Kids don’t let your parents steal puppies.  A woman was charged with felony theft after she walked out of a Petland store with a Boston Terrier pup worth about $1, 100.  The dog had been implanted with a microchip for identification and this was used to identify the pup in order to make sure that it was the stolen puppy.  The police found the puppy after acting on a tip last Tuesday night that led them to the home of Jennifer L. Zulawski, 38, of  Crystal Lake, Illinois.  

The 4 ½ pound puppy had only been gone one day when he was found.  Petland employee Erin Underwood held the puppy in her arms as he cuddled and promptly fell asleep.  She’s stated, ‘"I think he is the sweetest dog we've ever had here.”

Zulawski faces charges of felony theft because of the price of the dog.  She did turn herself into police on Wednesday evening and was released with a notice to appear in Circuit Court on February 19th.  Dan Hamilton owner of the Petland Store said that the woman and her husband had called him concerning the theft of the dog on Wednesday morning.  However, he told them he couldn’t speak with them because he was filing a complaint.

Hamilton said, “"If I don't [press charges], what message am I sending to her children? I'm really sending a message to all of them that what she did was not right."

Zulawski had tried to purchase the thousand dollar puppy a few days prior but had been unable to finance it.  She still wanted the dog apparently because she came in with her three kids Monday evening to the Petland and asked to see the puppy in the enclosed play area.  After about 20 minutes, the two older kids came out of the enclosed space and asked an employee to show them the aquariums in the back of the store.  Hamilton stated that his manager later told him the two kids were saying things like, 'My mom told us to ask about tanks. My mom told us to ask about filters’.  "What amazes me is that someone actually used her kids like this," Hamilton said.

Source:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-pet-theft_31_bothjan31,1,1729505.story

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Strange news out of Romania today, where a woman was attack by a large bear and lived to tell the tale.  I really didn’t think that Romania had any bears.   Interesting.  Apparently these aren’t you average bears either.  These are aggressive 20 stone in weight or height; I’m not sure which, bears. 

 

The woman was with her seven year old son and their three legged dog looking for firewood.  The bear came up on them unawares and the small family ran, but the mother, Mrs. Prundaru slipped and fell.  Her son Petre Prundaru ran and hid behind a rock.  However, when he saw the bear grab his mom about the neck he picked up a stick and charged at the animal.  Their faithful dog, Cotonogu, also charged after the animal and together they both managed to scare the bear off before it seriously harmed Mrs. Prundaru. 

 

This bizarre attack took place in broad daylight in the Carpathian Mountains.  That’s a place I thought only existed in the movies.  Has anyone seen Ghostbusters II?  Apparently, these bear attacks don’t usually end well.  A hospital spokesman where Mrs. Prundaru was treated for various cuts said, “Most people who are attacked by bears and get close enough to be bitten don't live to tell the tale."  So, this woman and her family are very lucky.

 Mrs. Prundaru also gives her personal account of the horrific experience.  "We were gathering sticks for firewood when suddenly our little dog, Cotonogu, started to growl, and then out of the bushes came this enormous bear. I stepped backwards and tripped over and shouted at Petre to run…Then the bear came and started sniffing me and scratching and biting me. I couldn't move – I was terrified – and then it opened its mouth and put it round my throat…I could feel its breath and its teeth and then I heard Petre and my dog shouting and barking, and the bear was gone. I can't believe I survived." 

The full article appears in The Scotsman newspaper.  Can also be seen at http://news.scotsman.com/world/Boy-and-threelegged-dog-save.3723383.jp

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We’ve all heard about the recent large numbers of foreclosures and how they are affecting people’s lives as they lose their homes.  It’s a sad state of affairs, but there are more victims of the foreclosure crisis than we realize.  They are the pets of the people whose homes are foreclosed on.

 

Our beloved pets are starting to suffer en masse due to the foreclosure crisis.  Many become homeless just like their owners and are forced to live in vehicles with them.  Others are set out by the side of the road or dropped off at the humane society.  The Hamilton County Human Educational Society in Tennessee is taking in about 25 new animals a week, because their owners are no longer able to house them. 

