Now, Nubs is barking up his new book with the national media, getting belly rubs from celebrities like Sharon and Ozzie Osborne, and taking up couch space with appearances on the "Today" show" and "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien." There's talk of a movie deal, too.

Nubs is lapping up all the attention.

"I keep telling him he's going to get a big head," says Maj. Brian Dennis, the career Marine from St. Petersburg who rescued the German shepherd mix from Iraq. "Really, though, he's handling it like a pro. He's definitely on board for the adventure."

There's never been a doubt about that.

Dennis and Nubs' tale of resilience and loyalty is now a new children's book, "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle." How Nubs evolved from a feral dog of war to a faithful companion now living with Dennis in San Diego is chronicled through photos taken by the Marine and e-mails to friends and family.

In a recent edition of "People," the two were profiled in the magazine's "Heroes Among Us" feature. In December, Reader's Digest will publish their story. They're included in the documentary "No Dog Left Behind" premiering on the Military Channel.

"I think people are intrigued because there are so many powerful lessons to be learned here," Dennis said. "Starting with doing a simple act of kindness, and see how it is repaid. And how to overcome adversity in the worst of situations."

Man and dog met during a chance encounter in October 2007 on the Iraq-Syria border, where Dennis led an 11-man U.S. Marine counterinsurgency force. Troops in the region are accustomed to seeing wild dogs living on desert rats and scraps left by Iraqi soldiers stationed at the fort.

But there was something different about this one, apparently the alpha in the pack.

His ears had been crudely hacked off, presumably to make him a "dog of war." He and Dennis, who dubbed him Nubs, took to each other almost immediately. They shared a meal of spaghetti, Cajun beans and rice, polishing it off with a strawberry Pop-Tart.

It's against military rules for active personnel to befriend found animals. It can be dangerous and distracting, especially in wartime. But Nubs didn't follow the rules. He insisted on hanging around, joining Dennis on nighttime guard duty and serving as mascot-protector of the unit.

When the soldiers left for temporary encampments, Nubs always awaited their return. But when the patrol transferred to an outpost 70 miles away, Dennis was convinced it was the last he would see of his buddy. He watched what he thought was his last glimpse of his loyal companion running behind the Humvee until the dog collapsed, exhausted and alone.

Two days later, Nubs limped into the new outpost. He'd been attacked by other animals, dogs or wolves judging from the bite marks, and he'd made his journey in subfreezing temperatures.

Dennis knew he had to find a way to get Nubs back home to San Diego, where he could have "a nice sunny life and never be cold again." With a four-day deadline from his higher-ups to "get rid of the dog or else," Dennis launched a frantic e-mail campaign to friends and family in the States, hoping to raise money for Nubs' evacuation.

They responded with nearly $5,000. In January, Nubs got his first checkup from the king of Jordan's veterinarian, then made a 10-hour flight from Amman, Jordan to Chicago, where he stayed with friends of Dennis. Two months later, with his master's tour of duty concluded, the two had an exhilarating reunion of wet dog kisses and human tears of joy at Camp Pendleton.

Now Nubs enjoys beach walks and Bow Wow Brownies from a local bakery. He's earned straight A's at obedience school. His once-coarse fur is soft and shiny. And when he travels, it's in a super pimped-out doggie mobile home.

Life is good. Although Dennis, who has served three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Bosnia, expects to be deployed to Afghanistan next year, he's made sure that his best friend won't feel abandoned. Nubs has a whole circle of friends in San Diego, and they'll take care of him until Dennis returns.

"He's one special guy," Dennis says.

No doubt Nubs, if he could talk, would say the same thing.

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Information from The Tampa Tribune

C.J., a 7-year-old chocolate Lab, has a nose for more than indigo snakes. He has sniffed for spider monkeys in Nicaragua, big cats in Brazil and bats in New Mexico.

The intent is to determine what is leading to the decline of the threatened species and to take an informal census on the snakes in the swamp, said Sara Aicher, a refuge wildlife biologist.

"We know we have some, but we don't know how many," Aicher said.

Refuge officials made arrangements to use C.J.'s talents Monday and Tuesday through Project Orianne, a wildlife conservation organization based in Clayton that is dedicated to saving the species.

Aicher said a snake survey has never been conducted in the area searched on the east side of the refuge, nor has a dog been used to track the elusive reptiles inside the refuge.

"We have not had a good survey of indigo snakes," Aicher said. "It will help us compare our management practices."

Indigo snakes were once common throughout Florida, South Georgia and parts of Mississippi and Alabama, but their numbers have dwindled. Their current range is in south Georgia and parts of Florida, including a few isolated populations in the Panhandle.

The nonvenomous snakes are considered the longest snakes native to the United States, sometimes reaching lengths greater than 8feet, according to refuge biologists.

C.J., who was rescued from a shelter, is trained to track different animals, including individual species of snakes, without confusion, said Kara Ravenscroft, C.J.'s handler.

Ravenscroft, her husband, Mike Ravenscroft, a field technician for Project Orianne, and the team of researchers allow the dog to take the lead during their search. Because indigo snakes often share burrows with gopher tortoises, the search focused on upland areas at or near the refuge.

A bell attached to C.J.'s collar makes it easier to follow him as he sniffs across the rugged terrain, through thick bushes and over piles of branches.

Mike Ravenscroft said the dog leads them miles during a typical search, but the distance depends on the terrain.

"It's rough habitat here," he said.

Whenever the dog found a tortoise burrow, he intently sniffed the area, trying to pick up the scent of an indigo snake. C.J. even stuck his head deep into some of the burrows.

The dog's sense of smell is good enough to lead searchers to snake droppings and skin that has been shed.

"You can tell by the change in his behavior," Kara Ravenscroft said of the dog's wagging tail when he discovered the scent of a snake.

Mike Ravenscroft said the hope is to find areas where the snakes congregate during breeding season, which begins when cooler weather arrives.

Searchers planned to tag some snakes and remove a few scales for genetic tests, Aicher said, but C.J. found only one snake and two "sheds" — skin from snakes that had molted.

The results were disappointing because they may not have been looking in the correct area during the two-day search, Aicher said.

"They're just really difficult to find because they are so scattered," she said. "We'd love to find more, but it's not surprising."

Aicher said it's possible some snakes could be relocated from areas where they are known to be thriving, such as north of Fort Stewart and Telfair County.

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Information from The Florida Times-Union

Diane Habener of Phoenix was originally arrested by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on Nov. 2 and faced 40 counts of animal neglect.

The Sheriff's Office essentially rolled the original counts into the new allegations, resulting in 142 counts.

Sheriff's Office deputies visited her two homes nine times over a three-month span.

Deputies reportedly seized 97 dogs and 18 cats after it was decided she was not providing enough water and shelter for the animals.

Habener had operated Tuffie's Animal Rescue since 2004.

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Information from The Arizona Republic

Mahmoud Hussein admitted in Municipal Court on Wednesday that he failed to provide adequate food and shelter to Tickles. The Conure parrot was kept in an unheated entryway of his veterinary office in Howell Township.

The bird was found dead one day in October when temperatures dipped into the 40s.

Monmouth County SPCA chief Victor "Buddy" Amato says parrots are tropical animals that can't handle that kind of cold.

An employee at the office says neither Hussein nor a second doctor also charged in the case wished to comment.

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Information from Asbury Park Press

Derrick Courtland of Cahokia, Joseph Addison of East St. Louis and James Milburn III of Prairie du Rocher pleaded guilty Thursday in East St. Louis federal court to conspiring to take part in dogfighting.

The three were among more than two dozen people arrested in Illinois, Missouri and several other states in a series of July raids in which hundreds of dogs were seized.

Two other Illinoisans were scheduled to plead guilty Friday, with the remaining two in the seven-person Illinois indictment scheduled for trial Nov. 30.

Residents have collected more than $1,000 for two reward funds seeking information leading to the arrest of Linus' killer. Owner Dan Warner found his ailing, three-legged Old English sheepdog shot dead when he returned home from work Nov. 9.

The 8-year-old dog had recently lost a front leg while fighting bone cancer.

Gina Oliver created one of the reward funds after reading about the disturbing crime. She says the robbers "crossed a line that no one should ever cross."

South Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent says police are making progress in the case but processing physical evidence will take several weeks.

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Information from South Bend Tribune

The 56-pound dog, nicknamed "Loran's Best," was known as a laid-back mascot who seemed oblivious to crowd noise during boisterous games and would sit patiently as excited fans snapped photos of him. He often roamed the sidelines in a shirt with a 'G' stitched on it, sometimes resting on a bag of ice to cool off in his customized dog house.

The school said there would be no mascot at Saturday's game in Athens against Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky, but that a wreath will be laid on his doghouse on the field's sidelines. Sonny Seiler, the dog's owner, said he likely wouldn't name a replacement until next year.

"We are all in a state of shock," Seiler said in a news release issued by the university. "We had no warning whatsoever."

The news surprised Georgia coach Mark Richt.

"I was very shocked and sad to hear about Uga VII," Richt said before Thursday night's practice. "I got a chance to talk to Sonny today actually and hear a little bit about it. You never think something like that can happen that quickly, but it certainly did. I'm sad we won't have him on the sidelines anymore."

Richt said it "will be kind of different" to have a game without the mascot on the sideline.

The 4-year-old dog made his debut as the mascot in August 2008 after his father, Uga VI, died of congestive heart failure. He had big paws to fill — Uga VI was the school's winningest mascot, racking up a 87-27 record, seven wins in nine bowl appearances and a pair of Southeastern Conference championships.

But Seiler said the dog distinguished himself in his own way.

"He was 10-3 last year which is not bad for a freshman," said Seiler. "Uga VII was not as active or mischievous as his father but more distinguished. He realized his role when he put his shirt on. He was well-behaved and always appreciated the significance of his role."

The dog was the latest in a line of mascots that have been featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and in several movies. He also was a compelling symbol for football fans across the nation, said Damon Evans, the school's athletic director.

"Just as his ancestors, he had captured the hearts of college football fans everywhere as the country's No. 1 mascot," Evans said. "He had been truly embraced by all those who follow the Georgia Bulldogs across the country. We will miss him dearly."

In a release, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said Thursday it took over the matter after a complaint was received and it was determined the estranged spouse of an Anderson police officer was involved.

Officials said investigators found several dog carcasses on the property near the town of Liberty. They also found some dogs were malnourished and others living in unhealthy conditions. A veterinarian was called to assist the investigation.

The sheriff's office says no charges have been filed because it is looking into who is responsible for the animals.

The 179 animals were taken to an animal shelter for safekeeping and examinations.

State Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner said on Thursday that he introduced a bill requiring shelters to release any animal they plan to kill to a legitimate rescue group that offers to take in the animal.

Animal activists were outraged last week when the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals put down the pit bull mix named Oreo. The ASPCA said it tried to rehabilitate Oreo, but she was too aggressive.

Before Oreo was euthanized, at least one upstate sanctuary had offered to take her in. The ASPCA said sanctuary was not appropriate in her case.

ASPCA attorney Debora Bresch says the agency is reviewing how the bill fits with existing law.

Officials say the 10-year-old male apparently caught the virus from a human family member who had been sick.

The cat was brought to a clinic on Nov. 4 and died three days later.

An Oregon State University lab confirmed it had swine flu.

The Oregonian newspaper reports the cat is believed to be the first feline in the nation to die from a confirmed case of swine flu. Others with the illness have recovered.

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Information from The Oregonian

The stray had been used as a chew toy for other pit bulls training to fight. But the dog has gone from timid and depressed to a lap dog who likes other dogs. Now he is a finalist in the ASPCA shelter dog photo contest. To vote for Fletch, go to the ASPCA's "Show Off Your Top Dog" page by Nov. 29. Fletch is available for adoption.

Twenty-five-year-old John Norris is charged with involuntary manslaughter for shooting his wife in July as she say on a couch in their San Miguel condominium. A sheriff's deputy testified Tuesday at a preliminary hearing that Norris claimed he was standing on the stairs with a handgun when his dog tripped him and caused him to shoot his 24-year-old wife Tasha.

Norris says he had the pistol because he planned to remove the ammunition before fire inspectors arrived to examine new sprinklers. His attorney says Norris, who has no criminal record or history of domestic violence, loved his wife.

Norris has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and possessing an illegal weapon.

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Information from The Tribune

The only animal known to have survived was eventually adopted by another family.

A defense attorney denied during a hearing Tuesday in Frederick County District Court that 30-year-old Gregory Moser had willfully neglected the animals. He said Moser had put out 20 pounds of cat food a week.

Moser, of Middletown, immediately appealed his convictions on four counts of animal cruelty to circuit court.

The judge put the convictions on hold pending the appeal. He also stayed his sentence of a suspended 90-day jail term and more than $600 in fines, court costs and restitution to two animal hospitals.

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Information from The Frederick (Md.) News-Post

Mac Mackaben found his 7-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Little Kit Carson, dead in early August.

Mackaben said Little Kit was a purebred trained to rescue avalanche victims. He found the dog dead on a rural road near where he was staying with friends and got so upset he vowed never to return to South Dakota or go hunting again.

Mackaben said his family and friends helped him change his mind.

Hughes County Sheriff Mike Leidholt says his office has run out of leads in the dog shooting case but is willing to look again if the reward brings new information.

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Information from Pierre Capital Journal

Name: Rudy Age: About 2 months Breed: Maine Coon Gender: Male Rudy was found roaming around along with his brothers Stuart and Casey at only 4 weeks of age, picked up by animal control and taken to a city shelter. Rudy has been in foster care since he was 5 weeks old. He is the largest of his brothers and the fearless leader of the litter with an adventurous spirit. But sometimes all he needs is to snuggle in his foster mom's lap, purring away. Rudy's foster mom would prefer him to be adopted with one of his brothers, who are all very close, or to a home that already has a kitty. Rudy will be neutered prior to adoption, is FIV/Feline Leukemia negative and has received age appropriate vaccinations. His adoption fee is $85. For more information on adopting Rudy, please contact Jenna at jschipull@gmail.com.	Rudy
Name: Puck Age: 8 months Breed: Dachshund/Jack Russell Terrier mix Gender: Male Puck is a handsome fellow who weighs in at around 20 pounds. He's a mellow boy, considering how young he is. One of his favorite things to do is curl up on a lap and get petted. Puck gets along well with his (much larger) canine foster sister, and they play tug-of-war with anything they can find. Puck is deaf, so we're practicing training with hand signals. He seems to be mostly housetrained, which he's working on perfecting while he's in foster care. Although he seems to like children of all ages, it is important for the family who adopts this boy to realize they can't sneak up on him. Puck does seem to like everyone, though, so if you want to open your heart and home to this sweet little guy, come out and meet him! HAHS now has several adoption locations, so please contact Liz at liz_novak@hotmail.com to find out when and where you can meet Puck.	Puck
The Heart of America Humane Society is a non-profit organization working to place animals into permanent homes. Many of our animals are cared for temporarily in the foster homes of volunteers. HAHS does adoptions every Saturday at the PetSmart on 115th St and Metcalf in Overland Park (noon–3 p.m.), the PetSmart at the Ward Parkway Shopping center (11 a.m.–3 p.m.), and the Petco at 135th St and Black Bob in Olathe (noon–3 p.m.).

Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter

Name: Alexa Age: 1-2 years Breed: Border collie/German shepherd mix Gender: Female Alexa does well with other dogs, walks pretty well on leash and absolutely loves to play ball. She keeps her kennel clean, so she is probably housetrained.	Alexa
Name: Dottie Age: 3 months Breed: Domestic shorthair black and white Gender: Female Dottie is adventurous and outgoing. She loves being with you, and getting all your attention. She is playful, she’s litter box-trained and good with other cats.	Dottie
The Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter, at 1356 N. 9 Highway in Parkville, is run by volunteers, so please call 816-587-0918 to schedule an appointment, send e-mail to friendsofparkville@hotmail.com, or go to www.parkvilleshelter.com. Adoption fees are dogs, $125; cats, $100. Fees include spaying/neutering, vaccinations, health and microchips. Volunteers also bring in pets for adoption to Petco in North Kansas City on Saturdays.

Second Chance Pet Adoptions

Name: Cleo Age: 2 years Breed: Snowshoe Siamese Gender: Female Cleo was abandoned in a ditch along the highway with her kittens. She is a very nice, sweet cat and will be a wonderful companion. She is talkative and loves to play with toys. Most of all, she loves to cuddle in a lap. She is looking for a safe, loving home where she will get lots of love and affection. Her adoption fee is $90 which includes spay, shots, deworming and FELV/FIV test.	Cleo
Name: Faye Age: 3 years Breed: Chinese Crested Gender: Female Faye was released to Second Chance from a breeder. She is a gentle, sweet dog that loves to be held. She weighs 13 pounds. She is doing well with crate training and gets along well with other dogs and with cats. Faye is spayed, current on vaccinations, heartworm negative, and microchipped. Her adoption fee is $200. For more information or for a pre-screening application, please e-mail petsaverdc@aol.com.	Faye
Second Chance Pet Adoptions is an all-volunteer non-profit adoption group. Applications for adoption may be downloaded from the Second Chance Pet Adoptions website or by e-mail request to secondchancepets@hotmail.com. Adoption events are held most Saturdays at two locations in the Kansas City area. For more information, call 913-814-7471 or go to www.2ndchancepets.net.

Humane Society of Greater Kansas City

Name: Brandy Age: 3 years Breed: Dachshund mix Gender: Female Brandy is a playful dog who is full of love and affections. She has all the qualities of a perfect dog, including lots of spunk! Brandy weighs 8 pounds and gets along well with other dogs. She has been spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and tested for heartworms. Her adoption fee is $120.	Brandy
Name: Piper Age: 1 year Breed: Shorthair mix Gender: Female Piper is a loving and playful tortoiseshell cat with a beautiful dark and soft coat. She is amazingly loving and enjoys being showered with attention. Piper’s constant purring shows that she is a good-mood gal. She has been vaccinated, spayed, microchipped and tested for FIV and feline leukemia. Piper’s adoption fee is $65.	Piper
These pets are all available for adoption at The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, along with many other dogs and cats. The no-kill shelter is located at 5445 Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, Kan. Adoption hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 913-596-1000 for more information or visit www.hsgkc.org to view photos and learn more about all of the pets available for adoption.

Half Way Home Pet Adoptions

Name: Gummi Bear Age: Young Breed: Labrador retriever/Border collie mix Gender: Female Gummi is fun-loving, friendly, outgoing and very, very smart. She loves to play and would make a great companion in a home with kids. She’d love a young and playful doggy friend, too. Another good thing about Gummi is that she has the great happy personality and “joie de vivre” of a Labrador but in a much smaller size. Less than 40 pounds, she’s the right size to fit just about any lifestyle. Gummi is such a trouper. Life is hard at the pound, but she is not losing her morale. We won’t let her know that her chance to find a home before her time is up is pretty low. We have so many black dogs that people just don’t see them anymore. This phenomenon is called “Black Dog Syndrome.” Halfway Home even has a “black dog sale” and cuts the adoption fee in half to try to help them. Still, every time a black dog leaves the shelter alive, it’s a celebration. Please give a black dog a chance.	Gummi Bear
Name: Lennie Age: Adult Breed: Domestic shorthair brown tabby Gender: Male Lennie will follow you all around, rubbing against your legs. How sweet! Lennie likes everyone; he just wants a home of his own where he can relax and have plenty of time to love his new parents. He is up to date with routine shots, is house trained and has been altered.	Lennie
Half Way Home Pet Adoptions receives animals from the Kansas City Animal Health and Public Safety Division and from public drop-off. Because it operates as the Kansas City animal pound, it does not decline any animal intake from Kansas City, Mo., residents. The euthanasia rate is high as the shelter must make room for new arrivals on a daily basis. Halfway Home collaborates with several rescue groups in the region to get animals transferred. If you are a licensed rescue group and would like to offer assistance, please send e-mail to email@petshalfwayhome.com, or call 816-784-4001. The shelter is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m., but is closed on Sundays when the Chiefs are in town.

Roanoke Fire Department spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said 18-year-old Corey Brian Hite of Ivanhoe in Wythe County was arrested Tuesday.

She says firefighters were called to the PetSmart store Saturday afternoon and found thick smoke coming from the store.

No one was injured, and all the animals were evacuated safely.

Shoppers in an adjacent Target store also were evacuated.

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Information from The Roanoke Times

The Beverly Hills City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to approve a declawing ban, except in cases of medical necessity.

The Los Angeles City Council also gave final approval to a similar ordinance Tuesday.

Officials in both cities say they wanted to pass the ordinance so it can take effect before New Year's Day 2010, when a state law bars cities and counties from regulating the practice of veterinary medicine.

The California Veterinary Medical Association opposed the declawing ban, saying pet owners should be responsible for declawing decisions in consultation with their vets.

The city of West Hollywood outlawed declawing in 2003.

Jennifer Petkus faces 34 misdemeanors, mostly for the charge of intentionally mistreating animals. Authorities found in May she was allegedly keeping more than 330 dogs and numerous other animals in deplorable conditions at Thyme and Sage Ranch in Cazenovia.

Richland County weren't able to provide temporary shelter, so the animals were taken to the humane society.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gave the grant and said the humane society spent more than $100,000 on medical care, shelter and food.

Petkus faces a jury trial in February.

The state incentives will help pay for site preparation and sidewalks at the headquarters of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. The company plans to add 124 jobs over five years while expanding its central office, manufacturing and research and development facilities.

The company sells biological and pharmaceutical products for cattle, hogs, horses and pets. It already has about 550 full-time employees in St. Joseph.

The bonds were approved Tuesday by the Missouri Development Finance Board.

J.J. and Mary Linda Huggins of Monroe just wanted a portrait to frame when they sent a photo of Mac, their 9-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, to artist Debbie Stonebraker of Foley, Mo.

Mac's picture joined hundreds on Stonebraker's Web site. People with The Ohio Pet Fund, looking to illustrate its license plate, browsed that site.

Mary Linda Huggins said their only compensation was a sample plate with Mac's name on it.

Ohio also offers a plate with a portrait of a kitten or a cartoon of a cat and dog.

The Louisiana Pet Overpopulation Council also sponsors a pet license plate.

Both groups use proceeds for low-cost spay and neutring programs.

Mary Linda Huggins said, "Ohio's is cuter."

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Information from The News-Star

The dog-and-man melee happened Saturday afternoon while Joseph Slack was walking his 4-year-old Chihuahua, Killer. Slack told sheriff's deputies that the bull mastiff broke loose from a chain and attacked his tiny dog.

Slack says he tried to stop the attack but couldn't. So he pulled out a pocket knife and staffed Rocky the bull mastiff twice in the chest. Rocky let go of Killer and ran back to his owner's house.

Both dogs are expected to recover from their wounds.

Sheriff Terry Wagner says he has no plans to charge Slack for stabbing the larger dog. The bull mastiff's owner was cited on suspicion of having a dog at large.

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Information from Lincoln Journal Star

Taylor police Officer Keith Urban is seen being patient with the cat, whose image was captured during a recent traffic stop, then finally gently booting the kitty away.

The Taylor Daily Press reports Urban had pulled over an SUV in the driveway of a farm lot. The video shows the cat scampering up and down on Urban, making its way to the officer's shoulders.

Police Chief Jeff Straub says Urban never mentioned the feline encounter until he became concerned that the cat might have been injured when they parted ways.

Straub says the video shows "incredible patience on the part of the officer."

The collar-wearing cat fled.

Taylor is about 30 miles northeast of Austin.

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Information from Taylor Daily Press

The officer was reporting to a domestic dispute Saturday night when he saw the dog chase a chicken into a 19-year-old woman's home. The woman told the officer that the dog didn't belong to her and that she was worried it would attack her 2-year-old son.

The officer chased the animals from the home and followed them to the rear of the house. A report says the dog began to attack the chicken, and the officer deployed his Taser to stun the dog. While the pit bull was incapacitated, the officer dragged the animal into his marked cruiser. Animal services arrived and took the dog to a shelter.

The conditions of the dog and chicken were not available.

Bexar County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. James Hancock says deputies seized the dead dogs Sunday night in a vacant lot near a home after a neighbor complained of a foul odor.

Twenty-year-old Joe Lee Rice Jr. and 17-year-old Lenee Mayberry were arrested and charged with marijuana possession. Rice indicated he was housesitting, while Mayberry said he was visiting.

Hancock said it wasn't immediately clear whether they would also face animal cruelty charges.

A Bexar County jail spokeswoman said Mayberry was released Monday on a $3,000 bond. No information was available on Rice.

A third man suspected of abusing the animals hasn't been found.

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Information from San Antonio Express-News

District Attorney Steve Cooley will unveil the new number at a press conference Tuesday. Officials said the program is the first of its kind in the nation.

Rewards of up to $5,000 will be paid to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest or conviction of someone involved in dog fighting. Tips, given either in Spanish or English, will then be passed to law enforcement agencies.

Officials say dog fighting is widespread in Los Angeles County, although the estimates are unknown. The Humane Society believes as many as 40,000 people follow dog fighting in the United States and more than 250,000 dogs suffer each year.

About a dozen trees had fallen to the ground — likely the result of ice storms and high winds that blew through in the past few years.

Graves were sunken in, and markers noting the names of many of the dead had been removed from the ground and carelessly tossed into a corner of the property by whoever last mowed the cemetery.

And judging by the height of the grass and weeds, that last mowing had been several years ago.

That was on June 30.

In the past few months, Hutton has spent a few hours a day working at the site of the old Joplin Humane Society pet cemetery, located behind the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Upland Road. Now, the eternal resting places of Nanny, Jiggs, JoJo, Fancy and scores of other beloved companions are visible once again.

"Animals are like kids. They're part of your family," Hutton said. "I can't believe that somebody with a pet buried here would be OK with the fact that it has been left untouched."

The 65-year-old Hutton said that after the death of his wife, Janice, on Feb. 22, he needed something on which to focus. A retired school administrator from Lee's Summit who moved to Joplin five years ago, he said he thought restoring the pet cemetery would be a "little project" he could take on, though "little" didn't turn out to be the case.

"When I first walked in there ... I saw it was going to be a bigger job than I thought it would be," he said.

Hutton said a man from Lamar drove to Joplin and cut up the downed trees for firewood. Stumps were burned, grass was given a much-needed trim, and dirt was brought in to fill in sunken graves.

Each day, he is joined by Abby and Molly, his two rambunctious black pugs. He usually keeps them tied together, often with a plastic bucket dragging behind them as a way for him to keep track of their whereabouts.

"Everywhere I go, they go," Hutton said.

Richard Copeland, president of the Humane Society's board of directors, said records show that the north side of the cemetery was established in 1949. The first pet buried there was a fox terrier named Lucky who belonged to a Mrs. Garley, according to the plat book. In 1973, the cemetery was expanded to its current size.

Records show that the last animal officially buried there was on Dec. 10, 1979, though people have continued to use the cemetery.

"I buried my own dog out there four years ago," Copeland said.

He said Humane Society volunteers held a work day at the cemetery about five years ago, but it had since fallen into disrepair once again. Hutton's efforts to restore it, he said, have been commendable.

"He's done a tremendous job," said Copeland. "He's done it all on his own and put in a lot of hours out there. We can't thank him enough."

Karen Aquino, executive director of the Humane Society, said the shelter recently sent Hutton a letter thanking him for all of his work and offered to reimburse him for his expenses.

"People come forward to help us all the time, but this gentleman has gone over and above," she said. "He spent a good portion of his summer at the cemetery. It's amazing."

Aquino said there are no plans to sell the property.

"It'll just be a permanent memorial to those animals that are interred there," she said.

She said no more pets are to be buried there, as she thinks the property is "maxed out" of spaces that can be excavated.

Some local pet owners who know about it may not be ready to give up on the cemetery, however.

"I was out here working the other day, and a man who must live nearby walked over and buried a parrot," Hutton said.

Hutton said he'll keep up the restoration efforts at the old pet cemetery this fall as long as the weather holds out, then will resume in the spring.

"I'll probably finish next summer," he said. "It's been a nice way to kill time."

Namath, 66, appeared before a hearing officer on Thursday in West Palm Beach to answer to charges that two of his dogs attacked people who came to his home in Tequesta, a quiet community about 90 miles north of Miami.

His 6-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, Leo, was declared "dangerous" during Thursday's hearing. The case against another of Namath's dog, a 6-year-old Weimeraner named Stella, was dropped because a witness didn't show, said Capt. Dave Walesky of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control.

As a dangerous dog, Leo must now be muzzled and leashed even on Namath's property. It must have a microchip implanted and carry a special "dangerous" dog designation tag. Namath must also now post signs on his property warning of the dog's presence.

An animal control officer will visit Namath's home yearly to be sure he is complying.

