THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEKIN, Ill. — Whether they’re stroking the wiry fur of a potbelly pig, marveling at the downy feathers of a 3-day-old chick or gazing at fish in an aquarium, nursing home residents love to connect with animals.

Liberty Village Nursing Home plays host to various animals throughout the year, according to activities director Tracy McCabe. Visiting family members or friends often bring along a dog or cat, McCabe said. And a favorite among residents, their families and friends is a visit by a traveling petting zoo.

“Animals bring back a lot of memories for the residents and give them a chance to reminisce,” McCabe said. “Anything that triggers good memories is a wonderful activity.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WALNUT, Calif. — Lukas was all bite, buck and bitterness before Karen Murdock adopted him six years ago and made him an Internet star.

Murdock introduced the 16-year-old Thoroughbred to carrots and kindness, helped him forget years of abuse and taught him tricks: He can smile, yawn, kiss, nod, identify shapes, numbers and letters, fetch, wave, salute, pose and stretch — and he does some of it with his front feet on a pedestal. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Horses and riders from four states will jump for joy Oct. 17 to raise funds for special needs children participating in equine-assisted therapy at Horses for Healing in Bentonville. (more…)

THE DENVER POST

DENVER — By selling his secret recipe of regular and sugar-free lemonade, 13-year-old Mark Rinkel raised enough money to get a service dog to help his little brother Jason cope with Type 1 diabetes.

But Mark says the dog he worked so hard to get did not detect serious changes in his brother’s blood sugar, as was promised, and the dog also bit Jason’s hand when he tried to pet him. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Hill’s Science Diet, a popular brand of dog and cat food, won’t be on the shelves much longer at Allwood Pet Center in Clifton, N.J.

Store owner Lydia Grossman said she plans to stop selling the food because Hill’s has raised its price “a few times” over the year and a 7.4 percent jump is coming Jan. 1. (more…)

BY KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Big Footsie loves children. It’s his job to pick out books for them to read, listen to their problems and calm them down when times are tough.

As Head Library Cat for seven years at the Arkansas School for the Blind, Footsie has grown up with many of the children who visit him. (more…)

Michael Goessling of Goose Creek Farms in St. Louis talks Sunday to a patient at the Easter Seals Arkansas Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock about his miniature horse, Thumbelina.(Photo by The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/CHRIS DEAN)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Thumbelina the World’s Smallest Horse visited children Sunday at the Easter Seals Arkansas Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock.

It was one stop on the Children’s Tour Thumbelina is doing this month. The tour will help raise money for children’s charities and institutions. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DES MOINES, Iowa — He was a yellow tabby with twinkling green eyes, who arrived in the overnight drop box of a farmland library one frigid January night. Dewey Readmore Books became the library’s star boarder and an international celebrity.

Now he’s the subject of a best seller that chronicles the struggles of the library worker who found the trembling kitten, the town that embraced him and Dewey himself.

Dewey, the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, has 336,000 copies in print and has quickly climbed to the top 10 on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other lists of best sellers.

“It has great appeal,” Paul Ingram, buyer at Prairie Lights bookstore in Iowa City, says, comparing it to the hugely popular Marley & Me, about the joys and headaches of a difficult Labrador retriever.

Ingram says that Dewey attracts an odd mix of pet lovers and history buffs thanks to its weaving of the cat’s exploits with the history of a small town and Iowa. (more…)

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

ST. LOUIS — When Nel the Dalmatian stuck her head in the hospital room, Stephanie Brown’s mood changed from sullen to tickled.

“When Nel walks in the room, Stephanie just lights up,” said Debra Hardy, mother of Stephanie Brown, a patient last spring at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. (more…)