 

The Executive Director of the Humane Educational Society says, "It's had a tremendous effect on us not just foreclosures but people having to move out of their houses and renting apartments to downsize to deal with the economy."

 

Even worse, other pets are left behind in their homes without food or water.  Many of these animals slowly starve to death, and end up trying to eat anything or everything, such as carpet or wallboard, in the house to get some nutritional value. 

 

Those that try to get their pets into a rescue group are often turned down because they are overcrowded, then the homeowners are forced to contact the animal shelters.

 

"They're usually breaking down on the phone," said Kathy Potter, a shelter dispatcher. "I'm quite direct with them that there's a 50-50 chance the animals might be put down.”

 

“They may be euthanized at a shelter," said Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States. "But they'll be fed and have water and have a humane euthanization, as opposed to spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard."

 

The shelters are recommending that people facing foreclosure act as soon as possible to find their pets good homes.  Start looking at rentals that allow pets, ask family members if they’ll be alright with pets, or place an ad in the classifieds looking for a good home for the pets.

 

Source: http://www.wrcbtv.com/news/index.cfm?sid=2317

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWKlzlfH1sHNzJ3FS4MxZeYquThAD8UFOH980

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You often think of your home as a safe and loving place for your child and your pets.  After all, you work hard to make it that way for therm.  However, even the best parents can miss something in their home that could be hazardous to the health of their beloved pets and children, simply because these younger family members haven’t had a chance to learn about the dangers of certain common household products.  

 

I found a great list of Ten Hidden Hazards that can Hurt or Kill you Child or Pet by Debra Holtzman.  Anyone with a pet should read this list and get rid of any unwanted hazards around the home as soon as possible.

 

1. Latex Balloons: You’d be surprised, but uninflated balloons can actually suffocate your child or pet.
2. Stuffed Toys: Those chew toys better not have any large pellets or chunks of stuffing in them.  As your loved one could pull it apart and then choke.
3. Garage Doors: I’m not sure how many of you heard about that sad report of a young child being killed by a garage door, but it can and does happen.  If you have an automatic garage door opener, be sure to install the ‘electric eye.’  This device will reverse the door if it senses anything in the way.
4. Disc Batteries: These little batteries come in everything from your watch to the LED light.  They can stick in the throat when swallowed and cause serious burns if they start leaking.
5. Window Treatments with Hanging Cords: Children and pets can easily become caught in the cords of these treatments such as venetian blinds.  Think around regular curtains or cordless treatments.

 

You’ll have to follow the link to expertclick.com in order to read the entire articles and all 10 Hidden Hazards to your Pets and Children.

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Well, it’s the Year of the Rat.  Definitely a good year for me, as I am a Wood Rat.  We like our friends close and our business investments even closer.  Many people, not just those born in past rat years are looking to get lucky this year with a pet rat of their own. 

 

Yes, the popularity of the pet rat has increased tremendously this year.  In China, especially there are many children who have clamored for and received pet rats of their own.  The spring festival in China is rapidly approaching and many people are rushing to the pet stores to pick up pet rats and even mice, (a cuter substitute for some) in order to ring in their new year with a little extra luck. 

 

Rats are actually very good pets, if you can get over the idea that they are indeed rats.  I used to own a large sized rat and she was very affectionate.  They are small and so are great for apartments.  They’re quiet and they don’t do a lot of running around.  Plus, if you get a good cage, they are very easy to clean up after.  Most rats cost about ten bucks, but you’ll spend some extra initially for food, bedding and a good cage so estimate about fifty bucks total.

 

I’ll leave you with a poem by Jean de la Fontaine on the lives of rats.