If the dog bites someone else, it could be declared "vicious," and euthanized, and Namath could face criminal charges, Walesky said.

"If he moves and doesn't notify us, if he gives the dog away and doesn't notify us, it's a violation of the ordinance and he could be fined," Walesky said.

Namath declined to comment. His New York attorney, James C. Walsh, said Namath might appeal.

Walesky said animal control had received four reports of Namath's dogs attacking people on his property since 2007, "and rumors of many more."

A UPS driver was "accosted by a pack of dogs" on Namath's property in May 2007, Walesky said.

"He's not sure which dog bit him, but he did identify Leo as one of the dogs," he said.

Then in February 2009, a contractor working at the home was reportedly "pinned up against his vehicle and bitten on the wrist," Walesky said. He identified Stella as the culprit, but the man did not appear for the hearing Thursday, so the case against that dog was dropped.

Officials say in May 2008 a home nurse mistakenly went to Namath's home and was bitten by one of his dogs. It was believed to be Leo. Lastly, in August a landscaper was bitten on Namath's property, Walesky said.

He said Namath hasn't acknowledged that his dogs bit anyone.

The legendary quarterback is best known for leading the underdog New York Jets to one of the most storied Super Bowl victories 40 years ago over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts.

Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg granted Derbe Eckhart's request to withdraw his plea Monday. Steinberg set Eckhart's bail at $25,000 and ordered him jailed. He also ordered Eckhart to quit working with animals.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jay Jenkins says Eckhart faces trial in December on charges including cruelty to animals and operating a kennel without a license.

Authorities who raided Eckhart's Almost Heaven kennel in October 2008 say they found 189 dogs crowded in filthy conditions. They say they also discovered dozens of animal corpses in a freezer. The kennel was shut down in June.

A phone message left Monday for Eckhart's attorney was not immediately returned.

Sharon McDonough pleaded not guilty last week to six counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty on suspicion of abusing five dogs and a cat found crammed into cages, covered in feces and urine, their coats matted with filth. A judge has taken away custody of the 43-year-old woman's six young daughters.

McDonough's neighbors began fearing their missing pets met a worse fate than the abused animals after her son led officials to a backyard filled with the shallow graves of 20 dogs.

Douglas McDonough, 21, who turned his mother in to authorities on Nov. 5, called the home "a concentration camp for the animals" in comments to reporters after the arrest.

"She would have the oldest kids hold down the dog while we duct-taped his mouth and she would hit him," he said, adding that he and his sisters were all forced to take part in the abuse.

On Tuesday, a judge removed the six girls — ages 18 months to 13 years — from the custody of McDonough, who is widowed. Her court-appointed attorney, James D'Angelo, called the animal cruelty counts a "low-level offense."

"She's not charged with killing animals and is entitled to a presumption of innocence," he said. No one answered the door at McDonough's home this week.

Dozens of people have called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals since the case broke, fearing their missing pets had been victimized, Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said.

"My daughter is still crying every day over her lost Chihuahua," said neighbor Sharyn Padula of the family's dog Bally, who disappeared just over a year ago. Two cats, Annabelle and Sylvester, also went missing.

After the dog disappeared, the family "posted pictures everywhere, Craigslist, and went doorbell to doorbell asking people if they'd seen him," said Padula, who lives a few houses from McDonough. "I really hope they don't find my pets there."

McDonough's two-story red brick house sits on a middle-class block of closely placed, well-kept homes buffered by manicured lawns and festooned with holiday decorations — except for McDonough's, an unkempt structure with peeling paint, surrounded by fallen, matted leaves.

Since the dog carcasses were found, vandals have spray-painted "killer" on the garage and "guilty" on McDonough's mailbox. Rotten eggs were splattered on the house and on an SUV parked outside. A New York tabloid has dubbed her the "Cruella De Vil of Long Island."

Gross was summoned to the home after Douglas McDonough contacted Rescue Ink, a group of bikers who stage animal rescues in the New York metropolitan area for a television program of the same name on the National Geographic Channel. Efforts to reach the group, created several years ago by a former NYPD detective and ex-security guards and bouncers, were unsuccessful. Its messaging system was full and an e-mail seeking comment went unanswered.

Authorities found the animals — a shepherd mix, a beagle mix, an Italian greyhound, a cocker spaniel mix, a pug and a tabby cat — in wretched cages in the house. A "sickening" smell in the back yard nearly overcame animal control officers and firefighters, Gross said.

"This is one case I'm sure I will never forget out of the thousands and thousands I have seen," said Gross, a 25-year veteran of abuse investigations. "It's probably one of the most horrific cases of animal cruelty."

After Douglas McDonough told investigators about the animals buried in his family's backyard, SPCA authorities returned to the house with a search warrant and began digging. In all, 20 dogs were found in varying states of decomposition, suggesting they had died over a period of years.

Gross said necropsies were being conducted and veterinarians would search the bodies for implanted microchips that might help identify them. That could be the only way to determine whether any of the dead dogs had been stolen.

Upgraded larceny or grand larceny charges might be filed by the police if it can be proved any of the animals were stolen, Gross said.

It wasn't clear why McDonough's son waited until last week to alert authorities, and contact information for him could not be found.

A note from the Suffolk Division of Public Health was taped to McDonough's front door Monday, saying the agency wanted to know about "bags of human feces in the backyard and garage." A health department spokeswoman did not return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Two of McDonough's daughters have been placed with their older brother, two with neighbors and two in foster care. Suffolk County social services officials would not comment on the status of the child welfare case and whether charges were possible.

McDonough, whose husband, Darren, was killed in a car accident last year, faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count of misdemeanor animal cruelty if convicted. If authorities upgrade the abuse charges to a felony, she could be sentenced to up to two years in prison on each count if convicted.

Padula said she hopes the necropsies do not turn up her Chihuahua or other pets.

"I'd rather think that they're wandering around still," she said. "I don't even want to imagine."

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Associated Press Television News reporter Bonny Ghosh contributed to this report.

Even Frank Smith agreed that the sunshine felt fine. With his 9-year-old dog, Rowdy, by his side, they watched traffic pass through town.

Smith and Rowdy live outdoors. Having a nice day to enjoy in November is a bonus.

Smith, 40, said he wasn't always homeless.

He grew up in the Colon area, attended Colon schools and even earned a certificate at a culinary school. Cooking was his passion from school days and he worked as a chef at a Big Boy restaurant for 12 years.

But a lot has happened since then. He lost the one person he cared most about, his grandmother. Through the years, he has hitchhiked around the country, staying for a while in Corpus Christi, Texas, and San Francisco.

Rowdy was just a pup when Smith found him in the mountains while staying in Bisbee, Ariz. They became instant and inseparable friends.

Smith estimated that they have walked 9,000 miles together.

"I'm a jack of all trades," he said. "I will rake leaves, shovel snow, do what it takes to get a meal. My dog eats every day but as for me, I may not eat for three days."

Smith said he has thought about getting a cooking job. He's willing to work but one thing is certain: He will never be separated from his dog. That's why he avoids shelters and places that do not allow pets.

On weekends, Smith often stops at Servant Ministries for hot meals. Sometimes he attends a Wednesday evening church service.

Smith said his dog was stolen three times when he was looking for work recently in Kalamazoo. The manager of a Petco store heard about his dog and arranged for a computer chip to be placed under Rowdy's skin.

"Now, at least, if it happens again, we can find him."

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Information from Sturgis Journal

The Baxter County Sheriff's Office said William Henry Hanson, 45, was booked in the county jail Friday night. Hanson and his wife, Tammy Hanson, eluded authorities for more than three years after they were convicted in January 2006 of animal cruelty.

Hanson was brought back to Arkansas after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed a warrant for the extradition. Hanson was arrested in late September near Holden, Mo., and had resisted his extradition since then. It wasn't clear Sunday if Hanson had an attorney.

On Oct. 21, 2005, authorities found between 400 and 500 dogs at the Hansons' rural two-acre lot, including 61 pit bulls sent to the Hansons from an animal rescue group working after Hurricane Katrina.

Sheriff's deputies found one dog dead, another with a broken leg and many sickly dogs. Prosecutors said the counts included 20 animals found suffering from maggot infestations to severe skin conditions.

The sheriff's office said that at the time, it was one of the largest animal cruelty cases in the United States. Since then, Arkansas lawmakers have enacted a felony animal cruelty law after being one of a handful of states that only had misdemeanor penalties.

Tammy Hanson, who was arrested in Vermont, was sentenced earlier this month to one year in jail and ordered to pay more than $15,000 in fines, court costs and restitution.

At her sentencing, she testified that she and her husband had operated the Every Dog Needs a Home sanctuary since 2003, but the compound was "overwhelmed" by all the animals brought in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

"Animals kept coming, in horse trailers and pickups being unloaded at our gate, three days before my arrest," she said.

Tammy Hanson said she felt remorse and regrets how the animals suffered.

"I have to live with it every day," she said.

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Information from The Baxter Bulletin

Workers told The Roanoke Times they didn't think twice about rescuing the animals when smoke began filling a PetSmart store Saturday afternoon. Roanoke fire spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury says no injuries were reported as some 80 puppies, cats, gerbils and other animals were safely plucked from the Valley View Mall.

One store patron, Erica Vermillion, says she spotted a puppy after the fire and filled out adoption papers immediately. She plans to name her new pet Sparky.

Firefighters say they also cleared smoke from a neighboring Target store that had to be evacuated. They say a sprinkler system quickly contained the fire.

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Information from The Roanoke Times

Rob Falk of Southwest Ranches has a Yorkshire pig named Strawberry, and council members cited Falk's landlord for a code violation in July. Last week, officials gave Falk 30 days to remove Strawberry from the home, saying that the town allows only one Vietnamese pot bellied pig per household.

Officials are also worried that the pig will get bigger and grow large tusks.

Falk says the family will move because "the pig is like one of our children."

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Information from South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Another Guardsman, a local recruiter, really wanted a dog.

The two soldiers don't know each other. But 18-month-old Rocky and the bond between members of the military brought them together.

When Pfc. Christopher Santos, 19, of Lebanon, went to Iraq last November to serve in a security capacity, he left Rocky with the Paw Prints Dog Sanctuary in Landisburg, Perry County.

The organization cares for older dogs with health problems and, through its Canine Corps, looks after dogs left at home by men and women of the military when they are called to duty. It currently cares for about 14 dogs belonging to Pennsylvania National Guard members.

Santos said he got Rocky as a 4-month-old puppy from the Lebanon Humane Society after returning from basic training.

"(Rocky) looked really lonely and sad, and I guess I felt sympathetic for him," Santos said. "He looked like he would be a lot of fun."

However, Santos told Paw Prints he couldn't take Rocky back because he was possibly going to be deployed to Afghanistan.

After trying unsuccessfully to find Rocky a new home, he asked Paw Prints for its help.

Paw Prints director Kevin McCartin e-mailed Chief Warrant Officer Ellen Smith, the liaison between the Guard and Paw Prints, at Fort Indiantown Gap. He told her about the situation and attached a flier about Rocky to the e-mail.

The next morning, Smith sent the message to all the soldiers, air personnel and civilians who work at the Gap.

"I can sympathize with a young soldier that has a dog and gets called up and, of course, wants to serve, but you have to think about your companion at home," Smith said. "I just knew there'd be people out there that wanted to support him."

That e-mail generated about 30 responses, McCartin said.

"I (was) seriously impressed with the willingness of these people to step up and help this kid and this dog," he said.

The first person to call was Sgt. Charles Ingraham, 23, of Silver Spring Twp. Ingraham and his wife, Jessica, had been looking for a dog, but he wanted a German shorthaired pointer and she wanted a chocolate Lab, and they couldn't agree.

When Ingraham received the e-mail, he immediately sent it to his wife.

"I've been in the situation before, where you've had to surrender a dog," Ingraham said. He had given his dog to his parents.

"The military is a very close brotherhood. If it were me, I would hope somebody would do the same," he said.

The Ingrahams' first visit with Rocky was "beautiful to watch," McCartin said.

Ingraham wanted a dog that played fetch, and Rocky happily obliged. The Ingrahams' 2-year-old daughter, Emma, and Rocky "hit it off right away," McCartin said.

"She was wandering in (our) play area, and Rocky walked up and put the end of his snout into the small of her back and just followed her the whole time," he said. "It was a perfect match."

So far, all is going well with Rocky, Ingraham said.

"I think I'm getting a little softer on him," he said. "At first, I wasn't letting him jump up on the furniture, and now, he jumped up on the bed with me watching the World Series. I just got through getting the kids off the bed and now I've got a dog jumping up on it."

Although Santos said he's not certain whether he's going to Afghanistan, he said he still wouldn't be able to care for Rocky. He lives with his elderly great-grandmother in Mount Gretna, and she can't manage the dog herself. And he can no longer afford the expense.

Ingraham plans to e-mail Santos to let him know the dog is OK.

"He's always more than welcome to see Rocky," Ingraham said.

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Information from The Patriot-News

That, any way, is what several students in an advanced animal science class at Snohomish High School have concluded.

A year ago, they were poring over textbooks in an introductory animal science class to learn about digestive and respiratory systems of animals.

This year, there still are plenty of pen-and-paper lessons, but furry classroom visitors help connect academics to the real world.

The other day students in Stacy Lischke's classroom were examining eyes, ears and teeth, taking the pulse, measuring the respiration, and, yes, checking the temperature of dogs, cats, goats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

"If I learn something in class, I can take it home," said Melissa McGhee, a junior whose family has 12 chickens, two dogs, two chinchillas, a cat, a guinea pig and a goldfish.

McGhee said the exposure to animal science has her considering enrolling in the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center's veterinary assistant program next fall and pursuing a career in veterinary science.

Janelle Rife, another junior, made the rounds with McGhee, examining a poodle, a guinea pig and a pygmy angora goat named Tinkerbell.

"I like hands-on stuff," she said. "I just learn better this way."

Lischke, a 1994 Snohomish High graduate, earned an animal science degree from Washington State University before returning to her alma mater to teach and serve as an FFA adviser.

"Not all of these kids will work in the animal industry, but many of them will have their own pets someday," Lischke said. "What they learn in this class will provide them with more experience to be a responsible pet owner, or the skills to be a very caring veterinary assistant."

Her students will learn how to do emergency sutures as a part of a pet first-aid course, which includes bandaging, wound care and animal restraint.

They also will learn how to perform injections beneath the skin and into muscles, a skill needed to give pets and livestock vaccinations and administer fluids.

