Pet Store Boiled Toad, San Francisco Suit Charges Petco, the No. 2 US pet supply store, is in plenty of hot water over alleged cruelty to animals ...

Millionaire's dobermann rips off girl's arm "A passing woman motorist stopped, beat the dog back with her umbrella, grabbed the children and pushed them into her car. By then the dog had bitten through the girl's arm below her left elbow. Her brother was bitten on both arms and thighs." [from www.newsisfree.com]

Policeman sets police dog on colleagues An Austrian policeman set his police dog on colleagues after they tried to arrest him for drink-driving in his police car. [from www.newsisfree.com]

Rx-Rex  A dog a day keeps the doctor away, or so it seems...

The dog-ter (er I mean ... dog therapist) is in  There exit only a handful of trainers who offer behavioural analysis for dogs.  Three give insights into the dog's psyche and how to help dogs fit into our human worlds ... www.dr-dogs.com

Rabid dog smuggled into US Texas "A rabid dog, El Paso's first since 1982, apparently was smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday by its owners, who were taking it to a veterinarian because it was sick, officials said. Luckily, the veterinarian recognized the illness and prevented the disease's spread; the owners are receiving rabies prevention shots." Officials worry that since September 11, terrorists may attempt to spread disease via smuggled animals...

Dangerous dog breed profiling based on misleading statistics 'Without knowing the number of animals in the United States by breed, one cannot meaningfully compute risk,' and therein lies the nub of the problem. Although pitbulls and rottweillers accounted for 60% of  reported US human fatalities by dogbite in 1997-1998, it means little statistically because we don't know the total numbers of dogs for each breed. It is also true that dogs are very influenced and shaped by their environment: the old 'nature vs. nurture' theory says that virtually any dog can be turned mean by mean owners and neglectful care. Other problems with accounting include:

'* There is no well-defined pit bull breed. Several breeds fall into that general, nontechnical category.

* The intense publicity some pit bull attacks have generated may have led to an overreporting of pit bull incidents in witness accounts and media stories.

* Pit bulls have become popular with owners who train their dogs to be aggressive and dangerous.'

Even so, many homeowner's associations are banning pit bulls and other breeds.

Related articles:

Boy watched as pet was devoured Attacks by pit bull left victims' owners stunned and shocked. Eleven-year-old Isaiah Madden watched a neighbor's pit bull terrier devour his small Shih Tzu, Simba, in his own back yard...

Owner agrees to sterilize Pitbull 

Homeowner's insurance won't go to dogs

Vicious dog shot after attack

Dog abuser allowed to keep pit bull

Pit bull owner gets long jail term

Aromatherapy for your dog  We have a smelly dog and he could definitely use some aromatherapy. A good bath and remoisturizer can do wonders for your dog, if he's in need of one. Otherwise, try stress relief from Francoise Rapp, who provides three aromatherapy recipes to help balance your dog's health and emotions. Our dog has an oily skin, a healthy condition, but one which does not require any additional oil -- so we will opt to use air aromatherapy instead of the body oil used in these recipes www.aromalchemy.com [from herbsforhealth.about.com]