 

The City Rat and The Country Rat 

 A city rat, one night,Did, with a civil stoop,A country rat inviteTo end a turtle soup.Upon a Turkey carpetThey found the table spread,And sure I need not harp itHow well the fellows fed.The entertainment wasA truly noble one;But some unlucky causeDisturb'd it when begun.It was a slight rat-tat,That put their joys to rout;Out ran the city rat;His guest, too, scamper'd out.Our rats but fairly quit,The fearful knocking ceased.'Return we,' cried the cit,To finish there our feast.'No,' said the rustic rat;'To-morrow dine with me.I'm not offended atYour feast so grand and free,--'For I've no fare resembling;But then I eat at leisure,And would not swap, for pleasure

So mix'd with fear and trembling.'

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There has been a major Salmonella outbreak in several of the Midwestern states.  As many as 100 people have been reported as suffering from a serious strain of Salmonella in the largest recorded outbreak of its kind.  Where is it coming from?  Pet Turtles!

 

Federal health officials stated that at least 24 people had to be hospitalized with the condition.  The cases have been reported in 33 different states, but mostly affect Illinois, California, Texas and Pennsylvania.  Many of those afflicted have been children. 

 

There is no need to run and flush your kid’s pet turtle down the toilet.  You do need to take several safety precautions.  This strain of salmonella is carried specifically by pet turtles.  You have to be very careful when handling your turtles, other reptile pets, amphibians or birds.  All of these creatures can carry different strains of salmonella. 

 

The CDC reported that many of the people who had caught the bug reported having kissed, played with or fed their turtle before they got sick.  Many others reported being exposed to the pet turtle or having family members and friends that owned pet turtles.  You can even be exposed to the bacteria in ways that you don’t expect.  One baby got sick after being bathed in a sink where the owner had disposed of the turtle’s waste and not properly disinfected the area. 

 

You can keep everyone safe, including your pets, by taking proper measures.

 

·        Wash your hands thoroughly after playing with the pet, feeding it or touching its cage or accessories. 

·        Don’t kiss your turtle, lick it or otherwise.

·        Don’t bath or use the same water a turtle has been in.

·        Buy your pet from a reputable pet shop or seller.

 

Follow these steps and you should greatly reduce your risks of catching salmonella.  Be sure to alert your family and young children of the best habits in caring for their pet turtles and other reptiles, amphibians and birds.

 

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-turtle25jan25,1,4954663.story

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Don’t take your pets on vacation with you to Hawaii!  Next time you go to visit this exotic tropical state, be sure to keep those pets safely on a lease with you at all times.  It may get eaten.

 

Last month, two workers at the Moanalua Golf Club stole and then at the beloved Shepard-Labrador mix of Frank Manuma.  The man was visiting the club with his wife and their dog Caddy on Dec. 16^th.  Manuma stated that he had obtained permission to bring his dog to the golf course while he played a round of golf. 

 

During this round of golf, Caddy, still a pup at only 8-month old, disappeared after being tied up near maintenance shed.  Leaving Manuma to search frantically for the dog he that he treated like a child.  The search went in vain and Caddy’s fate became a mystery.

 

It was later found that two workers, Saturnino Palting, 58, and Nelson Domingo, 43, took the dog, butchered it and later at it.  Witnesses saw the men loading Caddy into a car and driving away with him at the end of their shift.  The two men were fired from their jobs, and the investigators told Manuma the sad fate of his beloved pet, Caddy. 

 

The two men were also indicted on charges of theft and animal cruelty by an Oahu grand jury.  These are felony charges and punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.  Frank Manuma said when he was told of the indictments, “We're delighted that it's moving forward."  Both he and his wife, Debbie Weil-Manuma considered the dog to be like a child to them.  They’ve also moved on and found a 3 month old mixed German Shepard-Golden Retriever named Caddy 2 to help them in their grieving process.

 

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6cPagAriOleaHdim-j_v44m7fQwD8UCJB7O0

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Not all people consider a cat or a dog to be the perfect pet.  Many are lovers of the exotic pet.  This realm lumps together the Llamas, Lizards and even Lions of the world.  It’s quite a broad category of creatures that humans adopt, with which they form their own unique bonds. 

