capital Region to walk your dog. During the winter, the course is like a giant (dog) park, where pups can run off leash. On the weekends there are usually a bunch of other dogs, so there's a lot of opportunity for playing. And the place itself can be beautiful, which makes for good (human) walking/snowshoeing/skiing.

Of course, there area a few rules/guidelines you should follow while there:

+ Please pick up the poop. We've been over this before, but it deserves repeating.

+ Somewhere around 95 percent of the dogs at the golf course play nicely with others and are well behaved. If your dog is in that other 5 percent, please take the necessary steps to keep him in line.

+ Watch out for the small humans who are there to sled. They are not always happy that your dog wants to meet them.

+ Please drive slowly through the parking lot. There are lots of dogs and kids about.

A good veterinarian for dogs?

Brian asks via Twitter:

Help! I need a vet in Albany / Troy area! My pup needs to see the doctor. Please recommend a good veterinarian.

This question has come up before for cats, but not dogs -- which is a little surprising given how many people seem to have dogs.

Got a suggestion? Please share! And please include why you like going to that vet.

A stamp for Owney, Albany's famous postal dog

The New York Times described Owney as "[not] a handsome dog, but he has excellent qualities, and is kindly and intelligent." We should all be so lucky to be described that way.

One of our all-time favorite Albany stories is that of Owney the Postal Dog.

The short story: in the 1890s, Albany was known all around the world because of Owney and his travels on the rail cars that carried mail. He even ended up going around the world, a feat that landed him on the front page of the New York Times. He's now on display at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum (yep, the actual Owney -- they had him stuffed).

It's a fun story. So we're happy to see that the US Postal Service will be issuing an Owney stamp (above). The first class "forever" stamps will be available July 27. In addition to a ceremony and events at the National Postal Museum, there will also be an unveiling at the Albany Visitors Center. [TU]

Earlier on AOA:
+ Owney, postal dog and Albany ambassador
+ Standing before the post office boxes in Schenectady

image: Bill Bond/USPS

A dog's life in the Capital Region

Murphy and his person, Daleyplanit

Greetings, All Over Albany Readers! My name is Murphy. And yes, I'm a dog! My Master, Daleyplanit, sometimes writes for the Sunday Soapbox. This week he wanted to post about the life of a dog in Albany -- a subject I'm pretty familiar with -- so we decided I should step in.

So here's Murphy's dog-eye view of life in Albany.

First, a little about me...

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Albany Devils welcome four-legged fans

Is your dog no longer content to watch hockey at home? You're in luck.

The Albany Devils are offering a "Pucks and Paws" promotion Saturday night: Bring your dog to the game.

For $20, you and Bowser can watch the Devils take on the Rochester Americans. Five dollars of the ticket price will go to the Mohawk & Hudson Humane Society. Any extra human companions a dog brings along can get in for $15 each.

Dogs and their owners will be seated in the upper level of the arena.

The game will be 7 p.m. Saturday at the Times Union Center. Here's more info.

The Tri-City ValleyCats run a similar promotion every year. "Bark in the Park" takes place in August; this year's date is not yet set.

image via Flikr user bizzlenj.

StarPups' Kylen Kline

Kylen with two of her stars.

Kylen Kline spent the last two years dealing with some real divas. She was on the road with stars from Legally Blonde the Musical driving from coast to coast in a van and working 8 shows a week. "It was exhausting work," she says.

Most of Kylen's time was spent catering to the stars' needs, but she didn't mind it because those stars -- two Chihuahuas and two Bulldogs -- showed their appreciation with wagging tails and sloppy kisses.

Now Kylen's back in her hometown (she went to high school in Clifton Park) and realizing her dreams. Kylen has created StarPups, an in-home boarding, dog walking and cat visit business that will be expanding to a doggie day-care, training facility and boutique in the fall.

I talked with her recently about life on the road with a Broadway show, her business plans and how little dogs can be big divas.

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Cesar Millan coming to The Palace

Cesar Millan -- "the Dog Whisperer" -- is coming to the Palace March 27 (that's a Sunday). Tickets go on sale January 14 (a week from this Friday). They start at $35.75.

Millan has become a huge star from his TV show, books and various whatnot. But we're not exactly sure what "An Evening with Cesar Millan" entails. The press release we got says "Cesar will touch upon his life experiences, and teach the attendees at his live show how to apply his techniques in the training and rehabilitation of their own dogs." Millan talks a lot about "rehabilitating" dogs and "training" humans. So maybe he'll train some audience members on stage. Tsch!

