Canberra fires strand, kill and displace hundreds of pets AU 'Hundreds of pet cats and dogs are believed to be dead or missing after the Canberra fires... the pound was overflowing, with animals doubled up in cages and many stray animals billeted out with the people who found them. 'We estimate there are about 200 to 300 (homeless and missing pets) and that number could easily double...'  '[The Age]

White House used dogs to sends squirrels packing... DC Gray squirrels at the White House are busily munching their way through trees and greenery and official squirrel policy has yet to take a consistent stance. 'These very squirrels  enjoy official government handouts of peanuts on the White House grounds, a tradition begun in the Clinton administration.' Feedings designed to lure squirrels away from delectable White House garden tulips and trees have created an even bigger squirrel population... more squirrels come to the feeding festival...' even Ronald Reagan used to feed the squirrels by hand...

'The first President Bush, scrapping the Reagan policy, not only put a stop to such handouts but also sent his dog Millie to chase them. The squirrels, he said proudly, "were history." The Clinton administration pets continued the chase, as have the Bush II dogs, Barney and Spot...' [New York Times] (no wonder why we can't get our Homeland Security off the ground)

Canine athletes strut their stuff at Pet Fest America ... the canine version of the Cirque du Soleil [Washington Post]

Dog owner wins property rights lawsuit over photos Korea Seoul District Court 'ordered a photographer to pay 5 million won for posting 19 photos of the plaintiff's pet dog on the Internet without the owner's permission and 20 million won (total $2,100) for psychological distress suffered by the plaintiff.' [Korea Times]

Clone the dog? clone the cat? ... Their claws may look alike, but they just won't be the same... "Not only does cloning not produce a physical duplicate, but it can never reproduce the behavior or personality of a cat that you want to keep around." Maybe so, but plenty of people have plunked down a wad of cash to guarantee a spitting image of Fluffy or Fido... 'Before the birth of Cc [Carbon copy, the cat], Genetic Savings & Clone had hundreds of pet DNA samples stored at a cost of $895 for healthy animals and $1,395 for sick or dead animals...' but it may cost close to 5 figures for a real live clone... So far, dog cloning has failed...  [Wired]

Deadly canine attacks: profiling the dog most likely to maul... Most dogs are unlikely to become lethal weapons... You can stack the odds in your favor: if you train it (only 11% of dogs who received obedience training were among dogs involved in fatalities); if it's female (male dogs were 6.2 more times likely to fatally bite), if it's neutered (unneutered dogs were 2.6 times more likely to be involved in attacks), if you don't chain it or confine it in small spaces (confined dogs were three times more likely to fatally bite) and if you supervise it when around children. Over half of dog fatalities are children and about 12 fatalities occured per year over a 19 year period.  Since many fatalities were from mixed breeds, estimates were made of the breeds involved: rottweiller mixes and pit bulls were involved in over half of the fatalities. [Vancouver Sun] (Find the pitbull: see if you can identify the pit bull quiz.) Related: PubMed articles, Dog bite related fatalities, JAMA: Hospitalizations for dog bite injuries, CDC publications

Woman killed by dog, remembered at Anti-Cruelty Society...  memorial requests donations to Anti-Cruelty Society instead of flowers.  'How can a family mourning the loss of a loved one--a loved one who was mauled to death by a stray dog--urge sympathizers to make donations to an animal welfare organization?.. [She loved children and dogs.] The family holds no grievance against the animal that took Anna's life..'... They do hold the people who abandoned the dog to a stray's life responsible... 'To celebrate Anna's life, visit www.mem.com...' [Sun Times]

Michigan dog's death linked to West Nile Virus CDC: Virus cannot spread from pets to humans 'Most dogs are safe from the disease, but elderly dogs may be more at risk...' [WOOD-TV]

Dog shoots hunter in the backside Germany 'A German hunter has been shot in the backside by his dog...' It pays not to leave a loaded gun where a dog can jump on it...  The gun was filled with lead shot. The man had to be hospitalized... [Ananova Quirkies]

Pets may get microchipped Singapore 'Singapore says it may implant microchips in pet dogs and cats to make sure they are not abandoned by owners. Around 19,000 dogs and cats are abandoned every year...'  [Yahoo! New]

Camp Collie... 166 rescued collies survive horrific conditions AK A groomer, Toole County Search and Rescue workers, sheriff deputies, veterinarians, humane society employees and local volunteers in Shelby have joined forces to begin triage on the rescued animals at Camp Collie. The dogs' owners were arrested in October, when Montana's U.S. Customs agents seized 166 collies, two spaniel mixes, two shelties, a Jack Russell terrier and 11 cats because of 'inhumane and unacceptable conditions.'

'The dogs, which were transported in a 40-foot trailer, were reported to be lying in a four-inch thick soup of urine and feces...' Even with donated supplies and volunteer help, donations are needed to defray the $35,000 per month cost of rehabilitating the animals: Checks can be made out to Toole County Communities Collie Rescue Fund, First State Bank, 260 Main St., Shelby, MT 59474. The bank's telephone number is (406) 434-5567.' [Alaska Newspaper]

Internet computer service helps find lost dogs SC In South Carolina, owners of lost dogs have a new friend in Chameleon, a computer program designed to find them for owners at Spartanburg County Humane Society animal shelters.

'If you own a computer with a connection to the internet, Chameleon will let you search for your lost animal from home. Let's say it's a black-and-brown dog with long ears and a long tail. You type that in. "Black and brown, long ears," etc. The computer will then tell you how many dogs have been picked up that fit your description. And it will show you pictures of them...' The database will be updated every half hour and by next year, the system will be accessible via libraries and kiosks in super markets. 'Under the current noncomputerized method of listing lost creatures, only about five percent get returned to owners. Another 25 percent are adopted. You know what happens to the rest.' [Greenville News]

Cold weather tips for pets NH Common sense and good advice for pet lovers: if it's too cold for you outside, it's too cold for your pet. Even with paw protectors (rubber booties for 4-legged friends), sweaters and cold weather gear, your dog can still get turned into a 'pupsicle', if left outside for more than a couple of minutes. Wipe snow from paws, don't let drinking water freeze, don't let pets walk on rock salt or ice, provide warm shelter, and supervise pets outside... [Union Leader] Related: Dog found frozen to death, Man charged with dog's death