 

Before you decide to go against the grain and get yourself that pet rat or chinchilla you’ll find that there are things to consider about exotic pets. 

 

Some Things to Consider before adding an Exotic Pet to the Household

Courtesy Salisbury Post

 

1. Age: Are you or your child old enough to take care of this pet?
2. Activity: Would you do better with a pet that’s more active during the day or the night?
3. Size: How big is too big?
4. Diet: Can you find the food to feed your exotic pet?

“Exotic animals have a wide nutritional palette. Feed your pet a variety of foods to benefit from the range of vitamins and minerals it needs. Fresh food is always better than canned or pre-packaged. Carnivorous animals, such as snakes, need to have rats or mice the right size to eat (snakes will not eat a mouse or rat that is too large). Herbivores, such as iguanas, need an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Omnivores, such as land turtles, need to have fresh fruits and vegetables as well as some meat matter like crickets, earthworms and mealworms dusted with calcium powder. You can save a lot on vet bills with the right diet and housing conditions.”

5. Handling: Is this a creature you can cuddle with or can you accept that there will be no cuddling?

 

You can head over to the Salisbury Post to read a more involved article and list of things to consider about purchasing an exotic pet.  I suggest taking all the points in before hand and even researching different exotic pets online to find the one that best suits your personality.

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Animal tales warm the heart and soul and you’ll find plenty of them right here at the site.  However, if it just isn’t enough for you, try heading to Adorable Pet Stories for plenty of animal tails and the humans that wrote them.

Below is part of a story I found on their site.  It’s about a grandma with penchant for kindness to animals.

Grandma to the Rescue  By Sharon D'cruz


My Grandmother was a kind of a Florence Nightingale when it came to animals. She fed the countless amount of stray cats that wandered into her backyard. She would throw food scraps to the cats while sounding her famous cry of "Puss! Puss!". I was a kid back then, only about 8 or 9 years old. She used to let me feed the kitty cats too which I loved doing because my mother wouldn’t allow us to keep pets. Then came the dreaded day....a cat had the nerve to scratch me while I was feeding it. I had a long, angry red scratch on my arm. My grandmother immediately washed it and put some toothpaste on it; her remedy for burns or scratches. It worked for burns but not on scratches (but I didn’t tell her that).

Anyway, one morning, my grandmother, whom we fondly used to call ‘Mamama’, was on her way back from the travelling vegetable seller (a guy who drove around in his van selling vegetable, meat, fish etc . Interesting point to note is that they were always Chinese), when she saw a puppy being attacked by three big dogs. Three huge dogs were trying to tear a little puppy to bits. Mamama to the rescue! She picked up a piece of wood and rushed at the dogs and what a sight it was. An old woman in her late sixties, dressed in her ‘grandma clothes’ (matching sarong and blouse), hurrying towards three huge dogs with the piece of wood held high over her head and uttering her battle cry of "Ei! Ei! Ei!" (she was the true Xena, Warrior Princess, in my eyes). The dogs ran for their lives, tail between their legs. Mamama had saved the little pup from certain death….

Find out what happens to the pup by following this link…http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/rover/388/mamama.html

 

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It’s time for more animal facts!  I’ve found a couple of great websites with random and sometimes completely useless animal related trivia and information.  You’ll find all kinds of great information to expand and encourage your interest in those furry, scaled and finned friends of ours. 

Random Animal Facts from NZGirl Online.

 

• A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
• Cats have over 100 vocal sounds, while dogs have only about 10.
• On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
• You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.
• A group of frogs is called an army.
• A group of rhinos is called a crash 

 

Random Animal Facts from Random Facts & Useless Trivia

 

• If you eat a polar bear liver, you will die of vitamin A poisoning. As a carnivore which feeds largely upon fish-eating carnivores, the polar bear ingests large amounts of vitamin A, which is stored in its liver; in the past, humans have been poisoned by eating the livers of polar bears.