(We've often thought Millan's success comes from the fact that he's just a person who's naturally -- and freakishly -- good with dogs (not necessarily the same thing as knowing about dog psychology or whatever he calls it).)

Chances are the audience for this event will have to wait outside the theater until Cesar arrives, so he can enter the door first. It's a dominance thing.

Earlier on AOA: It's winter. Your dog has pooped. What now?

photo: Alan Weissman

It's winter. Your dog has pooped. What now?

Now that the winter weather has gotten cranked up, we figured it would be a good time to address an issue that seems plop down around the end of each year: dog poop.

Uh, why are you bringing up dog poop? Good question! As the cold weather sets in each winter and the snow accumulates, we notice that piles of dog poop start gathering along streets in the Capital Region. (It's kind of hard to miss, given that it's a high-contrast item in the snow.) And these forlorn turds then freeze into unfortunate poopsicles -- which are a real treat come spring.

Well, we've thought a lot about this issue. And we finally came to the conclusion that winter somehow impairs the ability of some people to make good decisions about whether they should pick up their dog's poop.

So, we're here to help. We've constructed a flow chart to assist citizens of the Capital Region in their decision-making process on the all important question: "It's winter. My dog has pooped. What now?"

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The change of season at Capital Hills

Otto takes in the open space.

The City of Albany's golf course, Capital Hills, has closed for golf for the year. That's sad for golfers... but happy for dog walkers, sledders and cross-country skiers.

After the golf course closes for the season, it basically becomes a giant park. It's one of the best places to walk dogs -- they're allowed to go off-leash, and there's plenty of room to run. On the weekends, there are always a bunch dogs ready to play, but it's not cramped like a dog park.

The course is Otto's favorite place -- maybe out of everywhere.

The course is a beautiful piece of land, rolling hills alongside the Normanskill. Right now, the grass is a deep green and the last few autumn leaves are hanging on the trees. After a snow, it's absolutely peaceful.

Dog-friendly spots

View Dog-Friendly Downtown in a larger map

Check it out: it's a map listing dog-friendly places in Saratoga, part of the Saratoga Springs Dog Friendly Downtown project. It also includes notes for each place -- for example, at Lifestyles: "We welcome dogs under 30lbs. No dirty feet please."

(This isn't new, but we came across it again the other day and don't seem to have mentioned it the first time around.)

Rebecca emailed a few months back that something like this might be good for Albany. Any interest? We could probably something together for other parts of the Capital Region.

By the way: There's already a map of Capital Region dog parks, compiled by Mark.

A good car detailer?

Sue emails:

I bought a used car from a friend who had a dog, and the car smells like dog...which isn't too great when it's hot and the windows are up because the AC is on.

Two different friends of mine have said I should get the car detailed, which I guess is an extra thorough washing, but I have no idea how to find a place...I am willing to throw down a few dollars to make the car fresh again, but would like to make sure that my money is well spent.

So maybe some of the AOA readers have some experience with this? Also, if they think a vacuum and some baking powder is the way to go, I welcome any DIY tips (although this is definitely one of those things that I would rather pay for).

Oof. We hope you have some suggestions for places Sue can get her car de-dogged. The Otto-mobile has also been kind of doggy lately -- so we could also use the tips.

Got a suggestion? Please share!

Know of a good pet sitter or boarding?

Kristin emails:

I know you've done posts in the past asking for reader suggestions about good haircuts, doctors, etc, and since travel season is coming up, I was wondering if you could do a post about pet sitters?

I definitely don't want to hand the keys to my apartment and the care of my cats over to someone I've randomly picked without recommendation.

We totally understand where Kristin is coming from -- knowing the office dog is well cared for makes one less thing to worry about when traveling.

This might not help Kristin's exact situation because she has cats, but Otto has vacationed at Happy Tails in Altamont. The facilities are nice and the owners were very friendly. They even got one of Otto's favorite toys back to us after we left it behind. As far as we can tell, they don't have a website, but here's a pdf brochure with contact and other info.

From what we understand, the Hounds on Hudson people, who do dog walking, also do cat visits. They seem really nice and cool. (Here's an AOA piece about them.)

Anyone have suggestions for Kristin? Or even some good boarding, pet sitting, or walking experiences that might help other people? Please share!