They'll also perform a fecal analysis to determine which types of internal parasites are present and a urinalysis and to examine blood under the microscope. There will be a math unit on how to calculate and convert units and determine dosages of medications.

Chris Thompson, a senior, said his animal science classes have left him considering a career as a veterinary assistant.

"I'm not a big doctor type of person," he said. "But I love to help with animals."

One of the skills the students were supposed to practice last week was restraining animals during the examinations. It was easier with some critters than others.

For instance, Cooper, a 4-month-old Australian shepherd, was remarkably compliant for a puppy but still managed to plant his front paws on students' chests and lick their faces.

"He really likes coming to school," said Aubrey Shirley, a junior and Cooper's owner.

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Information from The Herald

Clad in a cherry-red vest that politely informs everyone she is a dog at work, the 4-month-old golden retriever pads through the hallways of the Naples hospital as if she knows all eyes are on her. They just might be.

Jazzy, after all, is a little brighter than your average pup, a little more Lassie than Marley.

She's part of the assistance dog program at PAWS for Love, a group started two years ago by the Southwest Florida Professional Dog Trainers Alliance. PAWS for Love, which also has a therapy dog component, is sponsored by the Humane Society Naples and funded by private donations.

PAWS assistance dogs are trained primarily for placement with children and adolescents who have developmental disabilities. Jazzy hopefully will be placed with a child within the next four months, but in the meantime she's participating in program outreach, such as the trips to NCH Downtown Naples Hospital.

For Jazzy, the trips provide a valuable opportunity for socialization. For NCH's patients, it's a bright spot in their treatment and a chance to use their healing bodies and voices to interact with a happy, fluffy puppy. Jazzy's silky fur and winning personality make her a powerful rehab tool, says Rebekah DiMaria, a recreational therapist for NCH.

"They have to speak to the dog, reach out to the dog," she says. "Sometimes people who can't relate to human beings too well, they can to animals."

During her recent visit, Jazzy stopped at each of NCH's four rehab gyms. Her handler, Tiffany Campbell, gently guided the puppy around the rehab equipment, instructing her to sit, and then listened as the patients remembered aloud the pets they left behind at home, or pets that left them years ago.

Seeing Jazzy, rehab patient Marjorie Scott recalls the dogs she once owned.

"I've laughed and cried over them," the Naples resident says.

She's pleased to soak up some much-needed puppy love.

"It gets our mind off of what we have going," Scott says. "They make us happy."

PAWS for Love is the brainchild of Jeannie Bates, founder of Southwest Florida Professional Dog Trainers Alliance.

It's a modestly sized initiative, which is what Bates wants. By keeping the program a certain size, she believes she'll be able to closely serve the local community and those clients who, faced with the expense of raising a developmentally disabled child, also must confront the costs and long waiting lists associated with receiving a fully trained assistance dog.

Because donations and the Humane Society support the PAWS program, client families pay nothing to receive their dog, Bates says.

"The cost of a service dog can be $10,000 to $15,000 and there's just no way those families could afford to get these dogs from a typical organization," she says.

The PAWS training process is unlike other traditional service dog organizations. In traditional organizations, young puppies are often placed with foster families who teach them basic obedience and ultimately return them to the group for additional training.

PAWS dogs live with Alliance trainers during their early lives or, after receiving enough obedience to be placed with a client family, continue to return to the studio for additional training and sharpening of their skills.

"It's going to enable us to really customize each placement and each dog," Bates says.

The group already has trained and placed three dogs, and another four placements are pending. Potential puppies are assessed for their temperament, work ethic, cooperative spirit, adaptability, tolerance, health and a good level of confidence and assuredness.

Bates is raising two golden retrievers that made the cut, Jazzy and Cody Bear, a 6-month-old. Both were sired by a service dog and donated to the program. Although PAWS primarily serves children and teens, Bates hopes to place Cody Bear with a disabled veteran.

That's a long time in the future, though.

Cody Bear is just beginning his public access work, going to schools and accompanying Bates to the Alliance studio for socialization and training. At night, he has playtime with Jazzy and Morgan, Bates' own 110-pound Rottweiler.

When the time comes, it will be hard to let Cody Bear go, Bates says.

"But then I see his potential, as well," she says.

PAWS clients Michael and Harriet Stuart made a decision. It was time to find a dog for their autistic son, Aaron.

They knew it wouldn't be easy. Aaron, 18, didn't have an interest in dogs or any other animal, for that matter. He ignored previous family dogs, or was irritated by them. Trips to petting zoos fizzled. Horses seemed to intrigue him, but not so much he reached out physically or emotionally to them, and that was the point of the entire endeavor: To discover something Aaron would love.

"We figured maybe, maybe that will awaken something in Aaron," Michael Stuart says.

Enter Sven, a golden retriever the PAWS program placed with the Stuarts in May. He's a roly-poly meatball of a dog that, after meeting a new friend, immediately flips onto his back to expose his downy belly. Born in Sweden seven years ago, Sven was a sire for Honor Goldens, a more than 40-year-old service dog organization, until he was retired and joined PAWS; Cody Bear is one his many offspring.

Eventually, even Aaron was powerless to resist Sven's charms.

"He actually smiles with the dog, which is something he's never done before," Michael says.

Aaron has severe expressive disabilities and no conversational speech abilities. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 3, a revelation that Michael remembers as being "like somebody ran you over with a truck."

After the diagnosis, Michael, who is a schoolteacher, took more than a year off from his job to stay home and work with his son. Everything becomes a process with an autistic child, he says. Everything must be taught.

So, too, it is with Sven. From something as basic as showing Aaron the proper way to pet a dog not too roughly, not in the wrong place to more complicated tasks such as to how to prepare the dog's food dish, Aaron is learning how to be a caretaker.

He has mastered putting on a dog's leash and offering a treat, giving Sven clean water and saying a few basic commands, such as "sit."

Aaron takes Sven for walks with help from Beth Mullin, a behavior therapist from Eden Florida, a Bonita Springs autism support organization.

Recently, when Aaron was by the pool with Sven, Mullin saw him spontaneously reach out for the dog. That's a new behavior for him.

"We used to have to prompt him or guide him to interact," Mullin says. "I had never really seen him go for anything for affection."

PAWS client Heidi Falanga wanted a dog that could provide comfort to her autistic son, Mac, and a dog like Bacci is the canine equivalent of chicken noodle soup.

The 5-month-old goldendoodle is covered in deep, brown curls. His tail hangs in a low swirl, much like a monkey's, and when he walks he almost rolls, slow and drowsy. Everything about Bacci is easygoing and gentle, which made him an ideal match for 11-year-old Mac, who often experiences behavioral issues and needs to be calmed.

Recently, Mac was sitting on the floor and began to cry. Bacci went to him, Falanga recalls, and Mac "went from crying to giggling."

"It was a great transition," she says.

Although the dog lives with the Falangas, he is still in the PAWS training program, going three times a week to the Alliance's East Naples studio for practice.

Falanga praises Bates and PAWS for their willingness to tailor each dog to a client's needs, and hopes that Bacci's skills may be honed to help with Mac's specific challenges.

"They definitely are forming a bond, and this dog will grow with him," Falanga says.

Forget everything you ever knew about dogs in strollers. Diva and Olivia might look cute and cosseted, but they're quite willing to earn their rhinestone-studded keep.

When their owner Colleen Kvetko rolled the shih tzus into the assisted-living area of the Carlisle, a North Naples retirement community, Diva and Olivia remained perfectly quiet. They didn't bark or struggle to escape, but instead sat silently, looking around with their bright, button eyes.

"They're naturally calm," Kvetko says, looking down at the two tiny dogs. "Like, 'We're going to work.'"

Kvetko's two dogs are certified therapy dogs, and are one of about 10 owner-and-dog teams that participate in the therapy dog component of PAWS. In addition to senior facilities, the teams visit AVOW Hospice, the Naples hospital and Youth Haven, and participate in Pups n' Books, a children's reading program.

Kvetko's goal is to grow the number of teams to as many as 50, and begin serving area shut-ins, too.

"We see that as a huge opportunity," she says.

To be certified, a dog completes a 10-week class and a final test. They must display certain abilities, such as being able to remain in a "stay" position for three minutes with their handler in another room.

Diva and Olivia can do that, but the big showstopper for the Carlisle crowd was when the little dogs did a "down" or a "roll," earning a Cheerio from Kvetko as a treat. And, of course, there was ample admiration for the itty-bitty outfits Kvetko dressed them in black and white for the 4-year-old Diva, and purple and pink for her year-old offspring.

"You're dressed better than I'm dressed," resident Norma Jean Anderson says to Olivia. "That's an elaborate little outfit."

"Oh, you should see their closet," Kvetko responds.

Seconds later, Anderson is holding Olivia tightly in her arms. Olivia appeared unsurprised. Nor did Martha Barkauskas, who handles assisted-living activities for the Carlisle. The interaction is emotionally important for the residents, she says, granting them a chance to give affection and feel it in return.

"We stop whatever we're doing. When the dogs come, we stop," Barkauskas says.

It's the same at the Naples hospital when Susan Slider and Ruby, her terrier mix, enter a room. Ruby is certified for pet therapy, but she's also Collier County's top agility dog, Slider says. When Ruby gets going, she can turn a hospital room into her own personal Big Top tent show, waving a paw, standing on her back legs and running back and forth on Slider's command.

"You can tell that it just boosts their morale, brightens their day," Slider said. "Sometimes when patients see her, they even start to cry."

Lightning is an 18-month-old female golden retriever who has taken over as academic counselor, Kay Love's new service dog.

For Love, who is blind, Lightning means independence.

"It is such a wonderful feeling, to be able to get out and just go at your speed, on your time, and do the things you want to do," Love said.

Lightning helps her navigate through daily life. The dog helps Love avoid obstacles and understands a multitude of commands for finding specific things, like stairs and elevators, and distinguishing between inside and outside doors.

Love's last guide dog, Holly, a black Labrador retriever approaching the age of 11, recently retired. Now she sits at Love's home and relaxes, free to be just a beloved pet instead of a guide dog.

"Holly had been giving me signals for quite some time that she was just not interested in working as a dog guide anymore," said Love.

So, after nine years of service, Holly now snoozes on the couch and helps raise the eager puppy who has taken over her job.

When it became necessary to find a new service dog, Love contacted the Leader Dog School for the Blind in Rochester, Mich. She flew to the school, where she went through the detailed, nearly monthlong process of obtaining a dog and training with it.

Everything was paid for by the Leader Dog School for the Blind, Love said.

"When you go to the school, you arrive on a Sunday afternoon," she said. "You meet with your trainer and some of the people you will be working with. And then Monday morning you start your first work."

For the first few days, the trainer took walks with Love attached to a service dog harness, as if he were the dog. He was testing her confidence, how quickly she reacted and gave commands, getting a feel for what sort of service dog handler she is.

On Wednesday, Love was the first one in her training group picked to receive her dog.

The trainer had her sit down. He told Love her new dog's name was Lightning and that he would be right back.

He returned with the squirming puppy who has become Love's service dog.

"Lightning ran over to me and was all wiggly and excited, and I petted her for a bit," Love said. "Then she dropped to the floor and rolled on her back for me to pet her belly. She wanted to have her tummy rubbed. I guess that's how she decided whether I'm a valuable person."

For the next few weeks, Love and Lightning spent a great deal of time together at the school learning to work as a team.

"For such a young dog, she's really made great headway," Love said.

She said Lightning already does an excellent job of guiding her around obstacles smoothly. She's also very obedient and is good about getting back on task when she is distracted.

Love said the biggest challenge she faces with Lightning is the young dog's exuberance and endless energy.

And there is that aforementioned chewing issue.

Love said Lightning recently chewed up her leather leash at work. Now Lightning has a chain leash instead.

When Lightning isn't wearing her work harness, Love said she really lets her puppy-hood show.

"She's very much a puppy, so she thinks everything is a game and play. When she's at home, she's just a dog," said Love.

Love's co-worker, academic counselor Heather Nance, has worked with Love for three years. She said after a while, you barely notice a service dog around the office, especially well-behaved ones like Lightning and her predecessor, Holly.

"It's actually kind of nice," Nance said. "It's nice to have a 'fur relief' during the day. And it's also been quite a learning experience to see someone who has other challenges to work around."

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Information from The Lawton Constitution

The Skagit Valley Herald reports prosecutors filed the charges against 41-year-old Michiel Glen Oakes of Kennewick, Wash., in the death of 57-year-old Mark Stover.

Stover and his ex-wife had run a dog training camp that boasted a clientele of celebrities, including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, singer Chris Cornell, moviemaker Cameron Crowe, and Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki among others.

Prosecutors say Oakes planned Stover's death and point to supplies — including three ankle weights and an anchor line — he allegedly bought on the day Stover disappeared.

Court documents say a single .22 caliber round and a .22 gun silencer were also found in a backpack Oakes had allegedly purchased.

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Information from Skagit Valley Herald

Rick Block told Denver's KMGH-TV the society can't afford to stay open after the cities of Englewood and Littleton decided to contract with a new animal shelter.

It hasn't been decided what will happen to animals in the society's custody.

Block spoke outside an Arapahoe County court, where the society's former owners faced charges of contempt of court. A judge cleared Bob and Mary Warren and their daughter, Stephanie, of the charges. They were accused of not providing documentation about shelter operations.

Attorney General John Suthers appointed Block in December after filing a lawsuit alleging the shelter's managers mismanaged funds and euthanized animals to make room for more adoptable pets.

Suthers said the order would allow society shelters to operate while the case against the managers continued. Suthers alleged that nearly a third of the animals at the society's purported no-kill shelters were euthanized in 2004.

Suthers' lawsuit also accused shelter managers of raising about $3 million since 2003 without proper registration as a charitable agency, mixing personal money with society funds and illegally operating a veterinary clinic.

The Warrens deny wrongdoing and hope to regain control of the society.

The former Carson City gas station owner died Tuesday after being diagnosed over the last year with prostate cancer and lymphoma, said his wife, Maxine.

With four different dogs over the years, Williamson participated in the parade commemorating Nevada's statehood, riding shotgun in his Model T Ford with Buddy, Beaver, Budd or Beauregard behind the wheel.

Williamson never revealed the secret of how he pulled off the feat.

He garnered national attention when his first car-driving dog, Buddy, appeared on the program "Hee Haw" for three seasons, driving Junior Samples' car.

He died three weeks after cancer also took his golden retriever Beau.