• The common guinea pig was first domesticated in about 2000 BC by the people living in the Andes Mountains, as a food source. To this day, they continue to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, where they are an important source of protein and a mainstay of Andean folk medicine. Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million Guinea pigs each year, and the animal is so entrenched in the culture that one famous painting of the Last Supper in the main cathedral in Cusco, Peru shows Christ and the twelve disciples dining on guinea pig.

• Animals in the phylum Chordata, which includes all vertebrates (fish, amphibians, lizards, birds, and mammals) as well as several closely related invertebrates, are the only animals that have tongues. The tongue is considered the first organ in the digestive system.

• Dogs regulate their temperature through evaporation from the tongue. Brachycephalic (snub-nosed) dogs have a shorter than normal tongue. Because of this, dogs such as the pug or Shih Tzu have more trouble regulating their temperatures than other dogs do, and have a harder time tolerating high temperatures.

  If you want more pet facts you’ll just have to follow the links above!

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I just paid a little visit to my local neighborhood pet shop.  Not to buy anything, but to look at the animals and go ‘ooh’ and ‘aw’ at their cuteness.  While there, I noticed that the shop had several excellent cages for smaller pets like rats, guinea pigs and rabbits and for those more exotic pets.  There were large cages, big enough for small dog if you wanted and small cages for the tiniest of mice. 

 

I also saw cages with wire frame bottoms.  Frankly, I was a little surprised that the pet shop actually sold these types of pet cages.  It’s been well advised by animal welfare groups that cages with wire frame bottoms hurt the feet of your cute little pets, even if they save you a little effort in cleaning out the cage. 

 

Please, don’t buy these types of cages.  Whenever you are looking at a cage, think to yourself, would I be comfortable sitting naked in here.  Naked and barefoot.  If you don’t think you would, you might want to move onto a different cage. 

 

A cage is your pet’s home, so you want it to be a sanctuary, both comfortable and safe.  I recommend purchasing a wire frame cage with a removable plastic bottom.  This provides a good solid walking surface and still gives you a cage that is fairly easy to clean out.  Just take out the pet rat, lift off the lid and dump out the shavings.  For a little extra comfort provide your pet with a place to hide out in his or her cage.  Just about anything will do, from a small cardboard box to a fancier plastic home from the store. 

 

Remember, if you wouldn’t be comfortable naked and barefoot in the cage, then your new pet won’t be either.

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We, the pets of humans both young and old, do hereby announce our full and pure devotion to those we hold most dear, our closest friends.  Whether they be child, adult, elderly or animal, we the pets and domesticated creatures shall forevermore do our best to protect and preserve the hand that feeds us, pets us and comforts us in times of need.  

Our desire to protect shall include the watching at windows for our closest friends’ return from work or play, the intruder who does so dare to enter the territory near our home, (whether they be human or animal), and the entrance of friends to our closest friends so that we might alert our people of their coming. 

 

In preservation, from past to present and from present into the future, we shall endeavor to do our best to care for those closest friends.  Our care can and shall include doing what we can within our own limitations to preserve the health, happiness and liberty of those we hold dear.  Whether in the form of a loving lick, head to pat, playful bat, teasing wag, questioning snuffle or further service which we’ve been trained into by our friends to better aid us in this quest, it shall all be done in ernst and with a desire to comfort. 

 

In exchange, we ask for shelter where there is none, food and water when we want, and the warmth of a close, loving bond for life.  Ask for our attention, and give it in return.  Play with us in sad times as well as happy.  Give us your bones, milk, cheese, bread, seeds and other treats as is fitting to the species, and we will eat it.

 

Furthermore, to better preserve and protect our closest friends, we shall do our best to understand and interpret the actions of those not of our species, especially our closest friends.  Should they desire to teach, we will desire to learn.  Should they desire to learn, we shall teach.  So that all sides shall work together in harmony and see the benefits of eternal friendship.

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It seems a recent study has indicated that lonely people are more likely to see human characteristics or emotions in their pets!  Well, I never…I’ve seen plenty of human characteristics in my pets, that doesn’t make me as lonely as a crazy cat lady! Does it?

