• A Mississippi breeder pleaded guilty to 43 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty last week after authorities found 46 starving dogs plagued with rotten teeth, infected skin, and matted with urine and feces on his property. Perpetrators often get by with a slap on the wrist, but under the terms of his agreement, Richard Stockman must destroy his kennel and find homes for the rest of his dogs within 30 days. He must pay a $1,000 fine and — this is key — he is banned from ever owning or caring for dogs used for breeding again. The 46 dogs seized from his property have been adopted out to new homes.

• A breeder in Santa Cruz, California, will serve a year in jail and five years on probation after he was convicted of mistreating more than four dozen dogs. Robert Brunette was trying to develop “his own” line of guard dogs, according to the local paper. But after neighbors reported seeing dead dogs on his property, officials found the rest of Brunette’s dogs infested with fleas, malnourished and suffering other health problems. The 46-year-old breeder must also pay approximately $150,000 in restitution to the county Animal Services Ageny to compensate for the care of his animals.

• In Canada, a breeder who crammed her dogs into small cages soaked with urine was fined $5,000 and banned for life from owning animals. May Poon had 42 pomeranians, poodles and chihuahuas and a few cats so immersed in their own feces and urine that they had trouble breathing. All 42 animals have been adopted, including Daisy, a 10-year-old poodle believed to have spent her whole life in a cage.

A few minutes ago I was startled by the muffled sounds of a golden retriever barking. In precisely 12 minutes I will hear the muffled yelp of a beagle. At 5 p.m. a boxer will bark and at 6 … no wait, by 6 p.m. it’ll be dark outside and my Barking Dog Clock will mercifully have shut down for the night. 

You heard me right: a Barking Dog Clock. When my spouse runs out of ideas for Christmas presents for his beloved, you see, he immediately thinks: dogs! Last year that translated into a gift card to Petco. 

The clock languished on a dining room chair for a week and a half. Then, two nights ago, Steve took it out of its box and inserted the requisite  AA batteries. Now the clock has made it halfway up the stairs to my attic hideaway, primed to make me jump every 60 minutes. Honey, you shouldn’t have and I mean that sincerely!

Here’s the good news: a positive review of Saving Gracie, just in from Publisher’s Weekly. Read on:   http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6713289.html?industryid=47159

Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills Carol Bradley. Howell (Wiley, dist.), $21.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-470-44758-1

Journalist Bradley exposes the hidden world of puppy mills, where dogs are caged like chickens and forced to repeatedly breed until they die. Unlike most factory farm animals that endure painful confinement and are slaughtered within six months of birth, mill breeding dogs are sentenced to many years of existence in deplorable conditions; many don’t learn to walk because their cages don’t give them enough room to stand. Bradley details the raid of one such mill, Mike-Mar Kennel in Oxford, Pa., which led to the seizure of more than 300 dogs, mostly adults that had languished for years with broken limbs and untreated diseases. Dog 132, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel later named Gracie, was rescued during the raid. Nearly blind, with decayed teeth and a strong aversion to human contact, Gracie flourished under the love and patience of her adoptive owner, Linda Jackson. Bradley’s powerful narrative will tug at heartstrings, raise public awareness, and, hopefully, help put an end to puppy mills. (Feb.)

“Powerful.” I like it!