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Information from Nevada Appeal

Oreo suffered two broken legs and a fractured rib when she was beaten and thrown off a roof June 18. After months of working to rehabilitate her, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals determined that she was unpredictably aggressive, and could never live among humans or other dogs.

The plight of the 1-year-old Oreo stirred emotions among animal lovers, and the ASPCA's decision to euthanize her led many to flood the organization with hundreds of calls, e-mails and Twitter messages.

"We're saddened by the outcome," said ASPCA spokesman Andy Izquierdo on Friday afternoon after the organization announced Oreo's death. "But we truly feel it's the most humane decision for Oreo."

Earlier, Izquierdo said the agency had received well over 200 calls and e-mail messages, as well as at least two death threats.

"People don't know the behavioral piece," Izquierdo said. "We could fix her physically, but we couldn't do anything with her psychologically."

Protesters rallied outside the building Friday morning. And at least one pet sanctuary offered to take in the dog.

"The aggression thing is a dumb excuse because all dogs can be worked with," said Emily Danks, a self-described animal rescuer who said she was escorted out of the ASPCA's building on the Upper East Side after trying to convince staff members to let her take Oreo.

She said she had planned to take the dog to Pets Alive, a sanctuary in Middletown, New York, north of New York City.

Matt DeAngelis, executive director of Pets Alive, said his organization had left phone messages for the ASPCA with an offer to take in Oreo. But he said they had not heard anything, and he was perplexed at why the ASPCA didn't accept the group's offer.

In an e-mail, Stephen Zawistowski, one of the ASPCA's lead animal behavior experts who had worked with Oreo, said the organization didn't believe that sanctuary placement was "good for her welfare."

"We made this decision having the experience of working with a number of well-known sanctuaries and rescue groups," he said, adding that the ASPCA was unfamiliar with Pets Alive.

Fabian Henderson, a 19-year-old who lived at the housing complex in Brooklyn's Red Hook section, where officers found Oreo badly injured, was arrested on felony charges. He has pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals, and is to be sentenced Dec. 1.

There was no phone listing for Henderson at the Brooklyn building. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ed Dandaraw says he was hunting in a swampy area on his Saratoga County property last weekend when he came across a black garbage bag. Inside he found a beagle whose head, midsection and front paws were wrapped in duct tape.

Dandaraw took the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic, where a microchip implanted under the dog's skin helped locate her owners.

The beagle, named Daisy, had been missing for two weeks before being found Sunday on the southeastern edge of the Adirondacks, about five miles from where her owners live.

The Saratoga County Sheriff's Department confirmed the dog had been found but hasn't provided any details.

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Information from Times Union

Donna Wellman, a Huntington native who maintains a home in the area, is supporting the Little Victories Animal Shelter in Cabell County.

She and her husband created the Wellman Foundation to help people, too, funding 40 full-ride scholarships a year to Marshall University.

Wellman says shelter director Sue Brown has often shared her dreams for a bigger, better facility.

Little Victories currently houses about 90 dogs and 50 cats.

Brown says the money will help build a new shelter for puppies, small dogs and cats, plus bathing areas and office space.

In time, she hopes to add space for larger animals, plus an animal hospital.

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Information from W.Va. Public Broadcasting

But nearly four months later, the 1-year-old brown-and-white pit bull mix growled and lunged at people gathered in a playroom to see her, then turned and lunged at a female handler who had pulled back furiously on the 62-pound dog's heavy leash.

After months of working to rehabilitate Oreo, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it had determined she is too dangerous to ever be placed in a home or even to live among other dogs.

The organization said it plans to euthanize her Friday.

"Everything we've tried to do for her has not worked," said Ed Sayres, the president and CEO of ASPCA. "And she has gotten more aggressive."

Sayres, a longtime proponent of "no-kill" shelters, said it's rare for the organization to euthanize an animal. He said 94 percent of the nearly 4,000 animals the organization takes in each year are placed in adoptive homes and the rest are euthanized because of medical or behavioral reasons.

"The measure of our success around here is lives saved," he said.

Indeed, it was anybody's guess whether Oreo could be saved when she arrived at the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital.

The organization said it received a complaint on June 18 that a dog had been beaten on the third floor of a housing project on West Ninth Street in Brooklyn, and then a second call saying that the same dog had been thrown from a roof. She was found with two broken legs and a fractured rib.

Fabian Henderson, a 19-year-old who lived at the complex in the borough's Red Hook section, was arrested in July on felony charges, according to the ASPCA.

He pleaded guilty Oct. 20 to aggravated cruelty to animals and was released on his own recognizance pending sentencing on Dec. 1, court records show.

There was no phone listing for Henderson at the Brooklyn building. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

After Oreo was brought to the ASPCA, surgeons reassembled the dog's front legs and she recuperated well enough to walk. But during a behavioral evaluation in July, she began to display aggression "with little provocation and little warning."

"The staff should not lean over her or make direct, sustained eye contact," the evaluator's report said.

In further tests, she growled at strangers and bit an evaluation tool called an Assess-A-Hand — which looks like a mannequin's arm on a stick — multiple times. She barked and lunged at another dog at a 5-foot distance.

In a second evaluation in October, she continued to act aggressively, even attempting to bite her handler when the dog was distracted by another staff member.

Her behavioral prognosis in October and in a final evaluation on Wednesday was listed as "grave." Over the months the dog had been in their care, Oreo underwent 59 sessions of nearly 45 minutes each that were aimed at modifying her behavior. She did not improve significantly.

"It took very little for her to become very tense and respond in an aggressive way," said Stephen L. Zawistowski, a lead animal behavior expert with the ASPCA who helped evaluate Oreo. "Once that situation had been created, she then showed aggressive responses to a wide variety of things."

He described her anger as causing her both physical and emotional strain.

"Think about if you were constantly angry about something — punching a hole in the wall angry — the stress this would place on you," he said.

That she would even attempt to lash out at her handler was another sign of uncontrollable aggression, he said, making it likely the dog would be impossible to handle in an adopter's home. He said a sanctuary was also out of the question because the dog would require her own space and would need to live in relative isolation from other animals.

It came to a point that the staff had to ask itself what Oreo's future quality of life would look like, Zawistowski said.

ASPCA's president said the organization's staff was grieving over the decision to euthanize Oreo.

"We're all upset by it," Sayres said.

Providing quite a contrast to Michael Vick's gruesome dogfighting operation, tight end Tony Gonzalez and his wife, October, posed in the nude for an anti-fur advertisement from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The newly released ad, which was photographed over the summer in Los Angeles, shows the couple sitting together on green turf for the group's "We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. They're following celebrities who have posed in the buff, including Dennis Rodman, Pamela Anderson and Dominique Swain, while others such as Paul McCartney and Charlize Theron have worn clothes in the campaign.

"It looks good," Gonzalez said Wednesday, glancing at the photo on a reporter's cell phone while standing at his locker. "It's something me and my wife talked about. It's something we feel very strongly about. That's a great cause, especially when you educate yourself and find out what is happening out there in the world."

The long-running PETA campaign has relied on star power in an attempt to persuade people not to wear furs or other clothing made from animal skins. The group claims that animals are often beaten, strangled, stomped, electrocuted and even skinned alive.

Gonzalez said he was appalled when he saw pictures and videos provided by the group.

"I've never done something like this before. I'm usually not a political person," said the 10-time Pro Bowler, who holds the NFL record for most receptions by a tight end. "The pictures I saw were pretty gruesome, pretty cruel. If done the right way, maybe. But done the way I saw it, it's definitely inhumane."

Some of Gonzalez's teammates had not seen the new ad until it was shown to them by reporters. But it's likely to be all over the locker room before the week is out.

"Oh yeah," receiver Roddy White said, breaking into a big smile, "we're going to give him a hard time about that."

Bring it on, said the 33-year-old Gonzalez, who's in his first season with the Falcons after spending a dozen years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"If you do something like this," he said, "you better be prepared for the guys in the locker room. They're going to let you know what they think about it."

Chris Houston studied the picture closely before offering up a tongue-in-cheek critique.

"He's got his Chad (Ochocinco), T.O. thing going on," the cornerback said. Then, he acknowledged, "I'm looking more at her, though."

Gonzalez was still playing for the Chiefs when Vick's dogfighting crimes came to light before the 2007 season, but players such as White remember all the turmoil it caused. When the team reported for its first day of training camp that year, there were animal rights protesters at the front gate and a small plane circling overhead, pulling a banner that said: "New team name? Dog Killers?"

Vick never played another game for the Falcons. He pleaded guilty to federal charges, served 20 months in prison and signed this season with the Philadelphia Eagles after the NFL lifted his suspension. He has played sparingly in a backup role.

The Falcons (5-3) are again in playoff contention after earning a surprising wild-card berth in 2008 with rookie Matt Ryan at quarterback.

"We've got some good stuff going on around here now," White said. "It's not all this negative stuff with helicopters flying over the practice field and things like that."

While prepared to take some good-natured gibes from his teammates, Gonzalez is serious about the anti-fur campaign. He became interested in animal right issues about three years ago and went on a vegan diet during the season, giving up meats or even foods that come from animals.

Gonzalez didn't last long as a vegan. He abandoned it after three or four weeks, saying the diet caused him to "lose a little too much weight." But he became more conscious of the meats he consumed and wound up writing a book about his methods, "The All-Pro Diet."

"I eat a little meat now, but it comes from clean sources: grass-fed cows, free-range chickens, wild fish, stuff like that," he said. "I'm OK with it as long as you do it humanely."

If nothing else, Gonzalez and his wife have provided a different face (and then some) for those animal lovers who might have still harbored a negative image of the Falcons, remembering they were his employer when heinous crimes were being carried out against dogs.

"We're going to get some good publicity out of this thing," White said.

It was one of more than 30 records announced or set on Nov. 12 — the official Guinness World Record Day — but the only animal to be honored.

The 4-year-old white Great Dane from San Diego is blind, deaf, epileptic and undergoes acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments every three weeks, owner Diana Taylor said.

"Titan is magical," she added. "He's low-key, calm and has a wonderful demeanor about him. He gets along with all dogs, even the tiny ones."

The massive canine is often mistaken by young children for a horse or cow.

Titan's official height, as measured by a veterinarian, is a hair over 3½ feet tall from floor to shoulder. You could add eight inches if official measurements included the head, Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said.

Titan weighs 190 pounds and doesn't stand on his hind legs because it isn't good for him. If he did, Taylor figures he would stand 80 or 82 inches tall.

Titan takes the title held by Gibson, a 7-year-old harlequin Great Dane from Grass Valley, who died earlier this year after battling bone cancer. He was actually slightly shorter than the new title holder.

Taylor was living in Atlanta when she adopted Titan as a puppy from the Middle Tennessee Great Dane Rescue. When he could see out of one eye, she taught him sign language. As he went blind, they learned to communicate by touch.

The dog joins the record books along with the world's largest gingerbread man in Norway, the biggest group hug in the U.K.; most nationalities in a sauna in Finland; and the world's longest paper clip chain in Mexico.

And Sabi the black Labrador is getting a celebrity welcome home.

Sabi was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country's highest bravery medal.

But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever — until now.

Defense officials said Thursday that a U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan. Further details about the base were not given.

The dog was returned to the Australians' base in the province just in time for a visit by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was photographed Wednesday along with the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, petting Sabi.

"Sabi is back home in one piece and is a genuinely nice pooch as well," Rudd told reporters.

Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, though her being in good condition when she was found indicated somebody had been looking after her, military spokesman Brig. Brian Dawson told reporters in Canberra.

The dog was being tested for diseases before a decision was made on whether she can return to Australia.

More than 1,500 Australian troops are in Afghanistan and most are involved in training Afghan security forces. Among them are units that use dogs to sniff out roadside bombs and other explosive booby traps.

Fifty puppies were among the more than 400 dogs seized in the raid July 8. Meanwhile, an additional 100 or so have been born since then to other dogs who were rescued in the raid.

The St. Louis-based Humane Society says it desperately needs toys, peanut butter and other items needed for the active puppies. It is also accepting monetary donations.

The city joins a growing list of cities, including San Francisco and West Hollywood, that have instituted bans. Los Angeles and Santa Monica also have given preliminary approval to them.

Berkeley's city council unanimously voted Tuesday to ban the practice that backers say is painful and inhumane. Councilman Jesse Arreguin, who co-authored the law, says most declawing is done only to benefit the owner.

Violations will be punishable by a $1,000 fine or six months in jail.

The California Veterinary Medical Association opposes such bans, saying the decision should be made between the owner and veterinarian. Spokesman Carl Singer says there are some cases where declawing is preferable to putting the animal down.

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Information from The Oakland Tribune

But when Stover's killer came last month, there was nothing Dingo could do.

She was shot in the face, but survived. When deputies arrived, the only signs of her master were smears of blood in a downstairs bedroom and hallway.

Investigators have yet to find Stover's body, but prosecutors have charged his ex-wife's boyfriend with murder in a case that may have stemmed from their divorce two years ago.

Stover's friends said they knew little about the breakup but believed he had moved on and was engaged to another woman when he disappeared.

"We never talked about that — just about the dogs," said Anacortes police animal control officer Marie Padovan. "Dogs that were uncontrollable would go to Mark and they could be controlled. It's a big loss for all of us dog people."

Stover, 57, and ex-wife Linda Opdycke, 45, opened Island Dog Adventures in the early 1990s on an island her wealthy family owned 55 miles north of Seattle. Opdycke's father was one of the founders of Washington's biggest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle.

The kennel offered massages, pedicures, a raw-meat diet and weight-loss programs. The dogs roamed the island freely. Clients included Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder; former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic; Soundgarden's Chris Cornell; moviemaker Cameron Crowe and his wife, singer Nancy Wilson of the '70s pop group Heart; and Costco Corp. CEO Jim Sinegal. Japanese-born baseball player Ichiro Suzuki, an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners, brought his Shiba Inu there.

"People should have it so good," Cornell told Spin magazine upon a 1996 visit to the island, where he boarded two German shepherds.

Novoselic said Stover worked wonders with his two big mutts. Once, the bassist left the dogs untied outside a convenience store. They didn't so much as lift their heads when police officers arrived to confront a group of loitering youngsters.

"I was really proud of them, and that's all because of Mark's training," he said.

Stover's friends said he saved many aggressive dogs from destruction by correcting their behavior. His secret, he claimed, was his knowledge of dog psychology and pack behavior. He routinely wore dark glasses, making it tough for people or dogs to read his eyes, and he played the role of the alpha male naturally.

