The State of the American Pet A study by Purina Ralston reveals the depth of attachment Americans have for their pets Ruff, Meow, Ruff, Meow. So it goes in Mauldin. SC [Greenville News] :

• The majority of dog owners (68%) and cat owners (61%) say companionship is the greatest benefit of owning their pet.
• Of dog owners:
   95% pet and hug their dog daily,
   92% play with their dog daily,
   45% have taken their dog on vacation, and
   43% have celebrated their dog's birthday.
• Of cat owners:
   91% pet and hug their cat daily.
   85% play with their cat daily.
   29% have celebrated their cat's birthday.
   23% have visited health care facilities or schools with their cat, and
   16% have taken their cat on vacation.
• Pet owners who have children at home face different challenges and pay somewhat less attention to their pet (duh)
•  More than seven out of ten dog owners (78%) and cat owners (71%) turn to a veterinarian most often for information about their pet.
• Over half of dog owners (51%) and more than one-third of cat owners (35%) scold their pets. Only five percent of dog owners
  and eight percent of cat owners say they spank or swat their pet. (dogs must think their owners are cranky)
• One-third of dog owners (34%) and fifteen percent of cat owners have not had their pet spayed or neutered. [Purina Study: pdf file]

World's most allergic dog Tia is even allergic to dog collars... [Ananova]

Men are fined, placed on probation for shooting, gutting family's dog and they laughed while they did it... [Kansas City Star]

Cruelty charges dog Hub Cat Lady The breeder of  Persian cats is protesting any charges, even though officers removed over 60 dead cats (and one very sick dog) from her premises... [Boston Herald]

Brains of at least 20,000 people, many of them depressed or mentally ill when they died, were removed without their families' consent over a 30-year period, a senior government doctor reported Monday.  [Yahoo.com] (are you depressed yet? we need your brain... this won't hurt a bit... )

Pooch Politics 'Can a mutt in Florida join the top dogs in Washington?' [Wolf Files, ABCNEWS.com] When politics goes to the dogs, get the inside scoop. A howling must read for power players... 

Puppy Comes Into World With Green Fur [WBAL Channel]

Save Trudi, the gentle chow... A sweet, trained dog who already does therapy work at a local senior center in Gloucester needs a new home, according to the Gloucester Humane Society. Trudi's a 4-yr-old chow chow who enjoys playing with other dogs, children and adults. She is calm, obedient and friendly. She's healthy, spayed and eligible for a gift of the first two months of ShelterCare pet insurance paid for by Petfinder.org  To adopt her or one of the other beautiful cats or dogs, fill out an application and go visit the shelter.

Her family didn't want to give her up. Terminal cancer of one spouse forced them to turn her over to the Gloucester Humane Society in Gloucester, Virginia. If you adopt her, you'll fulfill her owner's dying wish.... (putting the jump on the gun here; we want to go look at her too... but  we must share this find with you, because Trudi deserves the best home... ) Gloucester, VA Humane Society 804 693-5520. Hours 11-4 pm (call first to confirm your visit)

As the lucky owners of one of the sweetest chows in the world, we know Trudi is special. The Humane Society told me directly that she has a wonderful temperment. Trudi is a rare find...

Top secret program unveiled: dogs sniff out chemical weapons for Homeland Security DC

Top secret research demonstrated that "... ordinary dogs can be trained to sniff out trace amounts of the nonlethal components of chemical weapons, including sarin and cyanide. As a result, the department's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has begun to train a corps of so-called chemical detector dogs and is planning to deploy them at airports, seaports, government buildings and other potential terrorist targets..." [New York Times] 

Port Townsend: Dummy cop now has a dummy companion WA You've heard of the 'dummy' cop; now we have the 'dummy' dog... speeders beware...  [Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News]

Presidential dog, Barney, just says 'no' to marching orders DC The prez has to carry Barney on board; otherwise, Barney goes awol... [Chron Watch] (now that's a smart dog; that sounds just like our dog... who has confidence in himself... )

Do dingoes really eat babies? Cecil Brown researches the question for The Straight Dope.  

On this day, May 13, 1992, 'an Australian couple was awarded nearly $1 million for their wrongful convictions in the death of their infant daughter they said was taken by a dingo, or wild dog...' The case was documented in "A Cry in the Dark", a movie starring Meryl Streep... [UPI]

Some dingoes are quite social: Dinky Di proved a howling success when he took up playing piano and singing for Australian tourists. Dinky Di learned his trade after being rescued from a dingo extermination program by the Australian government. [The Australian]

Dingoes may or may not eat babies, but civilization is definitely killing off dingoes and other Australian species. Even a generous forecast by scientists foresees the extinction of dingoes within 50 years... [IOL]