When cat people and dog people marry... everyone can still purrr... (no clause or claws needed) IL 'Even the most fervent dog person has to rethink things after marrying a cat person. It's a common situation when a dog lover marries a cat lover and both are thrown into unfamiliar territory dotted with chew toys and litter boxes...'  Couples share their lives AND their cats and dogs and somehow it all works out... When cat people and dog people marry, the fur doesn't have to fly [KRT Wire] Related: Cat People vs Dog People, Cat People vs Dog People, NY Post: Cat people vs dog people, In cats and dogs, the line is furred (ust when you think you have this cat vs. dog people theory figured out, along comes a cat who sometimes thinks he's a dog [hey, our dog thinks he's a cat most of the time].)

Live in Maryland? Sniper on the loose? Gotta pump gas? You need a gas station decoy! [coreyandjayshow.com]

Sniper shoots man on bus in Montgomery County, Aspen Hill MD When you delay walking your dog, you must have a good reason... All morning, three blocks away, cars are being stopped and searched by police who have their weapons drawn (this is what my spouse saw when walking to catch a bus to work). Can't watch the news...  Over the weekend, when we thought the sniper was caught, I walked all our dog all our neighborhood, in blissful ignorance, thinking we were safe... it was a beautiful day... We're just a few miles from Aspen Hill...

Dog eats absentee ballot, voter fraud not an issue  SD 'One of the dogs got to the ballot before we did and chewed it up. The dog didn't vote for me, but he didn't vote for my opponent either,' says candidate Bob Sahr. The dog ate the vote [Huron Plainsman] (whew... the mystery of the missing absentee ballot cleared up)

In black and white, Court finds black and white dog  innocent, driver at fault Ireland  An amusing news story about a multitude of black and white dogs ( in particular just one black and white border collie) blamed for a driver's mishap on a windy stretch of country road (where ubiquitous black and white border collies herd sheep)... The suspect dog, 'Cody', [a black and white border collie], was a very quiet dog and never left the yard of his house. The gate of the house could always be left open while he was outside, as he never wandered out onto the road... it could not have been Cody on the road when the accident happened as because the "golden rule" among farmers to never leave your dog out at night.  The judge ruled that since the owner 'seemed a sound man who knew that it would be grossly unwise not to lock up a dog in a rural area where farming took place' and since the driver had lost control of his vehicle, the dog could not be blamed; he ruled the driver was at fault...  Solicitor fails in bid to have accident attributed to dog  [Mayo News]

Burned dog gives hope to burned children... OH 'Eight years ago, teenagers set fire to a 4-month-old dog. The animal nearly burned to death, but she miraculously survived. Now, Lucky will soon be an inspiration to children struggling to heal from burns of their own when she becomes a therapy dog...' Scorched Dog To Give Burn Victims Hope [WEWS, OH]

Portrait of the artist as a young dog... really was a young dog NY "Can animals be artists?  Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid, Russian-born conceptual artists based in New York, have given art classes to domesticated elephants; the elephant's paintings have been exhibited internationally in museums and have sold in select auction houses. Komar and Melamid have collaborated with animals for decades, including dogs and beavers. But can a dog be an artist? Possibly... "Once you accept that your dog is an artist, the possibilities are endless." Tillie, a 16 pound dog seems to agree and she has seen her pictures hung in 12 exhibitions over the past three years, including six one-dog shows ..." Brooklyn Dog a Rising Star in New York Art Scene [National Geographic]