When Opdycke filed for divorce, Stover refused to hire a lawyer, claiming he didn't need to go through anyone else to deal with someone he loved for so long. He agreed with her on dividing their assets: He would pay $175,000 for her share of the business; she would get the SUV and the horse trailer; he would get the Porsche and BMW.

And he agreed to move the business off the island, which the state is buying for a park.

In early 2008, Opdycke took out a restraining order against Stover, accusing him of harassment. She claimed that he showed up at her home uninvited and that a neighbor had caught him going through her garbage — for which he was arrested. He was always armed, she said, and when he canceled her health insurance, he mailed her a copy of the form on which he had scrawled, "Next time do not call the cops on the guy that controls your healthcare."

Opdycke, who earlier this year became a private investigator, didn't return a message seeking comment.

On Oct. 28, a neighbor of Stover's reported a trespassing at a grange hall a half-mile from Stover's house. Two cars were parked out back — one was Stover's, and the other belonged to Opdycke's boyfriend, Michiel Oakes, authorities said. The neighbor reported that a man by the cars — Oakes, it turned out — had a large piece of plastic.

A deputy later saw Oakes' car and pulled him over. Oakes said he had stopped in at the grange to make a call. The deputy noted dog hair on his sleeve and piles of blankets in the back, and warned him not to trespass, according to court papers.

The next morning, Stover's fiancee reported him missing. At the house, his employees found Dingo, a Belgian malinois, bleeding profusely from gunshot wounds. (The dog is now recovering.) A bathroom reeked of bleach.

A sheriff's deputy found Oakes and Opdycke at her home. Oakes asked to go outside and get some medicine out of his car, then threw a plastic bag containing a .22-caliber pistol over an embankment, authorities said. He was also carrying a 9 mm pistol.

His attorney, John Henry Browne, said Opdycke was "deathly afraid" of Stover, and he called the case "a big whodunit." Investigators have not said whether they believe Opdycke was involved.

More than 120 of the animals have been placed in foster homes or are headed there this week through the efforts of pit bull rescue groups throughout the U.S. An additional 117, like the scarred but smiling Tulip, await their turn.

"They are not a vicious animal. They are the victims of abuse," said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations for the Humane Society of Missouri. "That face and their eyes tell the story. They only want to be in someone's home, on a couch, or sleeping at someone's feet, maybe chew up a rug or two for entertainment. They're learning for the first time how to be a dog."

In the days leading up to the July 8 raid, the Humane Society secured a cavernous industrial warehouse in St. Louis that it transformed into an emergency shelter for the hundreds of dogs seized in Missouri and Illinois. About 100 dogs seized in other states were taken by rescue groups elsewhere.

Once at the Missouri shelter, dogs were tested by a national team of certified animal behaviorists, taken on walks, and allowed to chew on bowling balls stuffed with peanut butter. Some finicky eaters were treated to home-cooked chicken breasts to supplement meals of dog food.

The Human Society offered The Associated Press first access to the site Tuesday. During the tour, puppies born since the raid took turns playing tug of war with a chew toy in a play room. Humane Society staff members pulled a catering cart down a long row of dog cages, calling animals by name as they slid them bowls of food.

Some, like Pacific, were shy, quivering in fear of new visitors. Others were extroverts, springing on hind legs to say hello.

The foster homes will acclimate the dogs to the noises and rules of a household, and teach them basic manners.

Animal behaviorist Pamela Reid, who was part of the team that evaluated the dogs, said a surprising two-thirds tested well for nonaggression and adoptability. She's fostering one puppy, although one her favorite dogs had to be euthanized because he showed aggression toward men.

Hill said 160 dogs were put down because of injuries, illness or behavior. None of the puppies showed aggression, Reid said.

Tim Rickey, who heads the Humane Society's anticruelty task force, said the raids proved the underground dogfighting industry is pervasive.

"We scratched the surface," Rickey said. "We could have done several of these (raids) in Missouri alone."

Minnesota's junior Democratic senator will be on hand at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday. That's where Ken Stenzel will show others how Calvin has improved his quality of life.

Franken will also talk about the Service Dogs for Disabled Veterans Act, his first bill to become law.

The legislation established a pilot program and study for organizations that provide service dogs to disabled veterans.

NAWS also won the first place trophy for Best Animal Entry in the Riverfest parade.

A general meeting for NAWS volunteers is planned for 6 p.m. Friday at Paul & Jacks, 1808 Clay St., North Kansas City. New volunteers are welcome. Those attending are invited to bring a used blanket, throw or quilt that will be donated to Halfway Home Pet Adoption Shelter.

NAWS is a non-profit group raising funds to build an animal shelter for homeless animals in the Northland. For information, call 816-830-7759 or go to www.pcnaws.com.

Judge Chris Freese sided with the family of Kaleb Drew, who argued that the boy's yellow Labrador retriever is a service animal allowed in schools under Illinois law. They say the dog is similar to a seeing-eye dog for the blind and is trained to help Kaleb deal with his disabilities, keeping him safe and calm in class.

The Villa Grove school district had opposed the dog's presence and argued that it isn't a true service animal.

The case and a separate lawsuit involving an autistic boy in southwestern Illinois are the first challenges to an Illinois law allowing service animals in schools.

Authorities in both school districts have said that the needs of the autistic boys must be balanced against other children who have allergies or fear the animals.

Kaleb Drew's dog, Chewey, has accompanied him to school since August under court order, pending the judge's final ruling Tuesday on the family's lawsuit against the school district.

Similar lawsuits have been filed on behalf of autistic children in other states, including California and Pennsylvania.

The judge ruled that the Drews had presented "clear and convincing evidence" to show Chewey is a service animal that helps the boy function, said attorney Margie Wakelin, who works with Chicago-based Equip for Equality and represented the family.

"I'm very pleased and happy that Kaleb and Chewey are going to get to continue their work together and continue to grow as a team and learn from each other," Nichelle Drew, Kaleb's mother, said after the ruling.

She says the dog keeps Kaleb from running in front of cars in the school parking lot, and helps him with difficulties transitioning from one activity to another by helping him feel calm.

The Villa Grove school district has 30 days to appeal; its attorney, Brandon Wright, said no decision has been made on whether to do so.

Despite ruling for the Drew family, the judge "clearly recognized the conundrum the school district finds itself in," Wright said. The law offers no guidance on how schools are supposed to accommodate service animals, including whether they need to train school staff to work with the animals, Wright said.

The other Illinois case involves 5-year-old Carter Kalbfleisch and is being handled in the Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court.

In a preliminary ruling in August, a Monroe County judge allowed Carter to bring his dog to pre-kindergarten class. The district appealed, and the appellate court is mulling the district's claims that the Kalbfleisches erred by not taking up the matter with the state board of education before suing.

Donations to the nation's largest basset hound rescue have never been so low, bills so overdue, the need so crucial or the help so thin, said Dawn Smith, Daphneyland's president and founder.

Every day, she looks at 100 basset hounds and wonders how she will feed them, heal them, bathe them, keep them warm or even give them a drink of water.

"We are bringing in $5,200 a month in donations and we need $10,000 to survive," Smith said.

Animal rescues and shelters have suffered during the recession, particularly in states like California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona where the real estate boom busted the loudest, said Stephen L. Zawistowski, executive vice president for national programs and science adviser for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Based on real estate industry numbers and pet ownership figures, the ASPCA estimates 1 million to 2 million pets have been abandoned since the recession began in December 2007.

Rescues are no-kill organizations that rely on adoptions, donations, grants and volunteers to house animals, while shelters — kill and no-kill — depend on city or county budgets to pay employees and operate their facilities.

As the economy worsened, governments cut back on funding for shelters and charitable donations for rescues dried up. At Daphneyland, donations are down 40 percent, the rescue is full, volunteers have had to quit to take a second or third job or move out of the area to find work and bills keep going up.

"At pet food banks, they are seeing people who used to be donors now showing up asking if they can get a bag of dog food," Zawistowski said.

Conditions will only get worse during the holidays, Smith said.

People who got dogs during the summer want to go home for the holidays and can't afford to board their pets or take them along, so they dump them. And it's the worst time of year for adoptions because the failure rate is so high. People adopt puppies because they are so cute, but Christmas and cuteness pass.

At Daphneyland (named after the hound Smith had when the rescue was founded in 2002), Smith said the mortgage is only a month-and-a-half behind so they are not facing foreclosure. The food and vet bills are always the first to be paid.

The electric bill at Daphneyland in Acton, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, is $1,500 a month. Because it takes electricity to run the well, when the power goes out, so does the water.

On Nov. 3, Smith's bill was $7,500 past due and the utility turned off the power. It took $3,000, a payment schedule and more than two hours on the phone to get it restored, Smith said.

Unless adoptions pick up, donations increase dramatically or grants become more readily available, Smith doesn't know how her rescue or those like hers are going to survive.

The ASPCA doesn't know how many rescues there are around the nation. But it says the country has between 3,000 and 5,000 shelters, which by definition means they receive at least 100 animals a year.

Zawistowski said between 5 percent and 7 percent of pets in a community end up at a shelter each year.

Nationally, between 6 million and 8 million animals go into shelters every year and about half, between 3 million and 4 million, are euthanized. Those numbers are about half dogs, half cats, Zawistowski said, because there are still a lot of shelters that don't take cats. Of those that do, two-thirds to three-quarters of the animals in the shelters are cats.

Despite the numbers, Zawistowski pointed to unparalleled progress over the last 20 years. In the 1980s, between 20 million and 22 million animals were being euthanized each year, he said.

"No single social welfare group has made a greater impact on a problem than the people working in animal shelters," he said, adding it has 100 percent to do with spaying and neutering.

There have been other recessions and recoveries, Zawistowski said. So he assumes there will be recovery again, but not without a lot of suffering because pets follow the fate of their people.

New Leash on Life in Newhall, about 20 miles from Daphneyland, announced last month that it was closing after 12 years and 5,000 placements.

A flurry of donations will keep the rescue open for another month while its board of directors works to extend its life and the owners work to find permanent homes for the last 13 dogs at the ranch. A last ditch "Black Friday Auction" is scheduled the day after Thanksgiving, but success depends on items that are donated, according to a letter put out by owners Bobby and Kelly Dorafshar.

Smith, a fourth-generation basset hound owner, is always honest about the dogs.

"They drool, they shed, they snore and they try your patience every day," she said. The low slung, heavy boned dogs are prone to health problems, especially around their ears and bellies.

"They are stubborn, obstinate, but couldn't be more loving. They are fabulous if you can handle a 65-pound lapdog."

It happened Sunday afternoon when Abbigaill Gerber walked down the block to ask her best friend to come out and play. When she got to her friend's door, the dog attacked.

While her friend tried to pull her inside, the dog locked its jaws on her left leg and pulled back. Eventually she got inside the house.

The girl's mother arrived and took her to the hospital, where it took 58 stitches and 4½ hours to close the wounds to her muscle and skin.

The owner of the dog was given citations for having an unlicensed animal and not having it current on its vaccinations. The dog is expected to be put down.

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Information from The Journal Times

The now-65-pound mixed breed dog named "Delilah" on Tuesday spent her first full day in Austin.

The white puppy in June began tagging along with National Guard troops from Camp Mabry while members were on patrol.

Spc. Matt Fleming of Austin says from the start the dog was "pretty cute walking beside us" and he wanted to keep Delilah.

His sister-in-law, Laura Fleming of Austin, set up a Web site and helped raise money to fly the dog to the U.S. About $3,500 was donated by October.

The Austin American-Statesman reports Delilah arrived in Austin on Monday afternoon. Delilah will live with Laura Fleming until her brother-in-law completes his tour of duty in January and returns home.

Maybe it's the bright orange reflective vest she wears, or the way she carefully guides young students across busy 68th Avenue W., less than a block from Lynndale Elementary School.

Of course, it could also be the fact that she's a St. Bernard.

"It's kind of nice because (drivers) will actually look for her," said Lulu's owner, Jill Jaspers. "I have noticed that people will slow down a little bit because they look."

Even in the dim light of dawn?

"People will stop for a dog," said Alke Hartmann, as she walked her son Kai to school.

Facing an $11.5 million budget shortfall this year, the Edmonds School District cut some bus routes, forcing about 3,000 students who live within a mile of their school to find another way to get there.

"We have quite a few more kids walking to school than we did in previous years," said Lynndale principal Dave Zwachka.

To increase safety, the district added additional crossing guard locations.

When school started at the beginning of September, Jaspers, whose son and daughter attend Lynndale, had an idea: Why not bring the 10-year-old family dog along? After all, Lulu had already been a show-and-tell guest of her son, Stuart.

"I think it's cool," Stuart Jaspers said. "It's kind of like an advertisement for St. Bernards because they're real calm and stuff."

Since then, Jill Jaspers and Lulu have been crossing guard fixtures from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. at the busy intersection of 68th Avenue W. and 192nd Place SW.

Another parent, Beth Strock, has the after-school shift.

Lulu loves kids. That, after all, is why she came into the Jasper family's lives in 1999 after Jill, currently the PTA co-president, spotted a newspaper advertisement.

"It said something like, For sale: St. Bernard, 6 months old — to a family with kids only,'" she said.

She's been with the family ever since.

"I think the dog's so big, she deserves to be called Lulululu," Zwachka said. "Kids love seeing Lulu in the morning."

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Information from The Herald

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Tuesday that some members of Dorchester County Council want Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein to stop bringing her two spaniels and Airedale to work. The council has asked the county attorney to write a letter asking that only service animals be allowed in the building.

Goodstein says her dogs are housebroken, trained and haven't soiled the courthouse. She thinks rumors about the dogs' accidents started after she got down on her hands and knees one day to clean mud tracks left by a construction worker.

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Information from The Post and Courier

Muncie police Sgt. Jay Turner picked up the dog — named Ozzy — last week after receiving $4,500 checks from both Ozzy and Jack Osbourne.

Police Chief Deborah Davis says that because of city budget cuts the department wouldn't have been able to replace an older dog without the donation.

The younger Osbourne joined Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson and other celebrities as volunteer officers for the Muncie police to film the reality show "Armed & Famous" in 2006.

Turner tells The Star Press that the Osbournes "came through for the department" with the donation.

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Information from The Star Press

The Erie County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says 30 dogs were found Sunday in the rural town of Concord, 25 miles south of Buffalo. Another puppy was found dead.

A passenger riding in a car driven by the local animal control officer noticed the dogs running in a field along a road. The terriers and mixed-breed puppies were rounded up and taken to an animal shelter where they were cleaned up and treated by veterinarians.

