She also has moxy. And Oliver thinks she looks foxy.

$2,000 reward for missing S. Phila. pup
By GLORIA CAMPISI
Philadelphia Daily News

campisg@phillynews.com 215-854-5935

Roxy, the little lost dog from South Philly, now has a following online.
Roxy’s owner, Capri D’Amario, says that after posting an alert and Roxy’s picture on her MySpace page, she’s gotten nearly 1,000 hits on that Web site alone, as well as questions on another site about the continuing search and the little dog’s welfare, D’Amario said yesterday.

Roxy, a Brussels Griffon-Maltese mix who is 3-years-old, champagne-colored and weighs about six pounds, escaped July 30 from a South Philadelphia kennel where D’Amario had left her July 20, when D’Amario took her mother and grandmother to the Shore.

There is a $2,000 reward for Roxy.

Portia Palko, the proprietor of the kennel, Central Bark, at 29th and McKean streets, says that she suspects that because Roxy is so tiny, she somehow managed to squeeze under a fence. The fence has been strengthened, Palko said yesterday. She said she’s never had a problem before.

According to D’Amario, Palko’s husband had told her Roxy spent most of her time in the back office because “she was so small she was sneaking under the fence from the little dog play group to the big dogs.”

Palko is helping with the search. “I hired a psychic for her who does really good work with lost pets,” she said.

“The general consensus” is that someone in the surrounding neighborhood “has taken in Roxy,” Palko said.

D’Amario, 26, a realtor, said that she is especially concerned because Roxy has significant medical problems and needs a prescription diet.

D’Amario said that most people who have posted on MySpace and phillyblog.com are local.

Among them is a friend who posted this message: “For you dog lovers out there, imagine coming home and hearing . . . nothing, silence . . . and not knowing whether your dog is even alive. My friend is in total anguish.”

“They are praying for me. Lots of them came to the door-to-door search” that D’Amario conducted on Tuesday in the neighborhood of the kennel.

“People that I never met before showed up, and even made and printed their own flyers.”

I find KYW1060 to be an odd smattering of catchy headlines and alarmist headlines. Oliver finds it useful for the accuweather and traffic reports.

We were both however surprised to find the dog section. The article we liked best was

‘Teaching your dog to come to you’.

Here is the text below. Oliver and I worked on this for a while, and he gets it, but only if there is a treat involved. Or a sneaky pretend treat – that he doesnt think is funny at all.
If however, he’s chasing frogs, or butterflies, or sunshine, really there is no treat that is more delicious than that! So the motivation is low. He’s pretty clever that way.

Teaching Your Dog to Come to You

by KYW’s Nan Talleno

Teaching your dog to come to you may sound pretty basic, but it could ultimately become a lifesaving command.

Dogs usually run to the sound of their name and a familiar voice but surprisingly, many dogs don’t always come when called and that could mean trouble if your dog is ever separated from you, for example if he runs outside, possibly heading into harm’s way and you desperately need to get his attention.

The way to teach him initially is to hold a treat in one hand, at nose level to your dog so that he doesn’t jump up. As his nose meets your hand, back away and encourage him with your voice and praise. The goal is to keep him close to your hand as you back up. Just before he catches up to you, say “Come” and his name only once (as you are still moving) and as he touches your hand this time, give him the treat with lots of praise.

Oliver would like to thank the People’s Republic for doing him and his brethren this solid.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25633945/

Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics

Restaurant staff told to ‘patiently’ suggest other options for diners

updated 4:46 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008

BEIJING – Canine cuisine is being sent to the doghouse during next month’s Beijing Olympic Games.

Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

Waiters and waitresses should “patiently” suggest other options to diners who order dog, it said, quoting city tourism bureau Vice Director Xiong Yumei.