 

Hmmm…I’d better not analyze that thought to deeply.  This study held by researchers at the University of Chicago has found evidence that people alleviate the pain of loneliness through their mind’s clever trick of seeing their pets, gadgets or gods as being more human like.  Hey, I wonder if this means the Greeks and Romans were essentially a lonely people?

 

So, lonely people like the cat lady in your neighborhood who has half a dozen cats and treats them like people are just trying to find a connection in this big wide world of ours.

 

Social scientists call this tendency to humanize things and animals in our surroundings, ‘anthropomorphism.’  It seems that there is something special about the emotion of loneliness that causes this effect in people.  The researchers found that other negative emotional states like fear didn’t reproduce the same effects, which I can understand.  Who would ascribe human-like behavior to a big, scary dog they were afraid of?

 

It seems that this is a perfect example of how deeply social human beings are.  We thrive best in groups with strong social connections.  Without those connections we or our minds find ways to make substitute connections.  In a way it’s quite therapeutic and can help keep the spirits up of those who are trapped in enforced isolation, such as people in hospitals or even astronauts on long journeys through space.  I’d like to see the first therapy dog in space on that Mars mission.  He’d have a barking good time.

 

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080118125835.htm

 

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I found a great series of stories about animals that are quite educational, too.  You’ll find these animal tails at the Artic Animals page on Think Quest.  There are other links on the page that take you to biological, habitat and behavior information about some of the more commonly known artic animals.  If you or your kids are a big fan of these wild creatures head over to this page for some bedtime reading material.

 

Below you’ll find the story of the Caribou living in the artic.  These fun animal tails were written by kids for kids!  Stories written by Aaron, drawings by Samuel

Caribou

 

The tall, bull caribou stopped to rest on high knoll above the arctic tundra that he had just fled from. He had been driven in a furious rage racing from the army of mosquitoes and flies which tortured him. He began to breathe easier and to eat moss growing up on top of the knoll. His small herd of 15 were on their way to join the northwest Alaskan herd. Soon the rest of the herd was peacefully eating beside him. They ate for a few minutes until the pests arrived. The caribou ran for a quarter of a mile before coming to stop for another rest. This time instead of eating all the caribou laid down to sleep. The next morning, the caribou woke up and resumed their quest for the northwest Alaskan herd of 200,000. Later that day the caribou were crossing a river and they found that all the pests were gone! Two days later they found the large northwest herd and peacefully rested with them.    

You’ll have to head over to the Artic Animals page to read the other stories and learn a lot about these wonderful creatures of the coldest climates.

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A 14 year old kid made a big difference in the lives of elderly pets in Bellevue, Ohio.  Paige Smith saw a sign at a local Bellevue Animal Hospital about the Animeals program and felt the need to take action.  Apparently, many of the seniors and other folks on the Meals-On-Wheels program end up sharing part or all of their meals with their pets, because they lack the money to buy traditional pet food.  So, both the elderly and their pets are going without enough food.

Paige realized that she could do something to help these folks and their pets.  "I thought it was real sad that these people and animals weren't getting enough to eat," Smith said. "I thought it would be a good idea to try and help."

She started a fundraiser with her National Junior Honor Society and collected money and pet food at her High School.  They went to homerooms for about two weeks asking students for pet food supplies and money.  Their fundraising was so successful that they managed to bring in 150-200 pounds of food and about a $100 in cash.  Paige took the donations, valued at about $500 to the Senior Services of Northern Kentucky program, which is designed to meet the needs of the lower income adults and their pets. 

 

Donna Oehler, vice president of institutional advancement at Senior Services of Northern Kentucky, "The reality is that the meal we give them is the only food they'll get that day and we don't want them to share it," Oehler said.

 

It’s great that a young kid can do so much to help out folks without getting caught up in a lot of red tape.  She saw something that needed to be done, organized the kids in her Honor Society and went out and succeeded in her goal.