SPCA officials suspect the dogs were bred at a puppy mill.

Dozens of concerned pet owners have contacted authorities following the gruesome discovery, a scene described by one veteran SPCA official as something out of a horror movie.

In addition to the dead animals, five dogs and a cat were found alive, suffering from maltreatment, inside cramped cages in a room of the house, said Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA.

Sharon McDonough, 43, of Selden, was released without bail following her arrest on Saturday on six counts of animal cruelty involving the dogs and cat. An investigation is proceeding into whether any animals found dead in the woman's backyard had been mistreated; additional charges were possible.

Gross said the SPCA has received "dozens of calls" from pet owners who say their animals went missing in the area. He said the district attorney could file larceny or other charges if the investigation reveals that animals had been stolen.

Prosecutors said McDonough was represented at her arraignment by an attorney from Legal Aid, which has a policy of not commenting on pending cases. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted on the current misdemeanor animal cruelty cases, but could face 2 years in prison if upgraded felony charges are filed, Gross said.

McDonough is due back in court Tuesday.

The dogs and cat found inside McDonough's home were all legitimately purchased, Gross said.

An SPCA officer for nearly 25 years, Gross said the discovery of the animal carcasses was one of the worst scenes he had ever witnessed.

"This is one I probably will never forget," Gross said. "It was like watching a horror film unfold in front of us.

"The sickening smell was sometimes overpowering to our officers and the firefighters."

He confirmed that authorities were alerted to the scene by McDonough's 21-year-old son, Douglas.

"It was a concentration camp for the animals," Douglas McDonough told reporters outside his home on Saturday. It was not immediately clear why McDonough had reported his mother to authorities.

And within a federal government that employs 19.7 million people, there is one — exactly one — dog mushing job.

And it's open.

The National Park Service is looking for a new kennels manager at Denali National Park and Preserve, a job that in addition to running Denali's 31-animal dog kennel includes mushing into one of America's great swaths of wilderness.

And the pay range of $33,477 to $66,542 — plus a healthy 25 percent cost of living adjustment — is more than what many mushers earn in a race season.

As part of the federal bureaucracy, though, there's more to it than mushing and caring for dogs.

"Our candidate must be a strong leader with supervisory skills and will be relied upon to provide all manner of services as a park ranger — from rescuing visitors and patrolling the park wilderness to presenting educational programs and community outreach," noted Philip Hooge, Denali's deputy superintendent, in a press release.

Karen Fortier, a Connecticut native who had the job for nearly 10 years, calls it "a great job."

It's one that changes markedly depending on the season. As much as 70 percent of the winter is spent mushing thousands of miles in the Denali backcountry — ferrying supplies, bringing researchers to various parts of the park, hauling firewood and patrolling. Those trips can last weeks.

"There's really nothing that quite compares to being out on the trail in the middle of winter," Fortier said. "It's beautiful, it's completely silent, and by March you have the long daylight, too.

"But it's physically demanding. We're breaking our own trail, and we end up doing a lot of snowshoeing in front of the team at times."

Summer is tourist season. That means three daily hour-long interpretive programs for the hundreds of tourists who visit the kennel each day. This summer more than 50,000 visitors stopped by.

In every season, the kennel must be managed. Dogs must be fed, bred and trained, poop must be scooped, vaccinations must be administered.

"And just like with any federal or government job, there's that whole level of paperwork," Fortier recounted. "You think it's going to be this glory job, but so much is managing the operation behind the scenes."

That's something at least one local musher said Fortier did well.

"Karen Fortier was one of the best kennel managers that Denali has ever employed," said musher Will Forsberg, who for 32 years lived on the Old Stampede Trail near the park's north boundary. "She strengthened the park's line of strong, disciplined and very intelligent sled dogs with a very good breeding and training program."

Denali dog mushing dates back to the park's inception.

When naturalist Charles Sheldon needed a guide to assist in his studies of Dall sheep during the winter of 1907-08, he hired veteran Alaska dog musher Harry Karstens, the man who was part of the first ascent of Mount McKinley in 1913 along with Hudson Stuck and Walter Harper.

Sheldon was later part of the long effort to establish Mount McKinley National Park in 1917.

Four years later, McKinley's first ranger was hired. Karstens got the job. At the time, poaching was rampant, and Karstens traveled the park backcountry behind his team of working dogs in an effort to stem it.

Over the next few years, more rangers were hired and each ranger was assigned a team of seven dogs and a district of the park to patrol for months at a time.

By 1936, 50 adult dogs and 14 pups were housed at the McKinley kennels, and they soon became one of the most popular summertime attractions for tourists.

"You're part of the history dating back to the early 1900s," Fortier said. "There's a whole line of dogs we've held on to, and that's special."

Denali dogs are much different from the sleek racing breeds used by sprint and Iditarod mushers.

These are freight-hauling animals averaging 70-80 pounds, with the biggest topping 90 pounds. They're built for strength and stamina, not speed.

"As the world of dog sledding moves more and more to small, lightly furred race dogs, the Denali Park kennel is becoming one of the last bastions of traditional mushing," said Forsberg, who along with his wife, Linda, ran the Yukon Quest eight times. "These are the dogs that opened up Alaska to settlement, carried the mail and supported the first climbs on Mount McKinley. The Denali kennel is a great example of the living history that the Park Service seeks to preserve."

Fortier, who ran a team of racing dogs with her husband before being hired as manager in 2000, published the book "Sled Dogs of Denali National Park," two years later.

"What's kind of neat is that the puppies born the spring I became kennel manager (in 2000) just retired, too," she said. "There's a new litter of pups each year. Watching them grow, seeing which ones become lead dog — it's like being a teacher and seeing which kids excel. That's hard to walk away from."

But Fortier had a second daughter a year ago, and the time away from family became too great.

Fortier isn't sure competitive mushers are the best fit for the job.

"It's a lot more than a mushing job, for sure — a real mixed bag," she said. "It's managing a kennel that's really in the public eye. It doesn't necessarily appeal to some of your typical mushers."

But the successful applicant can rest assured nobody else in the country has the same job.

"It's the only one," Fortier said. "It's such a unique position, you have to be creative about how you sell yourself."

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Information from Anchorage Daily News

Sam Connelly tells of the time that she and her cat Storm observed a Canine Good Citizen test while they were waiting for their feline agility class to start.

"I'm watching the dogs and I commented to the evaluator, 'My cat can do all that,'" said Connelly. "At the end she said, 'Want to take a shot?' like it was a big joke."

To the evaluator's surprise, Storm passed the test, successfully performing commands like sit, stay, come, down, and walking on a leash.

Storm is a cat who does some of these things for a living. He helps Connelly train lost pet search dogs in Maryland by hiding and waiting to be found.

But training cats isn't just for professionals — human or feline. The Michigan Humane Society has a Pawsitive Start program that uses volunteers to train cats in their shelter in useful and fun behaviors like the high-five and walking into a carrier.

"A lot of people look kind of funny at us when we say we train the shelter cats," says CJ Bentley of the humane society. Cats need more than just playtime outside the cage to be well-adjusted in the shelter environment, she says.

"It's not just all about the physical, it's the mental as well," says Bentley. "To teach them to be able to solve problems on their own can reduce the stress. It gives them control over a situation."

It's not just shelter cats that need more, though. People expect pet cats to "just hang out, which isn't realistic," says Melissa Chan, behavior specialist at the Houston SPCA. Cats are naturally active animals, she says, and "one thing I wish I could tell every cat owner: Cats want to work for their food."

Having your cat touch your hand with its nose on command is one of the easiest behaviors to train, Chan says. If you hold out your hand, most cats will naturally sniff it. Reward with a treat until the cat is doing it every time you present your hand. Then, start repeating a word like "touch" every time.

This trick can then be used to get the cat to move where you want it by placing your hand in the desired spot. "You can use it to ask them to get off the couch, or teach them to jump through a hoop by putting the hand on the other side of the hoop," Chan says.

Another useful behavior is entering the cat carrier on their own. Sandy Lagreca, a volunteer at the Michigan Humane Society, says that this is great for both cats and people: "They go in without having to be picked up and shoved into the crate, which can be traumatic for the owner."

All this requires is patience, repetition and a highly desired treat. Throw the treat into the crate (and if your cat is already suspicious of the carrier, step away). Let the cat go in, eat the treat, and leave, repeating until it's completely comfortable going into the carrier. Then, start to close the door and leave the cat inside for increasingly longer intervals. Again, repeat till the cat is comfortable before you try to pick up the carrier.

Chan says that people often don't think cats are trainable because they lack a dog's desire to please, "but we have things that cats want. That's all that matters." Figure out what your cat will work for — it may be a little tuna, a bit of canned food on the end of a chopstick, or maybe a toss of a toy mouse.

Connelly says to keep training sessions short — she recommends no more than five minutes — and varied. "Teach something else when they get one thing right," she says. "Cats get bored easily."

In addition to the specific useful behaviors, Bentley says, training can help prevent problems by changing the terms of your relationship with your pet. "The animal learns, when I do this, you're happy and I get a piece of food, I guess I should focus on making you happy," she says. "Teaching our cats to successfully do what we like and get rewarded makes them more inclined to do what we like."

And it's also rewarding to see that your cat is capable of so much more than lying on the couch. Says Lagreca, "It's fun to watch the progression and see the lights go on — when they make that connection it's a magical moment."

The Ontario Budget Committee agreed this spring to set aside $5,000 from the police budget for a community-run program to trap, spay or neuter and then release feral cats.

The community was asked to come up with $5,000 as a match.

The effort started last week, with volunteers trapping a colony of cats in a neighborhood off West Idaho Avenue.

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Information from Argus Observer

Caryn Weber, who lives on a farm near Durbin, west of Fargo, submitted information about Boomer, her 3-foot-tall Newfoundland, to Guinness World Records for consideration as the world's tallest living dog.

Now she says that after spending $650 to put the application on a fast track, Guinnesss has told her the dog must be at least 40 inches tall to qualify. That would leave Boomer about 4 inches short.

Weber said the guidelines Guinness mailed to her in early October mentioned no minimum height.

Guinness said in an e-mail to Weber that the guidelines are updated as required, without notifying her. Guinness also told Weber it had evidence of a dog taller than Boomer.

Weber thinks Boomer should get to hold the record at least until a taller dog is verified.

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Information from The Forum

Pit bulls would not be banned in the northwest Kansas community.

But a proposed ordinance would declare the dogs to be "dangerous" — a designation that would trigger several requirements.

Owners would have to keep any pit bulls confined securely, obtain insurance and provide identification microchips. They would also have to pay a registration fee of $50 a year, and keep the dogs muzzled and leashed if they're out in public.

The commission is expected to take up the proposal at its meeting Thursday night.

"We didn't have enough room where we were living to have one in the backyard with the pool," Valerie Holt said.

The Holts already had 16 kangaroos and several dozen parrots, snakes and lizards, along with an array of more conventional pets when they moved. In almost no time, they found they had about 170 creatures, exotic and domestic.

"We woke up one day and Jay said, 'Honey, I think you've got a zoo,'" Valerie Holt recalled. "I said, 'God, you're right.'"

So began Roos-N-More, an unusual attraction that doubles as home for the Holts and their two children.

Late last year, the family started opening to the public one day a month. They also began offering private tours, field trips and mobile "zoo-to-you" programs.

"It never started out to be a business. It was a passion," Valerie Holt said. "But people would stop by and want to take a look. They'd just ring the doorbell and say, 'Can we see the animals?'"

Money also played a role. Though they provide the veterinary care, the growing menagerie costs about $10,000 a month to feed, Jay Holt said.

Only a handful of the animals are in cages. Most live in open enclosures that let them interact — even species from opposite sides of the globe.

In one pasture, horses, cows, sheep and goats graze peacefully alongside llamas, camels and a friendly zebra named Razbe.

In another field, several varieties of kangaroo mingle with turkeys and chickens.

The zoo is a family affair. Zach, 14, and Hailey, 12, do a little bit of everything from feeding to field work to fetching medicines. They know enough about the animals to lead tours.

The Holts share the inside of their 2,600-square-foot home with dogs, ferrets, geckos, sloths and, at last count, 11 house cats. The coffee table doubles as an enclosure for a pair of marbled polecats.

"It's absolute total chaos," Valerie Holt said.

At times, they've had a playpen full of young kangaroo joeys in their living room. Snork the otter has a swimming pool and den outside, but used to sleep under the covers next to Zach and a Basset Hound named McLovin.

The undisputed star of the show is Caico, an 18-month-old Capuchin monkey.

Caico is everywhere and into everything. With a hail of birdlike chirps, she leaps onto visitors' shoulders and, if they're not careful, rifles through their pockets.

When she's in the house, Caico wears a diaper with a hole cut out for her tail.

"She gets a bottle before bed to wind down, but she gets to do monkey things as well," Valerie Holt said. "She's a pet, but she's also part of the household."

And like a human toddler, Caico can't be left unattended. Two weeks ago, Jay Holt caught her running through the house with a kitchen knife.

"She opened up the dishwasher to get it. Scared me to death," he said.

That stunt got Caico a monkey time-out, Valerie Holt added.

Bringing Caico home was the realization of a childhood dream for Valerie Holt. At 13 in Metairie, La., she started volunteering at a veterinary office near her home.

Jay grew up on a 75-acre cattle farm in Louisiana, near the Arkansas border.

Jay Holt said he doesn't remember the first time he helped with the animals, but he knows he was young.

"Just like my kids, I didn't know any different," he said.

Jay and Valerie met at Louisiana Tech, and dated through veterinary school at Louisiana State University.

They graduated, got married and moved to Las Vegas in 1990. Seven years later, they had their own veterinary practice called Animal Kindness.

Valerie Holt got her first kangaroo, a Bennett's wallaby named Pogo, as a birthday present from Jay in 2002.

"In almost the blink of an eye we had 12 joeys in the house. Our walk-in closet turned into a nursery," Valerie Holt said.

The Holts' startup zoo got a financial boost last month, when some of the animals were "hired" to appear in the CBS update of "Let's Make a Deal," filming in Las Vegas.

"I was really hesitant to do it," Valerie Holt said of the show. "This is not what I got the animals for. I don't want to exploit them."

In the end, the animals didn't seem to mind, and the money was too good to pass up.

"It will enable us to keep the zoo going," Valerie Holt said.

Roos-N-More is accredited with the Zoological Association of America and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the exhibition and captive breeding of exotic animals.