Suspended Schenectady cop arrested again, Cuomo to declare in March?, man arrested for 65th time, local pilot flies supply missions to Haiti

Suspended Schenectady police officer John Lewis has been arrested. Again. It's his sixth arrest in the last two years. In this most recent case, he's accused of causing a car accident in the Ellis Hospital parking lot after he allegedly left the emergency department drunk. The SPD first tried to fire Lewis in 1998 for allegedly using a racial slur. The department's waiting for a decision on its most recent attempt to terminate him. [WNYT] [Daily Gazette $] [TU] [Fox23] [CBS6]

A "source close to [Andrew] Cuomo" tells the Daily News that Andrew Cuomo will officially announce he's running for governor in March. David Paterson's campaign manager says "it's clear Mr. Cuomo is running for governor." [NYDN] [NYDN]

David Paterson is apparently going to try again to get the state worker unions to give up their raises this year. [TU]

Colonie assemblyman -- and outspoken MMA critic -- Bob Reilly says he's willing to support a compromise bill that would legalize ultimate fighting in the state if certain restrictions were placed on the sport. [TU]

UAlbany cancelled a cage fighting match scheduled for the SEFCU Arena this past weekend after a state commission said the event appeared to violate state law. [@albstudentpress] [Daily Gazette $]

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Luna, Luna, Luna

Too much?

It's pretty safe to say that we're dog people at AOA. Heck, we never shut up about the office dog.

But yesterday afternoon while watching the news spread that Luna -- the Capital Region's now-famous missing bulldog -- had been found in Colonie, we started thinking: Did this get out of hand?

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Rrrawsome

Jess' dog Junot, enjoying a Brussels sprout stalk snack

Okay, you've probaly heard of the raw food diet for people. So it's probably no surprise that the idea has spread to dog food, too. After all, their wild ancestors certainly weren't dabbling with meat grinders or industrial ovens.

Lisa Rosamino of Ballston Lake has been feeding her dogs a raw diet for over a decade now, and she runs a business -- called Rrrawsome -- that sells raw dog food ingredients locally.

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Hounds on the Hudson

AOA took a brisk walk around the block recently with Jen Pursley and Michael Guidice, the owners of local dog walking service Hounds on the Hudson.

Yappy hour

Melanie Dallas, the owner of Saratoga dog boutique Sloppy Kisses, has organized a series of Yappy Hours at The Backstretch Tap Room (the former It's Confidential) on Caroline Street this summer. Yappy hours are kind of what they sound like: happy hour -- with dogs.

The next yappy hour is June 14 at 1 pm.

Bonus pet-related items

+ The Albany Society of the Advancement of Philanthropy has organized a cruise on the Hudson this weekend to benefit Project Drumm, a no-kill animal rescue here in the Capital Region. The "Critter Cruise" is 2-4 pm this Saturday. It's $30. ASAP promises "plenty of dancing and fun for everyone."

+ And if you're up in Glens Falls, it sounds like Davidson Brothers is the place to dine with your dog.

The auto clinic/ car wash/ dog wash

So it turns out it's hard to get a good picture of a dog getting a bath.

"Hmm... should I get the oil changed, wash the car or bathe the dog?"

Well, that's one dilemma you'll never have to struggle with again. Now you can do them all at once at the auto clinic/car wash/dog wash in Menands.

Yes, the auto clinic/car wash/dog wash.

It made sense to me, considering my dirty dog is often to blame for my dirty car. And if you've got a dog bigger than say, a Chihuahua or a pug, then you know what a pain trying to bathe them at home in the tub can be.

This week, the pooch was starting to smell a bit from all that rolling in the park so I decided to check it out.

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Holiday treats for furry friends

Yes, they look yummy, but hands off! They're for the dog (or cat).

On day three of AOA's holiday gift guide -- a little something for man's best friend.

What?

A selection of baked pet treats from Sherry's Kitchen.

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Capital Hills

In a sign that winter is really here, the City of Albany's Capital Hills Golf Course closed last weekend for golfing. Sad for golfers, but good for walkers and dogs.

Why? Because when the course closes for golf, it basically becomes an enormous park. It's a great place to take a winter walk. And dogs absolutely love it -- Otto gives it his highest praise.

The course opens back up for golf next April 15.

Bark in the Park

Otto, AOA's office dog, touring the Joe earlier this summer.