 

Source: http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/NEWS03/801160457/1056/RSS0901

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Well, they’ve finally made it!  Yep, the Bulldog is currently in the top 10 most popular pet dogs in America as calculated by the American Kennel Club.  I knew they’d get there eventually.  For years the top spot has been dominated by those golden boys of the pet industry, the Labrador Retrievers and the Golden Retrievers, but now the squash-faced, drooly, ordinary Bull dog has its chance to shine for the first time in 75 years!

 

I noticed this sudden change in American’s taste in pets while watching a segment on one of those morning shows.  It might have been the Today Show.  They featured the current top five most popular dog breeds in America and the Bulldog was amongst those well-known favorites the Retrievers and the German Shepards.  Of course they did the show with all puppies and they were so cute!  Especially the bulldog, with his little itty bitty wrinkled face.

 

The bulldog that many readers will remember from those old Tom and Jerry cartoons is quite a comfortable dog to have around.  He or she is lower energy and can get up to 50 pounds full grown.  They used to have a reputation for being bad tempered and this was true in the old days of Bull baiting, but those bad tempers were bred out of the bulldog by WWII.  Now they get along well with humans and kids and some other dog breeds.   

 

The bulldog fairly inactive and great for couch potatoes.  So you won’t have to worry about keeping up with an active dog.  They do have a few health problems to watch out for, including difficulty breathing because of their squashed faces.  You should also note that most Bulldogs can’t swim because of their body shape.  Now get out there and start loving on a bulldog.

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A racing greyhound barely escaped with his life after a run in with car thieves on Sunday. He could have died after being trapped for 14 hours in his cage, when the car thieves abandoned the dog named, Go Bronco, by the side of the road.

Go Bronco is owned by his trainer, Terry Darragh, and has experienced some success on the racing circuit in Australia. He’s managed to win about $8,485 in prize money for his owner almost covering his value of $10,000. Darragh stated that, ‘I was gutted when I walked out and the car was gone. He's a lovely little dog - runs well over 700 meters, always pays his way."

His car had been stolen after he stopped for dinner after one of Go Bronco’s races. He had stopped to eat at a hotel on Cowper Street last Saturday night. Then, when he came back out he found his station wagon gone. The thieves must have decided that the station wagon wasn’t worth the bother.

Following a tip, the police found the station wagon parked in Boyce Street, Glebe with Bronco still trapped in his cage inside the car. Many readers will well know what happens when you leave a locked car in the sun with the windows rolled up. It gets quite hot inside. This is what happened with that station wagon that had poor Go Bronco inside. He was left in that station wagon for 14 hours without food or water.

Police found him collapsed and with a body temperature of 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit. They used a water hose to cool off Bronco in the short term and drove him to the Annadale Animal Hospital. The veterinarian treating Bronco, Dr Andrew Planner, said that the dog came in with Severe Heat Exhaustion and was close to death.

He’s still alive and doing better with treatment, but the vets say that Go Bronco is still at risk for organ failure because of the severe heat he endured. Hopefully, Bronco was found in time and will survive this experience.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/dog-beats-odds-but-faces-race-of-his-life/2008/01/15/1200159449387.html

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A women’s shelter in Arlington, Va is now set up to take not only abused women and children but their pets as well.  This new project called, Doorways for Women and Families Safehouse, is the first that allows women to save their beloved pets from abusive relationships when they leave too. 

 

It’s not something that is well known, but many women will refuse to leave an abusive relationship because they will have to leave their pets behind.  Those pets that are left behind are often threatened, abused, tortured and even killed in retaliation against the woman for ending the relationship.  Since there is such a strong connection between animal abuse and domestic violence, the shelter has started asking women about their pets as part of a regular safety assessment program.

 

This first of the Doorways shelters is part of the Pets and Women Shelter or PAWS, a national campaign to raise awareness about the problems women with pets have in attempting to leave an abusive relationship.  The shelter in Virginia won a $5,000 grant to turn an old shed in the backyard into a kennel and animal shelter. 