Valerie Holt said the Holts continue to butt heads with state wildlife officials, but most county permits have been obtained.

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins said he was happy to help after he toured the place.

"They've got a lot of unique animals," Collins said. "I'd seen a camel before, but they got some funny porcupines and a one-legged kangaroo."

That would be Boomerang, a red kangaroo who broke his leg shortly after he emerged from the pouch. The standard response would be euthanasia, but the Holts decided to amputate the leg and see what happened.

Boomerang hardly missed a hop.

Since then, Roos-N-More has become a nonprofit and hired its first employee. LynnLee Schmidt is a graduate of the teaching zoo at Moorpark College in California and once worked full time for the lion exhibit at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. Now Schmidt puts in four 10-hour days a week at the Holts' house, where she bottle-feeds the baby animals and pours concrete to keep the porcupines from tunneling out.

In Schmidt's first six months on the job, the zoo has added about 30 critters.

At the moment, Valerie Holt has her eye on a bearcat and some squirrel monkeys. She also wants aardvarks and maybe a giraffe.

There are limits. Roos-N-More harbors no large carnivores, unless you count their enormous but affable Great Dane Sully.

The Holts never bring home an animal they can't care for, and they won't take in anything mean or "that's going to eat you," Jay Holt said.

The rare critter that can't get along with the others stays only until a new home can be found.

This is not like the San Diego Zoo, where enclosures separate people from animals that will either "kill you or run away from you," Jay Holt said.

"Here you can walk up to them and pick them up. That's the persona we want to keep."

A few animals were donated, but most were bought from licensed breeders.

Jay Holt also has a pilot's license and an airplane that seats six, so some of the zoo's animals have arrived by air.

Goats, lemurs and coatimundi have all seen the inside of Jay's Cessna. He once flew from South Dakota to Nevada with two adult porcupines on board.

His largest passenger to date was the camel that prompted the move to Moapa. Jay flew back from southern Washington with Jafar sitting in the stripped-out cabin behind him.

"I was thinking about it, and it was either a 21-hour horse-trailer ride or a three-hour flight," Jay Holt said.

Roos-N-More will probably never resemble other zoos. The Holts have no plans to open daily, as long as they can still pay the bills.

Beyond that, Valerie Holt said she wants to share her unusual pets with the world and help convince people that such creatures and their habitats are worth preserving.

She also hopes people realize that owning exotic pets is expensive and all-consuming.

"You're going to get kicked, bitten and scratched. You're going to get knocked down and pooped on," she said. She had to have stitches on the inside of her right arm, just below the elbow, after one of the kangaroos raked her with its claws.

Her worst injury was last year, when she fell in the pasture running and the camel stepped on her.

Her crushed collarbone had to be pieced back together with metal plates and screws, but she figured out how to get a 50-pound feed bag on the other shoulder.

As hectic and occasionally painful as life at the zoo can be, it's a dream come true for Valerie Holt.

"Caico and the zoo," she said. "This is my happily ever after."

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Information from Las Vegas Review-Journal

The proposal is in response to a growing number of feral animals. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that some estimates say there are 500,000 feral cats in Clark County.

Of the 30,921 animals put down in local shelters in 2008, nearly two-thirds, or 19,749, were cats.

As proposed, the ordinance would require dogs and cats over 4 months old to be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. A veterinarian could certify that a pet was incapable of breeding or medically unfit for the operation.

Pets impounded at the Lied Animal Shelter in Las Vegas would have to be spayed or neutered before being returned to their owners. The animals also would have to have a microchip implanted for identification.

The requirement wouldn't apply to service animals, law enforcement and rescue animals, or those belonging to someone holding a dog or cat fancier's permit, a breeder's permit or a professional animal handler permit.

For enforcement purposes, the ordinance would require pet shops to submit lists of dogs and cats sold each quarter.

Violating the ordinance would be a misdemeanor punishable by fines of $225 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for the third and subsequent violations.

The proposal is expected to be before the city council soon. A council subcommittee that reviews proposed ordinances decided to send it to the council without a recommendation after a lengthy and contentious hearing.

The main complaint from opponents is that the ordinance would require sterilization at too young an age.

"I am not against spay and neuter. It is a necessary evil," said Mike Connell of the Silver State Kennel Association. But doing it at 4 months of age is "a mutilation of a tender young body."

"It shortens their life span and causes long-term medical problems," he said. "They need that growth time."

Harold Vasko, president of the Heaven Can Wait Animal Society, said the only way to bring populations under control is to spay or neuter pets before they reproduce.

"Ten percent of the people are probably causing 70 percent of the problem," Vasko said.

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Information from Las Vegas Review-Journal

Leigh Andrus, spokeswoman for Busch Entertainment Corporation, says about 100 animals were turned over at the event Saturday. Amnesty days allow pet owners to turn over exotic animals without drawing the ire of Florida wildlife officials.

Andrus says pet owners turned in several reptiles Saturday, including "a lot of Burmese pythons."

Busch Gardens spokesman Greg Smith said some of the relinquished pets were adopted by owners who had already registered with the state to collect the animals. He said the pets that weren't taken might end up in a zoo or similar facility.

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Information from The Tampa Tribune

Kim and Troy Meeder, founders of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, adopted the brown bay and named her Phoenix. Now she lives on the Meeders' Tumalo ranch and looks great. The once wild and neglected horse gently carries small children around a corral. If humans enter her field, she follows them around like a dog begging for affection.

Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch is a nonprofit organization that rescues and rehabs abused or neglected horses. It also strives to heal troubled children.

The ranch hosts youngsters who are often disadvantaged physically or emotionally, or are enduring some sort of hardship. The kids make appointments to come out and groom, exercise and love the rescued horses. Through this "work," the children often find purpose, responsibility and love in return, said Kim Meeder. It's unclear who benefits most.

The 9-acre, manicured and landscaped property is speckled with handsome wooden buildings and is perched with a clear view of the Three Sisters and Broken Top. It has room for about 30 horses, and it's usually at capacity. How many kids come each day — at no cost — depends on how many adult staff and volunteers are available to work with them. In the sessions, it's always one adult per one kid and horse.

On a recent day, the children appeared to range in age from 5 to 16. One younger girl helped a leader scrub the inside of a water tub from which horses drink. Others learned how to brush horses. The chores are intended to keep their hands busy and their minds quiet, while trust develops between the adult and child, one leader said.

The kids are supposed to learn to do things for themselves. After chores, another petite youngster followed her leader into the tack room where she chose a tiny saddle and helmet, and tried to carry them herself to the fence where she could view all the horses. Then the girl picked out the horse she wanted to ride.

The genesis for the youth ranch started when Kim Meeder was a troubled child in her own world of hurt. When she was 9, her parents died in a murder-suicide. Meeder skipped their funeral and went horseback riding with a cousin.

"I wanted to keep riding and never come back, to get away from the unthinkable," she said. "I ended up riding into the love of God and a little horse with crooked legs."

Her grandparents, with whom she lived, bought her a little mustang, which Meeder said gave her moments of happiness, endless love and an escape from the pain she lived with daily.

But Meeder had to sell her horses to pay for college, and she couldn't afford horses of her own for another 15 years.

In 1981, Kim married Troy Meeder, and they have lived in Bend since 1983. In 1993, the couple bought a 9-acre retired cinder pit and moved out of town into rural Central Oregon. It was a lifeless rocky hole in the earth and was all they could afford at the time, something under $40,000, Kim said.

They begged neighbors for compostable garbage, manure, moldy hay — whatever would build soil on the scarred land so it could hold water and grow plants, grass and trees. They bought a manufactured home and lived next to the cinder pit while the dirt built up.

Troy was a landscape contractor and salvaged unwanted plants. Some of those spindly salvages have grown into big, vibrant trees.

Kim worked multiple jobs as a fitness instructor in Bend, but volunteered at a nearby ranch so she could be around horses. There she said she saw the owner abuse his horses, and knew something needed to be done. In 1995, after a difficult negotiation, she bought two horses from that ranch. She brought them home, built a corral in one day and installed a hitching post. Soon she had acquired nine horses, and a ranch was under way.

The Meeders, both deeply spiritual people, volunteered in their church's youth group, so they invited some of the kids over to socialize and groom horses, and to help build fences. The kids — mostly teenagers — started coming out to ride. Kim said she watched as they opened up over time, sharing dreams and fears. They appeared to feel safe and loved at the ranch, and acted with a sense of purpose, she said.

In 1995, something sparked Kim to create a ranch for kids. One of the visitors was a scrawny, pale, mute girl who didn't talk to people but bonded with a skinny, weak horse. In the solace of a miserable, wet snowstorm, when everyone else had gone home, Kim discovered the girl talking to this horse, their heads bowed together while the wind whipped hair around their faces.

"We saw this nasty broken property and that sad neglected horse, and it all fit together to heal hearts of broken kids," she said.

Now both Meeders work full time at the ranch.

The kids get the experience at no cost. Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch exists on donations. Kim has also written two books about experiences on the ranch, and has two more in the works. The proceeds help the ranch, which buys most of its horses.

As her books sold, thousands of people started calling because they wanted to create the same sort of ranch. So the Meeders offer information clinics to people who want to start their own ranch. A hundred others have started; hundreds more are in the works, she said.

Crystal Peaks is a faith-based ranch. Every other Tuesday evening, Troy leads a fellowship in the barn, which includes food, music and a brief teaching for anyone who wishes to come.

But the children need not belong to any denomination or be religious at all to come to a session. In fact, they don't need any sort of definable challenges or disadvantages to qualify for a visit either.

"Just being a kid is difficult," Kim said. Even kids from solid families are left without supervision and guidance all too often, she said. The ranch works with kids who have had horrific lives, but also everyday well-off kids who just never get contact with horses.

Miraculous things happen at the ranch, and Kim's books describe dozens of tear-jerking stories about children with hard shells softening once they are trusted by a horse. In many cases, the horses and the children have suffered similar hardships. Kim just wants to teach them all — the horses and the children — how to love.

"Our goal for all the horses that we rescue is to bring them up to a place of stability, both physically and emotionally," Kim said. "Many of the horses that we rescue come to us with deep issues of broken trust, lack of respect and debilitating fear. Once a horse comes into our care, our job, our joy, is to reach out to them just as we do with the kids."

Hero is another horse that has suffered and is now healing in the hands of Crystal Peaks staff and visitors.

One year ago, the 6-year-old Arab gelding was found wandering in the woods northwest of Sisters. He had been shot in the head, a failed attempt to euthanize the horse because of a leg injury.

Hero was left to die alone in the woods. His left eye hung from its socket, and blood encrusted his head, shoulder and leg. He was dramatically underweight, dehydrated and reeking with the stench of an infected leg wound.

Now, he is shiny, beautiful, normal except for a thin line of a scar where an eye used to be. He gets love, grooming, extra food and attention. He is regularly ridden by children.

The horses are evaluated regularly. If they have solitary or unstable personalities, then a youth ranch where a lot of social interaction is required is not best. Through a network of ranches, the Meeders find them another home if they're not fit to work with children.

The ordinance has been proposed by the codes inspector in Baxter, Bob Lane, who says he's had dozens of complaints regarding vicious dogs, bad smells and incessant barking from homes that have large numbers of pets.

His ordinance proposed for both Baxter and Algood would limit pets based on the amount of space or property.

"If you have, say, a half acre or less, you could have two dogs and two cats," said Lane. "If you have from a half acre to two acres, you could have three dogs and three cats, and from three acres on, you could have four dogs and four cats."

Michelle Tackett, a pet owner in Baxter, told WSMV-TV that it would be like someone telling her that she couldn't have children.

"I myself right at this time have 11 (animals), because my dog just had puppies, and I have two cats, and that would put me way over the limit of an acre and a half, and what would I do with all of my animals that I love very deeply?" she said.

Lane said other residents are supporting the proposal.

"The people that own dogs are not gonna like this if they feel as though you're trying to control them, but I feel truly responsible dog owners are going to understand what we're trying to do," Lane said.

But Baxter Mayor Jeff Wilhite told the Cookeville Herald-Citizen that there's no pet overpopulation problem in the community and he doesn't agree with the proposal.

"I don't think the number (of pets) that people have is our problem," he said. "I think our problem, up to and during the first part of October, was that we had lost our dog catcher and we were without one for a while."

Baxter's newly appointed animal control officer Jeremy Helm said the complaints are more about cats than vicious dogs or dogs running free.

"I don't think we've ever had a dog problem," he told the newspaper. "I think we have a cat problem."

Helm said that 36 feral cats have been caught in one area in the last few days.

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Information from WSMV-TV

Gary McDuffee opened his kennel in Little Falls in 2007 after receiving a permit to have up to 500 dogs.

He was registered to sell 135 dogs Saturday at an auction in Seneca, Mo., and has plans to auction more in December and February. A Southwest Auction Service posting on the Internet says McDuffee is going out of business.

"Gary has been in business for many years, but he feels it is time to sell out," the posting says.

But animal rights activists, including Wade Hanson of the Animal Humane Society, say they fear McDuffee is not going out of business but trying to rid himself of older dogs. Thirty-six of the dogs listed for auction Saturday were at least 4 years old. Fifty-two were puppies.

McDuffee, 56, a retired special education teacher, declined to comment. His contact for the auction, Seneca breeder Caryl Freeman, said she assumes McDuffee is retiring.

Nancy Minion, a Woodbury activist who has lobbied for legislation regulating commercial breeders in Minnesota, said animal rescue teams hoped to buy many of McDuffee's dogs.

"We don't want them going from one puppy mill to another," she said. "We've already failed these dogs once."

McDuffee's kennel application had sparked a lawsuit from his neighbors, complaints about his plans to surgically debark some dogs and an online petition that gathered 20,000 signatures.

Morrison County commissioners eventually approved the application with conditions including that McDuffee could not debark dogs or use shock collars to control noise.

Dog breeding has become a multimillion dollar industry, fueled in part by growing demand for designer pets. It has been affected by the recession, although small breeders are more likely to have lost business than large ones who advertise online, such as McDuffee, said Carol Krout, an animal rescue volunteer from Fort Dodge, Iowa.

"People can't afford to buy pets they can't take care of," Krout said.

Prices at an Oct. 31 auction in Columbus, Ohio, were much less than at previous auctions, said Mary O'Connor-Shaver, head of the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions.

"We've been getting a lot of dogs from Minnesota at our auctions, many of them supposedly going out of business," O'Connor-Shaver said. "But they quickly change their minds."

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Information from Star Tribune