Condo association orders owner to shave dog and put it on a diet [Miami Herald via dave barry] (well, at least nobody got shot)
Couple claims homeopathy didn't cure neglected dog UK [This is Exeter] (Couple tries to blame their neglect on bad homeopathy... nice try)
Artificial nose sniffs out answers to the mystery of smell Tufts University professor David Walt fashioned a giant schnoz and added twisting passages to enhance its powers of smell... [Nature Science Update]
Panda dog: cutest dog in the world [Keith's weblog] (hmm... panda dog looks suspiciously like a baby chow chow)
US medical schools using fewer dogs MD Bloodless methods are less costly and do not incur animal rights protests.
'Thirty-two percent of medical schools reported using dogs or other live animals in laboratory training in 2001, down from 62 percent in 1994 and 73 percent in 1985, according to a study published in Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The hundreds of dogs used in medical school labs pale beside the more than 70,000 used annually in research experiments, drug testing and other procedures...' .[Baltimore Sun, MD]
In the book world, it's reigning cats and dogs NY Publishers have learned that dog owners do not hesitate to spend money on a dog book, if it has an emotional appeal... (yes, we are irrational suckers in our attempts to bring happiness to our pets...). Combine that irresistable tug of emotion with a burgeoning pet industry and the sky's the limit:
"The U.S. pet industry keeps growing and growing; estimates are that Americans will spend $31 billion dollars this year on their companion animals, up from $17 billion in 1994. The number of American households with pets was 63.4 million in 2000, about 47% of the total number of households. Dog ownership is the largest segment, at 40 million households; cats are next, with 34.7 million households..." [Publisher's Weekly]
Can't get Fido into a gas mask? How about a Homeland SecurityMask? Are you war worried? There are gadgets galore to help feed your need... You can buy a Homeland Security Mask (it's a tent which fits over a pet crate) for only $229... [MSNBC's
Safety Gadgets Galore for the War worried via
Techdirt]
HomelandSecurityMasks.com
Family dog's attack on great-grandmother leaves indelible memories TN Nobody could have predicted a family dog's attack on a great-grandmother, especially the great-grandmother. Often, she went outside and put BJ, the 90 pound pit bull, back in his kennel and yard when he escaped it; he had never challenged her before. Nor could she fathom the ferocious strength of the dog as it almost ripped her arm off, while she attempted to keep it from her throat... [Tallahassee Democrat]
Scientists seek alternative to spaying and neutering surgery... AU Immunospaying and immunocastration, a vaccine which requires a booster shot each six months, may someday eliminate spaying and neutering surgery. Scientists say the vaccine is more effective at modifying canine aggressive behavior and less risky than surgery:
'Australian scientists are working on a vaccine that desexes dogs, removing the need to spay or neuter them. The vaccine, a Cooperative Research Centres project involving Melbourne University and drug company CSL, immunises dogs against the key hormone that controls their reproductive system.'... [The Age, AU]
Grieving for a Deceased Shih Tzu CA The loss of an adored pet is a universal sorrow, understood by others who have lost their hearts to their first pet animals. The loss of a tiny shih Tzu, Emily, leaves the couple who adopted her from the SPCA almost inconsolable:
'Thursday was awful. Emily needed that day to say her good-byes. She went into the garage and she sat by our other dog's bed, then she sat by the cars, so we gave her a long ride -- that's her favorite thing. Then she walked down the driveway and said good-bye to the neighbor's dog. That night, I sat up with her most of the night, holding her in the rocking chair. Friday morning, she got in bed and cuddled with me, then she laid on my husband's side of the bed, then she got on top of the covers and she kept looking at me with almost tears in her eyes, telling me, "Let me go."... [San Francisco Chronicle]
Joint custody awarded for dog in divorce decree Canada 'A Saskatchewan court has awarded what amounts to "joint custody" to a Moose Jaw couple whose divorce led to a bitter dispute over who would keep the precious family pooch...' Husky dog, Shikydoe, will spend alternate weeks with one or the other of his divorced owners... [Edmonton Journal]
Australian Animal Welfare Act docks puppy tail docking AU A new Animal Welfare Act enacted this week gives Australian courts the power to levy fines of up to $50,000, seize abused animals, forbid future animal ownership and to sentence five years in jail to anyone convicted of cruelty to an animal. Tail docking (unless medically necessary), dog fighting, attending dog fighting, and spurring an animal all qualify as acts of animal cruelty under the new law. [Sunday Times]
Dog who rescued family member inducted into hall of fame TX A Great Dane who awoke a sleeping family to help a critically ill member has been inducted into the Texas Animal Hall of Fame.
"Rosie was running in and out of our bedroom, jumping on and off the bed until we were finally awake," Nalley said. "Then we heard my father calling for help." Addison Nalley [Brad's father] was suffering from internal bleeding. The Nalleys were able to get Addison Nalley to a hospital, where he received numerous transfusions, the information stated. "... If it had not been for Rosie, he might not have made it..." [Amarillo Globe-News]
Distemper suspected among racing greyhounds at Florida racetrack FL Even though racetrack dogs are supposed to receive innoculations against both distemper and kennel cough, racing dogs are apparently suffering from both at Florida kennels. Unlike kennel cough, distemper is a deadly viral disease for dogs. A kennel cough epidemic has already prompted closure of a number of racing tracks across Florida. [Miami Herald]
Early Sunday morning, I took our dog for a walk to the local park and we saw several police cars at three different intersections. Apparently four men in a stolen car had run into another car on a main road close by; when they crashed their stolen car, they abandoned it and ran downhill through our neighborhood. Police were able to apprehend one man and they were searching with a K-9 police dog for the others. I didn't see anyone suspicious on our walk, but I was glad to see police. Last week a woman was robbed by two men armed with guns at 8:00 p.m. on my street. We walk that street two or three times a day and in the dark at night. The only bags I carry are either empty or filled with dog cr*p, so I wouldn't make a very profitable target for thieves...
Dispute over barking dog turns deadly AZ One neighbor shot another dead in an apparent argument over a barking dog. The victim's family owned the 'barking' dog. The neighbor, Alan McMahon, took off in his white van and police say he may be armed and dangerous...
Neighbors say it is a safe neighborhood with many dog owners. Residents often walk their pets in the vacant field where the victim was found, they said. "There's no dog that I hear that is barking and barking all the time for no reason at all. Who in the world is shooting a man over a barking dog?" [Arizona Republic]
Pets on Wheels!
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