 

Being able to have your pet with you in a shelter can also be comforting, says Allie Phillips an attorney who came up with the idea.  Her exact words, "When they've lost everything, their home, and all they have is the clothing on their back, feeding the dog, going for walks, gives them a sense of normalcy."  She is now the Director of Public Policy at the American Humane Association.

 

Many women’s shelters across the country do house pets in temporary kennels or foster care off site.  However, the women and children who own those pets can’t go visit their pets for safety reasons.  This can add to the trauma of leaving their home and dealing with legal issues involving the end of an abusive relationship.

 

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The legendary Chupacabra has returned.  This scary doglike creature has made its way in the news again.  Many residents of Barangay Dumolog, Mexico believes that the Chupacabra has killed eight chickens in their village.  When the chickens were found they were headless.  If it wasn’t the blood-sucking goat killer, it was probably a hungry guy who got scared halfway through preparing a massive meal of chicken.

 

Jojo Canobida, a resident of Dumolog stated that he had seen a doglike creature attacking his chicken in the early morning of January 11^th.  The animal fled the scene when it saw him. 

 

The Chupacabra creature is very well known in Mexico and other South American countries.  It’s a mythical creature that is thought to go around killing farm animals and sucking their blood.  At least it has been mythical until recently.  You’ll remember a couple months ago a woman claimed to have found the bodies of suspected Chupacabras on the road near her property.  Tissue from them was later tested and they were found to be dogs, but severely malformed. 

 

Several months ago, a man stated that his two goats in Barangay Lawaan were attacked by the Chupacabra.  The goat’s owner, engineer Joel Jumbas of the Capiz provincial engineering office said that he had been told this by his goat caretaker, Wilfredo Fano.  The caretaker told him of the strange manner in which his goats died.  They were found with puncture marks in their necks and their blood sucked out.

 

Chupacabra attacks have been reported in newspapers dating all the way back to the 1950s.  The first reported case in North America appears to have occurred in Arizona sometime around 1956.  Other incidents have been reported as far north as New Mexico and Florida, but most of them have been localized in Puerto Rico.  Tourists, make sure you don't bring along your pet goats.

 

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080114-112177/Blood-sucker-killing-farm-animals-in-Capiz

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A few weeks ago, it came out in the news that the FDA in America was poised to give approval for the sale of cloned animals as food animals.  So that they and their offspring would end up in the food chain.  Now, it appears that the European Union (EU) has just given its own approval for the sale of cloned animals in the food chain. 

 

The European Food Safety Authority conducted its own studies and analysis of cloned meat and has decided to endorse meat and milk that has been derived from cloned animals. 

 

This discision came last Friday, and technically applies to all the 27 countries in the EU.  However, many countries are used to going their own way in national policy.  Countries, such as France, has stated that they will conduct their own scientific tests to determine is the food from cloned animals and their offspring is safe for human consumption.  An official with the French mission to the EU, Michele-Ann Okolotowicz said, ‘Food -supply questions are sacred to us.’

 

Sacred or not, the EU Scientists have found no evidence that harm comes from cloned-animal products.  They used a number of parameters including physiological and clinical ones to determine that there were no significant difference between healthy clones, their offspring and the conventional animal livestock. 

 

Many opponents to the use of cloned animals in our food point out that there could be long-term or generational effects that we won’t notice until it has already caused the damage to our health.  These cloned animal foods, nicknamed ‘Frankenfoods’.  However, we needn’t worry about cloned food showing up in the supermarket just yet.  The process of cloning an animal costs about $15,000 so it’s not economically feasible.  Plus, many politicians in both the states and the EU are still discussing whether or not to allow the actual sale of cloned meat and milk products to the public at large.

 Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120007084241284087.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Crime doesn’t pay, especially when you are dealing with a bright and precocious Macaw.  I frequently write about robberies at pet stores, which is becoming a growing problem in the world of pets.  However, in Leominster, Massachusetts pet store robbery got off to a bad start one night.

 

Last Thursday, store manager Lori Oltman stated that intruders smashed in th