Where's Pom?

A Detroit area strip club owner faces prison … over dog toys. Nicholas Faranso pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges after he claimed dog toys as tax deductions. Faranso labeled them “fetish toys” on his tax return and claimed they were used inside his strip clubs. Prosecutors said, “Mmmmkay” and charged him with  conspiracy. But that’s not all. Faranso skimmed money from his clubs to pay vet bills and buy his dog Pebbles an invisible fence.

Prosecutors asked for a forty-six month sentence. The judge will consider that next week at his sentencing.

[CT Post]

Alexander McQueen’s will was unveiled this week, and the late British designer, who died in 2010, included provisions for his beloved English bull terriers–50,000 pounds in all (82,126 US dollars). In addition, he left twice that amount to two charities that help animals: the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity.

While McQueen left the bulk of his estate to his own charity, newspaper headlines focused on the amount left to the dogs. However, bequeaths to animal charities are not new. As Battersea told the Guardian newspaper, 77% of its funds come from legacies. American Philanthropist Brooke Astor left $250,000 to the Animal Medical Center in New York City — specifically for the veterinary care of the pets of poor and old people–when she died in 2007 at the age of 105.

The most famous dog named in a will died earlier this year. Hotelier Leona Helmsley’s dog, Trouble, was named in her will with $12 million left for her care. A judge later reduced that amount to $2 million, and Trouble lived out her days at a Helmsley property in Sarasota, Florida.

In an interesting note for bully breed lovers like McQueen, Battersea noted that 43% of the dogs in its care are staffordshire bull terriers.

Read more: [Huff Po] [Guardian] [ABC News]

One of the few times I ever spent a night in the woods, Limey Jones managed to escape the tent. I bolted outside just in time to spot a little white dog darting down a pitch black trail. “LIMEY! Get back here!” The little guy obeyed and scampered back to the tent. Before crawling inside, he took a cheap shot at Luke in the adjacent tent. Of the two, Limey was better suited to spot at night. He was pure white.

Now Korean geneticists have solved the problem of finding your dog at night. They’ve created glow-in-the-dark dogs. No, I’m not kidding. Click the link.  A team of researchers at the Seoul National University inserted a gene into a group of dogs that made them glow under UV light. The dogs were designed to aid in Alzheimer’s research but it’s only a matter of time until it’s a boutique pet. “Hey – check this out!”