pets – News Stories About pets - Page 14

Move Over, Garfield, There's a New Fat Cat
in Town

Jul 30, 2008 4:15 PM CDT

Move Over, Garfield, There's a New Fat Cat in Town

NJ feline tips scales at 44 pounds

(Newser) - Talk about New Jersey's fat cats. A 44-pound feline was found waddling around last week without a collar, and officials at the Camden County Animal Shelter hope she gets a nice—and hopefully, diet-friendly—home. Shelter officials are calling the porky cutie "Princess Chunk." "She's built like...

Mass. Puts Rent-a-Dog
Firms in Doghouse

Jul 30, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

Mass. Puts Rent-a-Dog Firms in Doghouse

Recent laws, bans making pay-as-you-play pets unavailable

(Newser) - Massachusetts lawmakers have put the kibosh on a lucrative pet rental business, which caters to busy urbanites who want to spend time with dogs without the full-time commitment. The state senate passed a bill yesterday prohibiting the renting or leasing of dogs and cats; like previous bans in Boston and...

My Beagle
Ate My
Paycheck

Jul 25, 2008 9:29 AM CDT

My Beagle Ate My Paycheck

Dog ownership turned out a lot pricier than writer bargained for

(Newser) - At first, $150 for a beagle puppy and $20 a week for food sounded like a good deal, but it didn't take long to realize dogs are "deceptively expensive," Neal Templin writes in the Wall Street Journal. Vet bills soon added up to thousands after a mystery illness...

America: Land of Doggy Doping

GLOSSIES

Jul 10, 2008 7:07 AM CDT

America: Land of Doggy Doping

The business of pet pharmacology is booming

(Newser) - Americans spent $49 billion on their pets last year, with an ever-growing percentage paying for treatment of behavioral issues with tailor-made psychotropics, reports James Vlahos in the New York Times Magazine. Frustrated owners are feeding dogs drugs like Reconcile—beef-flavored Prozac—-for "mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones,...

Paris Denied New Pup

Jun 17, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Paris Denied New Pup

Pet store rejects heiress as legit buyer

(Newser) - Paris Hilton went “ballistic” over the weekend when an LA pet store refused to sell her a Yorkie, telling the celebutante the purchase was clearly “an impulse buy,” the New York Post reports. Hilton was on her way to a photo shoot and "wanted a puppy...

Facebook Boots
Kitty-Eating Kids

Jun 12, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

Facebook Boots Kitty-Eating Kids

Site repulsed by activist dinner party photos

(Newser) - A group of Danish students were kicked off Facebook when they posted photos of themselves cooking and eating a cat, the Copenhagen Post reports. The students intended to point out the hypocrisy in designating some animals pets and others food, but have infuriated the almighty social-networking site and animal rights...

Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck

Jun 11, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck

Pet owners try to keep the peace between high technology and 'bio-pets'

(Newser) - Dogs are getting more suspicious as robots get more sophisticated, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dog owners find that jealous, territorial, or terrified pooches bark at the robots—and sometimes rip them apart. Some post videos of the battles on YouTube, while others are trying to find ways for canine...

Serial Bunny Killer
Plagues German Town

Jun 11, 2008 5:49 AM CDT

Serial Bunny Killer Plagues German Town

Rabbits are snatched from cages and beheaded

(Newser) - A special bunny task force has been established in the German town of Witten to track down a mystery serial killer who's been beheading pet rabbits for a year, Der Speigel reports. At least 40 rabbits have been snatched from cages in the area. Their corpses are usually left behind....

The Battle to Baby-Proof the Family Dog

Jun 2, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

The Battle to Baby-Proof the Family Dog

Trainers help dogs adjust when they're no longer the 'only child'

(Newser) - For many couples today, dogs aren’t just pets, they’re the “first baby.” But that puppy love can cause problems when it comes to the second baby—the human one. Like any only child, dogs can react badly to new siblings, so a small industry has sprung...

When Marriage
Goes to Dogs,
Where Do Dogs Go?

May 28, 2008 6:16 PM CDT

When Marriage Goes to Dogs, Where Do Dogs Go?

Custody of furry friends often becomes 'very hotly contested issue'

(Newser) - Joint custody, visitation rights, continued care, and financial support—custody negotiations are no longer restricted to the kids, USA Today reports, as more ex-partners wrangle over the pooch. In a recent survey, 25% of divorce lawyers reported an increase in pet-custody issues, with 90% of those cases involving dogs. It’...

