Charleston to raze condemned pet home SC The worst cases of abuse sometimes come from well-meaning 'collectors' of animals. Case in point: 'Deemed unfit for human habitation, a Lambert Street home saturated with filth from scores of animals is expected to be torn down today, North Charleston officials said.' The SPCA saved only seven cats and two dogs for adoption of the more than 60 animals that arrived at the animal shelter; the mobile home contained as many as 100 dogs, cats, duck and squirrels.

'Many of the dogs suffered from cancerous tumors or severe heartworms, and many cats had feline leukemia, respiratory infections or other diseases.'  The cost to the city: '$30,000 to a contractor who was hired to remove animals and bacteria-laden waste from the homes before they could be razed' and $5,500 more to raze the double-wide mobile home and an adjoining single-wide home where more pets also lived. More costs are anticipated in the euthanasia and disposal of the sickest animals. The 87-year-old woman was 'kind-hearted' and won't be ticketed [Post and Courier] 

Dog Bite Law and Statistics  Most dog bites are not even recorded, but even flawed dog bite statistics help us identify the situations where dog bites are most likely to occur. Related: Central Insurance Co: dog bites (great advice on dog bite prevention), Ferrets, dogs, biting, rabies (strange title), Legal Law Help's dog bite info, The Dog Place 

 Dog owner jailed for faking dog's death MA  A dog owner, when told by a court that his biting dog would be euthanized, moved to a different town, changed his dog's name from Chewy to Scooby-Doo, and lied in an affidavit that his dog was dead. Scooby-Doo's owner gets to sit in jail for a month... [Metro West Daily News]

Clone me, clone my pet... NZ AgResearch, the world's premier cloning research firm, recently turned down a $1 million dollar offer for cloning a family's pet dog. 'The biggest cash offer came from a family in the United States 18 months ago to clone their aging dog. There have also been plenty of cash offers 'well into six figures' from Kiwis and people in other countries to have pets cloned...'  [Stuff.co.nz] Related: National Geographic: Experts doubt claims, explain issues.

German driver told not to brake for dog Germany In a judgment against a driver, a German judge ruled 'that he [the driver] should not have slammed on the brakes for a Daschund that ran out in front of his car because the dog did not pose a 'serious danger' to either the driver or other road users.' Animal rights groups are outraged. [UK Pet Industry News] 

Willing the inheritance to Fido KS Now that dogs have guardians, it's only logical that they can inherit their wealth too. And not a moment too soon. Would you want your beloved pet to end up in a heartless kennel or worse, in an animal shelter (where it's more likely than not to have just a few miserable days to live.) 'About 40 million U.S. households own dogs and 34.7 million own cats, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Already, as much as 27 percent of those pet owners include their animals in their wills... the average amount left to a pet: $25,000...'  [Miami Herald]

Pet Owner vs Guardian? In S.F. you're a guardian... CA 'San Francisco follows a list of other cities that have already changed their books to make 'pet guardian' official. Boulder, Colo., was first to take action followed by Berkeley, West Hollywood and the state of Rhode Island...' The dog owner's group now wonders what to do with their letterhead...  guess you'll have to change it... [Yahoo News]

Pet owner,  pet guardian... how about 'domesticated partner' CA San Francisco columnist Rob Morse writes : San Francisco is replacing the term 'pet owner'" with 'pet guardian.' My dog is too dumb to notice. The Board of Supes is too humorless to call pets 'domesticated partners.'  Human race being won by bottle blondes [San Francisco Chronicle] pets are better therapists than spouses but that's it...

In July of 2002, Dog News reported:  In Los Angeles, "animal-rights activists are urging the City Council to strike the term from local codes and replace it with 'guardian'."Mr Duane Flemming, president of the American Veterinary Medical Law Association, "contends that animal-rights groups ultimately hope to use the change to gain legal standing as guardians for animals in court." Would this begin to clear the way for Peter Singer's "humans and nonhumans ... "mutually satisfying" sexual relationships as long as they are consensual" [say what?]  and other such nonsense.

Hospital therapy dogs heal WA At the inpatient rehabilitation unit at St. Joseph Medical Center, a trio of dogs bring cheer and rehabilitative skills to patients: 'We absolutely unconditionally love these animals... we are continually amazed at the transforming powers they have on our patients.' The Delta Society trains dogs for hospital visitation...[News Tribune]

What goes in ... must come out!  NJ At the  Pow-Wow of Pooper Scoopers, Kevin  Mahoney, of the board of trustees of the Association of Professional Waste Specialists, shared his expertise in the science of sleuthing out dog poop... [Parsippany Daily Record]

For an updated list of dog faqs available in internet news groups, try a Google search on news groups. Google is amazing.