Polly Wanna Get Home:
Here's My Address

May 23, 2008 4:11 AM CDT

Polly Wanna Get Home: Here's My Address

Lost Japanese parrot tells vet how to find his home

(Newser) - A vet in Japan was stumped on how to reunite a lost parrot with its owners—until the brainy bird told him his address and his owner's name. The well-trained African gray has been safely reunited with his human family, the BBC reports. The bird kept mum in police custody...

Like eHarmony, Only for Kitties

May 17, 2008 6:09 AM CDT

Like eHarmony, Only for Kitties

Shelters using Feline-ality program to match cats to owners

(Newser) - There's no shortage of dating websites that use personality profiles to come up with "scores" and assess compatibility; now, the AP reports, animal shelters are using a similar program to help pair famously fickle felines with owners. Some 45 facilities use Feline-ality, which assigns cats colorful personality types: leader...

Calif. Bill Would
Drive Pets Off Laps

May 7, 2008 6:11 AM CDT

Calif. Bill Would Drive Pets Off Laps

Drivers would have to steer clear of distracting pals

(Newser) - California legislators are pushing a bill banning pets from drivers' laps after a national study ranked pets, along with cell phones, among the leading causes of road distractions and a cause of thousands of accidents. A bill before the state legislature will impose a fine for driving while holding dogs,...

Favorite
Celeb
Companions

Apr 28, 2008 8:43 AM CDT

Favorite Celeb Companions

RIP, Paw Paw

(Newser) - The death this month of Martha Stewart's beloved canine Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow (just Paw Paw to his pals) got Nerve's Nicole Pasulka ruminating on her top celeb best friends. A sampling:

Millie, First Dog for the first President Bush: "Pet lovers that we are, we’d

...

Man's Best Friend Buried
in Style

Apr 25, 2008 10:29 AM CDT

Man's Best Friend Buried in Style

Owners spare no expense in funerals for pampered pets

(Newser) - The family files into the chapel, signs the registry, and pays its respects before the coffin. It looks much like a normal funeral parlor, and it is—just not for humans. Instead Oak Rest Pet Gardens in Georgia buries beloved pets, charging $2,000 or more for the service. “...

Cop Saves Woman in Python's Death Grip

Apr 19, 2008 7:49 PM CDT

Cop Saves Woman in Python's Death Grip

12-foot snake attacks pet shop owner

(Newser) - A cop and several firemen struggled to rescue an Oregon pet shop owner after she stuck her hand in a python's cage, the Eugene Register-Guard reports. Teresa Rossiter was showing off 12-foot Darla to customers when the snake bit her, wrapped around her, and knocked her down. A policeman came...

Martha Loses 'Loyal Companion'

Apr 17, 2008 9:20 AM CDT

Martha Loses 'Loyal Companion'

Gushed-over pet and guest star gone at 12

(Newser) - Martha Stewart's chow Paw Paw, a frequent gushed-over guest on her TV show, has died of renal failure, reports AP. The pooch got his name—Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow Chow—for his huge paws. "Paw Paw was a spectacular chow and an even more spectacular dog,"...

Poop Scoopers
Rake It In

Apr 14, 2008 2:45 PM CDT

Poop Scoopers Rake It In

'Waste specialists' see increasing profits with a business 'always picking up'

(Newser) - The economy might be slowing, but one man's poop-scooping business is, well, piling up. A sixth sense for sniffing out the goods is earning Ron Johnson's Poo-B-Gone $75,000 yearly, the Chicago Tribune reports. Pet owners who are too busy or grossed-out to handle their dogs' waste pay up to...

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

Mar 25, 2008 1:36 PM CDT

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

As more people lose their homes, so do their pets

(Newser) - As foreclosure rates skyrocket around the country, animal shelters are feeling a heartbreaking byproduct: an influx of pets being surrendered, USA Today reports. Across the country, areas with high foreclosures are seeing increased rates of pet abandonment, and shelters worry that even more could be coming as unemployment rates rise...

Man Eats Man's Best Friend

opinion

Mar 24, 2008 1:10 PM CDT

Man Eats Man's Best Friend

Slate's Ted Kerasote protests animal cruelty in China

(Newser) - While you're busy worrying about human rights in China, author and journalist Ted Kerasote argues, add animal rights to the list. After a trip to a ski camp in China where he was befriended by a "dead ringer for Lassie," he was appalled to find his canine pal...